In preparation of the new racing season there are a couple of pre-season tests. This time the tests took place at the circuits of Estoril and Silverstone. Since these races are just to get the hang of racing again and to compare yourself with other drivers in your division, the results have no real meaning... Because of this a lot of drivers within the Fever Racing Organisation decided not to drive. There were however a couple of drivers willing to do some laps. Their experiences can be read here...

Estoril

For Marcel Schot qualifying went very well from the very first lap. He had his setup for the race completed in a short time and drove a good race. Sometimes it seemed like he lost a lot of grip, but nevertheless he was very satisfied. This could not be said about Marcel van den Brink who drove a terrible race. Until lap 10 all seemed to go well, but then in lap 11 he lost control and eventually lost his left front wheel. This forced him to make a pitstop. The next lap he went a bit too hard over the curbs and lost a front wing... again he had to make a pitstop. This probably frustrated him so much, that he spun the car only one lap later. Luckily for him he was not lapped.

Edwin van den Brink drove a very calm race after a calm qualifying session. He did not have any problems during the race.

Gerhard Alink, who made his debut in Formula 1 racing, had a rough start and went off the track in the very first corner. He lost a lot of places due to this, but managed to come back. He did not have any other problems.

Silverstone

During qualification nothing very special happened with Marcel Schot. The only thing worth mentioning is, that he drove a full second faster than he had ever done during qualification on this circuit. During the race itself he only made some very small mistakes, but was very satisfied with his result. Problems were there (again) for Marcel van den Brink. He had a bad cold and was not able to breathe normal. This resulted in a lack of concentration. His qualifying did not go the way he wanted it and could not get a decent setup for the race. Nevertheless the race went a lot better than the qualifying. Unfortunately for him he got a bit too enthousiastic and went to fast into a corner. The car span and stopped spinning on the track. Another driver did not see him and crashed into him. This caused him to lose a wheel and that was the end of the race for him.

'Qualification really sucked!', was the first reaction of Edwin van den Brink after his qualifying session. He did not manage to get to a good racing-setup. This could be seen during the race... after only 9 laps he completely lost all grip. Because he wanted to stay in the same rhythm as in previous laps, he got into trouble sometimes, becuase he drove too fast into some corners. But no big problems arose for him and thus he managed to keep the car in one piece and finish the race.

Everybody in the team now know what to expect from the oncoming season and one main conclusion is, that there needs to be a lot more practicing before the team can do well.

© The Fever Racing Organisation, 1997