De Pasquale took both FR1.6 races at the Nürburgring. © Renault Sport Media / Dirk Bogaerts
At the Nürburgring this weekend, Anton de Pasquale secured his third and fourth victories of the Formula Renault 1.6 NEC season.
For a time in Race One, Janneau Esmeijer headed de Pasquale, however the 17-year-old Dutch racer was given a drive-through penalty on lap six for jumping the start, promoting poleman de Pasquale into the lead. Thereafter de Pasquale led with ease from the slow starting Larry ten Voorde (2nd) and Max Defourny (3rd); both of whom ran close throughout, while Esmeijer battled back up to 4th. The race start did provide some entertainment when, along with Esmeijer, four other drivers jumped the lights.
De Pasquale repeated the effort on a wet track in Race Two. The Australian initially pulled away from Voorde, only for Esmeijer to rise to 2nd on lap two. Esmeijer pressed for a time, but ultimately had no answer for de Pasquale, who pushed outward to win by 5.29s from the Dutch teenager, while Voorde finished a distant 3rd. Defourny took 4th from Boris Kolff late on to solidify the top five.
The results ensure de Pasquale has an almost untouchable lead going into the next round at Assen in a few weeks time.
© Renault Sport Media / Dirk Bogaerts
Italian constructor, Dallara have recalled rollhoop bars for the GP3/13 car, in the aftermath of Mitch Gilbert’s horror crash at Silverstone last week.
Running at full pace in the wet during qualifying, Gilbert rammed into the rear of Sebastian Balthasar on the Hangar Straight, causing his Trident machine to backflip into the air. Upon landing, the rollhoop bar was ripped off, exposing Gilbert’s helmet to the ground as the car slid into the gravel trap.
See also:
“GP3 rollhoops recalled after Silverstone crash investigation” (Autosport.com; July 10th, 2014)
Following their initial investigation, GP3 Series technical director, Didier Perrin told Autosport Magazine: “The rollhoop was pulled off the monocoque in this rearwards motion; we don’t know at what speed it impacted the ground, but this is very unusual.”
As a result, all rollhoop units have been recalled prior to Hockenheim to be re-enforced in effort to prevent similar occurrences.
See also:
Mich Gilbert, Silverstone Blog (Mitchell-Gilbert.com; July 8th, 2014)
Commenting on his blog, the Australian Gilbert noted: “I hit this car at 235kph and […] landed upside down, and unfortunately, my roll hoop broke.
“It took away most of the initial impact, but my head was then dragging on the floor for about 200 metres.
Gilbert emerged from incident needing just stitches to his right hand, as he explains: “My steering wheel caught the ground […] and ripped out. My hand then dropped on the floor and was dragging a long the floor for quite a while.”
The Formula 3 regular will make another attempt at a GP3 Series start in Hockenheim next weekend.
FIA Euro F3 fields have been solid this year. © FIA F3 Media Services.
The FIA European Formula 3 Championship will see a field of only twenty entrants for its opening visit to the Moscow Raceway this weekend.
The championship, which has run on average 26-27 cars so far this year, has lost a pair of two-car teams in the shape of Fortec and T-Sport, as well as single car entrants Double R Racing and Jo Zeller Racing.
Fortec opted out of bringing their two Dallara-Mercedes’, although it is unknown whether Mitch Gilbert would have been able to race following his huge accident during practice for the GP3 Series at Silverstone last weekend.
After questioning the viability of the trip of the Moscow round earlier this year, T-Sport withdrew from the round, opting to test rather than race.
It is the lowest turn out for a European F3 race since the penultimate round of the now-defunct Euro Series event at Valencia, which hosted only fourteen entrants; however the field is believed to return to full strength for the next round at the Red Bull Ring at the beginning of August.
Eriksson triumphed on Saturday. © GP3 Series Media Services
One does always need to be spectacular or stylish to be victorious. Sometimes success comes when partnered consistency.
Roll stylish and consistent together and you will have a potent – and incredibly rare – mixture at your fingertips.
Until Silverstone, GP3 Series points leader Alex Lynn had been the stylish one, taking two Race One victories, but not finishing either of the Race Two events. Jimmy Eriksson, meanwhile, had been passively consistent with three podiums and a 6th place finish.
