Colombian lady racer Tatiana Calderon took a Triple 20 away from the penultimate weekend in the 2013 FIA Formula 3 European Championship at Autodromo Vallelunga Piero Taruffi (12-13 October).
The sixth and final official day of testing of the year was held at Vallelunga on Friday (11 October).
Six hours of track time started in drizzly conditions, although brief spells of sunshine gradually dried out the circuit.
Calderon used the extended seat time in both wet and dry conditions to test various new ideas, carry out a proper and full analysis of data and acclimatise to the 4.08km Autodromo Piero Taruffi.
As a result, the 20-year old completed a drying first practice session on Saturday (12 October) with the ninth fastest time – 1m42.454s – and moved to within eight tenths of the leaders during a fast-paced qualifying session.
Calderon carried her pace into the races on Saturday and Sunday and, from 23rd on the grid in Round 26, inexorably rose to 13th place before evading an incident and falling back down to 20th at the finish.
The Colombian was filled with optimism after sealing two additional 20th place finishes in Rounds 25 and 27 and attributes her new turn of speed to driver coaching from Andy Soucek – former Formula 1 test and reserve driver from Madrid, Spain.
“The weekend at Vallelunga was my best in the FIA F3 European Championship so far,” said Calderon. “Friday’s test meant we had experience in wet and dry conditions and it really helped to have a day to think about, analyse and process information before qualifying.
“I adapted to the circuit well – it suits my style because it isn’t a particularly fast track and there are a lot of overtaking opportunities, which made the racing interesting and fun. Free practice on Saturday started off wet but the track dried out and the pace improved with every lap. I had a battery issue and didn’t experience the circuit at its fastest, but I felt pretty good in those conditions.
Calderon continued: “Then my pace was really strong in the first two races. I ran as high as 13th in race two but had to run wide to avoid hitting somebody at Turn 7. I think I showed I can be competitive and that gives me a lot of confidence.”
The FIA Formula 3 European Championship season finale – Rounds 28, 29 and 30 – will be held on Germany’s Hockenheimring this weekend (19-20 October).
For all the latest news and updates on Tatiana Calderon’s racing activities, please like her Facebook page or follow @TataCalde on Twitter.