Dean Stoneman believes a return to racing in 2012 is "looking promising" after completing two days of Formula Renault 3.5 testing at Aragon this week.
The 21-year-old Briton won the Formula 2 crown in 2010, but was forced to sit out this season after being diagnosed with testicular cancer in January. After rejoining ISR – the team with which he was planning to race this year – for the Aragon test, Stoneman was slowest on the second day, before improving to 17th, just 0.8sec off the pace, on the final day.
Stoneman said that he had enjoyed returning to open-wheel action following the test.
"It's great to be here, I have been thinking of this test constantly for the last few weeks," he said. "After what the family has been through, it was great to have my father and uncle here, too.
"As I expected, the first day was very tough and physically demanding having not driven for over 13 months. I was able to recover well though for the second day and found things easier and wasn't far off the pace. It's looking promising for next year and now need to continue with my recovery and fitness regime."
ISR said earlier this week that Stoneman is "close to a 2012 race seat," while Belgian Laurens Vanthoor, who also drove for the team during the test, said that he hoped to race for it next year.