Ricciardo tops Silverstone testing

British Formula 3 championship leader Daniel Ricciardo underlined his early-season superiority by setting fastest time during official testing at Silverstone today.

The Australian lapped the damp Silverstone GP circuit in 2m01.953s in his Carlin Motorsport Dallara Volkswagen during this afternoon's fourth and final session, almost 0.3 seconds faster than Fortec rival Riki Chbristodoulou's Dallara Mercedes.

Brazilian Adriano Buzaid (Dallara Volkswagen) cheered up T-Sport, after a difficult opening round at Oulton Park last weekend, by returning the squad to the sharp end of the timesheet with third fastest time, while team-mate Wayne Boyd was sixth behind Max Chilton and Nick Tandy.

On-going problems with his West-Tec-prepared Mygale Mugen-Honda prevented Jay Bridger from running, while National Class championship leader Daniel McKenzie didn't test either due to food poisoning.

Pos Driver Team Car Time 1. Daniel Ricciardo Carlin D/V 2m01.953s 2. Riki Christodoulou Fortec D/M 2m02.243s 3. Adriano Buzaid T-Sport D/V 2m02.841s 4. Max Chilton Carlin D/V 2m03.189s 5. Nick Tandy JTR M/M 2m03.513s 6. Wayne Boyd T-Sport D/V 2m03.964s 7. Henry Arundel Carlin D/V 2m04.273s 8. Oliver Oakes Carlin D/V 2m05.081s 9. Stephane Richelmi Barazi Epsilon D/M 2m05.618s 10. Victor Garcia Fortec D/M 2m05.700s 11. Hywel Lloyd CF D/H 2m06.124s 12. Carlos Huertas Double R D/M 2m06.577s 13. Walter Grubmuller Hitech D/M 2m07.416s 14. Max Snegirev West-Tec D/H 2m07.689s 15. Daisuke Nakajima Double R D/M 2m07.989s 16. Gabriel Dias T-Sport D/H 2m08.969s 17. Victor Correa Litespeed S/H 2m11.032s

Donington British F3 race postponed

The British F3 championship's annual visit to Donington Park has been postponed due to ongoing issues with the circuit's track licence.

The UK's motor racing governing body - the Motor Sports Association - has yet to grant the Leicestershire venue a licence to hold race meetings in 2009, because of safety concerns over construction work for the British Grand Prix in 2010, and AUTOSPORT understands the circuit is unlikely to obtain that licence before British F3's planned visit on April 25/26.

The building of an access tunnel has dramatically reduced the run-off on either side of the track between McLeans and Coppice, and the MSA has requested work to be done to make the area safe for racing before granting Donington its licence.

British F3 series boss Stephane Ratel told AUTOSPORT last week the Donington round would be postponed rather than cancelled if the circuit could not obtain its licence in time.

A new provisional date has now been pencilled in for the weekend of July 18/19 - the same weekend as the World Touring Car Championship's visit to Brands Hatch.

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Q and A with Daniel Ricciardo

Australian single-seater racer Daniel Ricciardo became the new rising star of British Formula 3 by scoring a double win at the 2009 season opener at Oulton Park last weekend.

In doing so, he also became the first driver to win a British F3 race with Volkswagen power since Steve Robertson, at Thruxton, almost 18 years ago. AUTOSPORT'S British F3 correspondent Ben Anderson sat down with him after the race.

Q. How was your first weekend racing in British F3?

Daniel Ricciardo: Better than I expected actually, it's gone really well and I've made a dream start to the championship.

I really like the track. Out of the English circuits we've been too, it's my favourite.
Coming here, after testing last month, I knew we had a pretty good chance to walk away with two wins. Not that I was expecting too, but I was hoping!

Q. You didn't seem entirely comfortable with the car after qualifying, where you didn't find any time between sessions, and it looked a handful in race one - what were you struggling with?

DR: I wasn't 100 per cent happy with my race set-up and [Nick] Tandy gave me a really hard time in race one. We struggled with high-speed understeer in qualifying and I was having to be really tentative on the kerbs in race one, but we made some changes for race two and the tyres seemed to last at a higher pace for longer, which made things much easier for me! It was cool and I'll have to try and keep things like this for as long as possible, because I'm sure the others are keen to catch me.

