Simon Gachet (Tech 1 Racing) dominated both sessions on day one of the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 collective tests at Motorland Aragón. With a lap clocked in 1:55.663, the Frenchman led from Louis Delétraz (Josef Kaufmann Racing), runner-up in the Formula Renault 2.0 NEC last year and his team mate Anthoine Hubert (Tech 1 Racing).
A week after the resumption of the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, 26 drivers and ten teams were on hand for the first of two days of collective testing at Motorland Aragón, which will also host the World Series by Renault opening round on 25 and 26 April.
Gachet leads at the break
On a wet track following overnight rain, Amaury Richard (ARTA Engineering) posted the first time, but was soon beaten. Just before the mid-way point of the session, Callan O’Keeffe (Fortec Motorsports) and Lasse Sørensen (Manor MP Motorsport) were the first to switch to slick tyres and went under the two-minute barrier. The times kept improving and at the end of the session, Simon Gachet emerged on top with a lap of 1:55.898. The Frenchman led from Matevos Isaakyan (JD Motorsport), Louis Delétraz, Anthoine Hubert and Kevin Jörg (Josef Kaufmann Racing).
Gachet doubles down for Tech 1 Racing
In the afternoon, Anton De Pasquale (Koiranen GP) set the early pace, and then saw Max Defourny (Strakka Racing), Anthoine Hubert and Louis Delétraz take turns at the top. Dennis Olsen (Manor MP Motorsport) was fastest for some time before the final sprint begun by Matevos Isaakyan and Thiago Vivacqua (JD Motorsport). Kevin Jörg was first to beat the best time from the morning, but that was not enough. Anthoine Hubert concluded the session in first place, but was relegated to third, following his problem at the weight scale. Simon Gachet moved to the top of the time sheet ahead of Louis Déletraz, Anthoine Hubert, Dennis Olsen et Max Defourny.
Quotes
Simon Gachet: “It was a long day of work. It wasn’t easy because I wasn’t feeling well, but the progress is promising. I have to get used to the morning condition changes, but everything went well once it was dry. This afternoon, we did a lot of testing, and worked differently with Anthoine to come up with a car that seems to be competitive.”
Louis Delétraz: “It was a good day. This morning, we got back on the pace in the wet. We were immediately among the fastest on slicks. With used tyres, I put in the third best time behind two drivers who were on fresh rubber. In the afternoon, I led for quite a while before switching to new tyres at the end of the day. I didn’t put in a perfect lap, but the speed is there and we will confirm our pace tomorrow during my final test day of the winter.”
Anthoine Hubert: “Simon and I were up there all day. I could have done better this morning on new tyres, but this afternoon was more positive. We did a good job and need to continue in this direction. We will see what happens tomorrow with the return of some drivers who were absent today.”
Dennis Olsen: “We began the day getting used to the wet conditions before making a few adjustments as the car is quite different to what my team ran last year. We did some good work with the members of the team. They want to win as much as I do and in the end we posted a good time. We were really low on the fuel limit during my final run, but it was a good day! In order to win the title, we work as a team. Not like an engineer and a driver, but as a complete package. The atmosphere is really cool as it is with Lasse who I have known since we raced in karts and who improves each time out.”