TEST DAY FOR THE FIA EUROPEAN TOURING CAR CUP
TEST 1 – RUDOHOLM ON TOP ON A DRYING TRACK
Robin Rudholm of West Coast Racing topped the timesheet of
the first testing session which lasted an hour on a drying
track. The Swede clocked a 1:55.287 on his last lap as did
second fastest Félix Porteiro from BMW Team-Italy Spain.
Miguel Freitas, one of the two Portuguese drivers in the cup,
secured the 3rd best lap with a 1:57.451.
Alessandro Zanardi set the pace from the outset, cutting
his time by a matter of seconds on most of his laps under
heavy rain. His run was put to a halt, along with the rest
of the field, after 9 minutes when Russian driver Timur Sadredinov
hit the barrier in his Super Production Volkswagen Golf at
turn 8. Sadredinov’s car was stranded in the gravel
and red flags were issued. The session was resumed 14 minutes
later. Two other Russian drivers went off on the wet track,
Alexey Dudukalo (Audi A4) and Vladimir Labazov (BMW 320i),
but rejoined. Zanardi dominated the field for most of the
remainder of the session but as the track dried a number of
drivers set their best time in the closing minutes. This left
Zanardi in 5th position, behind Carl Rosenblad of Elgh Motorsport.
The top five drivers were all at the wheel of BMW cars. In
6th place was Irishman Emmet O’Brien in a GR Asia SEAT
León. His quickest lap was 1:59.577. O’Brien’s
team-mate, Ryan Sharp posted the 8th best time. The pair were
separated by Tomas Engström at the wheel of his Honda
Accord Euro R. The two Maurer Motorsport Chevrolet Lacetti
cars of Vincent Radermecker and Hugo Godinho missed the session
due to engine problems.
The best of the SP competitors was Andrey Romanov at the
wheel of a BMW 320i. He posted the 14th best time overall.
Right behind him were fellow countrymen Sergey Krylov (VW
Golf) and Alexander Lvov (Honda Civic), with the Estonian
Raimo Kulli (Škoda Octavia) in 4th.
TEST 2 – PORTEIRO PIPS TEAM-MATE ZANARDI
Félix Porteiro and Alessandro Zanardi of BMW Team-Italy
Spain set the two fastest laps in the second testing period.
Just as in the first session, Zanardi’s name was featured
at the top of the timesheet for the majority, but in the final
minute his team-mate set a time of 1:48.789 which demoted
the Italian to second spot. A quite oustanding performance
for the young Spaniard who is on his first real test in a
touring car.
The third best lap was set by Carl Rosenblad at the wheel
of his Elgh Motorsport BMW 320si. He was followed by Ryan
Sharp of GR Asia with the top five being rounded off by Miguel
Freitas at the wheel of his BMW 320i run by Zerocinque Motorsport.
Quickest man of the first session, Robin Rudholm had a spell
at the top again. So too did Tomas Engström. Rudholm’s
best time of 1:49.934 eventually placed him 6th overall while
Engström was 1.912 off the pace and 8th overall. It was
GR Asia man Emmet O’Brien who slotted between the Swedes
in 7th.
In the Super Production class, Stefano Valli set the best
time of 1:57.110 – the 16th of the entire field –
just as the chequered flag was being waved. In doing so the
man from San Marino outpaced fellow SP contenders Andrey Romanov
and Raimo Kulli to 17th and 18th.
Due to a dry track, the top time in the second session was
a considerable 8 seconds faster than the best lap in the earlier
session. The only driver who did not take part in the session
was Vincent Radermecker, whose Chevrolet Lacetti suffered
again from engine problems.
LAST MINUTE CHANGES TO THE ENTRY LIST
Portuguese driver Miguel Freitas, 22 year old from Lisbon,
was the last addition to the entry list of the Super 2000
Cup. Freitas, who has emerged as one of the fastest Portuguese
touring car racers in recent years, joined Italian squad Zerocinque
Motorsport in a BMW 320i.
Two teams defaulted at the last minute: SEAT Sport UK and
Engstler Motorsport.
LVOV AND LVOV ARE NOT RELATED
Funny homonymy between two Russian drivers who take part
in the Super Production Cup. Alexander Lvov, who drives the
#54 Golden Motors Honda Civic Type-R, and… Alexander
Lvov Jr, in the #61 Sport-Garage Volkswagen Golf, are both
from St. Petersburg but they are not related.
The second Lvov added “Jr” to his name only to
be recognizable from his namesake.
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