Photo: Fotospeedy
With thunderstorms forecast from midday, FP1 initially looked like the one to push hard for the best lap times we could, and to check the set up of the car for qualifying. The car is feeling great, and I was able to push hard early with our pace looking strong on sector and lap times. Mid session I came in for a change to put on better tyres and put in a good first lap, with the first sector in my next only thousandths of a second off the eventual best for any driver during the session. Unfortunately in the second sector I found the limit and crashed damaging the front of the car and red flagging the session. Still, the team were able to make the necessary repairs and we know the car is feeling good and I am very pleased to be feeling so confident with the circuit so quickly. In the end my best time placed me P9.
Photo: Fotospeedy
FP2 was all about preparation for racing tomorrow. For the first half we circulated “bedding in” brake pads and discs. In the second half we used the oldest set of tyres we had to simulate the later stages of a race and the check the balance of the car for this situation.
Photo: Fotospeedy
For FP3, the thunderstorms didn’t eventuate, so this ended up being another session to push to the maximum. It was an intense session on good used tyres, with only Championship allocated tyres allowed to be used during Friday Official Practice. That means that most will be using tyres from the previous round, unless (as occasionally happens), some dip in to their new tyre allocation from tomorrow. I was pleased with my pace and consistency once again, and was able to put in a 1:38.1 to finish P9 once again on the timesheets.
Overall a good day, and we look forward to qualifying and Race 1 tomorrow!
Photo: Fotospeedy
Photo: Fotospeedy
Photo: Fotospeedy
Photo: Fotospeedy
Photo: Fotospeedy
