Ex-AutoGP champion sets overall best for the Austrian team
At the final official test sessions for the Renault RS01 Trophy in Valencia, Spain, Zele Racing’s Vittorio Ghirelli set the fastest overall time.
The 20-year-old former AutoGP champion, who shares his care with prestige driver Philippe Bourgois, clocked a lap time of 1:28.847 minutes outpacing runner-up Indy Dontje by 0.377 seconds.
In his maiden outing for Zele, the team’s second pro driver, newly-signed Bas Schothorst, came fourth in 1:29.511 and he did on used tires.
Prestige driver Bourgois also fared well, only losing just over two seconds on the pro duo.
“This final test went really well for us and I believe, we are ready to go. Vittorio showed how fast the RS01 can go and we are all excited to run this programme”, team boss Michael Zele said.
The Renault RS01 Trophy will travel the globe alongside the renowned World Series by Renault 3.5 and the series champion will earn himself a drive with a Nissan Nismo works team in the Japanese Super-GT Series 2016. The best prestige driver will receive a LMP2 cockpit at next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The RS01 Trophy series opens on May 30 in Spa, Belgium, and closes on October 18 at Jerez, Spain.
