06.02.2004 ALFA ROMEO JOINED BY OTHER ETCC TEAMS FOR A TWO DAY TEST SESSION AT VALENCIA

Autodelta Alfa Romeo 156 GTA

Alfa Romeo, BMW and Seat were all present at a two day test session for European Touring Car Championship teams at Valencia which finished yesterday. The Italian marque was represented by Autodelta, who were joined by new satellite outfit, Oregon.

On the opening day of the test, Gabriele Tarquini was clocked at 1:42.2 in his Autodelta Alfa Romeo 156 GTA, which remained an unbeatable time, although it was equalled by Alfa Brazilian new boy Augusto Farfus.

The SEAT Sport team impressed over the two days. The two Toledo Cupra cars of Frank Diefenbacher and Jordi Gené lapped consistently in good times, which were only a few tenths slower than those set by Alfa Romeo and BMW.  Diefenbacher, and BMW Team Great Britain’s Andy Priaulx set identical times, both post a 1:42.5, while Gené was just one further tenth behind.

“We were very pleased with these tests. Our car was very good with the new aerodynamics package and some small improvements in the suspension. We are now looking forward to receive the new engine step. So far the new season looks very promising for us. Our car is improving, and hopefully we will to improve more than Alfa Romeo and BMW can do, managing to close the gap,” said Frank Diefenbacher.

The Oregon Team took also part in the test, with Luca Rangoni, Salvatore Tavano and Michele Bartyan taking stints at the wheel of the team’s only Alfa Romeo 156 GTA. They were all impressive, as their best lap times were close to the works drivers, 1:42.7 for Rangoni and Bartyan, 1:42.9 for Tavano.

The third Autodelta pilot to run in Valencia was Fabrizio Giovanardi, returning to the team after a season with BMW. However he did not test on new tyres, and his times remained higher, a 1:43.4 was his best lap.

Meanwhile Scuderia Bigazzi, who ran two Alfa Romeo 156 GTA's in the ETCC last year, have confirmed that they do not have the budget to take part this year and will instead step back to undertake an Italian Touring Car program.