In Lonato, the 2012 season got off to a flying start for AVG Racing and its new PCR chassis. Motivated by the arrival of World Champion Arnaud Kozlinski in its ranks, Anton Van Grunsven’s team saw their driver claim the second step of Winter Cup podium (KZ2), at the end of a race confidently led by the Frenchman. Development work paid off and nobody doubts that this PCR-TM result will stimulate all AVG Racing Team members to do even better…
The Winter Cup highlighted again that AVG Racing can be counted among the best teams on the international scene. AVG – which is PCR importer and TM distributor in the Netherlands – maintains a close partnership with the two Italian makes and results have been fast in coming, with Arnaud Kozlinski behind the wheel.
Arnaud explains: “The circuit of Lonato is not the fastest of the season and it is essential to have a chassis with perfect track handling to make it to the podium. This is the stronghold of some of the most important Italian companies and it was important for us to show that we were there to fight for victory. The weather changed a lot during the week. We had a bit of sun, some rain and also some pretty low temperatures. Grip went often from high to low and vice versa, but I am impressed by the way my chassis reacted”.
Development work done by PCR has definitely paid off. Always very combative and determined, Kozlinski set the fastest lap time in his group already on Friday, during timed qualifying. A solid presence in the lead pack during the heats and in the pre-final, Kozlinski made an excellent start in the final and began to fight with Thonon, Hanley, Abbasse, Torsellini, De Brabander and soon also with Dreezen. Thanks to a series of fastest laps, he managed to overtake several competitors and crossed the finishing line in a superb second place.
“It is an excellent result with a view to our forthcoming CIK, WSK and German Championship meetings. I am very happy to see one of our PCR-TM on the podium. Arnaud has done a great job, just like Dylan and Sinan, who are improving race after race”, concluded Anton Van Grunsven, AVG Racing team manager.
Puhakka Joins Team
Dylan Davies and Sinan Van der Raad do not have the same degree of experience as Arnaud Kozlinski, but they continue to fight in the ultra-competitive pack of the KZ class. Indeed, the Winter Cup drivers who habitually race in KZ2 are grouped together with the best world drivers of KZ1. So it becomes very difficult to reach the top 10, though these races are very useful to make progress and approach future international meetings with better control over all the elements.
Despite this very high level, Sinan Van der Raad and Dylan Davies distinguished themselves and won their ticket for the final. The two Dutch drivers moved up of as many as 8 and 24 places respectively during the pre-final, after opting for the right adjustments. Davies was finally 18th and Van der Raad 24th, after fighting until the end with great determination. The fast Finnish driver Simo Puhakka will join AVG excellent group of drivers starting from next race in Italy (WSK Master Series).