Caparo Group

Search
lucianobacheta.com
I posted 17 photos on Facebook in the album "Luciano Bacheta during race 2 at Hockenheim." http://fb.me/G6DfpTqv

For all enquiries call +44 (0)20 8597 5845

2009: Spa-Francorchamps - Collective testing

I always look forward to driving at Spa, despite knowing this was probably one of my more challenging events of 2009. I can say that I definitely was not pleasantly surprised! I was pushing as hard as I could, and sometimes going over the limit and making trivial errors, only to find myself around p18. The appalling March weather restricted testing at Spa, torrid rain disrupted our first day with day 2 cancelled due to snow!

Official Report
Several new competitors joined the ranks of the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 drivers for this second race weekend of the season. At Fortec Motorsport, James Calado, supported by the Racing Steps Foundation, is back, and he is joined by Swedish driver Fredrik Blomsted and British driver Will Stevens. The Formula Renault 2.0 UK champion, Adam Christodoulou, enters the fray for MP Motorsport. Meanwhile, Motopark Academy adds Brazilian driver Luis Derani, aged just 15, to their team.

Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 leader, Antonio Felix Da Costa (Motopark Academy), got proceedings underway in sunny conditions at Spa-Francorchamps. The Portuguese driver was immediately relayed at the top of the timing screens by Albert Costa (Epsilon Euskadi) then by Jean-Éric Vergne (SG Formula). The early session saw the drivers rack up a series of quick laps. Antonio Felix Da Costa went on top in 2’23’’366, but only for a brief spell as team-mate Marco Sorensen (Motopark Academy) put in a quick lap.

Albert Costa took then took matters in hand. The Spaniard went to the top of the leaderboard and proceeded to improve the fastest lap time, lap after lap. At the end of the session he put in his fastest lap in 2’20’’164, finishing in front of the Motopark Academy drivers Adrian Quaife-Hobbs ahead of Kevin Magnussen and Antonio Felix Da Costa. Jean-Éric Vergne rounded up the top 5.

Albert Costa and Adrian Quaife-Hobbs stayed on the pace as they got the afternoon session off to a flying start. Costa took the lead, overtaken by Adrian Quaife-Hobbs who held the fastest lap time in 2’20’’556, ahead of fellow British driver James Calado. The British pair were ahead of Albert Costa, Kevin Magnussen and Nigel Melker (MP Motorsport).

Drivers upped the pace still further as the session drew to a close. Antonio Felix Da Costa improved the target time set in the morning by Albert Costa, with Adrian Quaife-Hobbs responding immediately and becoming first driver to go under 2’20. after putting in a 2’19’’968 lap, he found himself once again in the lead. However, it was now Kevin Magnussen’s turn to shine. At just sixteen years old, Kevin Magnussen clocked the fastest time of 2’19’’887, allowing him to finish (for a mere 4/1000’s of a second!) at the top of the timing screens in collective testing, ahead of James Calado, Antonio Felix Da Costa and Adrian Quaife-Hobbs. The fastest three drivers were separated by less than a 100th of a second.

Posted: 02.05.2009