Dayraut king of Andros

We did not have to wait for the last round, contested today in Lans en Vercors, to know the identity of the 2011 winner of the Andros Trophy. As at the end of the last two seasons, Jean-Philippe Dayraut won the grail against Alain Prost. At the start of the season, the challenge of retaining his crown did not promise to be easy because the Toulouse driver had taken the gamble of leaving the fold of a manufacturer, Skoda, to try the adventure with a private team, Saintéloc Racing, and a new car, the BMW 1 Series.

The fight was close with the four-time world champion of F1, but Dayraut had the last word, yesterday?s 2nd place proving sufficient. “ It?s the most beautiful, because it was the most difficult to take down. By starting from scratch with a new car, a new team, I had set myself a new challenge. And we must not forget that we started the season with 40 kg of ballast. By managing to have a good car and not making any big mistakes, I knew it was playable. I really believed in it. I said that Alain Prost would be my toughest opponent and that was indeed the case. » No new challenge in sight, in any case, for 2012?« I still hope to defend the interests of Saintéloc Racing next winter, because loyalty always pays. And I hope that we will manage to obtain the support of a manufacturer. »

For the second year in a row, this Lans en Vercors event had some surprises in store. Thus, like Romain Grosjean Last year, Adrien Tambay revealed himself on his second outing with a Silhouette 4×4 on the icy slopes. Best time in the first qualifying round, although he started first, the son of Patrick Tambay had the luxury of not taking part in the 2nd round. Nobody improved and, by then winning in his final, he became, at 19, the youngest winner of a round of the Andros Trophy.

« I didn?t believe it before coming. The team told me there was something to play for today. The tires were good, and I understood well what had to be done here, on a circuit which, from what I could understand, works quite well for drivers who are not necessarily Andros Trophy specialists. I think I could have gone faster in my sleeve. Perhaps I attacked too much. I am especially happy for all the people who helped me come, in particular Sébastien Chetail (Boss of Saintéloc Racing) and Bertrand Balas ". The latter, present since the birth of the discipline, which he beat during his final!