Arden Motorsport head into the second event of the 2021 Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine season at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Spain, in buoyant mood after a promising start to the campaign.
The Banbury-based team marked the start of their 2021 season with silverware in Imola a fortnight ago in the hands of Britain’s Alex Quinn, whilst two solid points finishes for William Alatalo (Finland) mean the pair arrive tied level for fifth in the standings.
That, plus promising pace from Italy’s Nicola Marinangeli and a strong showing at the 2.90-mile circuit on the outskirts of Montmelo in pre-season mean all three rising stars have cause to be optimistic heading into the next action-packed double header on the calendar.
Arden will also be eyeing a move up the Teams’ standings; the Red Arrows currently sit a very comfortable fourth, but within touching distance of the competition ahead.
Once again, Europe’s premier single-seater series will also feature on the support package for Formula 1 ® at the Spanish Grand Prix.
Characterised by long straights and a variety of high and low-speed corners, the circuit is something of an ‘all-rounder’, and promises another superb weekend of racing.
Friday features a busy day of track action, with practice (09:00 CET) and both qualifying sessions at 12:55 & 13:15 respectively.
Arden’s trio will then have a race on both Saturday (13:30) and Sunday (10:50) to round out the weekend.
Ben Salter, Arden Formula Regional Team Manager said:
“The whole team is looking forward with optimism to the second Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine race weekend of the season in Barcelona.
“It was definitely a mixed bag for us at Imola; Alex’s podium and two strong finishes from William have put us in a solid position, but Nicola definitely deserved more from the weekend.
“We ran well here during pre-season testing, so there’s every reason to be optimistic, hopefully it all comes together and we can bring back another set of positive results.”
William Alatalo (#8) said:
“I’m really looking forward to driving in Barcelona.
“Qualifying will be critical, so we need to maximize our performance especially on Friday. Tyre wear is a big factor at this circuit, so the races will be hard to manage.
“Our pre-season tests in Barcelona went well, so we can definitely have good results on the weekend.”
Nicola Marinangeli (#14) said:
“I’m really looking forward to Barcelona next week, and to get back racing.
“We showed some good pace here during our pre-season testing programme, so the aim, as always, is to do our best and bring back some good results.”
Alex Quinn (#21) said:
“I’ve been really looking forward to racing at Barcelona again.
“We had a positive test here during our pre-season programme at this circuit, and I’ll be doing everything I can from my side to make sure we’re in a position to pick up some strong results.”