Fruitful setup work for Pons Racing in Day 1 at Alcañiz testing
Today in a surprisingly sunny and warm Alcañiz (considering that in 2013 the first test of the season in Motorland Aragón had to be called off due to a snow storm), Pons Racing tackled the official start of their 2014 World Series by Renault campaign: the team owned by Sito Pons and managed by Emilio De Villota took part in Day 1 of the season’s first collective test, an event that saw the WSR paddock gather after the 3-month long winter break. Lining up F.Renault 3.5 expert Daniil Move and series rookie Meindert Van Buuren, the outfit enjoyed a very fruitful day, carrying out an extensive programme focused on setup work and on tire evaluation tests, aimed at understanding the new 2014 compound provided by Michelin. Without pushing for raw performance both Move and Van Buuren drove flawlessly, helping the team in completing their technical tasks and leaving a strong impression on the technical staff. Daniil Move: “I was really eager to drive Pons’ car and I have to say that it didn’t
disappoint me. Despite some engine woes and a DRS glitch that disturbed our afternoon session, I was really happy with the car’s behaviour. I’m under the impression that the team has found a very good baseline setup that will work well on the vast majority of the tracks we have in the calendar. Maybe it needs some refining for a peculiar track like Alcañiz, but overall it’s really good”.
Meindert Van Buuren: “Given the fact that as I’m testing for the whole three days I’ll have plenty of time to push hard, today I decided to take it quite easy. The car is very different and much quicker in corners compared to the one I raced last year, so I need some time to get acquainted to it. Anyway my first impression is very good, I believe that the Pons Racing staff has done a great job, and that the car that we have at the moment is good at least for a top ten placement”.
