WORLD
SERIES BY RENAULT ON A WET DAY AT PAUL RICARD - Development Test at
Paul Ricard - Day 2
The Formula Renault 3.5 and the Megane Trophy finished two days of
development testing on a rainy and cold day at the Circuit Paul Ricard
HTTT. Stépahne Ortelli completed 99 laps in the Megane, while
Jonathan Cochet and José María López took turns
at the wheel of the new World Series car.
Jonathan
Cochet was on duty for the first time this morning and he was able
to complete some runs in dry conditions, setting a best time of
1’22"749. His role as a development test driver has come
to an end but Jonathan is keen to see this new machine in the races:
"I have been in love with the car since I saw it assembled
in Dallara. Then in Vallelunga I thought to myself, "These
guys are going to have fun!" It’s been great to work with
all the staff from RST and the technical partners. I felt like I
was in a small championship myself, you know, meeting up every week
for testing. Believe me, this car is like a real mini-Formula 1,
with its carbon brakes and paddle-shift gears. It’s going to
be a fantastic championship!" Now Jonathan is ready to go for
the LMES and the Le Mans 24 Hours race.
Cochet
stopped at the garage and handed the Formula Renault 3.5 over to
the Argentinean José María López. As the new
GP2 driver stepped on the track a few spots of rain turned into
steady light rain, making the track quite slippery. "I’ve
enjoyed it a lot. Everything has been very well organised, it’s
just a shame about the rain!" laughs the young driver. "However,
I must say that that they have done a great job with this car –
the Series is certainly going to be strong!".
Stépahne
Ortelli has also completed his task and is now keen to focus on
his new sporting season. "For me, it is very satisfying to
play a major role in any development project. It has been great
to work with Jerôme and the guys again. I’m heading off
to another major project with Austin and we are going to be very
busy, but I will always be grateful to have been involved in this
project. Today we have completed 99 laps in the rain and we are
going to give to the teams some very useful data regarding set-up
in wet conditions".
Jerôme
Mortal sums up these two days of testing at Paul Ricard as follows:
"Today we have continued our work on both cars, focusing on
the cooling systems and new braking system for the FR 3.5 car, planned
for 2006. Due to the rain, we have been able to test different set-ups
for wet conditions, but we decided to stop testing earlier than
scheduled. Jonathan and José María have completed
332 kilometres. It’s been a hard day for José because
his car was not using the 2005 tyre compound. Overall, we have seen
that all three drivers on duty (Cochet, Kovalainen and López)
have adapted very quickly to the car".
Circuit
Paul Ricard HTTT
Solution 2D (4.150 km)
Air Temperature: 9.9°C
Dry/Wet Conditions
Formula
Renault 3.5 1’22"749 81 Laps
Megane Trophy 1'39"494 99 Laps
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