The first national race of the year was held in Santa Oliva (Tarragona) on March 7-9, and was attended by over 70 drivers. Weather conditions were perfect for the whole weekend. The track was very particular with very tight corners and low grip.
In the first qualifying round, Johnny Pastor (XRAY) was TQ, while I?aki Pahissa and Edu Escandon (both with XRAY NT1) werenâ™t lucky and suffered different problems. In the second round, Edu Escandon was TQ, but Jose Artiles managed to improve on Eduâ™s time. In the third round Edu improved his time but again Artiles managed to TQ on that same round. At the same time I?aki, who had some trouble with his set-up, climbed to 4th position thus putting two XRAY NT1 drivers directly into the A final. But it was the last round were everything was decided. Edu improved his time again, TQing the event since Artiles couldnâ™t improve the time, while I?aki was left on 5th position.
Johny won the semi-final B and Martin Sevilla came in 2nd place; both qualified for the A final. In semi-final A there was I?aki, Carlos Peracho, Rafa Ortiz, Christian Lopez and Vicente Eres all driving NT1. I?aki, who won the semi-final, reported:
âśThe car performed perfectly after subtle changes made in the chassis on Saturday night. Special mention goes to Max power engine and Xceed Japan tires for minimal wear, which was a problem suffered by many drivers.âť
Rafa Ortiz and Vicente Eres both qualified for the A Final.
A-final
The start was a bit âśaccidentalâť leaving I?aki in 8th position and Edu (polesitter) in 5th after a crash in the first corner. After this incident both drivers managed to climb positions and I?aki even reached the leaders and was looking to be the fastest driver on track with a strong possibility of winning until he suffered a problem with his gear. Edu had a very accident-filled final and managed to finish in 5th position while Johnny finished on the #3 step of the podium.
Final results:
1 JUANITO HIDALGO
2 RAMON GUASCH PALMA 3 JOHNNY PASTOR SANCHEZ XRAY NT1
4 MARTIN SEVILLA CARBONELL XRAY NT1
5 EDUARDO ESCANDĂ“N XRAY NT1 (Pole)
6 JOSUE ARTILES SANTANA
7 MARC MOIX SOCORREGUT 8 VICENTE ERES XRAY NT1
9 RAFAEL ORTIZ CASADO XRAY NT1
10 INAKI PAHISSA LOPEZ XRAY NT1
