Pentus the best “light” pilot

For the last day of FR 3.5 Series testing, at Motorland Aragon, all the teams had to upgrade their single-seaters to a light aerodynamic version. It was a question of validating an important configuration since, this season, all the cars will have to operate on Saturdays with this aero version, except in Monaco. Sten Pentus (Fortec Motorsport) showed himself to be the most skilled in this exercise, his team having studied this aerodynamic variant more (smaller rear wing, reduced steering angle, ban on skirts).

« We worked a lot in light aerodynamic configuration this winter and especially yesterday (Friday), confirmed Pentus. Perhaps this is why we took the advantage over the others today (Saturday). Regardless, this gives me high hopes for the first race. But you have to work again and again, this kind of result really motivates me. »

The Estonian thus beat the best time of Jean-Eric Vergne (SG Formula), set the day before in normal aero configuration. The Motorland Aragon circuit lent itself particularly well to the aero light version since it has few fast turns, which does not require a lot of downforce. In addition, the long straight of the Spanish circuit allowed the drivers to have a better top speed, the light aerodynamics favoring this phenomenon. The strong wind pushing the cars into this straight line gave the Saturday times an advantage.

« On a lap, the light aerodynamic configuration can actually prove very effective, especially today with this favorable wind, confirmed Nathanaël Berthon. But the car slips more. This will therefore be difficult over the duration of a race, we must not make any mistakes especially as it seems that we are deteriorating our tires more quickly. »

Find the Motorland Aragon photo album here