This first round of the Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup Championship was a bit disappointing for us. The vehicles, that were not in their best conditions, and some mistakes on the part of our drivers influenced the results of the two qualifying sessions, and this fact conditioned the rest of the weekend. In the free practice session, on Friday, Prema achieved with Kamui Kobayashi the best time, followed in the sixth place by Brazilian Patrick Rocha. A little bit behind Frenchman Tom Dillmann, who had set-up problems during the whole weekend. The qualifying sessions were not fortunate. In each session the drivers had only fifteen minutes. Many red flags and traffic conditions, on account of the thirty-eight cars on track, influenced the final result. In Race 1, there was a positive change in the performance of the Team, with the considerable improvement of Kobayashi and Rocha. The Japanese driver marked the fastest lap of the race, but then he was force to retire due to a contact with a rival, when he was in the scoring zone. Excellent performance for Patrick, who started in the nineteenth position and finished eighth. Tom was a bit behind because he made a mistake in the first part of the race. In the second Race our drivers Rocha, Kobayashi and Dillmann finished in the fifteenth, sixteenth and twenty-ninth positions respectively.
These are the comments of our protagonists
Angelo Rosin, Prema Team Principal said: "This was certainly a weekend that does not show our real potentialities. We had some moments of competitiveness, but it was not enough. We did not perform according to our expectations and capacities. We must analyse what happened during this weekend in order to be able to understand our mistakes, try to improve and get ready for the next appointment."
Our drivers' opinions were similar.
Tom Dillmann: "During the whole weekend I had various set-up problems. In the race, I made a mistake and went out of track, and so I had to retire."
Kamui Kobayashi: "It was a difficult weekend and I was not able to demonstrate all my potentiality. Bad luck and some set-up problems influenced my performance in the qualifying sessions. Race 1 was good, then I made a mistake and was forced to retire."
Patrick Rocha: "An unfortunate weekend. Everything was conditioned by the two qualifying sessions where I was not able to run a free lap. We have a competitive vehicle, so I have faith in the future. Race 1 was good, I started from a back position and finished in the eighth place."