Michelin Formula Renault UK Championship stars Tom Blomqvist, Lewis Williamson and Will Stevens headed to sunny Spain this week to take part in a prize test as a reward for their performances in the single seater series. The trio were given the chance to test a Formula 3.5 Series car, as used in the World Series by Renault series, around the Motorland Aragon circuit.
Unlike in previous years, where just the series champion was invited the test, this year saw the series organisers invite the top three in the championship to take part. However, third place finisher Tama's Pa'l Kiss was unable to attend due to prior commitments, allowing next highest finisher Stevens to take his place.
Stevens grabbed the opportunity with both hands and went on to set the best time of the British drivers. Driving for P1 Motorsport, the Surrey based driver set the 10th fastest time overall, though it wasn't the Surrey drivers first experience in one of the World Series machines.
Commenting on the test, Stevens said: “I spent the day before testing with Epsilon before moving to P1. The car felt good and we weren't far off the top pace. I was really impressed with the down force of the car and my first choice for next year would be a full season of World Series. We'll just have to see how things work out though with regards to budget.”
Next quickest of the British runners was 2010 Champion Blomqvist, who took part in the test for the same team that led him to that title, Fortec Motorsport. He ended the day 12th quickest overall.
Blomqvist reflected on the test saying: “The car is very impressive and certainly much more physical to drive than the Formula Renault UK cars. It was a steep learning curve but I enjoyed the experience and made the most of the time we had in the car.”
Just behind was 20 year old Williamson, who ran with the ISR outfit for the test, finishing 17th overall. The Scotsman has been keeping busy since the Formula Renault season ended, having tested a GP3 car at Estoril in Portugal last week, setting the quickest time on two days of the test.
Commenting on the Renault test, Williamson said: “The test went well today and allowed me chance to get a feel for the car and things like the brakes, speed and down force. We put in around 30 laps and towards the end we were producing some good times.”
As well as the World Series test, Blomqvist, Williamson and Pa'l Kiss will soon be testing a British Formula 3 car in another prize organised by the series organisers.
