4 septembre 2015
Pieter Schothorst leader at Silverstone
In his first official outing in the Renault Sport Trophy, Pieter Schothorst (Equipe Verschuur) posted the fastest time in the Renault Sport Trophy collective tests. At Silverstone, the Dutch driver led from his brother and leader in the Elite classification, Steijn Schothorst (Equipe Verschuur) and David Fumanelli (Oregon Team). In the “Prestige” category, Richard Gonda (ART Junior Team) dominated the two sessions ahead of Jeroen Schothorst (Equipe Verschuur) and Dario Capitanio (Oregon Team).
A Verschuur double
First on the track, Bas Schothorst (Zele Racing) quickly moved to the top of the order that he then exchanged with Luciano Bacheta (Oregon Team). A third of the way into the session, newcomer Pieter Schothorst moved to the sharp end of the order, but he was bested at the mid-way point of the session by Steijn Schothorst, who stopped the clock in 1:56.623. Pieter Schothorst and Indy Dontje (ART Junior Team) were next on the time sheet. Fourth overall and leader in Prestige, Richard Gonda was followed by Dario Capitanio and Niccolò Nalio (Oregon Team) in the category.
Peter Schothorst doubles down
In the afternoon, Pieter Schothorst beat the reference time set by his brother The Dutchman improved just after the mid-way point of the session with a time of 1:56.222. The Dutch driver held on for best time of the collective test, which was briefly stopped by Adalberto Baptista (Oregon Team). Steijn Schothorst and David Fumanelli completed the top three. Richard Gonda was, yet again, the best in Prestige ahead of Jeroen Schothorst and Dario Capitanio.
Quotes
Pieter Schothorst : “This first day couldn’t have gone better ! It is a good start to the weekend. The car is impressive, even more so on a circuit that requires so much downforce and which has high-speed flowing corners. My neck suffered a lot but I had a lot of fun. The competition will be fierce, especially with my brother who so far has a perfect score. The goal will be to finish on the podium.”
Steijn Schothorst : “This 11 week break was interminable ! I’m very happy to be back in the car, even more so with my brother in the same team. He is an excellent team mate with whom we can all progress. Maybe I have a bit more to gain this weekend. He could be a threat to me maintaining my 100% points tally, but I am focusing on my own performance. We learned a lot today and I can’t wait for the rest of the weekend.”
Richard Gonda : “I was really looking forward to getting back in the car, especially on a track as spectacular as Silverstone. It was a long summer, but I kept ready in the gym ! This return to action went well, both in our times as in our tests. We got off to a good start to the season, but there are still a lot of races to go. The goal is take in the lead in my category and I can’t wait for qualifying !”
