The present mid-summer holiday break in the World Series by Renault does not mean that the participants in the series may enjoy pleasant idleness. For example, the two ISR Racing Team drivers, Filip Salaquarda and Esteban Guerrieri, have made the most of the break staying in the Formula Medicine specialized centre in Viareggio, Italy for a week.

“Ninety per cent of the clients are racing drivers,” said Filip Salaquarda after his return. “The colleagues we met there included Robert Kubica who lives in Viareggio and is a regular visitor to the centre. The training itself consists of two parts: the first one is aimed at the driver’s mental condition while the second one, at his stamina. As part of our mental training, we have completed a number of stress tests focussing, above all, on examination of our reflex capacity, but also our memory. As far as fitness is concerned, attention was focussed particularly upon those areas that are most strained, which means the back, shoulders, and especially neck and the back of the neck. We’ve also undergone a general medical check-up.”

The number-one priority was to get methodical instructions on how to precisely proceed when further developing and strengthening the drivers’ mental and physical abilities. But this does not mean that Filip and Esteban did not get a hard workout. “I will remember how we were crossing the local river as a practice. We’d been trying to scramble up its steep bank for about three hours; we had to swarm up a rope in some sections. And the temperature was thirty-five degrees in the shade!”

In spite of this horrible experience, Filip Salaquarda was extremely happy as he returned home from the Apennine Peninsula. “I brought a training plan, which I’m going to follow in coming months. I’ve also received valuable advice as regards the general regimen. That’s why I’d like to go to Viareggio at least once more during the course of this year.”