Such has been his apparent dominance when the big points have been paid out, this should – for all intents and purposes – be Lynn’s championship to score. Thankfully racing, like life, is rarely such a simple thing.
Now 20-years-of-age, Lynn is riding the crest of a wave. A winner at Macau last November, the Essex-born racer followed two rather successful years in Formula 3 by joining the Red Bull Junior Team and moving to GP3 with Carlin.
Eriksson, meanwhile, is a 23-year-old from the small town of Tomelilla, which is perched on the southern tip of Sweden. Upon moving to Koiranen GP at the start of the year, little was expected of Eriksson following a disastrous campaign with Status Grand Prix in 2013.
After sixteen races, Eriksson had scored no points and languished 24th in the standings. In a relatively short season, memories of the Swede’s German Formula 3 title success were extinguished.
Eriksson and his teammates were embarrassed further when Alexander Sims stepped in for a single round at the Nürburgring and scored a podium…
Where Lynn has stepped to the role of the series front man with relative ease, Eriksson’s step up has been exemplary, if a touch unexpected. Of course, there are still the usual incidents that can catch you out too – see the clash between the Status GP man and Patric Niederhauser in Race Two; a race in which Lynn finished 6th to claim four points.
These small scores matter too. During moments like this, it is worth remembering that in 2012, Mitch Evans won the GP3 title by just two points, one year after Valtteri Bottas claimed the crown by just seven [note 1}.
Come the next rounds in Germany and Hungary, Eriksson needs to assert himself once again to keep the pressure on Lynn as they enter the holiday period, but for now, it’s still too close to call – and that in itself probably rankles Lynn.
Race One
There were probably some uncertain looks in the GP3 paddock on Saturday morning. A greasy Silverstone circuit does not build confidence – it was warm, of course, allowing the track to come to the drivers toward session’s end.
That Jimmy Eriksson set the pole time just before a huge crash between GP3 debutantes Mitch Gilbert and Sebastian Balthasar can be offered up to luck, but occasionally luck does actually play its part.
Come the race, the poleman – and recipient of four bonus points – still had Lynn lining up alongside him on the front row. Suddenly a title battle that looked so unlikely not too long ago, was on the cards.
Considering how weather can change in flash at the Northamptonshire circuit, Eriksson was not in the mood to make bold prediction. “First of all,” he said, “we have to wait and see what the weather conditions will be. Then for sure my aim is to stay in front, make a good start and stay there.”
And stay there is exactly what happened, but it was no easy feat for Eriksson, as he held Lynn at bay to the flag.
There was further fortune for Eriksson at the start for Lynn had a poor start – fortunate because Eriksson was less than impressed with his own getaway; however he 23-year-old settled into a rhythm. “The first few laps were really good for me, I could open up a small gap to the other guys and I then tried to save my tyres.” Analysing his opening gambit, Lynn offered the following: “I think I put too much emphasis on trying to get a better start than Jimmy and in effect it created a worse start for me, but from then it was a really good race.”
With an almost two-second lead after the opening tour, Eriksson drew away while Lynn fought off the turn one intentions of Jann Mardenborough; however once the Nissan GT Academy winner had been dispatched, Lynn went on a charge.
Where Eriksson generally held his pace in the 1’50s, Lynn began to dip into the late-1’49s and then quicker still as the fuel burned away.
At the one-third mark, Eriksson almost had a lead of 3s; however within an extra five tours, that shrunk to 1.5s, as the laptimes began to even out into the mid-1’49s. Throughout this, Eriksson maintained one eye on the road and another on his mirrors. “I saw he was catching up with me until the end and pushing a lot to go for the quickest lap,” noted the leader.
For Lynn, his emerging pace had much to do with the changing physics and conditions of his Carlin car as the fuel ebbed away: “The balance started to become closer to me and how I wanted and then it became easier to push. In the end I was able to catch Jimmy but he drove a faultless race and I couldn’t do anything about it.”
There was one final burst from Lynn, who ripped an entire second out of the gap to Eriksson on lap 11 and the Englishman continued to close, until the Koiranen racer reasserted his position over the final two laps.
Despite his intentions and aggression, Lynn could not quite find a way past the stoic Eriksson, with the Tomelilla native emerging as the top man after fifteen tours of the Silverstone circuit.
