Unfortunately the F3000 Test with Supernova did not go that well for me. I was only able to run for 1 day when most drivers had 2 or 3, on a circuit I had never seen. Also the day was shortened when I hit a wild dog. 14 laps later I managed to put into the barriers, on the corner before the start and finish straight.  On a more positive note, the team were ultra professional and they worked with complete ease. Also I was 3rd in the morning out of 12 cars and still a competitive 6th at lunch time. After lunch I hit the dog.

What we worked on

When we were competitive in the morning the car tended to oversteer in high speed corners and the bumps also made it nervous with too much vertical movement in the springs and dampers. Both my engineer and myself decided to add 1 hole of rear wing to reduce the oversteer and change the rear "bump" in the dampers to reduce vertical movement and make it less nervous over the bumps. We continued to make the car better and engineered it to suit my driving style. The more miles you do in a Formula 3000 car, the more oversteer you get, simply because its rear wheel drive and it wears the rear tyres out at a quicker rate than the fronts. The more miles we did, the more adjustments we made to compensate for the ever increasing oversteer.  

Then, When we put my first and only set of new tyres on the car, it gave us a load of understeer - more than I've ever experienced in the Euro Formula 3000 car. This was because we had changed the car to much under the old set of tyres. We had too much rear grip now. So in answer to your question I learnt not to get carried away and make the car too well balanced on old tyres. Next time, in an International Formula 3000 car I will make sure it oversteers more than usual, so when the new tyres go on - it balances it out. (New tyres generally give you understeer)

Preparation - I believe if the driver is 100% professional he will be completely ready and prepared for what lies ahead. Apart from the team making me feel relaxed, giving me a seat fitting 2 weeks before, and handing me some data to study, that's about all they did for me - which is standard practice. As for me - I made sure I was fit, well rested and every single thing in the most minute detail was ready. From preparing my helmets to looking presentable. The team treated me like a professional.  

I don't think its likely that I will be racing in F3000 next year as I have little budget. If I do, I will link your site to mine.

Many Thanks Michael Bentwood  

(Picture enclosed is the Nurburgring in Euro F3000 - qualified 6th finished 4th)