24 November 2015
The last of the year goes to Lando Norris
The final day of the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 winter tests went to Lando Norris (Josef Kaufmann Racing). The rookie dominated both sessions with a best time of 2:02.249 at Circuit Paul Ricard. The British driver led from another newcomer, Sacha Fenestraz (Tech 1 Racing), and Max Defourny (ART Junior Team). Henrique Chaves (AVF) and Hugo De Sadeleer (Tech 1 Racing) completed the top five. The competitors will now continue their preparations privately. The pre-selected teams will be announced on 15 December.
There was a new addition in the person of Xavier Lloveras (AVF) on the final day of collective testing at Circuit Paul Ricard. Under sunny skies, Lando Norris posted the best time of the morning in the second hour of running. His lap of 2:02.368 was good enough to lead from Max Defourny, Sacha Fenestraz, Jehan Daruvala (Josef Kaufmann Racing) and Julien Falchero (ART Junior Team). In the afternoon, Lando Norris stayed on top and was the only driver to improve on his morning’s reference. Behind him, Sacha Fenestraz finished ahead of Max Defourny. Henrique Chaves and Hugo De Sadeleer completed the top five.
HENRIQUE CHAVES IN THE ROLE OF AN OUTSIDER
“Last season, I began in NEC with a few runs in Eurocup as a wild-card. As I didn’t do any preparation, it was my zero year in single-seaters! This winter, I can prepare and concentrate on each sector to improve my braking, my lines and my corner exits. I made a lot of progress on new tyres, especially on my second set when I set a good time. We were able to try a lot of things and I look forward to being on the podium – or even better- in 2016!”
DE SADELEER CONSISTENTLY UP FRONT
“This is my tenth day of running this winter, far from just the two days I did last year! It was a problem. I had the pace in the races, but I struggled in qualifying. We put the emphasis on this point in using three sets of tyres per day, in focusing more on quality than quantity. At the same time, I am working to forge a tough as steel mentality, because I had never raced at such a level before Formula Renault 2.0. Next year, the top ten is the minimum objective. Other than its family aspect, the team has the speed to be among the top five. The relationship with Sacha and Gabriel is excellent and I am already looking forward to the first official tests of 2016!”
LARS KAUFMANN (JOSEF KAUFMANN RACING): “THE YOUNG DRIVERS LEARN A LOT”
“Formula Renault 2.0 is a very good step in the careers of all young drivers. They learn a lot, like getting the absolute most out of the excellent Michelin tyres. It is a perfect format because with the many races and two qualifying sessions per meeting, they can learn and measure their progress. Technically speaking, the car is sophisticated and they can discover all the set-up subtleties. In the current landscape, Formula Renault 2.0 is still pertinent and extremely important. We’ve seen it with champions like Robin Frijns and Stoffel Vandoorne, who won the title with us, but also with Lando Norris, who won this year’s British F4 crown. He is doing very well and these tests show that it is clearly the right choice for young drivers in their preparation to be the best and to climb the category ladder. The family style teams like ours also have their place and can demonstrate all their qualities in a professional setting like we have done for the past five years!”
