The Estoril circuit, just half an hour from the Portuguese capital Lisbon, hosted the first official GP3 Series test of 2016 at the end of last month. Ban Chang based Thai racer Sandy Kraokaew Stuvik – having switched to Trident Motorsport for this season – showed strong pace and finished the test in 4th place overall.
“There was a lot of work to do in order to find out as much as we could about this new GP3/16 car. We worked through our program and gained a lot of useful data for this season. I’m glad about the pace we showed and there is definitely more in myself so I’m very excited to get the next test underway,” said Stuvik.
Thailand’s Sandy Stuvik test drives his new GP3/16 car at the Estoril circuit in Portugal, Thursday, March 24.
This season the GP3 Series has a brand new car for all teams and drivers. The GP3/16 car also has a new engine developed by Mecachrome. The naturally aspirated V6 produces 400hp, the same power output of the previous years’ car.
“The new car feels great to drive, slightly more aero and the engine feels more powerful. We are currently running around 10km/h faster down the straights, so it’ll be interesting to see what speeds we get up to in the races,” commented Stuvik.
The next test will take place in Valencia, Spain on the 7-8th April. The young Thai is keen to improve upon his results and hopes for another successful test. “I’m incredibly grateful to all my fantastic sponsors for giving me the opportunity to redeem myself this season. A huge thank you to Singha Corporation, The Pizza Company, Dacon Inspection Services, the Tourism Authority of Thailand, the Royal Automobile Association of Thailand, and the Sports Authority of Thailand.”
Round 1 of the 2016 GP3 Series season takes place from April 29 – May 1 in Sochi, Russia.
