Interview
Confidence is high going to Melbourne: MP Motorsport Pre-Season Review
It was not the smoothest of three days for MP Motorsport in Barcelona, but their Team Manager Frank Coekaerts is confident they will be in the mix for victories at Round 1 in Melbourne.
Having completed 561 laps, MP were happy with the work that they did, even if for Alessandro Giusti it was affected by a stomach illness that meant he was not feeling his best in the car.
However, the Frenchman, as well as his teammates Mattia Colnaghi and Tuukka Taponen all got through their run plans, putting in competitive lap times on the morning of Day 2 when times were at their fastest.
When Qualifying simulation runs became the focus once again in the opening session of Day 3, MP found themselves further down the order – with Taponen eighth, Giusti 24th and Colnaghi 29th.
But as Coekaerts explained, MP were not exactly running their usual setup, using testing to try a few setup ideas, with their not being a lot of time to do so during the season.
“Pre-season testing is always a mixed bag of emotions, because one day you're the hero and the next day it looks like you don't know what you're doing,” explained Coekaerts.
"We were confident with our baseline and on the last day we tried different things on the car. But it's also good to know what not to do.
“All in all, we have a lot to take back and to put all the good bits together. We're confident that from Melbourne we will be in the mix.
“I think it's also clear that the usual suspects will be at the front, but like I said, we are confident that we will be up there as well as a team, because indeed we have three good drivers.”
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One of those drivers, Colnaghi, completed 171 laps across the three days in preparation for his rookie season.
Coekaerts is happy with his progression, as the team looked to help him overcome some of the struggles he had across the test, especially over the long runs.
“What he struggles with most is the long runs and that still needs work,” explained Coekaerts. “We tried to help him with a few different things.
“It was maybe not always in the right direction, but at least now we know which way to go with him. I'm pretty sure he will deliver this season.”
MP will be confident that Colnaghi will learn from his second-year teammates, Taponen and Giusti, who have spoken about their goal of fighting for victories and ultimately the title this season.
Their Team Manager says it looks good on paper for both, but now it is about translating it on to the track, starting in Melbourne.
“It looks good. On paper it looks good. But it needs to be proven on track,” said Coerkaerts. “That is it. Everybody goes away from here with the same number of points.
“We will see after qualifying in Melbourne where we are. But like I said, we are confident of being up there.”