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Carmen Jorda becomes development driver for Lotus and will test E23 car in 2015

Spanish GP3 driver to begin extensive simulator work at Enstone

Carmen Jorda

Lotus have signed Spaniard Carmen Jorda to the role of development driver for the 2015 season.

The 26-year-old is the second female after Williams tester Susie Wolff to secure a driving role at an F1 team for this year with Jorda having spent the last three seasons racing in GP3.

Lotus say Jorda will begin a “significant simulator programme” at the team’s Enstone base, attend grands prix, and drive their 2015 car, the E23, at an unspecified point during the year.

Speaking to Sky Sports News HQ in the Barcelona paddock after the announcement, Jorda said she had a big learning curve ahead of her.

“The first thing is going to be understanding the team, technically and engineering and to be comfortable in the car,” she said.

Carmen Jorda

“So that’s going to be the main thing because I’m going to have to go to the races, be in the debriefs and strategy meetings and understand how Formula 1 [works] because it is very different from my GP3 team where you have six people and here you have 450 people working in the team.

“The other thing that’s going to be really important is the programme in simulator because it is going to be quite long and they’re going to make sure I’m ready to jump in the car. We’re going to go step by step to make it happen and at the right moment.”

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The daughter of former racer Jose Miguel Jorda, Carmen raced in Spanish F3 and the American Indy Lights series prior to joining Ocean Racing Technology in GP3 in 2012. In 44 GP3 starts she claimed a best finish of 13th place in Valencia in 2012.

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