Second Test for Marussia Manor Racing GP3

The GP3 series conducted its second pre-season test at Silverstone this week, where the Marussia Manor Racing team continued its preparations for the 2011 season, which starts on 7-8 May in Turkey. All three of the team’s drivers - Rio Haryanto, Adrian Quaife-Hobbs and rookie Matias Laine - were at the wheel of the Dallara GP3 again for the three days of testing.

In contrast to the first test of the season in France, this time the drivers were greeted by blue skies and sunny conditions when they first hit the track on Tuesday. In the afternoon, they ran in damp conditions as it started to rain, providing a good opportunity to compare the behaviour of the car in different conditions.

The Marussia Manor Racing drivers continued to demonstrate their strong form during the second day, as the team made use of their time on track to obtain valuable information. In the afternoon the weather provided another opportunity to run with the wet Pirelli tyres.

During today’s third and final day of testing, the team continued to develop the different car set-ups. The drivers demonstrated once again that they are quick in the wet and dry. The team was able to continue adding more mileage to the car as the young drivers completed plenty of laps during the three days of the test. They will be back in action at the final pre-season test in Barcelona next month.

Pete Sliwinski, Team Manager

“It has been a very useful second test for us. Fortunately we have been able to complete plenty of laps in dry conditions after not having much time for this during the first test in France, where it rained a lot. We have continued developing our car set-ups as well as gathering more information for the team to prepare for the new season. I am very pleased with the job that all three drivers have done here in Silverstone this week.”

Rio Haryanto

“We concentrated on developing the car here in Silverstone, and the team has done a really good job. I feel comfortable in the car and the test has been very productive to continue collecting important data.”

Adrian Quaife-Hobbs

“We have been trying various set-up ideas from the winter and trying to understand how the new softer tyre compounds react. It was also beneficial to have dry as well as wet running here. So far we are very happy with our performance. We have three more test days in Barcelona before the first race which will really help us to completely understand the car.”

Matias Laine

“I am very pleased with this second test of the season. The weather hasn’t been the best but we have achieved some good running in the rain as well as in dry conditions. I am very happy with how the team is working and I can’t wait for the first race.”

Constructive First Test for Marussia Manor Racing GP3

The first pre-season test for the 2011 GP3 season got underway this week at Circuit Paul Ricard in France. After nearly five months, the Marussia Manor Racing GP3 cars were back on track with Rio Haryanto and Adrian Quaife-Hobbs back at the wheel of the Dallara GP3 for a second season. Rookie driver Matias Laine got to grips with his new car and started to settle in at his new team.

With a wet track and low temperatures, the drivers completed their first laps of the season with the Pirelli wet tyres. The track dried enough to run with slicks for a few laps before the lunch break, but in the afternoon it rained steadily again. Rio demonstrated strong pace, setting one of the quickest wet times of the day. Adrian also had a good start and worked on the set-up of the car, while Matias Laine was able to complete 34 laps in the afternoon after recovering from a problem with his car in the morning.

During today’s second and final day of testing in France, all three drivers were able to complete plenty of mileage on a dry track and the team continued to develop the different car set-ups in preparation for the season ahead.

The Marussia Manor Racing team will be back on track at the second of three tests in Silverstone at the end of the month.

Pete Sliwinski, Team Manager

“The team has worked very hard over the winter so it is good to be back out on track for the first time this season. It has been a very constructive test here at Paul Ricard. We have been working to develop our set-up from last season in wet and dry conditions, gathering useful information on the new tyre compounds in the process. All three drivers have done a good job, so with their feedback we go back to base to process the information in preparation for testing at Silverstone in a month time.”

Rio Haryanto

“It’s good to be back in the car after the winter break and to start a second season with Marussia Manor Racing. We tried many different set-ups and collected a lot of data that will be very useful for the future.”

Adrian Quaife-Hobbs

“We had a good couple of days testing and getting back into the swing of GP3 after so many months away. As we will not be racing at Paul Ricard this season, the times were not so important, so we concentrated on the car development and carried out some race simulation work.”

Matias Laine

“I am very happy with how the team is working. The weather was not the best here as yesterday it rained a lot. But today we were able to complete some good runs on a dry track and we tested a lot of different set-ups in order to be ready for the new season.”