Magnussen leads testing at Snetterton

Kevin Magnussen topped the timesheets in official testing today, as the Carlin team prepared for the 2011 Cooper Tires British F3 International Series. The Danish racer was quickest in both the morning and afternoon sessions, while team mate Carlos Huertas finished the day second quickest, with Felipe Nasr completing a Carlin top three.

Today’s test at the Snetterton 300 track was the first taste of the newly reconfigured circuit for the British F3 drivers. Having undergone a complete renovation, the circuit now extends to 2.99 miles, with several new corners, including those inspired by the Montreal circuit and Monza’s Parabolica.

The drivers were greeted with a wet track this morning as testing got underway. Magnussen made the most of the wet conditions, going quickest in this morning’s session. Huertas continued his consistent pre-season preparations at the front of the field and was third quickest, just ahead of Jazeman Jaafar who was fourth while Felipe Nasr was seventh quickest.

Making the most of the long morning session, local boy Rupert Svendsen-Cook was involved in a lengthy test program, testing various gear ratios for the team around the new circuit. Team mate Harvey meanwhile was forced to sit out the majority of the morning session due to a technical problem, and only had 18 laps during the very wet conditions early on.

A drying track in the afternoon allowed the teams to make the switch to slicked rubber, and get their first real impressions of the Snetterton circuit. Both Magnussen and Huertas dipped below the 1 minute 40 seconds mark to set the first and second times of the day, while Nasr was a close third. Svendsen-Cook was also near the front and was fifth quickest. Malaysian Jaafar was 13th after electing not to run on new tires, while Racing Steps man Harvey was still recovering from his technical problem earlier in the day.

Team principal Trevor Carlin added, “The team did a good job today to get to grips with what is effectively a new circuit. Jonathan Palmer deserves a great deal of credit for making the investment and effort to create another great British circuit.

“Kevin, Carlos and Felipe did a great job to finish the day at the top of the timesheets, but I think our other drivers have also shown over the day that they are also capable of being up there. Jack really lost out due to a technical problem this morning, but I’m sure we’ll see him making the most of his second day of testing tomorrow."