Q. Are there any circuits where you think you might struggle this season?

DR: I hope I'm going to be strong everywhere, but I'm not sure yet. Testing at Silverstone International the other week was just okay – nothing too special from me – so we've got some work to do there, but I don't think it's really a problem and, if it is, I'm sure it's one we can solve.

Q. What have been your biggest challenges coming into this championship from the Formula Renault Eurocup?

DR: Compared to Renault, the F3 is obviously a heavier, faster car, so physically I've had to increase my training from last year. Also, getting used to using a handbrake for the starts and getting the technique has been tricky, but I seem to have got it nailed this weekend! I'm aware I've just got to keep learning, but I now feel I'm at the level where I have an understanding of what the car can do and can get the most out of it. My relationship with my engineer is getting better and we're making good progress.

Q. Who do you think your biggest rival will be this season?

DR: I think this weekend proved there's quite a few of us who can fight for race wins. Nick Tandy was always going to be strong, Walter [Grubmuller], with his F3 experience, he's started well. Max [Chilton] impressed with his pole, and [Daisuke] Nakajima in his first British F3 race was right up there, T-Sport were good at the Silverstone test and, although their guys didn't have the best weekend here, if they can find their form they'll be in the fight at the next round. So it's quite hard to say, but for sure there are a few guys who can do it. As for me, I'm just going to take each race as it comes.

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Ricciardo completes double at Oulton

Ricciardo expects season to get tougher

British Formula 3 pre-season title favourite Daniel Ricciardo believes he will face a tougher challenge from his rivals in future races than he did at the Oulton Park season opener last weekend.

The Australian Carlin driver took two comfortable wins from two front row grid spots at Oulton, but expects to face stiffer competition as the season progresses.

"I think this weekend proved there's quite a few of us who can fight for race wins," said Ricciardo, whose race one victory made him the first driver to win a British F3 race with a Volkswagen engine since Steve Robertson at Thruxton in 1991.

"Nick Tandy was always going to be strong, Walter [Grubmuller], with his F3 experience, he's started well. Max [Chilton] impressed with his pole, and [Daisuke] Nakajima in his first British F3 race was right up there, so it’s quite hard to say, but for sure there are a few guys who can do it."

Ricciardo also reckons fellow VW-powered squad T-Sport will return to the fight at the front of the field, despite struggling for pace at Oulton.

"T-Sport were good at the Silverstone International test the other week and, although their guys didn't have the best weekend here, if they can find their form they'll be in the fight at the next round," he added.

"I hope I'm going to be strong everywhere, but I'm not sure yet. Testing at Silverstone was just okay - nothing too special from me – so we've got some work to do there, but I don't think it's really a problem and, if it is, I'm sure it's one we can solve."

Ricciardo wins on debut at Oulton

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Ricciardo completes double at Oulton

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Ricciardo completes double at Oulton

Australian Daniel Ricciardo completed a dominant British F3 double by racing to a comfortable victory in race two at Oulton Park this afternoon.

The Carlin driver made two superb getaways at the start of the race, which was restarted following a first corner crash involving T-Sport team-mates Wayne Boyd and Gabriel Dias.

On both occasions, poleman Walter Grubmuller fluffed his start and each time Ricciardo blasted past on the outside to take the lead before turn one.

From there, Ricciardo was able to pull out an instant gap on his Austrian rival and maintain pace consistently to flag.

"I wasn't sure I'd be able to get such a good start both times," said Ricciardo. "But it all worked out and from the first lap I was able to drive my own race and watch the gap back to the rest while keeping my laptimes fast and consistent."

Behind, Grubmuller showed strong pace in his pursuit of Ricciardo and even set the fastest race lap, but a couple of errors dropped him back into the clutches of the chasing Nick Tandy.

Tandy held station in third for most of the race, after winning a first lap duel with Max Chilton, and didn't have the pace to capitalise despite Grubmuller's occasional errors.

Further back, Riki Christodoulou endured a frustrating race, stuck in sixth behind Daisuke Nakajima after also making a poor start.

