Scuderia Playteam, which competes in the Italian GT Championship and International GT Open, made history as its two teams in the Superleague Formula AC Milan and Galatasaray SK became the first two teams to test and shake down their cars ahead of the start of the debut Superleague Formula season on August 30-31 at Donington.
The three test days ran according to plan, and everything came together on both 750-hp single-seater cars. The team made good use of the test days and acquired plenty of valuable data to review ahead of the start of the debut Superleague Formula season.
Turkey’s Jason Tahinci and Italy’s Alessandro Pier Guidi were able run and test the Galatasaray SK car while Dutchman Robert Doornbos drove two days for AC Milan at Barcelona track following the shake down conducted by team owner Giambattista Giannoccaro on the first day. The team is looking forward the next test session at Vallelunga (Italy) on August 6 - 8.
Giambattista Giannoccaro, Team owner and senior driver on the AC Milan car: "We went to the test to try to understand the cars. The cars are not easy to operate and will take more than a couple of days to fully understand, but we are quite happy with the huge effort that Superleague put on in such a short period of time to set up the championship and the Superleague challenge this season. We are very happy with our progress. We tried different solutions and I think we have a clearer picture of what needs to be done. Our aim was not to push hard but to discover the car and its potential.
Alessandro Pier Guidi: "This has been a really exciting first test and a very useful one to begin to get acclimatized to the new car and new Superleague Formula series. We’ve made a lot of progress in understanding the car and the set up. We have plenty of data to review ahead of the next test session at Vallelunga."
Robert Doornbos: "I was pleased with my third best time for the second day of testing. It was very hot all through the test, but I have gotten used to the extreme temperatures. We made a lot of progress but we still need to test much more with the team and explore the possibilities of the car even more. The Michelin tyres felt good, gave plenty of grip, and the car was working well. The real aim is not the testing, but the forthcoming race at Donington for the start of the first season."
Jason Tahinci: "I was impressed because Scuderia Playteam was the most prepared team and took it very seriously doing a good job. They also made me feel very welcome in the team. As for the car, the first step was getting fitted into a comfortable seat and also to get familiar with electronics. I am looking forward to the next test session and the whole challenge of the season."
www.scuderiaplayteam.com
Galtasaray SK, FC Porto, AC Milan, PSV Eindhoven, Olympiacos, Borussia Dortmund, RSC Anderlecht, Flamengo, FC Basel, Sevilla, Rangers, Al Ain, Corinthians and AS Roma are now in the Superleague Formula competition.
Superleague Formula’s inaugural race season will take place at the following six major circuits across Europe, from August throug November 2008:
Race 1: Donington, United Kingdom August 30/31, 2008
Race 2: Nürburgring, Germany September 20/21, 2008
Race 3: Zolder, Belgium October 4/5, 2008
Race 4: Vallelunga, Italy October 18/19, 2008
Race 5: Estoril, Portugal November 1/2, 2008
Race 6: Jerez, Spain November 22/23, 2008
- Agnes Carlier -
