Drivex and Fernando Monje could not have had a better start together in the International GT Open this season.
After finishing third on Friday – during day one of the Winter Series at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya-, the young Spaniard and Drivex performed rather well on Saturday. While Ferrán and Fernando Monje starred at their debut with the Porsche 997 GT3 RSR 2012, the ETCC champion thrilled everyone in Barcelona as he had a sizzling a duel with Daniel Zampieri throughout the whole day. Monje was faster than anyone else in Barcelona driving a Drivex Porsche.
Monje played a role in the battle with Zampieri in each test session. After posting a lap of 1:49.254 in the morning, the Drivex Porsche driven by Monje set laps of 1:48.592 and 1:48.632 in second and third test sessions respectively. As Drivex and Monje were aiming to finish on top, they approached the final session on new tires, and the Spaniard was able to set a time of 1:47.621. Although Zampieri was slightly quicker – 122 thousandths-, Monje´s time was good enough to finish second.
Fernando Monje: “I am therefore all the happier about the result. When I was able to understand how this car works, our lap times were very good and at the end we were certain of beating Daniel Zampieri/Roman Mavlanov, who were fastest at the end of the event. Zampieri is an official Ferrari Driver, so it´s a good thing considering this was my first time in the Porsche. I felt very comfortable from the very beginning, and at the end we almost set the fastest lap. It is great to be back with RWD cars, feeling its power and aerodynamics and demanding driving style. I was pleasantly surprised.”
Miguel Ángel de Castro: “I am impressed with Fernando and his performance. At his debut in GT with our Porsche 997 GT3 RSR 2012 he was able to compete against Daniel Zampieri, the Ferrari test driver of the Ferrari GT3. He was always mature for his age, even when he competed in Formula 3 with us three years ago, but now he has matured even more and his adaptation period was incredible short. He has significantly improved his already previous driving skills after two seasons competing at the highest level in touring car racing. It was an outstanding battle against Zampieri and Ferrari, and we are very proud of our work. They were two fantastic days and results were as good as expected.”