Pos Driver Team Car Time 1. Daniel Ricciardo Carlin D/V 23m57.693s 2. Walter Grubmuller Hitech D/M +2.625s 3. Nick Tandy JTR M/M +4.454s 4. Max Chilton Carlin D/V +10.652s 5. Daisuke Nakajima Double R D/M +15.912s 6. Riki Christodoulou Fortec D/M +16.721s 7. Adriano Buzaid T-Sport D/V +17.623s 8. Oliver Oakes Carlin D/V +21.381s 9. Henry Arundel Carlin D/V +22.173s 10. Victor Garcia Fortec D/M +29.372s 11. Hywel Lloyd CF D/H +29.517s 12. Daniel McKenzie Fortec (N) D/H +37.905s 13. Stephane Richelmi Barazi Epsilon D/M +42.668s 14. Carlos Huertas Double R D/M +43.578s 15. Maxim Snegirev West-Tec (N) D/H +1m00.042s 16. Victor Correa Litespeed (N) S/H +1m04.642s Retirements Jay Bridger West-Tec M/H 6 laps Wayne Boyd T-Sport D/V 0 laps Gabriel Dias T-Sport (N) D/H 0 laps Fastest lap, Grubmuller 1m29.177s

Ricciardo wins on debut at Oulton

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Ricciardo wins on debut at Oulton

Pre-season title favourite Daniel Ricciardo got his British F3 championship challenge off to the perfect start by winning the first race of the year at Oulton Park this morning.

The Red Bull-backed Australian sat behind his pole-sitting Carlin team-mate Max Chilton in second place for most of the race, with his mirrors full of the Mygale Mercedes of Nick Tandy.

Having pulled out a comfortable lead early on, Chilton's challenge fell away in the closing stages once he learned he would be penalised for a jump start.

He gradually fell back into the clutches of the chasing pair and lost out to both on consecutive laps with only a handful of tours left, but not before infuriating the rapid Tandy who felt Chilton had blocked him deliberately for a lap while Ricciardo tried to escape with the lead.

"I'm really pleased to have won my first F3 race," said Ricciardo. "The team said to me over the radio that Max had jumped the start and had a time penalty, so I knew I was racing for the lead. I pushed really hard towards the end and Nick kept me under pressure all the way."

Chilton's fate was already sealed and he finished third on the road but dropped to 17th after the flag, with one minute added to his time for the jump start.

That left race two poleman Walter Grubmuller to inherit the final podium place for former champion team Hitech, well clear of debutant Daisuke Nakajima. The Japanese rookie held third for the first few laps before he dropped behind Tandy and Grubmuller and spent the rest of the race defending from fellow series debutant Riki Christodoulou.

Expected frontrunning squad T-Sport, which has struggled so far this weekend, showed better pace in the race today. Adriano Buzaid and Wayne Boyd benefited from trouble at the start for Henry Arundel, Carlos Huertas and Oliver Oakes and finished sixth and seventh.

They also set quickest laps 0.8s slower than Tandy's new lap record 1m28.772s in the race - an improvement of half a second compared with Buzaid's gap to the front-running pace in qualifying.

Pos Driver Team Car Time 1. Daniel Ricciardo Carlin D/V 29m53.932s 2. Nick Tandy JTR M/M +2.459s 3. Walter Grubmuller Hitech D/M +9.156s 4. Daisuke Nakajima Double R D/M +16.489s 5. Riki Christodoulou Fortec D/M +17.190s 6. Adriano Buzaid T-Sport D/V +22.257s 7. Wayne Boyd T-Sport D/V +23.997s 8. Hywel Lloyd CF D/H +25.253s 9. Oliver Oakes Carlin D/V +25.801s 10. Victor Garcia Fortec D/M +34.267s 11. Daniel McKenzie Fortec (N) D/H +39.580s 12. Henry Arundel Carlin D/V +40.095s 13. Stephane Richelmi Barazi Epsilon D/M +51.477s 14. Carlos Huertas Double R D/M +52.853s 15. Gabriel Dias T-Sport (N) D/H +1m01.030s 16. Jay Bridger West-Tec M/H +1m01.559s 17. Max Chilton Carlin D/V +1m06.134s 18. Maxim Snegirev West-Tec (N) D/H +1 lap Retirements Victor Correa Litespeed (N) S/H 11 laps Fastest lap, Tandy 1m28.772s

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Grubmuller takes maiden F3 pole

Austrian racer Walter Grubmuller claimed pole position for race two during British Formula 3 second qualifying at Oulton Park this afternoon.

