January 25, 2013
Published on tags: Superleague
Woods Racing report on the first day of pre-season testing at Valencia.

Today saw the first test of the 2013 Superleague season in Valencia. Woods Racing sent a very early version of the WR13a out to accrue valuable R&D data for the forthcoming season, and it was also the first chance for onlookers to see new drivers Teemu Toikka and Ben Warren star alongside returning team leader Tom Parker, himself sporting a new helmet design. All the drivers gave their thoughts alongside team principal Ollie Woods.

Tom Parker: "To finally hit the track hard after a long winter off-season was certainly an enjoyable moment for me as I rolled out in the WR13a for the first time this afternoon. I spent the morning going over the data provided from Teemu and Ben and then decided to hit the tarmac in the afternoon period. Apart from a slight technical mishap midway through my first run out on the primes, the session went as well as it possibly could have done. A nice long stint on the prime tyres has given us some good data to work with throughout the pre-season. The stint on the option tyre wasn't as long as I had hoped due to the earlier mishap I mentioned earlier but I still managed to get some decent mileage on it and in turn some useful data.
The car feels wonderfully balanced even at this early stage so well done to everyone who has been working hard on the car over the winter. We seem to have a good turn of pace as well with myself setting a time good enough for 3rd in session without having to push too hard and was extremely pleasing to see Teemu and Ben settling in well at Woods by completing all the laps necessary for maximum R&D points so thanks to them. Ben hasn't felt too great recently so was excellent dedication from him to complete the laps throughout the day. Having all 3 drivers in the top 25 is a good sign for Melbourne and we hope to keep up the consistent lap count throughout pre season."

Teemu Toikka: "I had fun in Valencia with the car, I was able to hitconsistentlap times and I'm pretty happy about it."

Ben Warren: ?It was great to finally take part in an official session as a Woods Racing member after months and months of waiting. The car felt well balanced throughout the session, and I enjoyed testing out the Prime tyre with a few long runs. It was good to see Tom and Teemu get up to speed relatively quickly with the new car too, and we hope we can continue this momentum throughout the rest of pre-season."

Ollie Woods: ?Nothing prepares you for the first time the new car roars into action. I was so proud to see our cars on track today ? the team have done a fantastic job over the winter and the car looks beautiful. It will look even better with the race livery on! All three drivers handled themselves well, apart from a slight mishap with Tom?s car near the start of the session. I was pleased to see Tom finish third overall but we know that once certain teams stop sandbagging this will change. We have enough data to be able to work on the car immediately and hope to bring a vastly changed chassis to the first race of the year. The Trinity engines are holding up well and the data we got from our partners at ST and Nijo will really help there too.?

The team will now move to the Hockenheimring in Germany for the next test session. Judging by the forecasts this may be the first time we see the team's capability in the wet conditions.