After a four-week mid-season break, the second British round of the 2009 FIA Formula Two Championship takes place at Donington Park, this weekend August 15-16. During the break, Natacha Gachnang kept busy by competing in both the Radical and Formula Le Mans races in the Algarve last weekend at the Portimao Circuit (Portugal).

Natacha Gachnang did not know the Donington Park circuit when she arrived early this week for the Tuesday official test session ahead of this weekends races. She enjoyed nearly four hours of scheduled running. By regulation, each driver could only run a maximum of 300 km during the test and completing 76 laps in the last 90-minute session at the 2.5mile circuit, Natacha Gachnang feels ready for races 9 and 10 of the FIA Formula Two Championship, fifth round of the Formula 2 series which returns for the first season in 25 years.
The Swiss female driver was clocked coming in and out of the curves quicker than her team-mate Kazim Vasiliauskas, (the fastest man in test session 3) but was losing some 5 km/h on top speed. The team suspected an engine problem when Natacha Gachnang's car lost oil on the track, which confirmed the problem.
For the first time this season, both races for the 24 drivers will take place on the Sunday as F2 headlines the event. The main race day will also include a special tribute to Henry Surtees, who tragically died after an accident during the second F2 race at Brands Hatch in July.
Natacha Gachnang commented, "Donington is new to me which again makes it an exciting weekend. Overall, the track is not easy and many turns are blind so I needed a bit of time during the test session to feel relaxed and acclimatise to the track. But I feel good now. The track is fast and rewarding even if I find it's 2.5km a bit of a short lap. In any case after a good day of work in testing. I hope to be finishing in the top ten. It's a pity that a mechanical part broke on the car and that led to an oil leak that most probably damaged the engine. With the F2 engineers we are currently evaluating if they will change the engine ahead of the races."

Agnes Carlier - photo Formula2