Pavan Ravishankar and Tristan Charpentier were in action at Donington Park today (Thursday 25 January) as they evaluate full-time moves to the championship in 2018.

The pair were testing with the Fortec Motorsports team, and both enjoyed race action in BRDC British F3 in 2017. Frenchman Charpentier competed at Oulton Park and Spa Francorchamps with a best result of eighth, while Singaporean Ravishankar made his series debut at the season finale at Donington Park and scored two top-10 results.

Both drivers battled mixed conditions on track at Donington, but enjoyed productive running on track as they consider their options for the coming season.

“I hope we’ll be doing British F3 this year”, 17-year-old Charpentier said. “It’s been a good test today with Fortec and we will see if can get back into British F3.

“Today was my first time with the team and it’s gone pretty well. British F3 is a serious option for us as the cars are quite powerful and also because the British tracks are so challenging. They are narrow compared to European tracks, and it prepares drivers well because then they graduate to Europe they will be more comfortable. So it’s a good experience and the racing is close and I think it’s a great championship to race in.”

Eighteen-year-old Ravishankar added: “For sure this is a very good championship for me to step into and I think it’s the best thing for me to do right now with the level I am at.

“It’s been a good test, we made a lot of progress throughout the day. There’s plenty more to come and I’m looking forward to many more days like this.

“F3 is a serious thought for me and we’re just evaluating who to do it with and we’re going through that process now. Europe is the best place to be for motor racing, the level is high and the drivers are really strong. The BRDC British F3 car is very good so this championship is where I need to be right now. It’s affordable and the car is a really good package.

“Racing in Britain is an invaluable experience, for example today we seem to have had four or five different weather conditions in a single day and this is what all drivers need, and what racing in Britain can give me. I can learn a lot from it going forward in my career.”