23rd, 24th & 25th FEBRUARY 2005
At a sunny but cold Paul Ricard Circuit the Super Nova Racing Team started work on the newly delivered GP2 racing car for the first test session of the season. After a late night and an early start getting to know the car, the test got under way with Hayanari Shimoda driving.
As is to be expected with a new car there were some teething problems. After the first eight laps a problem occurred with the drive shaft. This appeared to be a problem for some other teams also, so testing was halted until the part was delivered in the early hours of the following morning.
After some much needed sleep the test continued, and by 10.30am Hayanari Shimoda had run 21 laps. Adam Carroll took over the test in the afternoon of day two. The track was shortened at this point due to an issue with the bodywork of the cars when running at high speeds. Adam had a successful test session, which gave the team some much needed information to allow them to improve the speed and performance of the car.
Adam continued to test in the morning of the last day running third out of the 12 cars testing just one second behind the lead, but consistently achieving the fastest first sector. Hayanari was back in the driving seat for the afternoon completing 20 laps and good times.
The Paul Ricard circuit chose not to release the times for the test.
Hayanari Shimoda
"This is a new car and series, we had many problems but every team has had the same conditions, this is to be expected. I could feel the car well so were we able to make new settings and improve the car. I am very happy with the results of this test."
Adam Carroll
"It was a fantastic experience to be able to work with a new team and car. I got on really well with everyone and they were very professional. The test was very productive, so many alterations could be made to the cars performance. It was an exciting drive and very good of Super Nova Racing to allow me to test for them. Even though I did not get the fastest time, lots of work was done and it is looking good for the next test."
David Sears - Team Manager
"The team did a magnificent job working with a new car at a new circuit. We made a lot of progress and we are all looking forward to the next test here in ten days time."
