Cassidy, Cullen and Weckstrom join Status GP for two-day test
Oct 23, 2012
Status Grand Prix will test New Zealander Nick Cassidy, Briton Ryan Cullen and Finn Miki Weckstrom in the GP3 Series test at the Spanish track of Jerez this week in 24/25th October. For Cassidy and Cullen it will be the first taste of GP3, while Weckstrom rejoins Status GP after running with the team at Estoril during the 2012 pre-season tests.
Cassidy, the reigning Toyota Racing Series New Zealand champion, completed a part-season in the Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup this year and also took a race win in the V8 SuperTourers series in his homeland.
Weckstrom, who showed strong form in Formula Renault 2.0 in 2010 and ’11, also contested a handful of races in the category's Eurocup this year.
Cullen makes the step up from the British Formula Ford Championship, although he has recently contested two race weekends in the UK’s BARC series for older-spec Formula Renault cars and tested a Formula 3 machine.
Both Cullen and Weckstrom will stay with Status GP for the next GP3 test, at Estoril in Portugal on 6th/7th November.
Nick Cassidy:
“I’ve not had any mileage in a single-seater since July so I’m really looking forward to getting into the GP3 car. It’s a jump from the two-litre Formula Renault so we’ll see how it goes. I’d love to do the GP3 Series next year, but we need to find the budget and to help me with that I need to do the best job I can at this test. Mitch Evans has had a lot of coverage in New Zealand after winning the 2012 title so I’d like to try to follow in his footsteps by racing here in 2013.”
Ryan Cullen:
“I’m definitely looking forward to comparing myself against some of the best young drivers around. I’ve had two top-10 finishes on only my second race weekend in a Formula Renault, with very little preparation, and that was my first time in a winged car. That was pretty good, and now I’m looking to learn from a more powerful car and with a top professional team. I’m still in my first full season but I’ve made so much progress, especially since my intense training on simulators and with Status GP.”
Miki Weckstrom:
“It’s going to be nice to be back in a GP3 car, and I’m totally looking to do this series next year if we can get everything together. In Finland a lot of people have started to follow GP3 because of the success of Valtteri Bottas, Aaro Vainio and Matias Laine in the past couple of years and they see those guys as close to Formula 1. That doesn’t give me pressure because I know what I can do. It’s great to be doing Estoril too, because it means I have room to breathe at Jerez and do the test properly.”
Status Grand Prix Press Release