Like fellow championship veteran Max Chilton in this morning's session, Grubmuller was the only driver to break through the 1m27s barrier and thus took his first ever British F3 pole.

He topped the timesheet early on in his family-owned Hitech Racing-run Dallara-Mercedes - setting a 1m29.411s on his third lap and continuing to lower his own benchmark time in an impressive sequence of laps during the session.

Grubmuller set a 1m28.682s on his next tour, then 1m28.512s on his sixth lap, 1m28.192s on his seventh, 1m28.121s on his eighth and finally a 1m27.921s on his ninth effort.

Australian Carlin driver Daniel Ricciardo found only 0.002s of a second compared with session one, but his 1m28.103s lap was good enough for another front row start.

Fortec's Riki Christodoulou produced a late flurry to nab third spot from race one poleman Chilton with five minutes left, while Nick Tandy produced an identical 1m28.354s lap with just 60 seconds remaining to leap onto the second row in his Mygale-Mercedes.

That bumped Chilton down to row three ahead of the two Raikkonen Robertson Racing cars. This time, Colombian Carlos Huertas outpaced Japanese team-mate Daisuke Nakajima by 0.041s to round out the top six.

An engine change between sessions for Carlin driver Oliver Oakes did little for his prospects, as he again found himself mired in the lower reaches of the top 10.

Privateer Welshman Hywel Lloyd managed a career-best ninth fastest time, while T-Sport's two rookies again struggled - Adriano Buzaid and Wayne Boyd were both well over a second adrift of the pace.

Pos Driver Team Car Time Gap 1. Walter Grubmuller Hitech D/M 1m27.921s 2. Daniel Ricciardo Carlin D/V 1m28.103s +0.182 3. Riki Christodoulou Fortec D/M 1m28.354s +0.433 4. Nick Tandy JTR M/M 1m28.354s +0.433 5. Max Chilton Carlin D/V 1m28.416s +0.495 6. Carlos Huertas Double R D/M 1m28.567s +0.646 7. Daisuke Nakajima Double R D/M 1m28.608s +0.687 8. Henry Arundel Carlin D/V 1m28.733s +0.812 9. Hywel Lloyd CF D/H 1m28.939s +1.018 10. Oliver Oakes Carlin D/V 1m28.950s +1.029 11. Adriano Buzaid T-Sport D/V 1m29.248s +1.327 12. Victor Garcia Fortec D/M 1m29.465s +1.544 13. Jay Bridger West-Tec M/H 1m29.554s +1.633 14. Wayne Boyd T-Sport D/V 1m29.604s +1.683 15. Gabriel Dias T-Sport (N) D/H 1m29.867s +1.946 16. Daniel McKenzie Fortec (N) D/H 1m29.964s +2.043 17. Stephane Richelmi Barazi Epsilon D/M 1m31.193s +3.272 18. Max Snegirev West-Tec (N) D/H 1m31.772s +3.851

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Chilton claims pole for season opener

British Formula 3 veteran Max Chilton claimed a surprise pole position for the opening race of the season in first qualifying at Oulton Park today.

The 17-year-old younger brother of BTCC racer Tom lapped the International circuit in a blistering 1m27.830s with just 60 seconds remaining of the 30-minute session.

That time put the Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen driver on pole by 0.275s from Australian team-mate Daniel Ricciardo - five tenths inside reigning champion Jaime Alguersuari's 2008 pole time and 1.5s under the lap record.

"I couldn't tell you where that time came from," said Chilton after claiming his third ever British F3 pole. "I thought it was quite a slow lap actually and there were a couple of scrappy corners, but I just kept pushing every lap of the session and it finally all came together at the end."

