Formula Renault 2.0
William Vermont (ARTA Engineering) and Ed Jones (Fortec Motorsports) dominated in Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 testing on Friday, going fastest in the morning and afternoon sessions respectively. It was Jones, however, who set the best lap of the day at the Red Bull Ring, the Emirati driver finishing ahead of Luca Ghiotto (Prema Powerteam) and Oscar Tunjo (Josef Kaufmann Racing).
There was bright sunshine as the 34 drivers took to the Red Bull Ring track. And the action in the morning session proved suitably hot, with the fastest time changing hands on several occasions.
Oliver Rowland (Manor MP Motorsport) went fastest at the session’s halfway stage, before being outpaced first by Oscar Tunjo and then by Ed Jones. Eight minutes from the end, however, William Vermont moved top before posting three further improvements. The Frenchman’s fastest time of 1:30.894 ensured he finished the session on top, ahead of Ignazio D’Agosto (KTR), Luca Ghiotto, Pierre Gasly (Tech 1 Racing) and Oscar Tunjo.
Temperatures continued to rise in the afternoon, and the second session was every bit as hard-fought as the first. Twenty minutes into the session, and after several changes at the top of the timesheets, Ed Jones went fastest. But then, with ten minutes remaining, William Vermont and then Pierre Gasly regained control.
At the end of the session, Oscar Tunjo, Luca Ghiotto and Ed Jones all set fastest times. But, with a lap of 1:30.512 five minutes from the end, it was Jones who finished the session on top, less than a tenth of a second from Luca Ghiotto and Oscar Tunjo. Gustav Malja (Josef Kaufmann Racing) and Jake Dennis (Fortec Motorsports) completed the top five, with the first 12 drivers separated by less than half a second.
What they said :
Ed Jones : "We’re delighted with this performance. I really wasn’t expecting it. I’m hoping to get a victory as quickly as possible in this competition, but we’ll need to give our very best in qualifying. I’ll need to be consistent on the new tyres, as you reach peak performance quickly in this heat. I live in Dubai, so perhaps that will give me an advantage."
William Vermont : "It’s been a pretty good start to the weekend. The most important thing is to replicate this performance in both qualifying and the race. It feels good to make a solid start after what was an unsuccessful meeting at Moscow."
Luca Ghiotto : "This heat makes things difficult for everyone. We finished third this morning and second in the afternoon, so it’s been a good start to the weekend. I think we can be hopeful of a good performance in qualifying, even though the field is very tight. The car is in good shape and the team has done a great job so far. Now we just need to turn that into results over the weekend."
Official Renault Sport Press Release.