It was a perfect opportunity to shine for the Porsches, the first day of the non-mandatory tests organised by GT Spot at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, with sunny and not too warm weather offering perfect conditions.
The two Porsche teams that will make their debut this season in the GT Open, Fach Auto Tech and ZRS Motorsport, had a mano-a-mano duel, sharing P1 in all sessions.
The Swiss squad fielded its two 911R GT3 Evo II that will race in the championship, with the two Alexanders, Fach and Schwager, in the Pro-Am car and Joel Monegro Reyes in the Am car. The former posted the best lap time of the day (1.39.986) in the fourth of the five sessions, being the only one pair below the 1’40” threshold.
Both ‘Alexanders’ seemed very happy: “It’s been a very fruitful day, which has been mostly very useful to adapt to the Michelin tyres, new for us, which is our main challenge and objective. We progressed well through the sessions and are very happy with the work done today.”
Their teammate, Joel Monegro Reyes was equally satisfied: “This year I am debuting with a GT3 and it’s also my first time out of mono-brand trophies, and it’s important to have testing opportunities like this. The team is simply fantastic and is giving me all support”, commented the first Dominican driver that will contest the GT Open, adding with wit: “I am used to being the first Dominican in a series… There are few GT drivers from my country … and we all know each other!”
GT3 racing will also be a novelty for ZRS Motorsport, the reputed Italian team of Niccolò Zambon, which debuts with the excellent credentials gained in the GT Cup Europe and other series. Expert GT driver Alex Fontana and young gun Pietro Armanni, the reigning GT Cup Europe vice champion, are at the wheel of the black-carbon car and posted the second-best time of the day (1.40.186), only 2 tenths sharp from the lead.
Pietro Armanni summarisedreceive the team’s mood: “It has been a very good day of work, and I think we will have an excellent package. We are eager to be delivered the Evo II car that is due to arrive shortly, and we should have the time for a quick test in Italy before going to Portimão for the season-opener.”
tests organised