That’s the verdict of the Barcelona test, after that the second day saw again both the Italian team’s cars in the top spots of the standings.

Michael Herck was amazing in the morning session, posting the quickest laptime of the whole test in 1’29”608: this was enough to outpace Sam Bird and Romain Grosjean by just 0.030 seconds in an incredibly hard-fought session. In the afternoon Michael focused on race simulations, completing the programs despite some red flags and closing the session in P15.

Bringing Scuderia Coloni on top in the last session was Davide Rigon, the Italian now feeling at ease with the Dallara-Renault car. Davide, who in the morning had clinched P6 with a good 1’29”754 despite some traffic, closed the afternoon session in second place stopping the clock on 1’30”591. His laptime could have been even better, as he was forced to abort two tries due to red flags, so being unable to make the most of fresh Pirelli rubber.

So, the team gets back from Spain with a very positive balance, feeling ready to challenge for podium positions right from the first Turkish races.

Michael Herck: “This was the best possible way to get prepared for the season. We know that in Istanbul the competition will be very hard as our opponents are going to give all, but closing the last test on top gives us a very good feeling. In the morning the conditions were so good that we went for performance as everybody else: the outcome was a sort of qualifying session, and clinching 1st place was really great. Then in the afternoon we worked for the race, as understanding the way this tyres wear will be a key factor for the Championship.”

Davide Rigon: “Today was another very good day. Now I have a good feeling with the car and also a good understanding of how to get the best performance from the tyres. Looking at our competitiveness level we can be very happy as we were the quickest out there, and it could have been even better without some bad luck: this morning during my best lap I was slowed down by traffic in Sector 3, I lost around 3 tenths and considering that my laptime could have been easily a 1’29”5, putting me on top of the whole test. Also in the afternoon I couldn’t make the most of my new tyres because of the red flags, but I’m happy anyway. We did a great job with the team and we know where we can still improve, so it’s looking really good for us”.

As the first day of testing at Barcelona kicked off on Tuesday, Chilton continued to build on the progress the team made last time out at Silverstone. Chilton was sixth fastest in the first session, which put him eighth quickest of the day overall, while Turvey was 14th in the sister Carlin car.

Turvey was on the pace in the opening session on Wednesday, and went second quickest on his new tyre run. By the end of the session, the British racer was eighth quickest, while Chilton was 10th, completing a strong morning for the Carlin team.

Happy with the overall pace of the car, the team focused on race simulation and pit stops in the final session on Wednesday afternoon, with both drivers providing the team with valuable feedback ahead of the first race of the season.

Reflecting on the test, Chilton said, “We had a really productive test in Barcelona. The car felt quick with both new and old tyres and I feel like we have done some very useful preparation ahead of the first race. Its hard to know what everyone is doing in testing, people have new tyres on at different times – but we’re happy with the progress we’ve made as a team and I can’t wait to get racing again now.”

Trevor Carlin was happy with the team’s performance adding, “The team did a fantastic job this week. Both drivers were consistently amongst the front runners on their new tyre runs and we also worked through a detailed test programme which included longer runs and race simulation. We’re very impressed with Max’s pace in the car; he is consistently quick, while we must also thank Oliver for another great job helping the team in Barcelona.”

The next time the Carlin team will be on track will be for the first race of the season in Istanbul, Turkey from 6 – 8 May.

Arriving with a glowing reputation into Formula Renault 3.5 this year, a category regarded as one of the premier feeder championships for Formula One, the 18-year-old delivered two impressively strong race performances for Comtec Racing – markedly improving his pace throughout the event.

His best result came in race two where a fantastically well judged drive from 24th on the grid was rewarded with a top 15 finish ahead of a number of much more experienced racers. In the process, Daniël posted a quickest lap time of 1m45.135 seconds – just 0.8 seconds away from the best of all.

In the opening 45-minute encounter, Daniël was 19th at the finish with a best lap time within 1.4 seconds of the fastest of the race. All in all a very promising debut in his monstrous 480bhp, 3.5-litre car – a huge step-up from the 2.0-litre Formula Renault he’s raced for the last couple of years.

“I’m really satisfied with my debut”, said the Westmaas driver, “I think we did a really good job, we improved our pace a lot and in the end came away with two strong race finishes. Finishing 15th in race two was a really great start to my season, there are so many quick and experienced drivers in Formula Renault 3.5 so to do so well on my first weekend has given me a lot of confidence.”

Running with backing from Karpack, Boix and De Jong ECOCUPS, Daniël aspires to steadily increase his pace throughout the 18-race season and be in a position to challenge for the top 10 ahead of a full championship bid in 2012.

Formula Renault 3.5 is unquestionably one of the highest profile single-seater championships directly below Formula One and continually develops future Grand Prix Racing talent. Daniël’s aim, unsurprisingly, is to use hoped for success in FR 3.5 to make the leap into the world of F1.

