Trident Racing completed the three-day test scheduled by the GP2 Series at Yas Marina racetrack with some extremely positive results. Five drivers lined-up aboard the team’s cars and for two of them it was the maiden experience with the GP2 Dallara-Mecachrome racers. In Day 1, Raffaele Marciello made his way to the front immediately as he topped both the AM and the PM segment with a best overall laptime of 1’49”811. The Ferrari Driver Academy man impressed for how quickly he adapted to the car and track, and also for the good relationship established in a short time with the team’s technical staff. Julian Leal, who raced for Trident Racing in 2012, also left a strong impression by ending up with a best laptime of 1’50”631.
In Day 2, the car previously fielded for Leal was driven by Adderley Fong, a 23-year-old Chinese driver coming from the 2013 GP3 Series ranks. Lining-up alongside him, Marciello continued in the set-up work started the day before and stayed among the frontrunners all the time. Marciello ended up with third place in 1’49”411. Fong progressively improved his laptimes throughout the day, lapping in 1’51”089.
In the third and last day, Trident Racing fielded Giovanni Venturini and Gianmarco Raimondo. For Venturini, who entered the 2013 GP3 Series with Trident Racing, the test was supposed to bring just a first contact with the car. Eventually though, the Veneto-based man developed a great feeling with the Dallara and the tires, ending up in second place thanks to a late flying lap. Giovanni logged his best lap in 1’48”710. On the other car, Gianmarco Raimondo continued in the program scheduled with the engineers, ending the day with a personal best mark of 1’50”919.
Maurizio Salvadori, Team Owner
“We had three very busy days that enabled us to complete a large amount of work and to collet some really positive feedback. The first thankyou goes to Scuderia Ferrari for having enabled us to line-up Raffaele Marciello. For us it’s been a great opportunity as we were able to meet with an extremely talented driver who also quickly merged with the team. Marciello did a very valuable job together with the engineers and at the end of Day 2 he left the wheel to Giovanni Venturini. After one season spent with our team in the GP3 Series, Venturini ended up the session at Abu Dhabi in-style, taking full advantage of the opportunity he had. Raimondo continued with the work he started at Singapore, using this test to keep adapting to the car after a long break from racing. We were also happy to welcome back Julian Leal, who already shared many experiences with us. I’m sure that this week’s test will provide some solid foundations for the long and demanding 2014 season”.
