26 September 2014
Record for Oscar Nogues at Circuit Paul Ricard
In the return to competition for the Eurocup Clio, Oscar Nogues (Rangoni Corse) set the track record for the category at Circuit Paul Ricard. The Catalan native set the new reference time of 2:28.174 during the Friday collective tests ahead of Eric Trémoulet (Vic’Team), who was quickest in the morning session. Great Britain’s Alex Morgan (Rangoni Corse) was third best on the day.
The Eurocup Clio returned to action after a summer pause since the Nürburgring meeting. Ivan Pulić (Lema Racing Team) led the way for 40-minutes during the opening session. Pablo Martin (SMC Junior Motorsport) took over from the Croatian, before Mikel Azcona (PCRSport) and Eric Trémoulet traded the best time.
Massimiliano Pedalà (Composit Motorsport) was next to go quickest, but Eric Trémoulet lowered the best time to 2:28.904, 7/10ths of a second better than Massimiliano Pedalà. Championship leader, Oscar Nogues finished third ahead of Alex Morgan and Ivan Pulić.
In the afternoon there were several leader changes at the start of the session with Mikel Azcona, Alex Morgan, Ivan Pulić, Oscar Nogues and Massimiliano Pedalà all taking turns at the top of the time sheet. The Italian driver was leading at the mid-way point, before Mikel Azcona answered.
WIth 10-minutes remaining, Oscar Nogues put in a blistering lap of 2:28.174 to set the new Circuit Paul Ricard track record, which was 8/10ths of a second quicker than team mate Alex Morgan. Mikel Azcona was third ahead of Salvatore Arcarese (Rangoni Corse) and Massililiano Pedalà when the chequered flag was shown.
Quotes
Oscar Nogues: ”We did a lot of work this afternoon because we were far behind Eric Trémoulet in the first session. The adjustments we made provided results, but we will have to see if it pays dividends in qualifying and in the race! The job is not yet done. We have to see with the engineer to see what has to be done to be sure to be on the front row tomorrow.”
Eric Trémoulet: ”I did a session in the French Clio Cup before the morning session. It was an advantage although the tyres are different. It was very good to run but it made it more frustrating in the second session, which was faster. I couldn’t run due to the testing restrictions of my double programme. This weekend, the most plausible objective is to win another national title, but I also have to win in the Eurocup to catch up to Oscar!”
Alex Morgan: ”After my first outing with Rangoni Corse at the Nürburgring, it is good to be back in the Eurocup Clio! The day went well, because in moving on to the new tyres this afternoon we knew that good lap times would follow. Although I didn’t post the best time, I am pretty close, so tomorrow the goal will be to finish first and second.”
