Di Grassi and Soucek make waves with Damien Hardman

As any F1 driver will tell you, it’s important to do everything possible to acclimatise to the tough conditions presented by the first round of long-haul races. A little rest and relaxation is not a bad thing either.

Which is why Virgin Racing driver Lucas di Grassi and Test & Reserve Driver Andy Soucek jumped at the chance to ‘hang-loose’ with two-time ASP World Champion Damien Hardman at Torquay beach today, just down the coast from Melbourne where the team are preparing for this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix.

Lucas is a keen surfer and Andy loves to kite-surf, so the boys had a blast in the less than gentle Victoria waters. “We drivers have to take the rough with the smooth,” said a super-relaxed Lucas, who slept all the way back to the city. “Starting from this evening, the weekend gets a lot tougher, but it’s good to chill out and clear the mind so we can focus on the racing from now on. I love surfing back home in Brazil - it’s a great way to relax and it’s tough physically, so it’s good preparation for driving the car. Most importantly, we made it back to shore, which was the main concern of my race engineer!”

Andy said: “Today was a lot of fun. After 25 hours on a plane, a bit of surfing was just what I needed to help with the jet-lag. Damien really showed us how it’s done, although Lucas clearly knows his way around a surfboard as well. I love to kite-surf back home in Spain but I haven’t done much regular surfing. It’s the first time I’ve been to Australia and already I love the place. I’ll definitely be back for more.”