Friday drive for HRT’s Clos in Spain 08 May 2012
HRT test driver Dani Clos will make his first practice appearance for the team on Friday morning in Spain. Clos will replace Narain Karthikeyan in the F112 and take to the track alongside fellow Spaniard Pedro de la Rosa during the opening practice session at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya.
"I’m delighted to have this opportunity,” said Clos. “It’s something I’ve fought for all my life; to make my debut in Formula One and, above all, to be able to do it at the Circuit de Catalunya which is something very special for me. Besides, I’m extremely lucky to be able to do it with a Spanish team, alongside another Spanish driver who I admire and at home.
“I can’t ask for more! It’s the ideal situation and I’m proud to be where I am with the people who have always been with me and still are. I hope to extract a lot of data from this practice session, contribute with positive things to the team and do my job in the best way I can. I feel 100 percent ready and I can’t wait for the moment I step into the car and hit the track.”
Clos made his single-seater debut in 2004 in Formula Renault Italia 2.0, going on to win the title in 2006. A year later he joined Renault’s F1 programme and took part in the Formula Three Euroseries. In 2008 he entered Williams’ rival young driver programme and went on to make his GP2 debut in 2009.
He took his first GP2 win in 2010 and last season finished ninth overall in the series. The 23 year-old participated in last November’s Abu Dhabi young driver test for the team, completing 377.67 kilometres at the helm of the F111, and went on to join the team as an official test driver in February this year.
"I’m very proud and happy that this moment has arrived and that we’ve given Dani the chance to get in the car on Friday’s first free practice session at such a special and important Grand Prix as is a home Grand Prix,” explained Luis Perez-Sala, HRT’s team principal.
“It’s an important session given the short amount of time on track that we have and more so when you take into account the various aerodynamic upgrades which we have brought. Dani is a great driver and I have no doubt that he will do a good job. Besides, this debut also represents another step forward in our desire for HRT to serve as a platform for young drivers to make it into F1.”
The Spanish event takes place at the Circuit de Catalunya from May 11-13.
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