“I just tried to stay cool and manage my tyres,” said Ericsson, adding, “I knew already my tyres were going away a bit but later in the end he was really close to me but I tried to be smart and stay in front which I managed.”
Suffice to say, it was an engaging effort by Lynn and when he scored the fastest lap on that crucial eleventh tour, he also secured two bonus points.
Behind the leading duo, it was all rather more sedate. Despite a sluggish getaway, Marvin Kirchhöfer’s early move on Emil Bernstorff was enough to secure 3rd place for the ART Grand Prix driver. Following the race, Kirchhöfer was rather circumspect about the sprint. “My start was not so good, but I made back the positions I lost as soon as the first lap. From then on, we were missing a few tenths to stay with the leaders.”
Thereafter, Bernstorff was pressed hard by Nick Yelloly (Status GP), but Yelloly couldn’t make a move stick on his Carlin rival, ensuring the pair took solid points for 4th ands 5th.
After making his GP3 debut in Austria two weeks ago, Riccardo Agostini secured his first points with a fine drive to 6th. The young Italian held a small, but comfortable gap over Richie Stanaway (7th) and Dino Zamparelli (8th) – the latter of whom earned the reverse grid pole for Race Two.
Despite a great start, Mardenborough immediately dropped backwards on lap one as he was hung out to dry. The Nissan GT Academy winner fell to 9th and ended the day less than two seconds up on Dean Stoneman, who registered the final point.
Race Two
Sighs of relief all round come Sunday morning at Status Grand Prix, especially for single-seater returnee Stanaway. “I haven’t won a race in three years,” said the Kiwi, adding, “It’s been pretty frustrating to go that long without winning a race.”
It has, at times, been relatively frustrating to watch too. After breaking his back during a Formula Renault 3.5 race at Spa-Francorchamps in 2012, it was feared the motor racing world may have lost grip of a highly rated talent.
Leading a Status Grand Prix 1-2 on Sunday (leading teammate Yelloly and Carlin’s Bernstorff), Stanaway reminded us why he was rated so highly in the first place. Stanaway also commented: “It was an awesome day for us, obviously a one-two for the team which is perfect. We have really turned the car around and quite radically different to where we’ve been already this year. It’s working for us and we’ve got it to where we need to be.”
The Kiwi took the lead from Zamparelli at the start and never looked back thereafter. Admittedly, the Tauranga native has been critical of his own starts this year, but amidst the cool British sunshine, everything came together. “Yesterday I had a horrible start and today was good. It seems that this year I made an awful start, following by a good one, bad one, good one. I need to get those more consistent.”
While Stanaway recorded steady times in clear air, the tense battle for the runner-up position between Yelloly and Bernstorff allowed the Status GP man to escape slightly. Stanaway explains: “I had a bit of pressure from Emil on the first lap, but I was pretty desperate to stay in the lead. Once I managed to stay in the lead after the first couple of laps, Emil and Nick started fighting a bit and I got a bit of gap.”
The gaps were not spectacular – they didn’t need to be – with each tour, Stanaway brought the lead up incrementally, eventually taking the chequered flag by 2.7s.
There were still concerns regarding tyre wear in the second half of the race; however as the wear was matched fairly evenly across the field, Stanaway was able to cruise home. “With about six or seven laps I had a bit of graining but it seems everyone had that, actually the gap stayed pretty consistent with everyone. Just with it being quite cold and quite a stressful opening lap it was hard to manage the tyre.”
It is a victory that brings Stanaway to the outside of the of the GP3 Series title battle, as the Status man now sits 18 points adrift of leader Lynn.
Behind Stanaway, Yelloly took a timely podium – his first of the season. Starting 4th, the Briton was ahead of Zamparelli by the opening turn and then made that 2nd a lap later, as he dispatched Bernstorff around the outside of Brooklands one tour later.
From there, Yelloly pulled away from the pack, but could not do anything about his teammate up front. “A 1-2 for Status is great,” Yelloly said. “We did struggle with tyres towards the middle of the race and we both just backed off and managed to pull away from Bernstorff which was nice.”
As noted by Stanaway, Yelloly had some fears about the level of tyres wear, leading to the Englishman to lean off the pace slightly. “I think if either of us had pushed a bit more it may have been a bit sketchy towards the end so I backed off two or three seconds to make sure I was in clean air.”
