Jazeman Jaafar (ISR) set the fastest time on day one of Formula Renault 3.5 Series collective testing. At the Jerez de la Frontera track, the Malaysian recorded the fastest lap in the morning session, finishing ahead of Oliver Rowland (Fortec Motorsports), who went fastest in the afternoon, and Will Stevens (Strakka Racing).
Almost a month after the tests at Motorland Aragón, the Formula Renault 3.5s returned to Jerez to continue their preparations for the coming year, and also get to grips with the track that will host the final round of the tenth season of the World Series by Renault.
The drivers were quick to head out onto the track, where collective tests were last held in 2010. Matias Laine (Strakka Racing) and Norman Nato (DAMS) were the first to top the timesheets before being unseated by Carlos Sainz (DAMS). The two men hit back, but Jazeman Jaafar then set a lap timed at 1:26.840. The Kuala Lumpur-born driver’s performance took him to the top of the leaderboard, ahead of Will Stevens, Matias Laine, Matthieu Vaxivière (Lotus) and Norman Nato, after a session that concluded with some race start simulations.
In the afternoon, Tio Ellinas (Tech 1 Racing) was the first to head out onto the track. The Cypriot driver saw his mark lowered by Beitske Visser (AVF), before Jazeman Jaafar and Carlos Sainz also improved the time to beat. With half an hour remaining, Oliver Rowland produced a fine performance to set the fastest time. The Briton held onto top spot as the session drew to a close, therefore finishing ahead of Marlon Stockinger (Lotus), Carlos Sainz (DAMS), Sergey Sirotkin (Fortec Motorsports) and Norman Nato, all five of whom were separated by less than a tenth of second.
Jazeman Jaafar: “We made a pretty strong start to the day. I was happy with the set-up, so we very quickly shifted our focus to development of the car. Performance could still be improved, but I was fairly pleased. In the afternoon, we tried something different, but it didn’t really suit my driving style. It was a bit tricky! I like the circuit. The high-speed corners and the abrasiveness of the surface make it a real challenge. You only have a fairly narrow window in which to set a fast time!”
Oliver Rowland: “Like everyone else, for me, today was about getting to know the track. It’s a very technical track and is tough on the tyres. This morning, we didn’t really work on performance; we concentrated on starts and pit-stop practices. In the afternoon, I set the best time but I went off on my last lap. The potential is much greater than the times would suggest. We should be lapping somewhere around one minute twenty-five seconds tomorrow.”
Will Stevens: “The new generation of Formula Renault 3.5s had never driven at Jerez before. So, it’s nice to see somewhere a bit different. This circuit is so tough that if you put on fresh tyres, you go quicker than everyone else. The morning went well, but I didn’t manage to set as fast a lap in the afternoon because of a mistake. Overall, I think we are strong here, so we’ll just see what happens in the next two days.”
Marlon Stockinger: “Obviously, today was about becoming familiar with the Jerez track. The team did a great job in providing me with a solid foundation, with a balanced and fast car. We were able to improve overall and set a good time in the afternoon. So far, it’s a good start!”
