Positive takeaways after maiden 2020 test

Sunday marked the first time in almost a year that Alex Cascatău has stepped behind the wheel of a Norma M20 FC and it all happened as he and BSRacing prepare for a full-blown assault on the Supercar Challenge’s CN category this season.

As the racing world slowly but surely wakes up from its slumber, series around the globe have begun to once again stage race weekends and that’s exactly what the Supercar Challenge, the most important sportscar racing series in the Netherlands, plans to do come August. Looking forward to the belated season kick off at Circuit Zolder, the series organisers arranged an official pre-season test day at the same track that plays host to the first round of the season. As a new team running in the CN ranks, BSRacing couldn’t miss the opportunity to get to know the Norma M20 FC it will be campaigning this season but unforeseen circumstances heavily curtailed the running.

The goal was for Alex and his team mate, Alain Berg, along with the team’s mechanics, to get to grips with the car and get back to driving after such a long break. A run in the early hours of the test day on Sunday was cut short by a gearbox issue. After the problem was mended, Alex was back behind the wheel and he managed to reel in a 1:32.8 in his first flying lap, displaying encouraging speed given the elongated off-season and the fact that the focus of the test wasn’t around outright lap times but, instead, running in various components.

Unfortunately, Berg couldn’t complete more than one flyer himself as the organisers had set a 98 dB noise limit and the Norma M20 FC, despite the added mufflers, was way louder than that. With the noise-related regulations rigidly policed, the team decided to park the CN prototype and instead turn some laps in a car from BSRacing’s past, the Radical SR3 that the team brought along as a backup and training car.

As a more approachable car compared to the Norma, the Radical SR3 was a perfect tool for Alex to better understand the new, faster surface of circuit Zolder as well as its smoother curbs that allow for heavy clattering even in a prototype. As the team looks on towards the start of the season while also planning for another test day on a date when there are no noise limits at Circuit Zolder, Alex feels upbeat about his chances this year although competition is bound to be tough in the CN class.

The first race of the 2020 Supercar Challenge is set to take place in Zolder, on the 7-9th of August.

Timing results from the test can be found here: https://getraceresults.com/Results/organisator/2020/evenement/Zolder?race=VRM+Test+Day+12-07-2020