| Circuit Dijon Prenois '08 Racereport |
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This year, the ‘Legendary
Circuits’ racing season drew to a close with three races at the prestigious
Trophées Historiques de Bourgogne. Each year the
big question is; ‘What was the best event of the year’? With so many legendary
circuits to enjoy, the answer always depends on the personal preferences of the
person whom you are talking to. Not so this year, Dijon Prenois simply proved
to be the most competitive weekend of the year.
Free practice Thursday 9 Oct.
ABUNDANCE OF TIME
 The Trophées
Historiques know exactly what people want; track time! If you felt, that the
five sessions over the weekend were not enough for you, the organizer was kind
enough to offer six free practice sessions on top of the regular racing
opportunities. What a wonderful way to end the season. Most of the FISC
EuroTour drivers decided to add two extra sessions to their weekend, the first
one early afternoon and the second one two hours later. A fine opportunity to
reacquaint with the track after last year’s GP de l’Age d’Or. We were in for a
big surprise when entering the Courbe de Pouas for the very first time. What
used to be a tricky corner, with a very narrow gravel trap next to it and
directly followed by a thick concrete wall was changed into a modern circuit’s
corner with an escape road next to it, followed by a wide, a very wide gravel
trap. The concrete wall was still around, but only in the far distance, to the
extent that you needed field glasses to recognize the marshal post.
Free practice Friday 10 Oct.
FREE
PRACTICE BONUS, COMPLIMENTS OF ‘LEGENDARY CIRCUITS’
The amalgamation of the
‘Legendary Circuits’ grid with the French Trophée Lotus offered the opportunity
to add an extra free practice session on the Friday morning, with compliments
of both organizing series. This opportunity invited all cars onto the circuit
free of charge. For the late comers, it presented a wonderful opportunity to
recover ‘lost time’ and quickly gain experience in order to perform competently
later that day in the official qualifying. Although both grids already shared
the track without realizing in free practice earlier this year at Spa, it is
always exciting when the ‘marriage’ becomes official. However it soon became
clear, that the marriage probably would last. Although the driving was (very)
competitive at times, the usual respect allowed both grids to run close and
already one had high hopes for the weekend.
Qualifying Friday 10 0ct.
METAYER QUICKEST OF THEM ALL
 Although it
was a sunny afternoon it allowed everyone to enjoy the weather wearing T
shirts, it was only 14 degrees Celsius. Excellent temperature to put some
stress on the crankshaft. Already in his second lap the Frenchman Jérôme
METAYER in a Caterham 7 put the quickest lap of the day on the chronos, closely
followed by
Fastest lap: Jérôme METAYER (F) - Caterham Seven 1:40.653
Race #1 Saturday 11 Oct.
CARESANI TAKES
A SPECTACULAR WIN
It was the Porsche 911 of MELSE who took command right after
the start, with in his slipstream the Porsche 911 of CARESANI, shadowed by three
Lotus Seven’s and the Lotus Eleven of CANE. The Porsches were really putting on
a great show, power sliding their cars down the Gauche de la Bretelle and up
the Parabolique again. Not only for one lap, but lap after lap and in such a controlled
manner that they were soon cheered on by the French public. After MELSE was
called in for a ‘drive thru’ it was CARESANI who held the fort till the finish
line, less than one second separating him from BERNARD, Pascal METAYER ánd
Jérôme METAYER. Philippe LAMOULIE (F) came 5th and CANE in a Lotus
Eleven managed 6th.
Fastest lap: Fabrice
BERNARD (F) – Lotus Seven S1 1:41.791
Race
#2 Sunday 12 Oct.
METAYER SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT
 After starting from 3rd
place on the grid, we soon found the polesitter of race #1 in front again,
easing away from the field and finally winning the race with a considerable
lead. However behind him many little groups, all down the field, formed and
were dicing it out until the finish flag. Often three abreast into Gauche de la
Bretelle, a spectacular sight, locking and smoking tyres all over the place and
very much appreciated by the French audience. This was racing at its best and
once again proved that the marriage between Trophée Lotus and the ‘Legendary
Circuits‘ series could be a prosperous one. This time DULLAERT became 1st
in class, EVANS 2nd and
Race #3 Sunday 12 Oct.
METAYER
IN DOMINANT FORM
It was a pity that many French left early and choose not to
participate in race three. After such exhilarating racing in the first two
races, hopes were high for race #3. The fourteen diehards that stayed until the
end were not disappointed. The ‘common’ competition was taken on again, which
was mirrored in the final results of that day. The three cars of METAYER,
LAMOULIE and BERNARD now finishing within 0.2 sec’s, after 25 min’s of racing. First Dutch to arrive was DULLAERT, closely followed
by EVANS and
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