18 November 2015
Best time for Max Defourny at Motorland Aragón
Wednesday, the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 was back in action at the Motorland Aragón circuit, which will host the opening round of the calendar next April 16 and 17. Eight teams were in Spain to best prepare for the 2016 season, where a total of 400,000 € will be up for grabs. On the track, Max Defourny (ART Junior Team) set the best time of the day in 1:55.012 ahead of rookie Lando Norris (Josef Kaufmann Racing) and Darius Oskoui (Tech 1 Racing).
In ideal conditions, the field was made up of known drivers such as Jehan Daruvala (Josef Kaufmann Racing), Bruno Baptista (Fortec Motorsports), James Allen (JD Motorsport), Vasily Romanov (Cram Motorsport) and Ferdinand Habsburg (Fortec Motorsports). A number of new-comers were also on hand, such as French F4 Junior Champion, Sacha Fenestraz (Tech 1 Racing), Enaam Ahmed (Fortec Motorsports) and Greg Holloway (GSK Grand Prix).
Following a morning session focused on learning the car or the track, the afternoon was about posting times. The beginning was animated by Lando Norris, Jehan Daruvala and Vasily Romanov (Cram Motorsport), but all three were beaten by Max Defourny. With 40 minutes remaining, the Belgian driver clocked a lap of 1:55.012 to lead the way ahead of Lando Norris, Darius Oskoui, Jehan Daruvala and Marcus Armstrong (ART Junior Team).
Quotes
Max Defourny (ART Junior Team) – Best time: “After a year in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, the objective is to improve both the car and myself as much as possible. The goal is to reach a perfect osmosis with the car to improve our competitiveness and prepare for next year. Overall, it was a good day. We were able to work on the car and we were competitive in the afternoon. I have to do the same tomorrow as we prepare for 2016.”
Lando Norris (Josef Kaufmann Racing) – Best rookie: “With this car, you have to be on the edge all the time. The main difference with the F4 concerns the tyres. You have to get the most out of the Michelins from the first lap but the transition is going quite well so far. The day went nicely. Until now, I had only done six or seven days of testing in the Formula Renault 2.0. I’m more and more confident with the car. To finish with the second best time is a good performance, although we have to find the half-second that separates us from the leader.”
Sarah Abadie (Tech 1 Racing) – Team Manager: “The Formula Renault 2.0 is an essential step in the formation of drivers. As a multidisciplinary team, this category is indispensable in our opinion to evaluate the quality of the competitors that could move up to the next level either in single-seaters or in prototypes. In the same manner as a school, our role is to look after their training and help them become professionals in all aspects: new tyres, race, qualifying and traffic. There are different types of drivers and we adapt to their profiles during our winter tests over the 10 to 14 days they are with us. These tests are also important when it comes to tyre management. We have little chance to do this during the year and we try to make sure they are fully exploited.”
