Cambridge-based South American hot shoe Ernesto Viso (Cambridge / Caracas, Venezuela) finished a superb sixth overall in just his fourth FIA Formula 3000 Championship race this weekend, at the Hungaroring.
Having taken his best qualifying position in his short F3000 career to date - a hard-fought sixth place - Viso overcame treacherous wet conditions and a questionable team tyre decision to secure a career best F3000 result.
Said Viso:
"The result today was really frustrating to be honest. My engineer and I worked really hard in the half hour test session and during qualifying to get a good balance in the car - and that enabled me to be quick in the first part of the race when it was wet. However we changed to slick tyres too early and that really compromised the end result. I honestly think we could have finished in the top four this weekend without that problem. However I still take away a lot of good things from this race and look forward to our next outing at Spa Francorchamps in two weeks time."
ROUND EIGHT QUALIFYING - 6th
As with the majority of the international circuits visited by the F3000 series, the tight and twisty 2.46-mile Hungaroring Circuit in Hungary posed a new challenge for Viso.
But after a promising half hour test session, the young gun was more than ready to take the fight to the more established F3000 front-runners in official qualifying.
Viso's first run on new tyres saw him immediately up to 5th place and with no more time to come from that set of rubber, he fired into the pit lane for his second set of tyres. Rejoining down in 9th, Viso worked hard to find track position before going for another time. Another great lap enabled Viso to jump back up the order to 7th - a position that translated into 6th on the grid when Jose-Maria Lopez was disqualified for a yellow flag infringement.
ROUND EIGHT RACE RESULT - 6th
Treacherous wet conditions greeted the F3000 grid as it formed up for Round Eight of the championship today (Saturday). Following a deluge on the grid, the decision was made to start the race under the Safety Car, so the pack slithered off the line in qualifying order.
Although spray was still a concern, the race began in anger on lap three. Having never driven an F3000 car in the wet before, Viso was cautious in the initial stages, keen to learn as much as possible about both the circuit and his car in the conditions. Although BCN pilot Esteban Guerrieri overtook Viso on the first green flag lap, Viso soon settled down into the race, taking the position back just two laps later with a brave move at turn two. Now back up to sixth, Viso concentrated on pulling away from the chasing Guerrieri and closing the gap to Robert Doornbos in fifth. At one third distance, Viso was right on the Dutchman's exhaust pipe and looking for a way past, but with the track beginning to dry, the team called him into the pits for slick tyres.
As one of the first to pit, Viso struggled for grip when he rejoined the track. Now way down the order, he could only push as far as the tyres would allow and hope that the track continued to dry - and quickly. Gradually the other runners began to filter into the pits to change onto dry weather tyres and, as the order on the circuit began to stabilise again, so Viso found himself in seventh position.
A cracking move down the inside of Doornbos at the first corner elevated Viso to sixth and, as the track continued to dry, Viso was the man on the move - the rookie setting fastest lap after fastest lap as the race moved towards its conclusion.
Although the vastly experienced Tomas Enge (making a record-breaking 53rd race start this weekend) finally pipped Viso to fastest race lap, the committed Cambridge-resident continued to impress to the flag - where he took sixth place and his best F3000 result to-date.
Round Nine of the FIA Formula 3000 Championship takes place at Spa Francorchamps in Belgium on 28th August.
