13 September 2013
Strong start for Kevin Gilardoni in Hungary
Kevin Gilardoni (Oregon Team) posted the fastest time in Friday’s Eurocup Megane Trophy collective testing sessions at the Hungaroring. The Italian came out on top from Mike Verschuur (Mc Gregor by Equipe Verschuur), who went quickest in the morning, and championship pacesetter Mirko Bortolotti (Oregon Team).
The Eurocup Megane Trophy field was greeted by perfect conditions as it returned to action at the Hungaroring. The 16 contenders battled it out for the fastest time right from the start of the day’s opening session, with Erik Janis (Gravity Charouz) moving out in front after 25 minutes when he became the first driver to lap in 1:50.
Kevin Gilardoni and Mike Verschuur then moved clear three minutes from the end, the Dutchman then stopping the clock at 1.49.865 on his final lap to close out the session ahead of Mirko Bortolotti, Kevin Gilardoni, Erik Janis and Kelvin Snoeks (Oregon Team).
The afternoon began with an intriguing tussle between Jeroen Schothorst (Mc Gregor by Equipe Verschuur), Kelvin Snoeks and Mike Verschuur in the opening quarter of an hour, though it was not long before points leader Mirko Bortolotti began dictating the pace, the Italian setting three fastest laps by the middle of the session.
Further changes would come in the closing minutes as first Mike Verschuur and then Kevin Gilardoni set benchmark times. The Oregon Team driver extended the gap with a time of 1:49.285, ending the day on top from Mike Verschuur and Mirko Bortolotti. Fourth place went to Mihai Marinescu (Oregon Team), who is making his debut in the category this weekend, with Kelvin Snoeks fifth.
What they said
Kevin Gilardoni: “I’m pretty pleased with these tests. Unlike a lot of other drivers we didn’t put the new tyres on this morning. This afternoon, in conditions that were the same for everyone, we saw where we really are in comparison with the rest. The pace was reasonably good but until tomorrow afternoon comes around I can’t be completely satisfied. As for the title, while I’ve still got a mathematical chance I’ll keep on doing all I can to catch my rivals.”
Mike Verschuur: “I need to score a lot of points this weekend. I love all the corners you get at the Hungaroring and my best results in the last few years have come here. We need to keep on working to take our performance up a level. We made a few changes without putting the new tyres on. The car feels good and I couldn’t wait to get back on the track.”
Mirko Bortolotti: “It was a good test for Kevin and the team, and the car looks very competitive this weekend. I’m not too concerned about not being first today. We know we’ve got the potential and we’d rather focus on qualification. As usual it’s going to be difficult, but today’s testing has shown us what we need to do tomorrow.”