Pre-season title favourite Ricciardo led the timesheet for much of the session, which was punctuated by a red flag 10 minutes in when Victor Correa went off at the Brittans chicaine, tore off the front wing and damaged the left front suspension on his Litespeed SLC Mugen-Honda.

When the session resumed, Ricciardo, Chilton and Fortec driver Riki Christodoulou all took turns at the head of the times – shaving thousandths of a second off each other's times, all in the 1m28.1s bracket.

With five minutes left, Ricciardo banged in a 1m28.105s lap and thought he'd done enough to take the top spot, until Chilton milked his moment of inspiration.

"There wasn't much more to come from the car," admitted Ricciardo. "It was good before the red flag, but afterwards I think the tyres went out of their operating window and the track got away from us a bit.

"I had some high-speed understeer and wasn't great at picking the gaps in traffic, but we're still on the front row and hopefully we can go better in the next session."

Japanese rookie Daisuke Nakajima pulled out a stellar lap late in the day to go third fastest, just over a tenth of second adrift of Ricciardo's best.

The Raikkonen Robertson Dallara-Mercedes racer pipped JTR's Nick Tandy by just four one thousandths of a second as the pair locked out row two.

Tandy waited until after the red flag to join in the on-track action and set a 1m28.240s lap, good enough for second on his sixth lap. But trouble in traffic and some over-aggressive driving in Hislop's chicane prevented him from ultimately figuring in the pole fight.

Hitech driver Walter Grubmuller used a last-gasp effort to pip Christodoulou for fifth place on the grid. The top 10 drivers were covered by just over a second.

Expected frontrunners T-Sport continued to struggle in qualifying. Brazilian Adriano Buzaid and reigning British Formula Ford champion Wayne Boyd finished the session 10th and 11th fastest respectively, over a second slower than poleman Chilton.

Pos Driver Team Car Time Gap 1. Max Chilton Carlin D/V 1m27.830s 2. Daniel Ricciardo Carlin D/V 1m28.105s +0.275 3. Daisuke Nakajima Double R D/M 1m28.236s +0.406 4. Nick Tandy JTR M/M 1m28.240s +0.410 5. Walter Grubmuller Hitech D/M 1m28.263s +0.433 6. Riki Christodoulou Fortec D/M 1m28.309s +0.479 7. Henry Arundel Carlin D/V 1m28.422s +0.592 8. Carlos Huertas Double R D/M 1m28.423s +0.593 9. Oliver Oakes Carlin D/V 1m28.654s +0.824 10. Adriano Buzaid T-Sport D/V 1m28.894s +1.064 11. Wayne Boyd T-Sport D/V 1m29.134s +1.304 12. Victor Garcia Fortec D/M 1m29.315s +1.485 13. Hywel Lloyd CF D/H 1m29.473s +1.643 14. Daniel McKenzie Fortec (N) D/H 1m29.554s +1.724 15. Jay Bridger West-Tec M/H 1m29.583s +1.753 16. Gabriel Dias T-Sport (N) D/H 1m29.884s +2.054 17. Stephane Richelmi Barazi Epsilon D/M 1m30.793s +2.963 18. Victor Correa Litespeed (N) S/H 1m31.027s +3.197 19. Max Snegirev West-Tec (N) D/H 1m31.529s +3.699

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Ricciardo tops Oulton Park F3 test

British Formula 3 title favourite Daniel Ricciardo got his first race weekend of the season off to the perfect start by setting the fastest time during official testing today.

The Australian Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen driver lapped the Oulton Park International circuit a full half a second quicker than Nick Tandy's JTR Mygale-Mercedes during three 50 minute sessions.

The fastest times came during the second session, which included Ricciardo's 1m28.166s best lap, which he set on a new-tyre run and which put him over a tenth inside reigning champion Jaime Alguersuari's pole position time from last season.

The series rookie was fastest of all in the first two sectors of lap, but pipped to quickest time in the third sector by Tandy.

The first two sessions were dry, while this afternoon's third and final session was rain affected.

