Now, here is a proper statement of intent. Van Amersfoort Racing's Francisco Macedo stamped his authority on the second day of the post-season test in Jerez, clocking the quickest time of the entire outing during a frantic morning session.
The Portuguese driver laid down a blistering 1:29.766 while the morning's qualifying simulations were in full swing. That lap proved untouchable for the rest of the day, sealing the benchmark for the Van Amersfoort Racing machine.
Morning running was punctuated by several interruptions. A brief early Red Flag for an issue involving Rodin Motorsport's Alessandro Giusti preceded an excursion into the gravel at Turn 3 for Alexander Abkhazava. Once the track went green again, the times plummeted. Ernesto Rivera grabbed the spot before Taito Kato edged ahead, only for Dion Gowda to lower the bar further with a 1:30.935 and then a 1:30.860.
The leaderboard shifted constantly as Keanu Al Azhari, Mattia Colnaghi, and Kato all took turns at the head of the pack. Kato unleashed an eye-catching 1:30.386, but Niccolò Maccagnani soon lowered the target to a 1:30.302. Shortly after, a stoppage occurred when Macedo brought out the Red Flags by stopping on track at Turn 8.
Once the action resumed, Colnaghi fired back to go top with a 1:30.037, holding a comfortable margin over the chasing pack until Jin Nakamura closed the gap. The true breakthrough came as the second hour closed, when Enzo Deligny became the first driver to crack the 1:29s, clocking a 1:29.335 for Van Amersfoort Racing. Macedo immediately answered, sealing a Van Amersfoort Racing one-two by seizing the ultimate morning time of 1:29.766.
Afternoon running brought a shift in focus toward long runs and race simulations. Alessandro Giusti bounced back from missing most of the morning to top the afternoon timesheets with a 1:30.322. A late stoppage occurred when Miguel Costa halted at the pit entry, but practice starts dominated the remainder of the session, locking the afternoon order with Giusti leading Macedo, Nakamura, Alex Powell, and Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi.
That brings the Jerez post-season test to a close, but the machines and drivers will be back out on track in Barcelona from October 26-27.
