Positive work: Hitech TGR Pre-Season Round-Up

Three days of pre-season testing are in the books and for Hitech TGR, they were a hugely positive experience for each of their drivers and the team itself.

The British outfit has re-signed McLaren Development Driver talent Martinius Stenshorne, who is joined by Joshua Dufek and rookie Gerrard Xie.

Dufek has prior F3 experience, racing in 2024 full-time so the team has two drivers who know what to expect going into the new season. Their experience showed during the tests, with both finishing inside the top 10 on a tricky final day as rain affected run plans up and down the pitlane.

For Team Manager Paul Bellringer, it was a good event for the team as they learned the new car without facing issues that prevented them from achieving their goals, even through the changeable weather.

“It went pretty well,” he summarised afterwards. “We came here with the new car not really knowing what to expect or whether we’d encounter any issues, which in fairness, the car was really good. We had no major issues across the three days and I know it’s been similar up and down the pitlane.

“On the balance, it’s been a really good test with a new car. From our engineering point of view, coming here with a programme of what we wanted to work through and information we wanted to gain ahead of the season – from that point of view we managed to achieve most of the goals we wanted.

“I don’t think anyone expected a day of rain, but you deal with whatever you get dealt.”

When the times were at their quickest on the morning of day two, Stenshorne wound up 14th in the order as the lead Hitech driver in the session. Rookie Xie was just 0.2s down on his new teammate in the same segment, a positive sign for what’s to come.

Between the trio, Hitech achieved 667 laps across the test and were one of the few teams to achieve at least 200 laps with each of their three drivers.

Stenshorne led the way on mileage, accumulating 229 laps around the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, while Dufek and Xie were not far behind on 219 apiece.

It all made for a confidence-building test according to Bellringer, who added that each driver was satisfied with their efforts ahead of Round 1.

“The drivers were pretty upbeat. They got here very keen to get driving again and get out in the new car, so from that perspective we’ve had a good and solid test.

“It should give us good information and feedback going into Melbourne in a couple of weeks’ time.

“We’re hopeful and expectant as we always are, but I think we’re in good shape.”

In 2024, Hitech fought for the Drivers’ Championship with Luke Browning leading their charge, while in the Teams’ Standings they achieved a P5 finish, so there is room to move forward.

That will be the target for the Silverstone-based squad, as they embark on an all-new era in Formula 3 alongside their rivals with the 2025 car.

Will they shake up the order and take advantage of the opportunity? For Dufek, Stenshorne and Xie, they will certainly be hoping so.