Reflecting on his most dominant testing performance in British F3 to date, Formula Renault Eurocup graduate Ricciardo said: "The car feels really good in both wet and dry conditions and we have been very quick in the all the sessions, so that should allow me to sleep a little better tonight.

"It's only practice of course, but if I can drive like I did today for the rest of the weekend then we should be in pretty good shape."

Fortec Dallara-Mercedes driver Riki Christodoulou set the third fastest time overall, just a tenth of a second slower than Tandy, with his best time coming in the opening session.

The Formula Renault UK convert set the three quickest sector times in that first session, but could not hook it all up for a single lap. Had he done so he would have finished second fastest overall, just two tenths behind Ricciardo's best time.

Ricciardo's Carlin team-mates Max Chilton, Oliver Oakes and Henry Arundel lapped third, fourth and eighth fastest respectively, sandwiching Raikkonen Robertson pairing Carlos Huertas and Daisuke Nakajima.

Privateer Hywel Lloyd produced his best performance of the pre-season today and set a noteworthy ninth fastest time in his family-run Dallara-Mugen Honda, only 22 thousandths of a second slower than Arundel's best.

Austrian Walter Grubmuller rounded out the top 10, in a Hitech Dallara-Mercedes running a modified front wing, while frontrunning squad T-Sport endured a difficult day with its Dallara Volkswagens. Adriano Buzaid and Wayne Boyd could only manage 11th and 14th fastest times - 1.421s and 1.755s slower than Ricciardo.

Pos Driver Team Car Time 1. Daniel Ricciardo Carlin D/V 1m28.166s 2. Nick Tandy JTR M/M 1m28.682s 3. Riki Christodoulou Fortec D/M 1m28.794s 4. Max Chilton Carlin D/V 1m28.809s 5. Oliver Oakes Carlin D/V 1m28.875s 6. Carlos Huertas Double R D/M 1m28.899s 7. Daisuke Nakajima Double R D/M 1m29.039s 8. Henry Arundel Carlin D/V 1m29.289s 9. Hywel Lloyd CF Racing D/H 1m29.311s 10. Walter Grubmuller Hitech D/M 1m29.351s 11. Adriano Buzaid T-Sport D/V 1m29.587s 12. Victor Garcia Fortec D/M 1m29.885s 13. Daniel McKenzie Fortec D/M 1m29.917s 14. Wayne Boyd T-Sport D/V 1m29.921s 15. Jay Bridger West-Tec M/H 1m30.985s 16. Gabriel Dias T-Sport D/H 1m31.344s 17. Max Snegirev West-Tec D/H 1m31.976s 18. Stephane Richelmi Barazi Epsilon D/M 1m32.014s 19. Victor Correa Litespeed S/H 1m32.586s

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Guerrero begins rehabilitation

2008 British F3 National class runner-up Steven Guerrero kicked off a rehabilitation programme this week, nearly four months after a road accident left him in a coma.

Guerrero suffered head injuries on November 14 last year when he crashed with a truck while riding a motorcycle in the city of El Guamo, southeast of Bogota, Colombia. Since then his recovery has been slow, regaining minimum consciousness in January.

After a few weeks of further complications, the 19-year-old has made noticeable improvements, showing increasing signs of recovery which have finally allowed him to be transferred from the Clinica del Country to a rehabilitation clinic, where he has already started an intensive physical and psychological treatment.

"Although Steven has minimum consciousness, he establishes sporadic contact with his environment," said Dr. Remberto Burgos about Guerrero's progress. "He responds to some stimulus and occasionally expresses gestures of either satisfaction or pain.

"His systems are working well and all the complications have been overcome. We're very satisfied because he has responded well to different treatments, given the severity of his trauma and his initial neurological diagnosis."

Guerrero will spend the next few months in the Clinica Universitaria Teleton, north of Bogota, where doctors expect to help speed up his recovery.

The Bogota native was set to compete this year in the British F3 International class for T-Sport after finishing second in the National class last year for the same squad.

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Christodoulou confirms Fortec drive

Riki Christodoulou has confirmed that he will graduate to the British Formula 3 championship this season with Fortec Motorsport.

