RAIMONDO CONTINUES FORMULA THREE TESTING
Young Canadian open wheel racer Gianmarco Raimondo heads back to Europe
for busy series of testing sessions
St. Catharines, Ontario -- Gianmarco Raimondo, 2008 Formula BMW Americas
Rookie Champion, continued his racing journey and 2010 preparations with
a series of Formula 3 tests in Europe. Raimondo recently flew to Paris in
early November and headed straight the famed Magny-Cours racing facility
in Nevers, France where he continued to test and impress in the F3 cars.
The circuit is located 15 km (10 miles) southwest of Nevers, on the banks
of the River Loirs, halfway between Paris and Lyon. The picturesque
landscape plays host to one of racing's most famous venues and the
location for Raimondo's first test session.
First on the slate was a test with team Alan Racing. The Italian-based
team is the only F3 Italia Series team that uses the Mygale chassis, the
same manufacturer that built the Formula BMW FB02 car. All of the other
F3 Italia teams use the Dallara built chassis. While the day was
completed under wet and cloudy conditions, GMo had a very successful test
day and was impressive in his first outing in the Mygale car. The Mygale
factory is situated at Magny-Cours and 20 Mygale executives and
representatives were present to watch the testing as they celebrated
their 20th anniversary.
"Magny Cours was probably one of the best tracks I've ever been on,
however it was a shame it rained the whole day," commented Raimondo.
"You couldn't truly appreciate the quality of the track and the thrill
of some of the highspeed sections. It was still a lot of fun and still
very challenging, especially because I was in the Mygale. Being in a
different chassis, I was really trying to distinguish the differences
between the two, even though it was wet."
With barely a chance to dry off, GMo flew off to Italy where he tested in
the Team Lucidi car on the 5th of November. On the docket were two
separate days with the Lucidi squad beginning on November 5th at the
Mugello circuit in Florence and then on November 12th at the Imola
circuit in Bologna. In the first test GMo had a very successful outing,
running the car through its paces in both the rain and in the dry.
Raimondo worked with team engineers to make changes and work through a
scheduled series of runs to best evaluate performance and speed. With
testing completed Raimondo had a week off to travel through Italy before
the test on the 12th staying in San Benedetto del Tronto near Pescara on
the Adriatic coast.
Unfortunately following the Mugello test, GMo took sick with
mononucleosis, yet he drove up the coast and headed for Imola to be with
the team. While GMo didn't test, and was only able to watch for a bit,
he was able to learn more about the F3 car and this exciting new racing
experience. The Lucidi team were great hosts and appreciated the
opportunity to work with the young Canadian driver.
"I thought the test in Mugello went very well because the team could
really see how I drove in basically every condition. Since it rained in
the morning then dried up for the afternoon, it made it a challenging
day," smiled Raimondo upon his return. "It was even more challenging at the end because I've been fighting a virus and
it was finally taking its toll on me. During my last new tire run I was
only able to complete four hot laps, although it was enough to set some
fast times and impress the team even more. A shame I couldn't keep going
on the new tires nevertheless, I accomplished what I was there to do."
While Raimondo is glad to be home from an exhausting and stressful week
of testing and traveling, he looks forward to heading back for more
testing in the near future. First on the list of priorities is to regain
the three kg of weight he lost and take some time to build back up to
where he was physically.
Gianmarco Raimondo completed two seasons as a Formula BMW Americas Junior
Driver, winning the coveted Junior Scholarship in 2007 and taking the
2008 Formula BMW Americas Rookie Championship. GMo was born and raised in
St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada and is building a strong on track racing
resume along with off track appearances and special event programs.
-credit: gianmarcoraimondo.com
