Zeta Corse enjoyed a trouble-free run on the first day of the Jerez World Series by Renault test. The last pre-season outing for the F.Renault 3.5 field saw the Russian team focus on bagging as many laps as possible, evaluting different technical solutions and collecting data that will help them in finding the perfect base setup for the season to come. On Monday a faultless effort by the team’s technical staff saw the cars driven by Roberto Merhi and Roman Mavlanov complete an astounding 118 laps, more than any other team in the paddock. 68 of them were under Mavlanov’s belt, as the Russian young gun worked hard to build up his confidence with both the car and a track where he had never driven before.
In the meantime, on the team’s #22 car former DTM racer Roberto Merhi upped his game considerably compared to Alcaniz, clocking laptimes that were just a few tenths off the top-ten. The talented Spaniard managed that despite Zeta Corse being one of the only two teams that opted for running in full 2014 aero specs, with no sideskirts and hence less downforce available.
Roberto Merhi: S1 – P16; S2 – P13
“Compared to Motorland Aragon my confidence with the car has definitely improved, as well as my pace. I feel at home again on a single seater, and in the meantime the car’s setup has improved as well. We are very close to the top ten and considering that my car was one of just four in 2014 spec, a bit slower due to a decrease in available downforce, I feel confident that before the end of the test we’ll be able to get to top-5 pace”.
Roman Mavlanov: S1 – P21; S2 – P21
“I had never driven Jerez before, and I have to say that it’s a really challenging track on such a quick car as the F.Renault 3.5. That’s why today I focused on putting as many miles as possible under my belt, finding the right lines in the fast sweepers and increasing my confidence with the car, especially in hi-speed corners. I made no mistakes and that’s a good way to start, but there’s definitely more to come”.