Junior Lotus Racing showed strong form in qualifying for Race 1 of the final round of this year’s Formula Renault 3.5 Series at the Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona. Unfortunately, Nelson Panciatici was denied a strong result when he was forced wide and into the gravel on the opening lap of the race.
Frenchman Panciatici made a good start to the race and was up to seventh at the beginning, but lost a lot of time after being elbowed off the track. He was therefore down to 21st at the end of the opening lap and could only recover to 16th by the end.
British teammate Dean Stoneman, the newly-crowned FIA Formula 2 Champion, made his Formula Renault 3.5 debut in the other Junior Lotus Racing machine. He ran very strongly in testing on Friday, taking the 10th fastest time in the second session. He qualified 19th and finished 18th, two placed behind Panciatici.
Peter Crolla, team manager of the Mofaz Racing-run squad, said: “Race 1 was looking pretty good after qualifying, especially with Nelson’s grid position. He made a good start but unfortunately he was pushed wide. He worked his way back up the order but got stuck behind some slower cars and couldn’t make a break to work his way past them. Ultimately, it was a tough race caused by bad luck on the first lap.
“Dean drove a fairly solid race and brought it home. He was learning that adapting to this car is quite difficult and it was a tough race for him. It’s definitely a step up from what he has done before.”
After Race 1′s low-aerodynamic-downforce race, the cars return to conventional downforce for Race 2, which also features pit-stops. Both cars ran extremely strongly in low-aeros, with Panciatici setting times in the top three.
Race 2 would be the last round of the season, meaning that the MOFAZ Racing-operated Junior Lotus Racing team is hoping for a strong result to carry into the forthcoming off-season.
“I think that the high downforce will suit both of our guys and we’re certainly looking forward to a good final race of 2010,” said Crolla. “Both of them showed very good pace yesterday and we’re hoping they can carry that over.”
In Race 2, Junior Lotus Racing finished the year at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya with a strong sixth place for Nelson Panciatici, while his team-mate Dean Stoneman, on his debut weekend in the category, finished 14th.
Wet conditions made the going tricky for all the drivers, especially during qualifying in the morning. Panciatici qualified eighth fastest on the grid, whilst Stoneman had to settle for P21. Panciatici ran in seventh place early in the race, and emerged after the pit-stop cycle in sixth, a position he was able to retain to the finish. Stoneman made up positions both before and after the pit-stops. He rose as high as 12th before sliding wide on the penultimate lap and losing two positions after going through the gravel, but he set an impressive fifth fastest race lap.
Team manager Peter Crolla said: “We were really quite pleased with this afternoon’s race. It was looking like a tricky day as far as tactics were concerned, but the weather made those decisions easier for us because it was constantly wet in the race.”
“Both drivers made good starts and managed to avoid some incidents early in the race, and they read the conditions well when others were struggling.”
“Nelson had a good qualifying. Conditions were difficult but he got a good time in and we were quite content with his position. Then he ran well in the race and we were able to call the pit stop to our advantage as far as track position was concerned. Dean had a good, progressive weekend, his first with a professional racing team, and it was an excellent build-up to his Williams Formula 1 test in Abu Dhabi.”
The season finished with Panciatici claiming equal 11th in the drivers’ championship, and Junior Lotus Racing taking ninth in the teams’ table, but the activity doesn’t stop: the Wellingborough-based team will take in two days of Formula Renault 3.5 testing this week at the Circuit de Catalunya, before three days of running next week at the Navarra circuit.
“This has been the first season for MOFAZ Racing and Junior Lotus Racing,” said Crolla. “It has been a learning-curve year but there have been some good results. Overall we have a strong team, which we should fortify beginning with the upcoming tests in preparation for next year.”
Issued by:
Adit Raham
MOFAZ Group Head of Communications
Barcelona 11th October 2010