Meanwhile Bernstorff drove a quiet race to 3rd after graining his front left early on. Once he lost out to Yelloly, the Carlin man had few issues from behind, as eventual 4th place pilot Kirchhöfer disappeared from his mirrors after a few tours.
Agostini grabbed 5th for Hilmer. The Italian took the top-five position after passing Zamparelli at the halfway point, although Agostini still had to fight off the intentions of Stoneman; however the latter dropped back on the final tour.
Stoneman’s misfortune promoted Lynn to 6th place, where he edged the clearly disappointed Zamparelli on the final lap. Jenzer’s Matheo Tuscher came home a solid 8th to score the final point.
With the next round at Hockenheim in two weeks, Lynn takes an eight-point lead over Eriksson, with Stanaway an addition ten adrift and as Yelloly mentioned after Race Two, “Regalia [was consistent] last season and he ended up 2nd in the championship so if I can keep scoring points and plugging away at it we’ll be fine.”
There was some additional delight for Lynn, whose main title rival, Eriksson retired after clashing with Niederhauser and Pål Varhaug toward the end. The incident earns Eriksson a five-place grid penalty for the opening race at Hockenheim.
Beyond the points, there was disappointment for European F3 regular Mitch Gilbert. Following his big shunt, he was ruled out of the rest of the weekend.
So, consistency or stylishness..?
{note 1}
A polite lie, in a sense – a cheat as it were. While Bottas did indeed win the 2011 GP3 Series by seven points, it was done with a different scoring system, which would probably render my point a touch void. But I will use it regardless.
Lynn is still the man being chased. © GP3 Series Media Services.
Berthon joins Caterham. © GP2 Series Media Services
GP2 Series racer Nathanael Berthon was confirmed as the latest addition to Caterham’s Development Driver Programme today.
Unfortunately for the Frenchman, he has joined too late to feature at this week’s two-day test at Silverstone, during which Caterham are already running three drivers.
Most likely, Berthon may find himself taking part in some form of off-track duties for the Caterham team; however it is unknown what that would actually entail. Berthon has tested an F1 car previously, having run in the HRT machine at the tail end of 2011.
Alongside Alexander Rossi, Will Stevens, Matt Parry, Weiron Tan, Seb Morris and Daim Hishammudin, Berthon becomes the seventh driver to join Caterham’s Development Driver Programme.
Berthon claimed his first GP2 Series victory last year in Hungary, but since then has not scored a point. He joined Venezuela GP Lazarus for this season, registering a best finish of 12th (twice) in Monaco and Silverstone. Prior to racing in GP2, the 25-year-old enjoyed a two year spell in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series with Draco and ISR, taking one race win the process.
Berthon is managed by Colin Kolles’ right-hand man Manfred Ravetto, who is currently acting as assistant to Caterham F1 CEO Christian Albers; the latter of whom commented, “We are very pleased to welcome Nathanaël into our Development Driver Program. He is an exciting young talent with a proven track record in the feeder series for F1 and as he already has F1 experience he fits very neatly into our team. We will work closely with him to help him reach his full potential and are all excited about seeing him continue to grow as a driver, in and out of the cockpit.”
The next outing for Berthon will be the sixth round of the GP2 Series at Hockenheim in a week-and-a-half.
Nasr won on Sunday, but lost out again on Saturday. © GP2 Series Media Services.
“I’m just very happy; it didn’t take long to have another win…”
Two weeks in fact. Just two weeks, but if Carlin Motorsport’s Felipe Nasr is to really push for this year’s GP2 Series title, then consistency needs to run parallel to his more obvious speed.
Admittedly on this occasion, there was precious little the Brazilian could do about the lost points on Saturday; however one cannot escape the fact that since series leader Jolyon Palmer’s last victory in Monaco in May, Nasr has only outscored the Briton by six points.
That will never be enough.
Yes, Palmer made the most of a glorious Saturday Feature Race at Silverstone, by nabbing 2nd behind the triumphant Mitch Evans, while Nasr crossed the line a distant 7th; the victim of a cross threaded wheel nut during his mandatory stop – but this is racing and these things happen.
Until then, the Carlin man was running a solid 3rd (helped by the early retirement of original leader Raffaele Marciello), but Palmer was looking out of reach. Some points would have been lost, but if nothing else, the gap would have been minimised.
