Flying Welshman Hywel Lloyd steps out of the simulator this week and into the sweltering heat of the cockpit as he takes a French lesson at one of Europe’s top racetracks.
The 26-year-old from Corwen spent two hours in Silverstone’s racing simulator this week as he prepared for the Formula 3 International Series visit to the south of France this weekend.
The Paul Ricard circuit, former home of the French Grand Prix, is uncharted territory for Lloyd and he was taking every opportunity to get to know it.
He said: “The simulator can’t compare with actually driving the circuit but it’s the next best thing and it does give you a feel for the layout.
“I had a couple of hours in it and it’s given me a bit of a handle on what to expect. It’s not quite the real thing but it does help – I think it’ll be a bit hotter when we get to France.”
Lloyd’s F3 Dallara Mercedes has already been loaded onto its truck and is en route for Marseille and Lloyd and his team fly out on Thursday morning from Gatwick.
He has also been putting in some extra training to get ready for the heat which shade temperatures expected to be over 30C: “It will be hot,” he said: “But the track temperature will be over 40C and in the cockpit it will be about 45C.
“It means you have to take on plenty of fluids before each race because you will lose them all in the 45 minutes you’re in the car – when you get out it’s as if you’d been stood in a shower.
“I’ve raced in the heat before so I know what to expect and know how to prepare myself but the track itself will be a new experience.
“It’s unusual in that it was built as a testing circuit so you can’t really hit anything because there are huge run off areas everywhere and there isn’t really a grass verge so it looks different.”
There will be opportunities to pass, notably on the long, 1.8 mile Mistral straight which will give drivers the chance to really open up their engines and as the second half of the season starts Lloyd and his Sino Vision Racing team are looking for an upturn in fortunes.
They were ambushed by the weather at the Nurburgring where their practice sessions on an unfamiliar circuit were hampered by the rain.
Lloyd said: “Our first practice was in the wet and the second was dry so we never really got the car set up properly or got used to the set up ahead of the races.
“We have had good pace so there isn’t much wrong and everyone is working really hard. We just need a bit of luck and we can get the podium places we’ve been threatening.
“There are still plenty of points to fight for and we’ve got Spa to look forward to at the end of the month but for now our focus is on this weekend’s three races and being up at the sharp end of the racing.”
In the meantime the F3 International Series have scrapped plans to have compulsory pit stops at some of the remaining races after concerns that the planned tyre changes might cause safety issues.
Lloyd said: “It’s a shame that we’re not doing the pit stops but they were worried about the design of the wheel nuts and clips so they’ve scrapped the idea for this year but there will be a completely new car for next season so hopefully the pit-stops will be back.
“They had excitement and give you something else to think about and they’re good preparation if you’ve got ambitions to reach the top of the sport.”
The circuit was originally built by the Pernod drinks mogul Paul Ricard but is now owned by F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone.
Lloyd and the rest of the drivers will have two practice sessions on Friday ahead of qualifying on Saturday morning with the first race on Saturday afternoon followed by two more races on Sunday.
Highlights will be featured on television on Channel 4 at 7am on Sunday, July 30, and on Motors TV on Sunday, July 23.
For more on Hywel Lloyd go to www.f3racing.co.uk
