News

26 Sep 09

Adrien Tambay's Barcelona weekend

The Circuit de Catalunya was the venue last weekend for the 15^th and 16^th rounds of the F3 Euro Series.

Adrien Tambay enjoyed an upbeat start to the race weekend, virtually topping the pre-event free practice session.

“Nick Tandy was credited with the fastest lap,” commented the Gravity driver. “But as he had cut the chicane, I was actually fastest, right in front of Jules. The car was well balanced and I felt confident of a good performance in qualifying. Maybe a little too confident actually, as it led me to overdrive a bit on my first set of tires. On the second set, I just got caught out by the traffic and things didn’t work out. It was a disappointment, but I should have known better…”

 The ART Grand Prix driver concluded the session in 14^th position but only 3/10s of a second off pole position. In spite of having his work cut out for him at the start of Saturday’s race, Tambay quickly took the measure of several drivers, moving up to 9^th after a few laps.

“I was right behind Van der Zande, and only one place from Sunday’s reverse grid pole position. Shaaban was in front of both of us but he was difficult to pass as his straight line speed was quite good. I spent a few laps watching VdZ, hoping he might get a run on Shaaban that I could eventually also profit from. About ten laps from the finish, he started making some small mistakes so I decided to put on the pressure. After several attempts, I managed to get a good run on him out of the chicane and pulled out at the end of the straight to outbrake him on the inside line. But he closed the door, forcing me on to the grass. There was then a contact and the impact made me spin. It’s a pity because it was a clean passing maneuver, as the team confirmed to me later on.”

Unfortunately, the incident put Adrien down in 17^th position. In Sunday’s race, the young Frenchman had a blinding start before falling victim to an over-zealous rival at the first corner. “Yes, that was definitely my best start of the season… I was on the outside of the first corner when someone just overdid it, locked his wheels and slammed into me. That was it… Overall, the results are disappointing but at least I tried. I was credited with the fastest lap of the weekend, and had I succeeded in snatching pole for Sunday’s race I believe I would have had a real chance of winning. After all, Van der Zande won the second race and I was obviously faster than he was.”

Adrien Tambay will be looking to shine at the next event, on home ground, when the F3 Euro Series resumes at Dijon on October 10/11.