Photo: LAT Images / Joe Portlock
Super Formula racer Juri Vips set the pace on the first day of Formula Regional European Championship’s Imola test.
The Estonian joined Finnish team KIC Motorsport for the test, and immediately impressed by topping the first session of the day.
He faded slightly after that, and was someway down the order for much of the fourth and final session. Track time was limited in the afternoon after Van Amersfoort Racing’s Pierre-Louis Chovet had a heavy crash at Turn 3 that required a lengthy red flag, and Vips left it until there was 44 seconds left of the day to go before pumping in his best effort.
That toppled David Schumacher off the top, who had reunited with his father’s US Racing team with which he won four races in the series in 2019. The 18-year-old is racing in FIA Formula 3 Championship this year with Charouz Racing System.
Schumacher was fastest in the second morning session, and his pace was bettered by Prema’s Gianluca Petecof in the first of the afternoon sessions. They ended up second and third behind Vips at the end of the day.
Vips’ team-mate Patrik Pasma also left it late to set his best lap in the final session, having looked competitive earlier in the day, and he ended up just behind Petecof – and 0.672s behind – in fourth place.
Oliver Rasmussen was another who was quick in the morning, and he didn’t actually set a lap in the fourth session until after the red flag interruption. He moved up to fifth in the nine minutes he had to use, bumping Prema team-mate Arthur Leclerc down a spot.
Konsta Lappalainen (KIC), Chovet, Emidio Pesce (DR Formula) and Jamie Chadwick (Prema) completed the top 10. Chadwick made significant improvements in the final session to be be within 1.256s of leading Prema driver Petecof’s pace.
Monolite Racing’s Andrea Cola, a two-time F3 champion, also showed improved pace and was 2.873s off the front.
US Racing also had its karting graduate David Vidales in attendance, but he only set a few laps, and Matteo Nannini was supposed to drive for DR Formula but did not appear to set a lap according to live timing.
Test results
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Juri Vips | KIC Motorsport | 1m39.403s | 65 | |
| 2 | David Schumacher | US Racing | 1m39.712s | +0.309s | 63 |
| 3 | Gianluca Petecof | Prema | 1m40.040s | +0.637s | 70 |
| 4 | Patrik Pasma | KIC Motorsport | 1m40.075s | +0.672s | 73 |
| 5 | Oliver Rasmussen | Prema | 1m40.592s | +1.189s | 59 |
| 6 | Arthur Leclerc | Prema | 1m40.682s | +1.279s | 71 |
| 7 | Konsta Lappalainen | KIC Motorsport | 1m40.687s | +1.284s | 74 |
| 8 | Pierre-Louis Chovet | Van Amersfoort Racing | 1m41.080s | +1.677s | 72 |
| 9 | Emidio Pesce | DR Formula | 1m41.173s | +1.770s | 68 |
| 10 | Jamie Chadwick | Prema | 1m41.308s | +1.905s | 77 |
| 11 | David Vidales | US Racing | 1m41.846s | +2.443s | 21 |
| 12 | Andrea Cola | Monolite Racing | 1m42.276s | +2.873s | 32 |
| 13 | Matteo Nannini | DR Formula | no time |