Wickens on the pace in Barcelona

Marussia backed driver Robert Wickens set the pace in this afternoon’s Formula Renault 3.5 test in Barcelona, despite treacherous conditions around the Circuit de Cataluyna. The Canadian finished the afternoon quickest, while team mate Vergne continues to make a strong start to his first full season in the series and was sixth quickest..

The Formula Renault 3.5 drivers were greeted with wet conditions this morning as the second collective test of the season got underway. Both Vergne and Wickens started off the day working to a specific development programme rather than a rush to post the best lap times. A torrential downpour soon curtailed any further progress however, with the morning session red flagged due to dangerous track conditions.

As the rain began to ease, track conditions improved sufficiently to allow track action to resume after lunch, with Wickens taking the early initiative to climb to the top of the timesheets. The Carlin man’s time remained unbeaten for the remainder of the afternoon.

2010 British F3 champion Vergne was also on strong form. conditions meant the Frenchman struggled to capitalise on his new tyres, but the Red Bull Junior still managed to finish the afternoon sixth quickest.

Wickens said, “The day went fairly well, we stayed to the test plan and got quite a lot accomplished which considering the weather was quite an achievement. It’s good to be quickest of the afternoon, but I don’t think the times from today are an accurate reflection as the conditions and everyone’s tyre strategies were so variable. However, the car felt good and I think we have a good wet set-up here and it’s always a nice boost for the team to finish at the top of the time sheets.”

Speaking about his test, Vergne said, “We did some good testing today, we had a little bit of a problem as the tyres were going off quite quickly but we still made progress. The time we did doesn’t really reflect the work we did during the day; every time we put new tyres on the track got wetter or there was a red flag but we’re in a good position to make more progress tomorrow.”

“It was very difficult to judge what the true pace was today,” added Trevor Carlin. “The rain before lunch was incredible and it was just impossible for the cars to run so we didn’t do as many laps as we’d hoped but that was the case for everyone. Robert and Jean-Eric both did a good job today. They managed to make the most of their test programmes despite the conditions and I think we showed that as a team we’ve got a good wet set-up here. Hopefully tomorrow will be dry and the drivers will be able to make the most of the track time.”