Sam Dejonghe sets record pace in Valencia Auto GP test
Belgian rookie Sam Dejonghe set the quickest Auto GP lap ever recorded at Valencia at the conclusion of the opening collective test of 2014
Fellow rookie and former Formula 2 race winner Markus Pommer ended the day second fastest for reigning champion Super Nova, and was just 0.056s shy of Dejonghe's benchmark time.
Dejonghe's time of 1m20.74s impressed his Virtuosi UK team as it was set against several established Auto GP frontrunners, including 2012 championship challenger Kimiya Sato.
"For a lad that never drove the car before, he only had a one day session made up of two half days, and unbelievable how he took the car coming from an F3 car," said Virtuosi UK team boss Declan Logan.
Dejonghe, who was a frontrunner in the India-based MRF series over the winter, is aiming to secure a vacant seat at Virtuosi alongside series returnee Andrea Roda.
Tuesday pacesetter Tamas Pal Kiss was third for Zele Racing, and the Hungarian headed the times in the slower afternoon session.
Andrea Roda took fourth, 0.018s ahead of Puma 3/Eurotech racer Kevin Giovesi.
MLR71/Euronova racer Sato had to leave the test prematurely to head to Bahrain, where he will make his GP2 debut for Campos. The Japanese had been fourth fastest, but his time of 1m21.581s secured an eventual sixth place.
Three compounds of Kumho tyre were made available for evaluation by the 16 drivers, as the series gears up for the opening 2014 meeting in Marrakech on April 12-13.
Combined day two times: Pos Driver Team Time Gap Laps 1. Sam DeJonghe Virtuosi 1m20.741s 45 2. Markus Pommer Super Nova 1m20.797s +0.056s 60 3. Tamas Pal Kiss Zele 1m21.253s +0.512s 35 4. Andrea Roda Virtuosi 1m21.414s +0.673s 67 5. Kevin Giovesi Puma 3/Eurotech 1m21.432s +0.691s 60 6. Kimiya Sato MLR71/Euronova 1m21.581s +0.840s 24 7. Gianmarco Raimondo Super Nova 1m21.663s +0.922s 50 8. Michela Cerruti Super Nova 1m21.686s +0.945s 59 9. Loris Spinelli Puma 3/Eurotech 1m22.276s +1.535s 68 10. Richard Gonda Virtuosi 1m22.605s +1.864s 48 11. Giuseppe Cipriani Ibiza 1m22.743s +2.002s 64 12. Yoshitaka Koruda MLR71/Euronova 1m23.480s +2.739s 31 13. Salvatore De Plano MLR71/Euronova 1m23.928s +3.187s 11 14. Michele La Rosa MLR71/Euronova 1m23.992s +3.251s 42
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