Tarquini tested the new Seat engine

After missing the first outing of SEAT’s new 1.6-litre turbo engine because of the snowfall that hit Italy, Gabriele Tarquini was finally able to drive the Lukoil Racing Team’s León car at Valencia last Monday.

The Italian driver was then replaced by his team-mate Aleksei Dudukalo who tested on Tuesday.

“Although we are rather behind with the timing, I have to say that I was impressed by the test,” the 2009 World Champion said. “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. Now, in order to fully exploit it, we have to fine-tune the engine management that is brand new and very sophisticated.”

The team is now heading to Portugal for further testing at Estoril (Saturday and Sunday) and Portimão.