Arden Motorsport will return to action in the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine at the iconic Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium this weekend (23-25 July).
After a one-month layover since the previous event at Zandvoort, the Banbury-based team make the trip out to the Ardennes Forest aiming to turn their fortunes around after a frustrating run of results in Europe’s premier single seater series.
The high-speed, flowing 4.3-mile Spa circuit will greet the team’s trio of drivers – Alex Quinn, William Alatalo and Nicola Marinangeli – after a month spent putting in the yards back at HQ to unlock more performance and extract the most from the car.
Spa has yielded the team good results in the past, not least a 1-2 finish for Quinn and former Red Arrow Ugo de Wilde last season.
Although a repeat performance will be difficult in such a competitive field, the trio will have plenty of motivation as Arden look to break back into the top three in the Teams Championship, currently one point adrift from third-placed Prema.
Two practice sessions on Friday (09:55 & 18:00 BST) set the tone for the weekend, ahead of two crucial qualifying sessions on Saturday at 10:20 and 15:50 to set the field for both races.
The first takes place later that same evening at 18:25, with the other on Sunday at 10:35. Live coverage will be available, as per usual, on the championship’s YouTube channel and social media platforms.
Ben Salter, Arden Formula Regional Team Manager said:
“We’ve been stuck on a bit of an inconsistent run recently, so our focus this weekend is really to bounce back from that and get back up front on a regular basis.
“Everybody’s worked exceptionally hard during the break, drivers and mechanics alike, so our objective now is to go out and reward that effort this weekend at Spa.
“It’s been a good hunting ground for us at this level in previous years, but that’s never any guarantee of success. If we put everything together, we should be in good shape, but it’s such a competitive field so taking it one session at a time is the key.”
William Alatalo (#8) said:
“Finally - we are back on track! I have been waiting to drive at Spa for a long time. I really enjoy the track and it’s definitely one of my favourite tracks of all time.
“Now I need to give my full focus to this race weekend and hopefully we can achieve good results.”
Nicola Marinangeli (#14) said:
“I’m really happy to be back in the car after a month away. Spa is one of the most exciting tracks on the calendar.
“I’m really focused for this weekend, I hope it will be a positive one.”
Alex Quinn (#21) said:
“It’s been a while since the last race, so I’m glad we’ll be back in action this weekend – I’ve missed it!
“I enjoyed Spa a lot last year, so it’s probably the one I’ve been looking forward to the most. We’ve put a lot of work in since Zandvoort, so now it’s about putting everything together and hopefully bringing back some strong results.”