Virgin Racing showed strong form across all three days of official pre-season Formula E testing at Valencia’s Ricardo Tormo Circuit, with preparations on track for the season opener in Hong Kong.
Driver pairing Sam Bird and Alex Lynn – the series’ first ever all-British line-up – racked up a sizeable tally of 440 laps around the 3.09km modified National Circuit in its season four DSV-03 challenger.
Focusing on gaining valuable data ahead of the opening rounds on 2/3 December, the team conducted a series of race simulations and qualifying runs as it aims to continue its previous success in the all-electric championship.
The opening session saw Bird top the timesheets with Lynn P4, with the two going on to show strong pace across day two. Day three saw Bird in P6 and Lynn in P8 in the morning session, with longer race simulations conducted in the afternoon.
Summarising the three-day test programme Bird said: “Preparations have gone well. We’ve shown a good turn of speed but this track isn’t representative of the Formula E circuits we’re used to so we’ll have to wait and see how our form here translates come the opening race. The car feels good though as we’ve made some small but significant tweaks to optimise our already strong package.”
Lynn said: “Overall it’s been a positive test session for the team, which together with the data collected from our private test programme, puts us in good stead for the season. We’ve been able to work through our various scenarios and set-ups and I can’t wait to start my first full Formula E season.”
FIA Formula E Championship – Valencia pre-season testing – Day 3
Combined times (morning & afternoon)
1. Oliver Turvey, NIO Formula E Team, 1:21.922
2. Daniel Abt, Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler, 1:21.946
3. Jean Eric Vergne, TECHEETAH, 1:22.078
4. Felix Rosenqvist, Mahindra Racing, 1:22.120
5. Sebastien Buemi, Renault e.Dams, 1:22.247
6. Jerome D’Ambrosio, Dragon Racing, 1:22.252
7. Alex Lynn, Virgin Racing, 1:22.267
8. Lucas Di Grassi, Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler, 1:22.328
9. Nicolas Prost, Renault e.Dams, 1:22.383
10. Mitch Evans, Panasonic Jaguar Racing, 1:22.432
11. Sam Bird, Virgin Racing, 1:22.457
12. Luca Filippi, NIO Formula E Team, 1:22.487
13. Nelson Piquet Jr. Panasonic Jaguar Racing, 1:22.645
14. Antonio Felix Da Costa, Andretti Formula E, 1:22, 979
15. Neel Jani, Dragon Racing, 1:23.102
16. Daniel Juncadella, Mahindra Racing, 1:23.564
17. Edoardo Mortara, Venturi Formula E Team, 1:23.619
18. Tom Blomqvist, Andretti Formula E, 1:23.692
19. Maro Engel, Venturi Formula E Team, 1:24.100
20. Andre Lotterer, TECHEETAH, 1:24.172
The 2017/2018 FIA Formula E Championship begins in Hong Kong on December 2.