Ander Vilarino and #2 TFT-Banco Santander team © EURO-RACECAR / Stéphane Azémard

Le Mans Finals – Day 1
Title contenders on top in free practices

LE MANS, France – The sun was out for the first day of the EURO-RACECAR NASCAR Touring Series season finale at Le Mans’ Bugatti circuit today (12 October) when the free practice session was more about drivers finding their marks, with rain expected throughout the weekend. This did not stop the title contenders showing their quality however, with Elite Division leader Ander Vilarino topping the times. The tension is rising, with the inaugural European NASCAR champion set to be crowned on Sunday.
Championship leader since the opening round in Nogaro, Vilarino (#2 TFT-Banco Santander) made his intentions crystal clear by setting a best lap of 1m46.318 to pace today's session. "I had little running early on and think I could go have got into the 1m45s," reported the Spaniard. "It will be a different story when the weather changes, but I am very happy because the car is working well." Currently third in the championship, Javier Villa (#64 Gonneau Racing) kept his fellow countryman honest with a lap of 1m46.562. "This is the first time I've driven at this legendary venue," said the Asturian. "Today I was happy to learn the track and check that everything was in order on the car.Tomorrow I'm going to attack."

Romain Thievin (#99 Still Racing-Exotics Racing) completed the top-three with a best effort of 1m46.672. "I was handicapped by my braking and soon damaged my tyres," he reported. Meanwhile Freddy Nordström (#44 Orhès Competition) was somewhat surprised to record the fourth best lap, circulating in 1m47.947s. "The track was very slippery and I wasn't comfortable in the car," he said. "I honestly thought I'd be outside the top-10. Tomorrow is another day and I don't want to make any predictions as I’ve had very little wet running in this car."

In the Open Division everything remains up for grabs approaching the final stretch with a dozen drivers still able claim the championship crown. Simon Escallier (#19 Scorpus Racing), who scored a brace of victories in Spain two weeks ago, is adopting a methodical approach. "It took us a few laps to get started because we didn't opt for the right tyre pressures," he said. "We will debrief tonight and prepare for tomorrow's qualifying." Meanwhile points leader Tanguy Ide (#44 Orhès Competition) could not make the most of his car because of the conditions. "I started the session before handing over to Freddy (Nordström) and the track was very slippery," he reported afterwards.

Although Le Mans is the final event of the 2012 championship, several drivers took the opportunity to gettheir first taste of the discipline and in some cases prepare for next season, including Olivier Porta (#96 Tile TFT-Alpes). "I had a great time," he enthused. "It is like nothing else and you need to be very exact at the controls. I am convinced that this series offers the best combination of price, performance and pleasure!" Gaël Castelli (#6 Rapido Racing), a former champion in the Peugeot THP Spider Cup, was also satisfied. "I was surprised by the performance of the engine," he noted. "The car offers excellent lateral grip, but on my first run it was particularly important to adapt to the gearbox. In any case, I'm very happy!"

Tomorrow's programme sees two further free practice sessions, qualifying and the Open sprint race take place at the French circuit.