This has become a familiar story. In previous seasons, many have bemoaned his apparent lack of aggression in races, yet on the other hand, Nasr drives with an intelligence that is lost on many in the GP2 Series.
Come Sunday afternoon, the Brazilian was in reflective mood. “Palmer hasn’t had a bad weekend yet, and I’ve had a few: I’ve had a few bad races where I didn’t score any points, so that’s why he got his advantage.”
Expanding on this point, Nasr continues, “Hopefully we will push him to maybe make his team make a mistake or something, and I hope our mistakes are finished: that’s how we win championships, to keep pushing ourselves to the limits, and I’m pretty sure my guys will bounce back and anything like the pitstop won’t happen again.”
There may be some small truth in Nasr’s analysis of the season so far, but he should be aware – in private at least – that relying on the mistakes of others is not the strongest of strategies. In truth, Palmer did make a mistake this weekend in the Feature Race, but the loss was relatively minor. Carlin’s pitstop error however…
While Nasr may not have been able to do much about the lost time in the pits on Saturday, there is an argument his consistency goes missing from time to time.
A post-qualifying penalty in Bahrain, followed by a quiet drive to 8th; a poor start from pole in the Bahrain Sprint Race; a puncture during the Sprint Race at Monaco. Add in the clutch issue in Austria and you can really start to tot up the lost scores and while Palmer is not running away with the championship, neither Nasr closing the Briton down with stealth.
Earlier this year, I asked a significant member of the Carlin team if Nasr had become distracted by the lure of Formula One amidst his close relationship with Williams. The rather telling response came, “Yes and he needs to pull his finger out.”
Nasr still won Sunday, but it wasn’t enough – five points were dropped this weekend and when things are getting tight, that will simply not do. Meanwhile…
Feature Race
“The last 18 months have been really tricky for us […] and it’s a huge relief for everything to come together finally for my first win in GP2. Hopefully it’s not the last one of the season!”
The 2014 season took a long time to get going for Mitch Evans. A horror opening pair of rounds left the Kiwi trailing with only two points following Barcelona, but ever since he scored a podium in Monaco, Evans has started to string points together – so much so, he now sits 4th in the standings, albeit a long way off Palmer.
It wasn’t just a welcome success for the driver. Evans’ victory was also the first for the RUSSIAN TIME team since Sam Bird’s win in Singapore last year.
The race was not without its nerves. According to Evans, “There was a potential clutch problem on the car after race two in Austria with a bit of a dip on the bite point, and I thought it was going to stall [at the start].”
In damp (but drying) conditions, the Kiwi managed the delicate clutch to settle in behind poleman Raffaele Marciello and points leader Jolyon Palmer, with Evans forcing a way past Palmer a few corners in, only for the Briton to grab the place back three tours later.
“The car felt pretty good early on,” noted Palmer, then adding “I could start to chase down [Marciello] for the lead. I was just in a really nice rhythm, the pace was really good on the prime [tyres], and when Marciello pitted I took the lead and could set some good times, and I was just really consistent and comfortable.”
A similar tale was being played out at RUSSIAN TIME, as relayed by Evans: “After Jolyon got me, I got into a good rhythm and was able to stay with the [leaders] and have a crack when it came to the pitstop. Fortunately the guys gave me a good car and I was able to stay with Jolyon and make it work…”
With Marciello leading Palmer leading Evans, the race began its second act and although not action packaged, the story was beginning to unravel behind the scenes. There was no doubt this was coming down to the pitstops, but Marciello – having started on softs – was on a much different strategy compared to the hard tyre shod pair in his mirrors.
Clearing the path for hard tyres on lap nine, Marciello peeled away to the pitlane, offering free air to Palmer. Emerging from the pits in 13th, the Italian was making good use of relatively clear when the Racing Engineering machine began missing gears.
Pretty soon, there were no gears left at all. For team Sporting Director Thomas Couyotopoulo, there was little more he could or say, other than “very disappointing…”
From there, both Palmer and Evans were on their own and while the battle was rarely wheel-to-wheel material, the gap hovered between 1.2-1.8s for lap after lap. Whenever Evans threatened his British rival, Palmer quickened the pace, which in turn drove the RUSSIAN TIME man to push even harder still.
