F2000 Driver Lall Tests F3 in UK

September 21, 2015
Quinlan Lall and the T-Sports team

Montgomery, NY – Following the F2000 Championship Series weekend at Pittsburgh International Race Complex in early August, 15-year-old F2000 driver Quinlan Lall and Momentum Motorsports team owner Phil Picard boarded a plane to the UK, where Lall would get his first taste of an F3 car as he considers his 2016 options.

The week-long trip to the UK saw a full scheduled for Lall including simulator time and in-depth briefings before his maiden laps in the car for the T-Sports squad.

Lall tested in South Wales at Pembrey Circuit, spending two full days in the state-of-the-art F3 chassis.

“I felt that F3 was a logical step for my career,” said Lall. “This year would be my second full year in an F2000 car and I learned a huge amount in the two seasons I drove. I won a race, finished in the top five many times, and development my race craft. I felt it was a good time to take on a new challenge. The F3 test also allowed us to have a good comparison and baseline as to where I need to be, both driving wise and physically, to be able to be competitive in a European field of drivers. My goal since I was small wasn’t NASCAR or IndyCar, it was always Formula 1, and F3 puts me one step closer to the goal.”

Beyond two days in the 2015 F3 car, which amounted to about 200 miles, Lall spent upwards of six hours in a state-of-the-art Base Performance Simulator.

“It was a full 180 degree field of vision, live streaming data back to the engineers on the computers, and full feedback from the wheel and pedals,” recalled Lall. “I spent roughly three hours a day for two days in the simulator learning the car and the track.”

Making things more interesting, the track test started off in the wet, which actually allowed Lall to get used to the car at lower speeds before slicks went on.

“We would do a run of 10 to 15 laps then come in, analyze data and video, and go back out with a new game plan,” Lall said. “We logged a lot of time with this format over our two days of testing.”

Of course, compared to his Momentum Motorsports Van Diemen in F2000, the F3 machine is quite different.

“The F3 car produces much more downforce compared to the F2000 car. With downforce also comes more stopping power,” Lall added. “The F3 car produces around 3.2 G under braking and around 3.0 G through the corners. That’s where this car produces its lap time. The electronics were for more complex, which made the car easier to drive with its paddle shifts and auto engine blipping. The torsion bar front suspension was also interesting to drive with being that the front was much stiffer than the rear.

“The F3 cars are very much a momentum car where mid corner speed is crucial, again similar to that of our 2 Liter car. However, I feel that the F3 car is the ideal race car. Just enough power, downforce, and tire patch to give the car brilliant feel in both high and low speed corners.”

Next, Lall heads for the season finale with the F2000 Series at Pittsburgh, Oct. 16-18.

Montgomery

No items found.