|
Dean Smith (Wolverhampton) and Riki Christodoulou (Sutton Coldfield) topped the timesheets on the first two days of official pre-season testing for the Formula Renault UK with Michelin Championship, held at Rockingham Motor Speedway on 1st/2nd March. The duo’s Fortec Motorsport team showed its strength throughout its line-up with Ryuji Yamamoto (Northampton) and Duncan Tappy (West Ewell, Surrey) consistently close to the pace of the leading pair.
The test marked the first outing for the new-for-2007 updated bodykit, which brings the 2.0-litre single-seaters in line with its World Series by Renault and Formula One cousins.
On the series’ first visit to the Leicestershire venue since 2004, the 1.95-mile International Sports Car circuit configuration was used with many drivers lapping the track for the first time in their careers. Riki Christodoulou set the pace on the morning of 1st March with a time of 1min 16.324s (91.93mph), ahead of Eurotek’s Jordan Oakes (Hopton, Norfolk) with Tappy in third. AKA Cobra’s Jeremy Metcalfe (Fleet, Hants) was fourth, just 0.499s behind Christodoulou.
Smith made the best of the afternoon conditions to improve to a time of 1min 15.879s (92.47mph), demoting Christodoulou to second. Metcalfe moved up to third quickest, while Yamamoto and Tappy also went faster than Christodoulou’s earlier benchmark.
Manor Competition’s Alexander Sims (Peterborough) improved by five places over the two sessions, while AKA Cobra’s Adriano Buzaid (Oxford) jumped from 15th to seventh quickest in the afternoon.
Commenting at the end of the first day, Smith said: “Today is the first time I have driven here with this configuration of the track and it’s gone really well. The car was quick for me straight away without having to push too hard for a few extra tenths of a second. I’ve been quick throughout winter testing so it’s not a great surprise to do well here and I can’t see any reason why I can’t challenge for at least the top three this season.”
The second day of testing was held in less windy conditions allowing even faster times to be set as drivers learned the nuances of the new circuit. The first of the day’s three one-hour sessions saw Riki Christodoulou, Smith and Yamamoto as the only three drivers to lap in less than 1min 16s. Christodoulou set what turned out to be the fastest time of the day at 1min 15.752s (92.62mph). Sims set the fourth fastest time ahead of AKA Cobra duo Adam Christodoulou (Lichfield, Staffs) and Metcalfe.
After the lunch break, Yamamoto put himself to the head of the field for the first time in UK racing as Fortec locked out the top four spots. Sims, Buzaid and Oakes were next ahead of AKA Cobra trio Adam Christodoulou, Nathan Caratti and Metcalfe. Apotex Scorpio Motorsport’s Will Bratt (Banbury, Oxon), Manor Competition’s Kris Loane (Kesh, Co Fermanagh) and AKA Cobra’s Chris Holmes (Ilkley, Yorks) were all within one second of Yamamoto.
With temperature’s dropping in the final session of the two-day test, there was no improvement on the fastest time as Riki Christodoulou finished ahead of Sims and Smith. Commenting at the completion of the test, Christodoulou said: “I love this Formula Renault car! I improved by more than one second when I used new tyres this morning and every time I get in the car I feel more comfortable. The team did a great job with the set-up and I am really looking forward to the season starting.”
The second official Formula Renault UK test takes place at Norfolk’s Snetterton circuit on 7th/8th March.
|
News 
