27 September 2013
Pedalà fastest as Eurocup Clio resumes
Massimiliano Pedalà (Composit Motorsport) was the fastest man in collective testing at Paul Ricard as the Eurocup Clio returned from its summer break. Pedalà, the championship leader, finished ahead of Simone Di Luca (Rangoni Corse) in both sessions on Friday. Éric Trémoulet (Vic’Team), on home soil, finished the day third-fastest, with Josh Files (Team Pyro) and Oscar Nogues (Rangoni Corse) also placing towards the top.
The Eurocup Clio did not feature in the last WSR round at the Hungaroring, but the drivers were back on track in Castellet on Friday morning. And it was Éric Trémoulet who set the pace in the opening minutes of the day’s first collective testing session.
Ten minutes into the session, Massimiliano Pedalà raised the pace. The Italian improved gradually before setting the fastest time with a final lap of 2:29.666. Simone Di Luca was second-fastest, followed by Oscar Nogues, Josh Files and Nicolas Milan (Milan Compétition).
The first half of the afternoon session was keenly contested, with Josh Files, Jean Philippe Lamic (Vic’Team), Facundo Della Motta (Milan Compétition) and Simone Di Luca taking turns to top the timesheets. But it was Massimiliano Pedalà who took the lead before the halfway point.
Ten minutes before the chequered flag, Oscar Nogues and Éric Trémoulet set successive fastest times. But with four minutes to go, the pair were beaten by Massimiliano Pedalà’s fastest lap of 2:28.589. Just as he had in the morning session, the Italian finished ahead of Simone Di Luca, Éric Trémoulet, Oscar Nogues and Josh Files.
What they said
Massimiliano Pedalà: "It was a very good day, as I finished both sessions with the fastest lap. It’s a circuit I enjoy, and the car was brilliant. There’s a bit of concern about the weather forecast, though. In terms of the championship, the onus is on [Josh] Files and [Nicolas] Milan to score points. That means I can concentrate on my own race."
Simone Di Luca: "For my return to the championship and to driving a racing car, this is a good start. If you’d told me [the results] this morning, I wouldn’t have believed it as my backache had returned. That was the reason for my break [from driving]. Everything’s OK over one lap, but I can’t be sure I’ll be able to finish the race!”
Éric Trémoulet: "I couldn’t use the slipstream this morning as I was driving on my own. So the performance wasn’t completely there. As for the afternoon, my one regret is that I had only two clear laps with the new tyres before running into trouble and losing my way. We’re confident for the weekend ahead.”
Collective test 1 classification
