Vallelunga debut up next for Double R Racing

Leading British motor racing team Double R Racing is gearing up for its first ever visit to Vallelunga circuit in Italy this coming weekend, 12th/13th October, where the penultimate three rounds of the 2013 FIA Formula 3 European Championship will take place.

For the Woking team’s lead driver, Antonio Giovinazzi, the event will mark the second ‘home’ fixture of his rookie season and the 19-year-old Italian from Martina Franca will be going all out to try and add to the points finish he achieved just a week ago at Zandvoort in The Netherlands.

Antonio Giovinazzi

Photo by: XPB Images

Going into the ninth race meeting of the European campaign, the Dallara-Mercedes pilot has scored in four races so far and has been particularly strong in race conditions. If Giovinazzi can approach the coveted top 10 in qualifying, a season’s best set of results are a distinct possibility.

“We’ve been really impressed with Antonio this year, he’s shown fantastic pace for a rookie driver in race conditions and we know he’s got what it takes to be around the top six – his wins and podiums in British F3 have proven that”, said team principal Anthony ‘Boyo’ Hieatt.

“We just need to extract more performance from the Hankook tyres we use in the FIA championship when it matters in qualifying. The competition in European F3 is unbelievably tough, but that’s what it’s all about – to race against the best.”

Double R’s Sean Gelael and Tatiana Calderón, also first year racers in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship, are each seeking their maiden points scores and have both shone at various points during the year.

Like Giovinazzi, both tasted podium success in their dovetailed British F3 campaigns and will be bidding to perform strongly during the penultimate weekend of the European season at a track which will be new to almost the entire 30-strong grid of competitors.

“It’s been a huge learning curve for all three of our drivers this year but they’ve done a great job”, added Hieatt, “It’s easy to forget Sean is only 16-years-old, he’s come a very long way since the start of the season and he and Tatiana have been pushing each other on all year. We’re all really looking forward to racing at Vallelunga for the first time, hopefully it’ll be a strong weekend.”

Following pre-event testing on Friday, 11th October, two additional free practice sessions will take place on Saturday, 12th October, ahead of qualifying at 12.45 (local time) and the first race of the weekend, round 25, at 16.55 (local time).

On Sunday, 13th October, round 26 will start at 10.50 (local time) with round 27 scheduled to begin at 14.50 (local time). All three races will be broadcast live on Motors TV, please check listings for more details.

Double R Racing