Gabriele Tarquini tests new SEAT Sport 1.6 turbo

Gabriele Tarquini has made his first run in the newly developed SEAT Sport 1.6 turbo engine.
“Although we are rather behind with the timing, I have to say that I was impressed by the test,” said Tarquini.

The Italian was scheduled to test the new engine earlier, but was stopped by snowfall in Italy. The test earlier this week was done at Valencia.
“This was only the second time the engine ran on track, and yet it showed an interesting potential. Reliability is there – as we completed the test without suffering from the least technical issue – the power is already comparable with that of the SUNRED unit we used last year. But the big step forward is a wider range of power that was our main issue last year,” said Tarquini.

The team is on its way to Portugal for further testing at Estoril and Portimão this weekend.
“Now, in order to fully exploit it, we have to fine-tune the engine management that is brand new and very sophisticated,” said Tarquini.