Tatiana Calderon is full of positivity and confidence after three hard-fought FIA Formula 3 European Championship races at the Nurburgring (17-18 August).
The F3 European Championship resumed after a four-week break, with Germany’s infamous Nurburgring the venue for Rounds 19, 20 and 21 of the 2013 season.
With prior knowledge and experience of the Nurburgring’s 3.62km ‘Sprint’ configuration, Calderon focused on optimising the setup of her Mercedes-Benz powered Dallara F312 chassis.
The Colombian lady racer discovered more than half a second in lap time between the first and second practice sessions and continued edging towards the front-running pace in qualifying.
Warm and sunny conditions greeted the drivers for the start of Round 19 and Calderon used a solid launch to maintain 23rd position, before becoming embroiled in an entertaining tussle with URD Rennsport’s Lucas Wolf.
The fight raged on until Wolf’s demise on lap 13, Calderon inheriting a hard-fought and satisfying 22nd position.
Battle was resumed in Round 20. From 23rd on the grid, Calderon locked horns with race one foe Wolf and ThreeBond with T-Sport’s Richard Goddard.
A spirited drive from Calderon put her in 20th position and within touching distance of Dennis van de Laar at the conclusion of the 25-lap encounter; the 20-year old left Goddard trailing after a fraught wheel-to-wheel fight, while another retirement took Wolf out of contention.
The final F3 European Championship outing to be held in the shadow of the Nurburg castle got off to a dramatic start, as several drivers became entangled in a spectacular opening-lap collision.
Calderon, aged 20, made setup changes to her Double R Racing-prepared machine between races. After the early Safety Car intervention, she was kept busy by Andre Rudersdorf and Roy Nissany, seeing off a late challenge from Sandro Zellar to finish in a pleasing 19th place.
“I’m pretty happy with the results and the pace I showed this weekend at the Nurburgring,” said Calderon. “I think knowing the track helped me get up to speed more quickly, although I felt there were further improvements to be made after free practice and qualifying.
“I had some fun battles throughout all three races, but I loved going wheel-to-wheel with Richard Goddard, Lucas Wolf and Dennis van de Laar in Round 20. Overall the weekend was very positive, as I was able to fight harder and higher up the order than ever before. I have a lot more confidence and can’t wait to get back on track at Zandvoort.”
Calderon and her Double R Racing team will take part in a two-day test at Hockenheim before the FIA Formula 3 European Championship resumes at Zandvoort in The Netherlands on 28-29 September.
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