The 20-year-old Briton has tested well for the team throughout the pre-season and today confirmed a race deal with Fortec, who he has driven for in Formula Renault for the last two seasons.

"It's taken a long time to confirm my 2009 plans but now I can get my head down and focus on the opening races of the season," said Christodoulou. "I can't wait to make my F3 debut.

"My aim is to win the championship title at my first attempt. I know I have the ability, the passion, the hunger and importantly, the tools to do the job - it's down to me whether I succeed.

"Fortec is a top quality team who are determined to win the F3 title for the first time, while I believe the Dallara chassis and Mercedes engine combination is the best."

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Grubmuller tops Oulton Park test

Huertas leads final British F3 test

British Formula 3 rookie Carlos Huertas set the fastest time during the second day of the final official pre-season test at Silverstone yesterday.

The Colombian Raikkonen Robertson racer topped the timesheets for the first time since graduating to F3 from Formula BMW Europe.

He went quickest in both sessions and lapped the International circuit in a best time of 1m14.753s during the afternoon, a full tenth of a second faster than Carlin driver Max Chilton, who set his best time in the morning. Huertas's team-mate Daisuke Nakajima propped up a top 10 covered by 0.521 seconds.

The lap times were half a second slower than those set the previous day, when T-Sport driver Adriano Buzaid went quickest on his first run with the new 2009 Volkswagen engine.

Reflecting on his performance, Huertas said: "We had a good day. We knew we had a few problems to solve following the short test session we did yesterday (Tuesday) and I'm pleased that we've made progress.

"I improved on a couple of corners and the team made some steps forward with the car.

"I'm pleased that we were fastest in both the morning and afternoon session as that shows that we had genuine pace.

"It's good to finish testing on a high note with the first race of the season only a week or so away, although I know we still need to keep improving. I really can't wait for the racing to get underway."

Double R Team Principal Anthony Hieatt added: "The team did a good job at Silverstone and Carlos is now showing the pace that we've known he was capable of.

"Daisuke also made progress, so I think from a team perspective we're in good shape for [the first round at] Oulton Park."

Meranwhile, Fortec driver Riki Christodoulou returned to Britain for the test, after two days of Renault World Series testing with Comtec at Barcelona, and set the ninth fastest time.

Pos Driver Team Car Time 1. Carlos Huertas Double R D/M 1m14.753s 2. Max Chilton Carlin D/V 1m14.854s 3. Henry Arundel Carlin D/V 1m14.965s 4. Adriano Buzaid T-Sport D/V 1m14.969s 5. Wayne Boyd T-Sport D/V 1m14.996s 6. Daniel Ricciardo Carlin D/V 1m15.051s 7. Oliver Oakes Carlin D/V 1m15.101s 8. Nick Tandy JTR M/M 1m15.132s 9. Riki Christodoulou Fortec D/M 1m15.231s 10. Daisuke Nakajima Double R D/M 1m15.274s 11. Hywel Lloyd CF Racing D/H 1m15.384s 12. Victor Garcia Fortec D/M 1m15.392s 13. Walter Grubmuller Hitech D/M 1m15.489s 14. Stephane Richelmi Barazi Epsilon D/M 1m15.638s 15. Gabriel Dias T-Sport D/H 1m15.857s 16. Jay Bridger West-Tec M/H 1m16.083s 17. Daniel McKenzie Fortec D/H 1m16.172s 18. Victor Correa Litespeed S/H 1m16.727s 19. Max Snegirev West-Tec D/H 1m17.263s

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The British Formula 3 International Series has replaced its Bucharest street races with a new date at the Algarve International track in Portimao, Portugal.

The championship had been due to run alongside the FIA GT Championship in Romania again, but the Bucharest meeting's date change from 30 August to 9 August, due to a clash with a Madonna concert in the city, caused problems for F3.

"The original Bucharest date was ideal for us, but the Romanian event organisers had to bring it forward and it became logistically difficult for the teams," said Alistair Spence, a spokesman for British F3 promoter SRO.

"We were happy to explore other opportunities and we are more than delighted with the outcome."

The Portimao races will take place on 12-13 September, with British F3 sharing the bill with the FIA GT3 series.

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