The race would change irrevocably during laps 19 and 20, when first Palmer and then Evans stopped for their mandatory tyre changes. Where Palmer’s in-lap to the pits proved six-tenths quicker, the Englishman’s out-lap was slower – much slower – at 2:15.778s, Palmer’s first lap out of the pits was ropey and he knew it.
To add insult to injury, Evans enjoyed a quicker stop by four-tenths, during which he jumped Palmer for the lead – that Evans’ out-lap was 2.4s quicker than Palmer’s merely cemented the situation.
“I was really surprised coming out of the pits and they told me Jolyon was just coming out of turn one,” said a clearly surprised Evans. “It’s hard to know if the undercut or the overcut is going to work, so I just made the most of what I had, and fortunately I still had some life left in the tyres and had a good in-lap. But the pitstop really helped us.”
In Palmer’s corner, there was no room for excuses and the maturing DAMS pilot took the loss on the chin. “I’m really very angry with myself about the Feature Race. I didn’t push hard enough after my pit stop,” said Palmer. “On my out-lap I was a bit all over the place, and that allowed Mitch to go through for the lead.”
As the new leader attempted to settle, there were still eight laps to go and Palmer was unwilling to give in quite yet. Rolling into lap 21, Evans was forced to defend heavily in Club, squeezing Palmer slightly and crossed the line some 0.8s ahead of the Englishman.
Palmer attempted to hold on, but Evans was soon too distant, such was his comfort on the Pielli Option tyres, as the Kiwi revealed. “The option came in quicker that I thought, which really helped me, and after Copse I just put my head down and the car was better than what it was at the start of the race.”
Unfortunately, the new 2nd placed man’s position was less than ideal. “It took quite a while for the options to come in: normally the undercut is a little quicker, but maybe the cold temperatures meant we were struggling a little bit.”
Thereafter, Evans eased away from the points leader – it was 1.4s by lap 23; then 2.5s on lap 26 and finally 4.9s across the chequered flag on lap 29.
Evans’ victory performance was an excellent one, but there was also the slightest touch of championship drive in the final third Palmer. Better to pick up 18 points from 2nd place, than no points that comes from a retirement. “I’m happy with second, and the closest guys to me in the championship finished behind me, so it’s not a bad result,” confirmed Palmer, yet…
Such was the advantage that Evans held in the final stint, the Mark Webber protégé collected the fastest lap on the 22nd tour – his circulation of 1:42.297s simply could not be touched.
Stoffel Vandoorne claimed his third podium of the season with his drive to 3rd place. The Belgian chased Carlin’s Felipe Nasr right up until the pitstops, when Nasr’s slower stop dropped him down the order.
In one sense, it was not the easiest of drivers for Nasr. On this day, his pace simply wasn’t there with the leaders and it was clear for some time that Vandoorne was pressing hard.
As the stops unfolded, Vandoorne had already lost the guts of twenty seconds to the battling pair up front, although it is unknown whether the ART Grand Prix would really have had the pacer to challenge today. Considering some of the battles Vandoorne has faced so far this year, 3rd place may be a quietly welcomed reward.
There was yet another battle for 4th position between the second Carlin of Julián Leal and the other Racing Engineering entry of Stefano Coletti, which was originally settled in the favour of Leal on the final lap.
After a shocking start, Leal climbed back up the order to take 4th from Coletti through Stowe and into Club; however the pair made contact, prompting the stewards to intervene and penalise Leal for dangerous driving, giving the position back to Coletti after the race. Meanwhile Leal kept his 5th place…
The Leal / Coletti battle offered both Johnny Cecotto Jr and Nasr hope, but neither could shove past the grappling duo and had to make do with 6th and 7th respectively.
A few seconds back, Stéphane Richelmi headed GP2 debutante Marco Sørensen across the line for 8th and 9th with the former claiming reverse grid pole for the Sprint Race.
Hilmer’s Daniel Abt scored a welcome first point of the season thanks to his 10th place finish.
Sprint Race
Come Sunday, Nasr needed a straight-forward race and he got it. The Brazilian snatched the lead from the slow starting Richelmi and instantly built a shallow lead over the following Coletti and Cecotto Jr.
