Weston Hills racer Johnathan Hoggard returned to the track last week for three days of official post FIA Formula 3 Championship season testing, joining British team Hitech GP at Circuit Ricardo Tormo (Valencia).
After finishing the 2021 season with two sixth place finishes in the final three race weekends, despite suffering bad luck when race two at Sochi was cancelled when he was due to start from pole position, the 20-year-old relished the opportunity to return to action, this time with a team which he has raced against in both FIA Formula 3 and what was then known as the BRDC British F3 Championship.
While the test, which provides both teams and drivers the chance to evaluate fresh options, was a chance for some competitors to push for ultimate lap times and try to finish near the top of the leader boards, Hoggard’s experience and ability meant that his role with Hitech was to try new parts and settings, developing the car ahead of next season, rather than simply trying to go quickly.
There was a shot at a flying lap on the final day for Hoggard, who is a member of Motorsport UK’s Team UK and the prestigious BRDC SuperStars programme.
But red flags and increasing track temperatures thereafter thwarted his attempts.
However, he and the team finished pleased with the progress made ahead of next season’s campaign.
Hoggard, who was backed during his 2021 campaign by Travel Planet – which specialises in providing travel management services to medium and large public and private sector organisations – is now evaluating his options for the 2022 campaign and will make announcement his plans in due course.
“It was a good experience and I enjoyed being at the test with Hitech GP.
“It was a good three days learning and helping the team to really move forward and possibly finding some things that I liked as well.
“I know some of the Hitech crew from when they’ve been with previous teams and I’ve worked with a couple of them before as well, so I got on well with them, which was nice.
“We were mainly focused on development work, trying new bits out, and seeing how they affect the car and if they worked or not.
“There were a couple of issues mainly on the last day with red flags when we were doing our second new tyre run, which kind of ruined it and then the track temperature was too high then to set a representative lap time.
“It was a little bit difficult, in that respect, but we were focusing more on how we can improve the car and the feeling of the car, rather than solely on the lap times, and I thought it went well.
“I was happy that I was able to find some things that I enjoyed, and I think the team were happy with getting to try what they wanted to.
“Kaylen (Frederick) and I were mainly trying different bits on the car and really using the data that was available to look at and see what improved for the team. It was useful having good data and good references alongside myself.
“I’ve raced against Kaylen in British F3 in 2019 and again this year, and I get on with him well, and it was my first time sharing a team with Isack (Hadjar).
“Everyone worked well with the team, and we got what we needed to get done.”
Hoggard enjoyed his best qualifying performance of his debut season in the FIA Formula 3 Championship at the final round at the Sochi Autodrom in Russia and followed up with his joint-best race result as the season came to a close.
That was a super sixth place, which he also managed at the iconic Spa-Francorchamps track in Belgium back in August.