He added: “Of course, every driver hopes to make it to Formula One in the future and I’m no different – that’s my main goal. Being in Formula Renault 3.5 is a fantastic place to be seen so if we can be successful in this championship, it’ll be very important for my career.”

There is now little more than a week to wait until the next round of the 2011 Formula Renault 3.5 Series with races three and four of the season scheduled to take place at Spa-Francorchamps, in Belgium, over the weekend 30th April/1st May.

Photo by Renault Sport Media.

Like all young motorsport professionals, Afiq has developed his racecraft through national and regional kart championships, proving his exceptional talent by winning at all levels. For the 2010 JK season, Meritus -
together with Afiq’s dedicated family – arranged a corporate scholarship programme. This allowed the young Malaysian to compete at many of the 2010 championship events throughout the region. The high-point of the 2010 season saw Afiq on the podium during the Asian Festival of Speed (AFOS) on the Guangdong circuit in China.

Says Afiq: “I am no longer the Rookie and a lot is expected of me. During our pre-season testing programme we worked hard and I am happy that we have a good set-up for the new JK spec tyres. However there were six drivers with whom I traded slots on the top of the times sheets, depending on who was on new tyres. We were pushing each other to the limit and I am expecting very close racing and tough competition. With the added unpredictable Sepang weather, I am sure that our races during the Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix will be packed with action and I hope to hear the support of our Malaysian fans cheering from full grandstands.”

Afiq goes on to say: “Like every sportsperson, my goal is no less than any other: I aim for the very best position in all the races and I hope at the end of this season I will earn enough points to make the sponsors, my team and family proud. Together with my team mates I also want to help the team win the Series Team Trophy; they have worked very hard and with their support and motivation I am now about to fulfill my lifelong dream of racing a formula car at our own Petronas Malaysian F1 Grand Prix.”

Afiq has been given a great opportunity by his father and corporate Malaysia, and his performance during the 20-day pre-season test programme is very encouraging. Now, with thousands of kilometers of Sepang track
time he has improved his racecraft and hopes to be a ‘Pretender’ for the Series laurels! While he is humbled by the support he receives he is under no illusion of the up-hill battle ahead.

This season, the grid is stronger than ever before, but with 18 rounds to go the champion will not be crowned at the first race. All competitors have been well-prepared by great Asian teams, their engineers and
technicians. There is truly no ‘hot favorite’ to win the opening rounds at the Petronas Grand Prix which promises to be a very exciting start to the season on the new JK Spec tyres.

Says Firhat Mohkzani MERITUS Managing Director: “It has been almost 4 years since a Malaysian won the Asian Pacific junior development series and I have faith that Afiq will give his very best. He has the ability to give back to his country and to the sport as Jazeman Jaafar did in 2007.”

Firhat goes on to say: “each year this series sees drivers from all over the globe racing against our young Asian heros, while our past Asian championship-winners are now competing in Europe and winning podium
positions in European series such as F3 and GP3. Since Petronas brought the first Formula1 event to Malaysia ten years ago, Asian motorsport has increased 15-fold and our driving talent continues to improve every season.”

The organizer of the series, Motorsport Asia Ltd, (MAL) has negotiated a 3-year title sponsorship contract with JK Tyres & Industries of India and the series formerly known as the Formula BMW Pacific Series will now be called the ‘JK Racing Asia Series,’ or JKRAS for short. The sponsorship investment from JK allows the organizer to reach an agreement with Mr Bernie Ecclestone’s Formula One Management (FOM) and the series is confirmed as a support race at three Asian Grands Prix: the Petronas Malaysian GP, the Singapore GP and the inaugural Indian GP.

In addition to the three F1GP events there will be an additional three AFOS (Asian Festival of Speed) events in Indonesia, Guangdong China and a second event in Sepang Malaysia in early May. The series follows the same points scoring system as used in Formula1, with points going to the Series Driver Championship, the Rookie Cup and the best two team scoring drivers will earn points for the Series Team Trophy.

Angelo Rosin:
“Vicky has lots of potential and room for improvement. All we have to do is enable her to keep improving from the first pre-season tests. It’s the first time we work together with a female racer and it’ll be a privilege for us to make her climb up to the Series’ highest level”.

Vicky Piria:
“For this season I decided to race in both the Italian and European Formula Abarth Championships. It’ll be my second year with this kind of racecar, and I’m looking forward to be among the top spots in charts. I reflected a lot over the team’s choice and I’m extremely happy with the decision we made. With a team like Prema I’ll be definitely able to get some really rewarding results.”

2011 will be a learning year but hopes are still high for a top three finish in the championship. Driving coaches and mentors will be 2006 Formula Renault 2.0 UK champion Sebastian Hohenthal and the 2006 World Series by Renault champion Alx Danielsson.

