Bailly wins again

The 2006 season continues to be rich and intense for Kosmic, both in terms of engineering and results. Over the past few weeks the team has been racing on several famous tracks. What with another fine win for Benjamin Bailly in the French championship meeting in Lavelanet, a top 5 place for Jérémy Iglesias at the Open Masters in Sarno, and Darren Bressaglia’s successful outing in the European championship race at Varennes sur Allier, Olivier Maréchal and his team of top mechanics have been in the headlines all month.

Each new French championship meeting provides an opportunity for the Kosmic team to shine and demonstrate the quality of its race preparation. While Olivier Maréchal was away in Japan at the World Cup meeting in Suzuka, the rest of the team kept the Kosmic colours flying in clinical fashion down in Lavelanet at the end of May. The result was a fantastic haul of performances. Top of the pile was the superb victory notched up by Benjamin Bailly, his second win in three races. “I tucked right in behind Abbasse from the start of the final race. As my fastest lap time shows, I was faster than him, so I was able to keep the pressure on him all the while. I prepared my attack carefully and I managed to get past him finally coming out of the straight,” explained the hero of the day. “Coming on top of my 2nd place in the pre-final, this victory throws the championship race wide open”.
Jan Daems, who provides Benjamin with race support, added: “a big positive for us is that Benjamin was not the only one to turn in a good performance in ICA. All our drivers were in contention at different times in the race but in the end experience triumphed”. Indeed, Ronnie Latinne drove a splendid race in the pre-final, carving through the field to cross the line in 10th place after being down in 28th place. Then in the final race he climbed another two places. “This is only my first season in France, so I wasn’t expecting to be in 7th place in championship standings!” said Ronnie enthusiastically.

Mickaël Albert was looking good in the heats but unfortunately the final proved to be fatal for him. On the other hand, Brazilian driver Nathan Da Silva caused a sensation in his first outing for Kosmic. “I saw just how competitive this team can be. They won my confidence straight away and provided me with a Kosmic/Vortex machine that proved to be very fast. I was 4th fastest in my group, finished 3rd and 4th in the heats and then came 6th in the pre-final race. Just great! I was hoping to do even better in the final but unfortunately a little mistake saw me spin off. Still, the results are very encouraging for the rest of the season”.

“Since the start of my career I have driven for a number of teams but I don’t for one minute regret joining Kosmic for the 2006 season. They are always making improvements and the progress is tangible from one race to the next”, commented Formula A driver Darren Bressaglia. It was in Lavelanet that Darren got his first chance to measure up to some of the best French championship drivers. 3rd fastest in the time trials, he was pleased to be on the 3rd line of the pre-final race starting grid. He lost some time when Poncelet attacked him in the race but held his line to cross the line in 5th place. He went on to take 6th place in the final, which puts him 7th in the overall championship standings. Following this, Darren drove what must be one of the best races of his life in Formula A. The lad from Luxembourg brilliantly climbed from 21st to 9th in Race 1. So he was a bit disappointed when he learnt that Race 2 had been cancelled. “I really fought hard to get that 7th spot but in the end it was all for nothing. Still, I’d like to say a big thank you to the team for helping me get this result”. Jérémy Iglesias was not so happy in Varennes after having done so well in the Italian championships the week before. Still, he did manage to pick up a few points. “I haven’t had much luck all season, lamented Jérémy, “so I was chuffed to get that result in the Open Masters in Sarno”.
Team manager Olivier Maréchal was also keen to congratulate Sébastien Bailly, who was racing with the Juniors. “He grows more confident with each race and is one of the fastest and most consistent drivers around, as his 3rd place on the final podium in the French championship race in Lavelanet proves. Nobody was expecting him to do so well. It is very rewarding for everyone at Kosmic, both at the factory and in the race team, to see so many of our works drivers and private entrants on the podium or amongst the front runners”.