In the latest in the series of exclusive Crash.net columns focusing on all-new outfit Ultimate Motorsport, Michael Devaney tells us how it feels to be racing back on British shores once more after plying his trade on the international stage in A1GP…
I joined Ultimate just days before the start of the season, which did make things a little bit tough, but normally my deals have always been last-minute ones so I’m fairly used to it by now! In fact I think I actually did the most testing I’ve ever done pre-season, even if it was only two or three days!
I’ve spent the past couple of years racing in A1GP and the cars are completely different to drive – the A1GP car has lots of power but not much grip, while the F3 machine has plenty of grip but not much power. I enjoy driving the F3 car a little bit more because you can develop it more; we are working closely with Mygale and constantly getting new parts, whereas the A1GP car is very limited in terms of set-up.
I already have plenty of experience in F3 after spending two years racing in the class in Germany, however, and the cars are very similar even though that was a Dallara and it is a Mygale I’m driving now. That has helped me to adapt a lot more quickly to driving the F3 machine again.
It admittedly did take a while to get used to the Mygale chassis and try to get the set-up right. It’s a new experience for all our engineers and the team as well. So much hard work has gone into preparing for this season, and in such a short space of time – the team was only started up in October last year. It has taken us a while to get up-to-speed, but we are progressing with every race.
We have coped very well so far I think. It’s a very competitive championship, but we’re not really competing against the other teams over the first few races. We are simply progressing through the first three rounds, and hopefully by midway through the season we will be up there.
