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[Formula Renault Eurocup] Two times in the Top 5 in Zolder! |
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Monday, 01 May 2006 |
Two times in the Top 5 in Zolder!
Koiranen bros. Motorsport had a great start to the 2006 Eurocup! Atte Mustonen finished the Saturday race in 4th position, and was 5th on Sunday. Tomi Limmonen faced a very steep learning curve in his first Eurocup weekend, but showed he has the pace to compete in this ultra competitive championship.
The testing sessions were a little frustrating for the team: Atte was always in the top 10, but having difficulties to be closer to the front, and Tomi was still learning the tricks of the track. The free practice session didn’t go much better, as Atte was not able to do his best time when the tires were at their best grip level, and Tomi's engine exploded just after we had mounted a new set of tires.
The qualifying session however was much better! Atte finished with the 5th fastest time, but could have been 4th had he not been blocked by another driver on his best lap. Tomi made a huge improvement and finished in 20th position, very close to much more experienced drivers such as Junior Strous or Adrian Zaugg.
Renault Formula 1 test driver Heikki Kovalainen came over to visit his old friends at the team after qualifying. Our two young drivers got some extra motivation for the race and maybe also an idea of what things might be like for them in a few years time!
Race 1 got under way under very tricky weather conditions, as it started to rain a few minutes before the start! Most drivers opted to stay on slick tires, but Tomi and a few others decided to change to wet weather tires.
Although it kept raining a little during most of the race, the track ended up drying. Atte got up to 4th position after a few laps, and stayed there until the end of the race. He made the 5th fastest lap of the race, which meant that under the new rules he will start from that position for Race 2. Tomi started to lose ground as the track got drier, but the team had decided to wait until the final minutes before changing his tires. The plan worked, and he got the 7th fastest time for the second race!
Things looked promising for the team, with both cars starting well at the front of the 37 car field for the Sunday race! Atte compromised his chances of a podium finish with a bad start. He managed to fight his way back, passing Chris van der Drift around the outside on the first chicane. He then spent most of the race trying to get past Tom Dillman while at the same time defending his position from the attacks of Filipe Albuquerque, who was close behind. Atte finished in 5th position. ”Of course, I’m upset about the start – today I had the pace to do much better than fifth. But it feels pretty good to be third in the championship.” said Atte after Sunday’s race.
Tomi’s inexperience showed at the start of the second race, as he was immediately passed by two Red Bull cars, and made contact with one in the first corner. The result was a broken front wing and a bent steering arm. Tomi pushed on, but ended up stopping later in the race. “The car was really hard to drive with all the damage in the front! I had no grip at all, and also the steering was bent which made my front tires wear out very quickly.” said a disappointed Tomi.
Next up for Koiranen bros. Motorsport is the NEC event in Spa-Francorchamps. After the strong start to the 2006 season, and with Atte Mustonen high up in the standings for both championships the team is hoping for more good results in the classic Belgian track!
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