This weekend the Colombian pilot Tatiana Calderon will race the third round of the European F3 Open in one of the most celebrated scenarios by drivers and fans. The demanding Circuit of Spa-Francorchamps, with 20 curves that shape a fast track over seven kilometers long, will be the challenge for her and the other 24 drivers in the Formula 3 championship with the most permanent participation worldwide.
Tatiana arrives at Spa after having met with a positive practice session last week at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, where she rode only about a third of the grid that is expected for this date. Despite it being a very different circuit from Spa, she worked with her engineer Emilio de Villota Jr trying to simulate the behavior of the car expected for this weekend.
Her team Emilio de Villota Motorsport, who has scored two of the four victories disputed so far, looks forward to staying ahead in the championship squads, while Tatiana will try again to get into the point zone, as she has already done in Portugal in the first round of the championship.
Disputed four races, Tatiana is ranked 13th in the overall score, standing out amongst the three women participants as the only one able to open her scoreboard this year.
Tatiana says: “I arrive at Spa eager to race again in one of the best circuits in the world, the longest and fastest of the championship. It is really special and I think there’s no pilot who doesn’t like it. I had the chance to race there in 2009 in a Radical SR5, a very different car to a Formula 3, but I got to know the track.
“One lap on a Formula 3 takes about 2 minutes and 17 seconds, therefor there are few laps in short training sessions. It will be very important to get a fairly accurate tuning, in order to maximize the two shifts of 30 minutes that we will have on Friday.
“With the team we have prepared this race in two days of testing that we had in Valencia. There we tested with a configuration very similar to the one we will have this weekend, with low downforce, which makes the car very sensitive under braking and cornering.
“As a team we have the advantage of having 3 F312s so we can each do different tests on Friday and as always share the information to get the optimum for all. I feel very well prepared but the climate here is unpredictable and everything can change suddenly and without warning. ”
The schedule for this weekend includes two official practice sessions on Friday, followed by a classification and race both Saturday and Sunday. Competition will be on Saturday at 10:15 am and Sunday at 5:55 am, Colombian time. It will be transmitted via f3open.net.
For more information visit the following links: www.tatianacalderon.com www.f3open.net www.cronococa.com Twitter: @TataCalde
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