Interview
Ugochukwu: ‘Pace looking strong’ as Campos keep Melbourne momentum rolling
Campos Racing and Ugo Ugochukwu picked up from where they left off in Melbourne, ending Day 1 fastest of all in the Spielberg in-season test.
The American driver set a 1:20.368 to lead the pack in the first segment of the day, and then finished eighth overall in the afternoon segment.
Reflecting on his first day back in the Formula 3 car since Round 1, Ugochukwu said it had been a great start to the test and that the team’s pace looked very strong already.
“It was a pretty positive first day back,” he said. “It was just nice to get back into the car, it's been a long time since Melbourne, so just getting back into the groove this morning was really good.
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“Pace was really strong and I think the afternoon was pretty good as well. Learning a few new bits, trying stuff on the car to keep improving. Day one's been pretty good and we'll keep pushing on for day two.”
The Campos driver said that the team had been aiming to keep their early season momentum going despite the long break since Melbourne, something he felt they achieved on the first day of running.
With another day to go, Ugochukwu says that there’s no reason why they can’t continue to build on their speed ahead of Round 2 and Monte Carlo next month.
“The main thing was just getting back into it and then picking up from where we left off in Melbourne, which I think we did. We hit the ground running, and I think for the rest of the day, just trying a few new bits and see if we can find even more performance.”
Previewing what’s to come on the final day of running at the Red Bull Ring, the 19-year-old said that the team had been working hard over the break to ensure their run plan maximised the available track time.
He added that there was a positive atmosphere in the garage, and that he expected steps forward in both race and qualifying simulations on the final day of on-track action in Austria.
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“It's definitely good to be working with all the guys again. Of course, we had our prep in the sim and in the workshop, but it's always good to finally get on track and work together when it’s the real thing.
“Tomorrow, we’ll try to learn a bit more, a few more new tyres to use up. So, a few more qualifying runs and then I'm sure it'll be a bunch of race runs in the afternoon as well.
“So, definitely a lot more laps we can get under our belt and more experience with the car always helps.”