The Castrol Toyota Racing Series' new FT-60 race car has passed its first big test following a large crash that prematurely ended practice on the opening day of the 2020 season.
The 20-car grid had three practice sessions today at Highlands Motorsport Park, with Kiwi Liam Lawson [pictured below] topping the time-sheets in final practice with record-breaking pace.
The defending series winner set a 1:28.616 in the last session to lead Caio Collet (Brazil), Lirim Zendeli (Germany), Igor Fraga (Brazil), and Yuki Tsunoda (Japan) — all covered by a four-tenth gap.
The session was cut short when Amaury Cordeel (Belgium) crashed into the wall at the sweeping final corner. He was then collected by Kiwi Motorsport teammate José Blanco (Puerto Rico) at high speed [pictured in lead].
Despite the severity of the impact, both drivers were able to hop out with only minor injuries; a cut on the leg for Cordeel and seat-belt burn for Blanco. Cordeel has been hospitalized for further checks and both cars are being repaired with the hopes of returning to the track for tomorrow's qualifying and racing.
Beyond the crash and the lap-time capabilities, the day was also punctuated by claims of the FT-60 being more of a challenge to drive than the outgoing FT-50. Speaking at the end of the day press conference, Petr Ptacek, Lawson and others noted that the steering weight is particularly heavy relative to the likes of European F3 and Formula Renault.
Qualifying for the opening 15-lap race is scheduled to kick off tomorrow at 10.55am, with the race to follow at 4.00pm. Live coverage will be aired on Sky Sports channel 55.