The canny Brazilian drove a relatively unflustered race; his confidence on the Pirelli rubber paramount, as he later explained: “In the […] early laps I tried to build a gap to Stefano [Coletti] and then tried to look after the tyres. When he started to get closer again I was able to respond. Then I just wanted to make sure I brought the car home. It’s a good way to finish the weekend.”
While Nasr maintained a 1.1-1.2s during the opening third of the race, Coletti did close up to the leader once the Monegasque driver had shaken off 3rd place Cecotto Jr; however Nasr then simply stepped up another gear and put the race well beyond the reach of his rivals.
From less than one second at the end of lap seven, Nasr pulled out a gap of 6.67s by the end of lap 18 – aided by some burgeoning mechanical woes for Coletti – before the Williams F1 reserve cooled off in the final three tours, allowing Coletti to harmlessly take two seconds back come the chequered flag.
There was another reason for Coletti upping the pace late in the running. The Racing Engineering man was beginning to feel rearguard pressure from the quickening Cecotto Jr.
In a story of inter-weaving battles, Cecotto Jr had fallen nearly five seconds behind the 2nd place man by the one-quarter mark, while fighting off the intentions of Palmer; however as Palmer fell away, Cecotto Jr reeled in Coletti.
Cecotto Jr could do nothing about 2nd place, with Coletti holding his Trident rival to a steady pace through the final tours. If anything, Coletti’s times brought Palmer into the fight for the runner-up spot, but even the Englishman could not take advantage on home soil.
He did have to fight hard for it though. Starting just behind Leal, Palmer trailed the Colombian until the twelfth tour, during which he swept through.
Behind the Coletti-Cecotto Jr-Palmer fight, Leal secured another 5th place points finish ahead of his first F1 test this week. The Colombian is continuing his step up in performance this year, after several years in the doldrums.
Richelmi’s horror start didn’t just lose him the lead. The DAMS racer dropped to 5th of the line and then lost another position when his teammate Palmer slipped by on the fifth lap. The Monegasque driver had no answer thereafter and had to fight hard to keep Evans at bay in the closing laps.
Sørensen took another points finish for 8th place, but was fortunate in that an error by Vandoorne offered up the final score.
Nasr’s victory brings the gap to Palmer to 38 points, with the seventh round at Hockenheim coming up in a week-and-a-half. Although the Brazilian will be disappointed to have dropped five scores to the leading Englishman, there will be some small solace in this damage limitation.
Evans won the Feature Race battle against Palmer. © GP2 Series Media Services.
Julián Leal. © GP2Media Services.
GP2 Series racer Julián Leal is to make his Formula One test début next week with the Caterham team.
Leal will share the CT05 machine over the two day test with the already confirmed Will Stevens and Rio Haryanto, although it has not yet been revealed how the sessions will be split amongst the drivers.
Following several seasons competing at the GP2 / Formula Renault 3.5 / Formula 3000 level {note 1}, the Colombian has certainly turned on the form this year and lies 5th in the current GP2 campaign, having secured two podiums and several points finishes.
Understandably, Leal was delighted with the news. “I am very excited about my first Formula 1 test and […] I’m having a good weekend at Silverstone already and am now fifth in the GP2 Championship after a strong race on Saturday.”
With the test taking place at the same venue, Leal understands that he will take fresh track knowledge to the test; however the 24-year-old is also aware that he faces a sizeable step-up. “As I’m racing on the same circuit this weekend as I’ll test on next week that’s obviously a benefit but there is clearly a big step up to F1 from GP2, particularly in terms of the infrastructure I will be working with on track.”
He continued: “With that in mind my main goal is to learn as much as I possibly can and help the team work through the program they set – I know I will be given all the help and advice I need, now I just want to get started.”
New Caterham F1 CEO, Christian Albers added: “[Leal] is an exciting young talent, showing this year in GP2 just what he is capable of, and the natural next step for him is F1. We have been able to help him make that progression at the Silverstone test and now it is up to him to make the most of it. We will give him all the guidance he will need and I am sure he will do a great job.”
The test runs on July 8th-9th.
{note 1}
Leal certainly comes with experience. Incredibly his racing career began in 2006 in Formula Renault 2.0 Panam GP Series, but jumped straight into Euroseries Formula 3000 a year later. Since then, he beat Nicolas Prost and Fabio Onidi to the Italian F3000 title {note 2}, but was mostly a midfield runner in the European category.
