Date:

Thursday 17 November 2011

Track:

Yas Marina Circuit

Driver:

Sam Bird

No of Laps:

104 laps

Best Lap Time:

1:40.897

Kms Covered:

578 kms

Track Length:

5.554 kms

Weather:

Sunny

The third and final day of the Young Driver Test took place in Abu Dhabi today, with Sam Bird rounding off the test programme for MERCEDES GP PETRONAS at the Yas Marina Circuit.

• The team ran a 2012 exhaust position this morning and collected data to help develop our package for the new regulations
• This afternoon, we returned to a standard car specification and focused on developing the set-up of the car on the soft Pirelli tyre
• The three day programme has been extremely productive and enabled Sam to complete over 1394 kms of running

Sam Bird: "We again had a very good day today and were able to cover a lot of mileage with 104 laps in total. We were focusing on further development work for 2012 which went well and the team are very positive about the results gained. I would like to say thank you to MERCEDES GP PETRONAS for trusting me with the driving responsibilities for this three-day test. It’s been a very positive and enjoyable experience for me, and I’ve greatly enjoyed working with the team."

Ross Brawn: "We have had a very good test in Abu Dhabi this week, and my compliments to Sam and the team at the Yas Marina Circuit for their efforts over the three days. The test has enabled us to make a good start to our 2012 preparations, and provided a wealth of data for our engineers to study. Sam has performed extremely well this week, providing consistency and accuracy in both his driving and feedback, and our engineers in Abu Dhabi have been very impressed with his contribution."

Times

Mihai Marinescu secured his maiden FIA Formula Two Championship win from pole position during a thrilling round 13 at Monza.

Racing on a circuit he describes as his second home, the young Romanian lost the lead at the start to Alex Brundle but gained it back on lap two and drove superbly to a 5.411sec victory over Mirko Bortolotti.

His victory forced Bortolotti to wait an extra day before securing the Formula Two title, and moved Marinescu up to fourth in the championship standings.

He said: “I’m really happy – and most of all I’m happier because it happened here in Monza. I feel really at home here.

“I had a tricky get away from the start, Alex got past at the first chicane but on the next lap I made my move and overtook him and then I drove it safely home.

“I’ve done a lot of things differently since Austria, starting with the preparation for the weekend itself and then a different approach to the whole weekend, and it looks like it paid off."

Earlier in the weekend he had taken pole position by 0.168s ahead of Brundle, saying: “I’m very pleased that it’s happened right here at Monza which is a very special place for me. I grew up here, everything as a race driver started for me here and it’s like a home.

“There were a lot of quick laps where I was fastest but also the new tyres made a big difference compared to free practice."

Borja Garcia made a remarkable start to his rally career last month when he finished second in class in the first round of the Spanish Rally Championship.

Garcia, whose career achievements include Spanish Formula 3 Champion, World Series by Renault Vice-Champion, several podiums in GP2 and a Toyota Formula One test, raced in his first ever rally at the Trofeo Costa Blanca.

Racing in a Ford Fiesta R2, against 15 seasoned competitors, Garcia was beaten by only one man - 2007 IRC champion Enrique Garcia Ojeda.

Borja will be racing this weekend in the Rallye de Ourense and will be hoping to further impress.

"I’m really enjoying this new challenge," said Borja. "The transition is of course not an easy one but it has gone well so far and I am determined to keep learning and to climb up the World Rally ladder.

"I want to thank Roberto Mendez from Team RMC, Felix Leon from Autolix and my managers at CJ Motorsport for supporting me in this move."