PRESS RELEASE – AGI Sport drivers test the new Formula 4 car
The first Formula 4 car has hit an Australian track at Winton Raceway in Victoria. AGI Sport drivers Tom Grech and Jimmy Vernon have given it a big ‘thumbs-up’ after the first unofficial test day.
AGI Sport was allocated 2 hours with the car, Team Manager Adam Gotch had high praise for the new package, “ Mygale have done a fine job with the chassis and the paddle-shift gearbox. The car looks gorgeous, almost like a baby F1 car and the engine sounds great and delivered reliably all day”.
“Both drivers did a fantastic job, their Formula Ford experience has really done them well. To get into a slicks and wings car and set very competitive lap times against a strong field of youngsters proves they are both more than ready to take this next important step in their careers.”
AGI Sport driver Jimmy Vernon, the first driver to commit to the series, was blown away, “It’s an awesome bit of kit. Mygale has put together a fantastic package for us and I’m just so excited. The Ford Ecoboost engine has quite a nice tone to it and it’s going to be an awesome year.”
“The top challenge for me will be getting used to the paddle-shift. I know it’s a lot easier but it’s still going to be a massive transition going from an H pattern to a paddle-shift. “
“Each track we go to we are going to learn more and more things about the car and we will just keep progressing and getting faster. “
Both drivers did two stints on used rubber and a third with a new set of tyres. There was little drop-off from the Hankook’s after half a day running laps around Winton.
AGI Sport driver Tom Grech thought it was a great to get some awareness of the new car, “ That was my first wings and slicks experience, I really liked it, it was a lot of fun and it was certainly different. It’s different from a Formula Ford obviously because of the aero, there’s bit more grip with the slick tyres so its pretty raw and you can drive it hard so it’s lots of fun.
“Formula 4 is going to come down to the driver and the way that the teams are going to maximise the last few tenths out of the car because obviously all the cars are the same. It’s an even playing field so it’s going to be very, very tight.”
The test day also provided valuable information for CAMS, the motorsport body has been working hard to get the new driver development series up and running.
CAMS Motorsport Development Manager Cameron McConville said it was a successful day, “We’ve had ten young kids through the car, nothing has gone wrong mechanically and that’s a big tick for us.
“We had some great feedback, some of the young karter kids were blown away by how much grip it had and I think the Formula Ford drivers were surprised by how different it felt from Formula Ford.
“So, different feedback from different drivers but I think the main thing is they all got out of the cars with a smile on their face and most of them were asking when their car would arrive so that’s a good sign “.
The cars for the CAMS Jayco Australian Formula 4 series are set to leave France in the next couple of weeks with more test days planned ahead of the first race at the Townsville 400 in July.
