The two-day GP2 Series test scheduled for this week at Barcelona was rounded out today at the Montmel circuit, where Trident Racing fielded two cars. Julian Leal drove in both days, while Marcus Ericsson and Stphane Richelmi shared the team's second car.
The results proved extremely positive despite the variable weather conditions had an impact on the work plan scheduled before taking-off for Spain. Ericsson, who was the newest addition to the team, immediately found himself well-suited and scored some top-notch laptimes. The Swede ended his day of testing in 2nd and expressed his appreciation for the work done in contact with the team.
Leal and Richelmi successfully carried-on a good amount of work that was scheduled in before the test started. Their commitment was not clearly visible by the timing charts but it's definitely been key in putting all the feedback together once back at Trident's headquarters. In the PM session of day 2, Leal scored the fastest lap on wet tires, although his mark was beaten once conditions improved and everybody else moved to slick rubber.
After Barcelona, teams and drivers will move towards the Jerez racetrack, hosting the two final test days of the season on the 22nd and 23rd of November. In addition to Leal and Richelmi, Trident Racing will announce the name of a third driver in the next few days.
Luca Zerbini, Managing Director
The work schedule of these tests was well defined. With Ericsson, who was at his first time working with Trident Racing, we tried to go for a fast lap and we succeeded, with some great laptimes. In the PM session Marcus clocked the second fastest lap and mastered the car in just a few time. We've been following him for a while and he's very talented. With Leal and Richelmi, who drove the car in 2012, we brought on-track some new technical solutions.
It seems incredible that after years of racing with this car there are still areas to investigate, but there are so many variables that every single day of testing can be key to verify the job done. Both drivers were just perfect as they worked in direct contact with the team's technical staff and followed the advice of the engineers. We collected a lot of data and we will continue the same type of work at Jerez with Julian, who will run in both days, and Stphane, who will join us during the first day.
