Jerez in Spain hosts round two of the 2013 European Formula 3 Open Winter Series this coming Saturday, 2nd March, where category rookie Sean Walkinshaw is aiming to secure his first podium finish at the second attempt – putting right the frustration of the series opener a week ago.
On course for a certain third place result in the Copa Class on his championship debut at Paul Ricard HTTT in France, the 19-year-old from Chipping Norton was knocked out of contention by an errant competitor on the penultimate lap, ultimately meaning Sean finished in sixth position.
Making the Gloucester Rugby-backed driver even more determined to secure his first European F3 Open silverware this time around, he heads to Jerez knowing he and the Team West-Tec squad have the pace and ability to once again be major contenders.
“I really can’t wait to get back in the car, I’m hungry to put right what happened at Paul Ricard and to show what we’re capable of achieving”, said Sean, “It was incredibly disappointing we couldn’t come away with the result we deserved, the positive thing though is how quick we were.
“We definitely showed really good pace and I’m pleased with how competitive the Team West-Tec car was in race conditions. I’m going to Jerez certain we’ll be able to fight for the podium again and deliver another strong showing.”
As well as underlining his position as a true front-runner in the ‘Copa’ last time out on his debut, Sean was also able to outperform several of the drivers from the headline class in the newer, quicker F312 cars. The Oxfordshire driver is, therefore, rightly confident of departing Jerez at the weekend having delivered a similarly impressive performance in the overall results too.
“It was great to be able to get in among the F312 cars at Paul Ricard, race them and be quicker than quite a few as well”, added Sean, “If qualifying is problem-free, we’ve got a great chance to fight them again. The main focus though is obviously on the Copa Class, I don’t want anything less than a podium this time.”
Circuito de Jerez, in southern Spain, is one of Europe’s most well-known and popular race tracks and Sean’s upcoming visit to the 2.75-mile venue will be his first ever. Formerly home to the FIA Formula One World Championship’s Spanish and European Grand Prix events, Jerez is still a key testing venue for F1 and also hosts MotoGP and the FIM World Superbike Championship.
Following a day of practice on Friday, 1st March, qualifying and round two of the 2013 European F3 Open Winter Series will take place at Jerez on Saturday, 2nd March, at 11.20 (local time) and 15.00 (local time) respectively.