Scuderia Coloni cruises to top with Filippi in Barcelona test days

Scuderia Coloni scored some sensational results in the GP2 Series test held this week at Montmelò. The Italian-based squad, directed by Enzo and Paolo Coloni, went on top of the first session with Luca Filippi logging his best lap in 1’29”775, and that mark stood throughout the whole 2-day activities.

Filippi ran in only one session before leaving the wheel to 18-year-old Riccardo Agostini, the 2012 Italian Formula 3 Champion. Based in Padua, Agostini set the third fastest laptime of the day before being demoted for not respecting the track limits, although he retained a record in the third split.

Scuderia Coloni also provided a chance to impress on a GP2 Series car to another promising Italian racer, Eddie Cheever. The 19-year-old Roman, who was the runner-up in the Italian F.3 Championship, left a strong impression on Day 2 despite the tough and rainy weather conditions at the Catalunya venue. The team also fielded Daniel De Jong for the whole test. The Dutchman, coming from the AutoGP ranks, ended up with the second fastest laptime behind Filippi in the first session before topping the field in the afternoon in 1’30”408.

Paolo Coloni: “I'm very proud for the results scored by my drivers in this test. Even though we are set to leave this championship at the end of the year, we proved that we are one of the top teams in the series and our drivers can aim at the front end of the charts. The talent and the skills of Luca were never under discussion in 2011, when he ended up as the series runner-up in the second part of the season. The same goes for this season, when he went back to victory in just two races and scored the pole at Singapore.

"The great laptimes set at Barcelona with Daniel De Jong also highlighted our cars' performance. He was extremely fast in dry and wet weather conditions. In addition to that, we also brought on-track two guys coming from the Italian F.3 Series, Agostini and Cheever. Once again, Scuderia Coloni offered to two talented Italians a true opportunity to continue their motorsports career by lining-up for the first time on a demanding car like the GP2 Series one".

Scuderia Coloni