Barcelona GP3 test marks important progress for Jimmy Eriksson
The test commenced in bright Spanish sunshine but came to a close in appalling conditions following a burst of rain on Wednesday afternoon.
Photo by: GP3 Series Media Service
The second official test ahead of the 2013 GP3 Series season marked an important step forward for Jimmy Eriksson, as the Swede completed two productive days of running at Spain’s Circuit de Catalunya on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Working their way through a wide range of programmes, Eriksson and his Status Grand Prix team gathered significant amounts of data at the Barcelona venue, crucially managing to rectify the braking issues that held them back during the opening test in Portugal.
The 21-year-old ATS Formula 3 Cup champion eventually wound up in 15th place overall on a tightly-packed list of combined lap times, where just three tenths of a second separated him from a position inside the top five. The test also underlined the performance of the new GP3/13 car, which lapped more than four seconds faster than its predecessor around the 4.655 circuit.
“This was a very positive test for us,” says Jimmy Eriksson. “Our main focus coming here was to get rid of the braking issues, and as soon as that had been achieved, I immediately felt much more comfortable in the car and could start working on things such as my understanding of the Pirelli tyres.
We also managed to complete our first qualifying simulations, which gave us similar confirmation that we’re heading in the right direction – particularly since my fastest lap really wasn’t that great.
I still have a lot to learn when it comes to extracting the most out of new tyres and it’s still too early to make any predictions about where we are compared to the other teams, but we’ve certainly made some very genuine progress here this week.”
The test commenced in bright Spanish sunshine but came to a close in appalling conditions following a burst of rain on Wednesday afternoon, with Eriksson going eighth fastest in the wet.
The third and concluding test of the GP3 pre-season period will take place at Silverstone – Status Grand Prix’s home venue – as the teams and drivers head to Britain on April 3-4.
Jimmy Eriksson Racing
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