Florent Cazalot (Lotus Seven) fastest in qualifying
Five Portuguese cars in Top-8
Race 1 will be broadcasted LIVE on Youtube
On a day that the sleepy French town of Pau once again welcomed the Pau Classic Grand Prix, thirty-nine Historic Endurance race cars hit the asphalt of Circuit de Pau-Ville for the free practice and qualifying sessions ahead of the weekend's two races. On a track partly designed in the Pyrenees-Atlantics in the 1930s, experienced French driver Florent Cazalot took advantage of all the qualities of his GTP & SC category Lotus Seven to post an impressive lap time of 1min33s600, which will allow him to start tomorrow from the first place on the grid.
Joining him on the front row will be the Ford Escort RS 1600 of Miguel Ferreira/Francisco Carvalho. The Portuguese duo showed again their audacity in the curves and countercurves of the picturesque 2.7 kilometers long circuit, setting the best time among the H-1971 category cars.
In a day where the Portuguese "armada" was in evidence in the streets of Pau, Vasco Nina was a pleasant surprise, performing the third best "crono" of the session. His Porsche 911 2.8 was the fastest among the H-1976 cars, beating former FIA WEC driver Paul Daniels (Porsche 911 2.8 RSR) that will start from the tenth place. The Portuguese driver of the Porsche 911 2.8 prepared by Aurora Motorsport will share the second row of the grid with the Lotus Elan of the H-1971 class of Joaquim Soares, who, despite being a rookie here, proved to be particularly at ease on the streets of Pau.
The BMW 2800 CS of Domingos Sousa Coutinho/Rui Maia was another good surprise in the qualifying session, obtaining the third fastest time among the H-1971 and eighth among the five classes; a result that gives serious hopes of a podium position in Rui Maia's debut in the French circuit.
The fifth best time in the afternoon was held by João Mira Gomes/Nuno Afoito, whose Lotus Seven beat the identical car of the Frenchman Savinien Legeleux by 0.141s, in a duel where the second fastest time among the GTP & SC cars was also at stake.
PLENTY OF OTHER REASONS OF INTEREST
Elsewhere in the pack, Damien Kohler, who has entered a Diva F10 but will be driving his Lotus Elan as the unusual British sportscar is not operational this weekend, was seventh fastest this afternoon, the fastest of the H-1965s, slightly ahead of Japan's Katsu Kobota and Sweden's Per-Ake Forsvall, both also driving Elans.
Among the cars in the GDS category, which are in record numbers in Historic Endurance this weekend, the Austin Mini Cooper S of David Barrere/Philippe Quiriere made the best lap time, which is not a surprise since this is a car, which in the 2019 edition, was one of the fastest on track under wet conditions. Particularly comfortable on this track, Michel Mora (Porsche 911 SWB) made the GDS category second time, followed by the duo Simon Hutson/Stephen Monk (Porsche 911 Type 901).
SATURDAY WE GO RACING
Tomorrow, it is with great enthusiasm and high expectations that the eclectic Historic Endurance field will tackle the first of two races at Circuit de Pau-Ville, embodying the spirit of the three 3Cs - "No Crashing, No Cheating, No Complaning" - on and off the track.
You can follow the race at 13:30 (UK Time) no Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhDEX0IkeNs
