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Tom Onslow-Cole Impresses In Prize Drive |
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Saturday, 24 March 2007 |
Tom Onslow-Cole impressed the Eurocup Mégane Trophy teams with an outstanding performance at a recent test, his prize for winning the 2006 Elf Renault Clio Cup. The 19 year-old Team RAC BTCC driver drove the Mégane Trophy racer at the Circuit Paul Armagnac in Nogaro, France on Monday and declared himself delighted with the experience.
The New Malden teenager, whose debut season in the UK’s premier championship kicks off at Brands Hatch next weekend, joined Clio Cup champions from Spain and the Netherlands at the 2.26mile circuit in south-west France. Although the weather was uncharacteristically bad, heavy rain and hailstones making visibility poor at times, Tom acclimatised well to the 3.5litre rear-wheel-drive Mégane, during his opening 10 lap stint.
After a break for lunch and a chance to debrief with the reigning
Eurocup Mégane Trophy championship winning Equipe Verschuur team
engineers, Tom returned to driving duties beating the time set by Mike
Verschuur, who will race in the Mégane Trophy championship in 2007
lapping the circuit in a time of 1min 47.470s (75.67mph).
“The car was really good fun to drive even though the conditions were
pretty bad,” said Tom. “It is actually much easier to learn a new car
and new circuit in the wet because everything moves a little slower. I
was surprised how much grip was available even though the track was so
slick and as long as you feed the power in slowly you can really use
all 330bhp.”
“I gained confidence in the car during the first session; it reminded
me of my karting days with the rear-wheel drive. In the afternoon I was
able to have some fun with the car and slide it through a few corners.
“I’d like to thank Renault Sport for organising the day, it was a fantastic experience.”
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