16 octobre 2015
Indy Dontje quickest at Jerez
12 months after the maiden public demonstration of the Renault Sport R.S. 01 in Andalusia, the competitors of the Renault Sport Trophy were present at Circuito de Jerez for the collective tests of the final meeting of the 2015 season. Dutchman Indy Dontje (ART Junior Team) clocked the best time of the day in 1:41.905 to lead from Steijn Schothorst (Equipe Verschuur), quickest in the morning session, and Andrea Pizzitola (ART Junior Team). In the Prestige category, Niccolò Nalio (Oregon Team) set best time ahead of Christof von Grünigen (Zele Racing) and Richard Gonda (ART Junior Team).
Steijn Schothorst begins the precedings
While José Manuel Perez Aicart (Monlau Competicion) posted the first reference time, Bas Schothorst (Zele Racing) and Andrea Pizzitola replied soon after. Steijn Schothorst then moved to the top of the order. The successive improvements by the Dutchman allowed him to stay at the sharp end of the order with a best time of 1:41.949 ahead of Indy Dontje, David Fumanelli (Oregon Team), Bas Schothorst and the best among the Prestige drivers, Christof von Grünigen. The Swiss native was followed by Dario Capitanio (Oregon Team) and Toni Forné (ART Junior Team) in the category.
Dontje ahead of the contenders
While Andrea Pizzitola led the way in the opening half-hour of the second session, his team mate Indy Dontje took over the top spot in beating Steiijn Schothorst’s bet time of the morning. The time of 1:41.905 of the Dutchman put him head of the leaders in the Elite standings. Andrea Pizzitola et Steijn Schothorst. Meindert van Buuren (V8 Racing) and José Manuel Perez Aicart completed the top five. In the Prestige class, Niccolò Nalio led from Richard Gonda and Toni Forné (ART Junior Team).
Quotes
Indy Dontje : “This is my first time at Jerez and the performance of the car is very good ! The car reacted nicely. I had confidence in it and I really like the track. After Le Mans, I was disappointed, so I am going to give it my all this weekend to be on the podium and finish on a high note. Third place in the general classification is still possible, but a lot of things have to happen for me to get there. I will have to qualify strongly, which isn’t my greatest asset. I have heard that there will be a lot of rain, but I like rain so that won’t be a problem !”
Steijn Schothorst : “It has been a very good day. The car was good right from the first session and even if we didn’t run on top this afternoon, the performance level of the car was more than satisfactory ! We were preparing for qualifying and tomorrow’s race and we managed to find a good balance for the next two sessions. The best way to get the title is to finish ahead of Andrea and I will do everything to make sure it happens.”
Niccolo Nalio : “We did a good job today. The car handled nicely and I had a lot of fun on the track. The weather was good and I really hope that it remains like this for the rest of the weekend. The objective is to win and show our speed. To do that, we have to be fast in qualifying in order to be ready for the last Prestige Sprint race of the year.”
