Virgin team ready for full testing

Lucas di Grassi

Virgin Racing are all set to begin pre-season testing after successfully completing a two-day shakedown at Silverstone today.

Having conducted a few initial exploratory laps in the VR-01 yesterday, Timo Glock kicked things up a notch on day two, completing 42 laps of the 1.8km Stowe circuit during the morning.

This afternoon, Timo reluctantly handed over the cockpit to Lucas di Grassi, who took to the track for the very first time as a fully-fledged Formula One racer. He went on to record a total of 36 laps. When asked how it felt to drive the car for the first time, Lucas said: “It feels good. It feels like home! I’m really happy and our first impressions of the car are very positive. It’s amazing what the team has achieved in such a short space of time. I think we have a strong car and a great team to get things started in Jerez. It was important for me to learn as much as possible here so I can start to put some real mileage on the car next week."

Nick Wirth, Virgin Racing’s Technical Director, said: “I am delighted that we have successfully shaken down the VR-01. To achieve 100km of running out of the box is a great achievement with only a few minor issues along the way. We have acquired some good information to feed straight back into design for the development of new parts, which we may even be testing next week. All in all this is a very pleasing conclusion to a memorable week for Virgin Racing."

Team Principal John Booth paid due credit to his brand new race team: “Our shakedown provided our very first opportunity to work together as a trackside operation and it couldn’t have gone any better. The way the team has come together to achieve such a successful shakedown has been commendable. I’m very proud of what we have achieved and we’re looking forward to taking our place alongside the other F1 teams in the pitlane next week."