Arden Motorsport marked a return to action in the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine with a solid points haul at the Red Bull Ring, Austria last weekend (11-12 September).
Europe’s premier tier of single seater racing hit the track once again after a six-week hiatus in the Styrian mountains, with Banbury-based Arden’s trio – Alex Quinn, William Alatalo and Nicola Marinangeli – keen to hit the ground running after the pause.
After two positive days of pre-event testing, Quinn and Alatalo were able to secure a brace of top-ten starting slots for the opening race of the weekend, the former then coming within a whisker of another podium finish with fourth at the chequered flag.
Alatalo took eighth on that occasion, before leading the team’s charge on Sunday to match that result once again, and with Quinn just behind in ninth the pair completed a quartet of points finishes.
For Marinangeli, forward progress – including a gain of ten positions in Sunday’s finale - and strong race pace proved to be the highlights once again, but the Italian’s wait for his first points of the season will roll on to Valencia in a fortnight.
Arden’s quest to wrestle a top-three position in the Teams’ Championship also continues, the Red Arrows now just 15 markers shy of nearest rivals Prema in the standings with six races left to run.
Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, Spain marks the next stop of the calendar across the weekend of 25-26 September.
Ben Salter, Arden Formula Regional Team Manager said:
“This weekend definitely marked a step in the right direction for us. Qualifying is still something that needs a lot of work to improve, but our race pace was solid, and we’ve got a decent points haul to show for it.
“It’s a fairly short turnaround now to the next event in Valencia, so we’ll work quickly to identify what areas we can make some changes in, and hopefully as things progress into the ‘business end’ of the season, we can end on a high note.
“Thanks to everybody in the team for their hard work and commitment, as always.”
William Alatalo (#8) said:
“It’s good to leave Red Bull Ring with two points finishes, but of course where we’re aiming to be is higher up than that.
“Every weekend is an opportunity for us to improve, to learn, and I’m now focused on Valencia in a fortnight to continue that process and get back towards the podium.”
Nicola Marinangeli (#14) said:
“Unfortunately, we didn’t get what we deserved this time out, I had strong pace in each session across the weekend.
“Qualifying compromised our races, although I had a lot of fun making those overtakes as a result. Thanks to the team for their support, we move on to Valencia.”
Alex Quinn (#21) said:
“This weekend was definitely a better one for me. I managed to take a fourth and a ninth-place finish respectively in the races; it’s not where we want to be, but a step in the right direction.
“There’s plenty for me to be positive about, and we’ve only got two weeks until we’re back out in Valencia to push for more.”