Vervisch lays down the gauntlet in second Zolder session
15/07/2011
Frederic Vervisch (Luxembourg) set the pace in second practice for Superleague Formula's Grand Prix of Zolder, recording a blistering lap late in the 40-minute session. The Belgian-born racer became the first and only driver to dip into the 1m18s and ended the run almost four-tenths faster than his nearest challenger.
However the gap between second and third was far smaller. Having kept their heads down for much of the session both Andy Soucek (Spain - Atletico de Madrid) and Max Wissel produced brilliant late showings to set identical laps of 1:19.179. The duo finished second and third respectively, Soucek classified ahead of series returnee Wissel by dint of having set his lap first.
Practice one pacesetter Neel Jani (Belgium - RSC Anderlecht) ended the session fourth with Superleague newboy Mikhail Aleshin fifth. The Russian’s session had begun in troubled fashion as he spun exiting the final chicane early in the run, stalling in the process and prompting a red flag to be dropped.
But when proceedings resumed Aleshin displayed the pace that took him to last year's Formula Renault 3.5 title, going fastest midway through the session and remaining there until the late flurry dropped him to a still-impressive fifth.
The second session brought less joy for practice one pacesetters Craig Dolby (England) and John Martin (Australia). Dolby – a self-confessed lover of the Zolder circuit – ended up tenth fastest, whilst Australian racer Martin was seventh.
Overall the session was characterized by minute time differences between drivers, with gaps in the thousandths of a second common right down the order. Aside from Soucek and Wissel’s identical laps Duncan Tappy (Turkey – Galatasaray) edged Martin by 0.005s, with the Australian just 0.042s faster than Yelmer Buurman (Holland – PSV Eindhoven). Further back 11th place Tristan Gommendy (France -Girondins de Bordeaux) was a mere 0.004s faster than Robert Doornbos (Japan), whilst Filip Salaquadra (Czech Republic – Sparta Prague) was 0.031s quicker than Superleague regular Antonio Pizzonia.
Frederic Vervisch (Luxembourg): “The second session was really good; the car feels better than it did in Assen. I am happy so far, and although practice times don’t mean anything it is nice to end the day in P1.”
Andy Soucek (Spain – Atletico de Madrid): “It’s been a good day, with sixth in the first session and second in practice two. We made some improvements on the car throughout, but there’s still some work to be done and tomorrow we should be aiming to qualify in the top three. The team is doing a great job and if we improve the car a little further we can definitely fight for wins here.”
Max Wissel (South Korea): “Today felt good after nine months out of a racing car! It was a bit difficult during the first few laps, but by the end of the session we found some good pace. I’m with a new team this weekend, so we worked extremely hard and now we’re just three tenths off the pace. I’m really looking forward to tomorrow.”
Practice one pacesetter Neel Jani (Belgium - RSC Anderlecht) ended the session fourth with Superleague newboy Mikhail Aleshin fifth. The Russian’s session had begun in troubled fashion as he spun exiting the final chicane early in the run, stalling in the process and prompting a red flag to be dropped.
But when proceedings resumed Aleshin displayed the pace that took him to last year's Formula Renault 3.5 title, going fastest midway through the session and remaining there until the late flurry dropped him to a still-impressive fifth.
The second session brought less joy for practice one pacesetters Craig Dolby (England) and John Martin (Australia). Dolby – a self-confessed lover of the Zolder circuit – ended up tenth fastest, whilst Australian racer Martin was seventh.
Overall the session was characterized by minute time differences between drivers, with gaps in the thousandths of a second common right down the order. Aside from Soucek and Wissel’s identical laps Duncan Tappy (Turkey – Galatasaray) edged Martin by 0.005s, with the Australian just 0.042s faster than Yelmer Buurman (Holland – PSV Eindhoven). Further back 11th place Tristan Gommendy (France -Girondins de Bordeaux) was a mere 0.004s faster than Robert Doornbos (Japan), whilst Filip Salaquadra (Czech Republic – Sparta Prague) was 0.031s quicker than Superleague regular Antonio Pizzonia.
Frederic Vervisch (Luxembourg): “The second session was really good; the car feels better than it did in Assen. I am happy so far, and although practice times don’t mean anything it is nice to end the day in P1.”
Andy Soucek (Spain – Atletico de Madrid): “It’s been a good day, with sixth in the first session and second in practice two. We made some improvements on the car throughout, but there’s still some work to be done and tomorrow we should be aiming to qualify in the top three. The team is doing a great job and if we improve the car a little further we can definitely fight for wins here.”
Max Wissel (South Korea): “Today felt good after nine months out of a racing car! It was a bit difficult during the first few laps, but by the end of the session we found some good pace. I’m with a new team this weekend, so we worked extremely hard and now we’re just three tenths off the pace. I’m really looking forward to tomorrow.”