Bouveng’s three year plan includes a seat in either the Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup of the British championship for 2012 and a move to GP3 or F3 in 2013.

Fortunately the cancer was discovered early and his doctor is confident in a full recovery. Treatment will begin immediately.

Let’s hope his recovery is as quick as he is on the track because I’m sure we all want to see him back racing as soon as possible!

Webling qualified on pole ahead of his Superlux team-mate, Andre Heimgartner, and former champion, John Whelan. Then came Tim Vickers ahead of points leader, Matt Williams, and Richard Vickers – the top six cars covered by 0.25 seconds.

Webling won the start of the first race but was challenged by Heimgartner and Whelan, these three changing places until Tim Vickers joined them. Williams then began closing on the front four. Down to the finish line and it was Webling from Whelan, Tim Vickers, Heimgartner, Williams and Ralph Goodwin.

Race two was on a drying track, but the patchy damp caused Webling to be slow away and then Richard Vickers made a great start to grab the lead but then was also caught by a damp patch and spun. Tim Vickers and Thomas-Kircher also both made great starts and finished the first lap ahead of Heimgartner, then a gap back to Webling, Whelan and Williams. Vickers took the win from Thomas-Kircher with Webling third, ahead of Whelan, Williams and Heimgartner.

The third feature race over 12 laps saw the usual five-car classic tussle throughout the distance, with Webling making the best start but soon overhauled by Heimgartner, then a closely dicing Williams and Whelan with Tim Vickers right in behind them. Williams made a desperate move to pass Webling for second while Tim Vickers displaced Whelan. Going into the first sweeper turn on the final lap, Williams was leading but Heimgartner made a brilliant move around the outside of him to take the lead and eventually the race win from Williams, Whelan, Webling, Tim Vickers, Thomas-Kircher etc., the first five cars crossing the line within half a second of the winner.

“That was very close, tough racing – especially on Sunday in those changing conditions. My Superlux team gave me an excellent car so I could concentrate on finishing each race to gain maximum points in the conditions. The only problem I had was a clutch bearing failure near the end of the first race, but that was easily fixed for Sunday’s two races,” said Webling.

Points: Webling 545, Heimgartner 532, Williams 526, Tim Vickers 487, Whelan 468, Thomas-Kircher 421, Vincent 345, Godwin 330, R Vickers 308.

Next round : Jan21-23 Timaru Levels Raceway

Cassidy, 16, made his debut in the TRS cars at Teretonga along with seven other drivers – mainly from overseas, and goes to Timaru for round two leading the Rookie drivers and seeking his first race win in the ‘wings and slicks’ Toyota class.

“I’m really pleased that we have good pace,” said Cassidy. “These [TRS cars] are certainly different to anything I’ve driven so far, so to be at the front end of the grid is satisfying. I now need to learn a lot more about how the car reacts during racing conditions and then I’m sure we can start challenging for more podiums, and some race wins, as I get more experience in the Fuchs/BNT car.”

Cassidy surprised everyone when he set the two fastest lap times of the qualifying session to just edge out defending series champion, and good friend, Mitch Evans. He then came within two-hundreths of a second of setting a new lap record during race two. The fastest lap time set by a TRS car around Teretonga is 54.61-seconds, held by Earl Bamber, and that has been the benchmark to beat at the world’s most southern race circuit since 2008. Cassidy’s time was 54.63s.

Having set the two fastest lap times in the qualifying session, added together, gave Cassidy pole position for the feature race, the 20-lap Spirit of the Nation Cup. Cassidy led early in the race but was passed by Evans who went on to take the victory. Cassidy set the fastest lap while closing in on Evans as the race wound down. It was declared after 17 laps due to racing incidents.

In the two shorter races, Cassidy crossed the line third in race one but was given a time penalty for jumping the gun at a restart and a disappointing eighth in the reverse-grid final race held in very wet conditions.

He moved up to the TRS category this year after a successful debut season racing Formula Ford, and even though he dominated the racing at Timaru’s Levels Raceway last year, he’s expecting a much tougher challenge this weekend.

“The field is so much stronger this year with 10 international drivers, and some very experienced Kiwis, so I’m sure as the overseas guys learn the cars better, they’ll become much harder to beat as well in the coming rounds,” said Cassidy.

“But it’s very early days – there have been three race winners in the opening three races of the International series, so it just shows anything can happen with nine races to go.”

Cassidy currently lies fourth in the championship series and top of the Rookie drivers with 142 points. Evans leads overall with 202 points to Australian Scott Pye (178); Englishman Alex Lynn (174) and with German Mario Farnbacher, second rookie and fifth on 116 points.

Cassidy drives the No.7 car in the one-make series and is supported by Fuchs Oil, BNT Automotive, CRC, and Jonesway Professional Tools. Additional support comes from Xcell, IDL, NSK and Auckland Hydraulic Supplies.