“The Aussie and the Italian seem to gel” elates Doohan on potential Trident partnership

Jack Doohan’s name has consistently sat at the top of the timesheets during post-season testing at Jerez with the Red Bull junior looking much more confident and assured ahead of what he hopes will be a second season at this level.

The Australian racer spent the 2020 campaign with HWA RACELAB, but he failed to finish in the points during his rookie season. Switching to Trident for all four days of post-season testing, Doohan has been punching in some solid laptimes and is pleased with how things have gone.

“My driving style seems to really suit their car,” he elated. “The atmosphere in the team is really good - the Aussie and the Italian seem to gel quite well! I am really enjoying it so far and I am hoping that we can continue this (partnership).”

Doohan topped the timesheets for the second morning in a row on Day 2, with the quickest time in Jerez, setting the standard at 1:29.041 during a qualifying simulation. Only his teammate Clément Novalak could get close to him, missing out by just 0.0019s.

Pleased with the morning’s work, Doohan explained that this allowed the team to switch their attention to other areas in the afternoon.

“I am quite happy with that,” he continued. “It's my first time in Jerez and I am really enjoying it. I really like the circuit. We had a positive day yesterday; we were able to test a few things and get quite a good baseline for this morning, knowing that Day 2 AM would be a proper Quali simulation.

“This morning was when the track was at its best, not dirty and the perfect temperature. I was glad to be able to get a quick time in this morning and then after that, from 10.30am onwards, we focused on a race run.

“That was the plan this afternoon as well: we got two race runs in and then it was about collecting data for next year.”

The Australian says he is yet to finalise his plans for 2020, but is pushing for a return to F3, ideally with Trident. It would be the first time in his single-seater career that Doohan has remained in the same Championship for a second season and he believes it could give him an edge in his bid to fight for podiums and wins.

He continued: “It will give me a slight bit of confidence to arrive at tracks like the Red Bull Ring and Silverstone knowing that the braking points and the turning points are the same.

“That means that you can pretty much pick up from where you left off and I think that could be a big help. Hopefully, I can continue with these guys and do a lot better job than last year.”