BARCELONA TEST DAY – AVF tests Ghirelli and Powell on Barcelona Day 1
The Formula Renault 3.5 season may be finished just last Sunday, but today already saw AVF get back on track to take part in the championship’s first day of post-season testing.The two sessions of 3h30 each were held under clear skies, giving the team the time to complete the scheduled programme with ease and the chance to evaluate two new drivers.Jumping in the #27 and #28 cars were Auto GP’s reigning champion Vittorio Ghirelli and former GP3 racer Alice Powell, the latter being the first woman to drive the new-spec. FR 3.5 car.Both Vittorio and Alice coped well with the technical staff’s demands, carrying out some development work and improving their pace steadily, leaving a very good impression.The team will be on track again tomorrow from 9.15 for the second day of testing. Adrian Valles (Team Principal): “This test days are always useful as they give us time to do some extra setup work on the cars and to evaluate new drivers for our future commitments. I’m really satisfied with both Vittorio’s and Alice’s performances today. Ghirelli was very quick on used tyres and he could have ended the day in the top part of the timesheet if traffic didn’t spoil his best lap on new rubber. Powell did very good too, she would have just needed some more track time to learn how to make the most of the extra grip provided by new tyres”.
