Dillmann, AVF take 2016 Formula V8 3.5 title

It has been an unforgettable day for the AVF team at Circuit de Catalunya, in the final race of the 2016 Formula V8 3.5 season. The squad led by Adrián Vallés cruised to the driver title with Frenchman Tom Dillmann at the end of an exciting and spectacular race 2. Qualifying 2, held with complicated track conditions due to the rain fallen overnight, did not prove positive for Dillmann, who took P7 while his championship rival, Louis Delétraz, secured the pole.

Considering the six-point advantage held by the Swiss racer on the AVF driver, a rebound appeared difficult, if not impossible, but the perfect set-up found by the team, paired with a clever strategy in terms of the mandatory tire change, completely changed the game. On lap 5, AVF called Tom back to the pits. After the stop, he started pushing extremely hard and recovered ground on all the contenders that, one by one, were making their later stops.

As a result, by lap 14 Dillmann found himself in the lead, with the virtual chance to clinch title. He didn’t make any single mistake, turning that chance into reality and crossing the race as the leader to take home the championship. This is the first title for the team since its 2012 inception, while Vallés and his staff also secured third place in the team standings.

Tom Dillmann (AVF)

“What a thriller! We led most of the championship and the last round was pretty difficult for us. There was something broken on the car and it was hard lose the lead like that. The team did an awesome job with a great AVF car again. Basically we went back to normal this week-end. Everybody in the team believed in our potential and here we are. The race was perfect. We had a great start, the car was really fast from the beginning to the end, we knew we needed a perfect race and I’m really happy for the team who believed in me putting me in the car for this season”.

Adrian Valles, AVF Team Principal

“Thanks to all the guys in the team, and to Tom of course. Until the last lap we never gave up. As Spanish we always scream and shout, and we have a big flew of emotions, and when those are negative, we are our worst enemies. But this week-end we had a clear call in mind and even some things disturbed us, this was the best think to do. We did the pole yesterday, we spoke all the night with Tom and engineers and today it was a great race. Qualy was a gamble, difficult to find the set-up but I told Tom by the radio we had a good strategy, and Tom made an awesome drive, the best of the season. Thanks to everybody”.