Menasheh Idafar Rockingham test summary

NATIONAL F3 CHAMPION IDAFAR BACK BEHIND THE WHEEL AT ROCKINGHAM

Newly crowned Cooper Tires British Formula 3 National Class Champion Menasheh Idafar made a swift return to action at Rockingham this week by making his International Class test debut at the wheel of one of T-Sport's Volkswagen-engined Dallaras.

Fresh from winning the 2010 National Class title at Brands Hatch Grand Prix Circuit the weekend before last -- where he stunned the F3 paddock by sealing the championship with an outstanding overall podium finish -- Menasheh concluded the two day test this afternoon, Tuesday, 5th October, happy with his maiden experience of 2010 specification machinery.

Not only marking the 19-year-old's debut outing in a Dallara F310, this week's outing at the Corby venue also provided the British-born Bahraini with his first taste of Volkswagen power -- the engine manufacturer which won the main 2010 British F3 title with Frenchman Jean-Eric Vergne.

"It's been great driving the A-Class car, we tried lots of changes with set-up and the brakes over the last couple of days and worked on what I need to do to get the most from the car, he said, "I want to step-up to the main championship next year so it's important to get some testing done while the weather still allows us to!"

With 18 victories in the National Class en-route to championship glory little over a week ago, the recently concluded season marked Menasheh's most successful since graduating to car racing in 2006 in the Middle Eastern Thunder Arabia Championship.

Following two seasons in Formula Renault BARC, he moved into the high-profile Formula Renault UK category for 2009 -- finishing third in that year's Winter Series -- before embarking on the challenge of Formula 3 this year.

-source: menashehidafar.com