Stefano D’Aste shows impressive speed on return

The shock of the test at Porto was the pace right out of the box of 2007 Independents’ Trophy Champion Stefano D’Aste, whom set the fifth fastest time in Friday’s test session.

The Italian has returned to the FIA World Touring Car Championship for the first time since Okayama last October, and was fast from his first flying lap in the 30 minute test session.

The BMW-driver ended up fifth, 1.8s down on the best time from Chevrolet’s Rob Huff and the second fastest of the Yokohama Independents’ class runners.

“For me it is the first time (I’m driving the car) without doing any testing and to do at it city track is not the best,” D’Aste told TouringCarTimes.

“The engine has a lot of power and a lot of torque and it is more difficult to drive than the naturally aspirated. The turbo engine in the corner, when you have the torque from the turbo the car starts oversteering.”

“I think that when we get the feeling (of the car), we can be quicker but I also know that the other drivers will also be quicker.”

D’Aste says he was shocked when he found out he was in fifth in the session.

“I was surprised, when I was on the track on the radio they told me ‘Oh good, Stefano you’re fifth’, and I thought, oh fifth of the independents, okay that’s not bad. When they told me fifth overall I though ‘oh sh…'”.