Lewis impresses on first GP3 testposted in MSPOR05 | 03 | 2011
HIGHLANDER LEWIS WILLIAMSON flew back to Scotland today having impressed his new MW Arden GP3 team owned by Red Bull F1 boss Christian Horner and RB racer, Aussie Mark Webber.
The 21-year-old from Golspie, who was driving his new turbocharged GP3 car for the first time, outpaced many established racers in the two-day test at the Paul Ricard circuit near Le Castellet in southern France.
"Yeh, the test went really well," Williamson, who finished the opening day third-fastest in his Renault-powered racer, explained today after arriving back in Inverness.
"Conditions on the opening day were wet and mixed, but the track was drier for the second day. The big problem was, with 30 cars on the track it was always difficult to get a clear lap, but I'm happy with what we achieved."
Williamson, who won last year's prestigious McLaren Young Driver of the Year Award after narrowly missing out on the British Formula Renault Championship, had emphasised before the test that his priority was not about setting quickest times.
"This was my first time back in a GP3 car since I tested in Portugal in October last year, plus my first time working with the new team, so this test was all about getting to know my new car and the team," the Highland Arena-backed racer continued.
"We achieved everything we set out to do before the test started. The first day was all about getting used to the car and the track, the second day we spent working on various set-up changes and getting to know how the new Pirelli tyres work.
"If there was a slight frustration it was that when we went out towards the end of the second day to try and do a quick time, the track conditions had deteriorated, so we missed out."
But despite the drop in track conditions, Williamson was only 0.443s off the day's fastest time of 1min 20.898secs set by England's Alexander Sims.
Williamson will return to his 'paid' job as an apprentice fabrication engineer at Ross-shire Engineering's Muir of Ord plant on Monday. His next taste of GP3 action is at the two-day test at Silverstone later this month.
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Jim McGill
Photo: Drew Gibson/GP3 Media Service