Following F3000, Leal moved over to Formula Renault 3.5 in 2009 and a year later competed in FR3.5 and Auto GP. In 2011, Leal moved to the GP2 Series with Rapax and has since raced in that category with Trident, Racing Engineering and now with Carlin.
{note 2}
Oh goody, Italian F3000 is fun {note 3}. Technically, there was and there wasn’t an Italian F3000 Series at the time. The Italian F3000 Series was actually a sub-division of Euroseries 3000, whereby four of the eight rounds in Euroseries 3000 were a series in there own right.
In 2008, the rounds at Vellelunga, Circuit de Valencia (Riccardo Tormo), Mugello and Misano all counted toward the Italian F3000 sub-division. Interestingly, Valencia was included in Italian F3000, but the Euroseries finale at Magione wasn’t. In this instance, Leal took the Italian portion of the series, but was a distant 6th over the course of the entire Euroseries F3000 championship.
This type of arrangement isn’t totally unusual and is most widely used throughout the European Rally Championship, where each round also forms part of each national championship.
{note 3}
And again… Italian F3000 – and the whole second-rate F3000 class as a whole – has an intriguing history, dominated by take-overs, sales and name changes. Beginning in 1999, the series began as a genuine championship, utilising Lola T96/50 chassis and Zytek engines, with former racer Giorgio Vinella taking the title.
Two years later, it became the Euro Formula 3000, before reverting back to Italian F3000 again in 2005. A year later, the Euroseries 3000 was formed and that lasted for four seasons, before being taken over again in 2010 and renamed Auto GP. Two years later, it became the Auto GP World Series.
Notable contestants include Felipe Massa, Romain Grosjean, Romain Dumas, Marco Bonanomi, Vitaly Petrov, Adrien Tambay, Nico Prost, Luca Filippi, Sergey Sirotkin, Luiz Razia, Gimmi Bruni, Nicky Pastorelli, Davide Rigon, Warren Hughes, Giacomo Ricci and Ricardo Sperafico.
Andrew Tang won the Toyota Racing Series in 2014. © Toyota Racing Series / Bruce Jenkins.
The Toyota Racing Series revealed its calendar for the 2015 season this week.
Maintaining a schedule of five rounds, the series will enjoy three events on the northern island and two in the south, with the series once again concluding with the New Zealand Grand Prix at Manfeild Autocourse.
Aside from Manfeild, the TRS is staying with Hampton Downs and Teretonga Park, although the latter – the relatively traditional opener for the series – will now line-up as the second round in late-January.
Designed for young and / or inexperienced drivers unused to aero-reliant competition, the series has proved increasingly popular in recent years.
According to category manager Barrie Thomlinson, “Toyota Racing Series is a unique chance for rising Kiwi drivers to get valuable ‘wings and slicks’ experience in a real team environment before starting their international careers.”
Thomlinson added: “Team managers and talent-spotters around the world are watching closely as we finalise details for this year’s championship.” Many of the drivers racing in the series have used the TRS as preparation before moving onto the likes of Formula 3 or Formula Renault 2.0 categories.
Opening the series will be events at Mike Pero Motorsport Park at Ruapuna (Jan 17-18) near Christchurch. It will be the first time since the 2008-09 season that the TRS will have raced at the 2.0-mile circuit.
Thomlinson believes the drivers are in for a treat. “Ruapuna is a firm favourite with drivers and teams, so we’re rapt to be able to race there again.” The Series is also set to move back to the fast and sweeping Taupo Park, after the northern island circuit was omitted from this year’s calendar.
Boosted by a strong international contingent, the series last year ran twenty-two full-season efforts; however it will be key to see if the introduction of a new car and the burgeoning Florida Winter Series and FIA F3 Winter Series cut into these efforts.
One hopes not. The Toyota Racing Series team have done a stellar job in recent years building the category.
2015 Toyota Racing Series schedule: Ruapuna, Christchurch (Jan 16-18) Teretonga Park, Invercargill (Jan 23-25) Hampton Downs, Waikato (Jan 30-Feb 1) Taupo Motorsport Park, Taupo (Feb 6-8) 59th New Zealand Grand Prix, Manfeild Park (Feb 13-15)
There was all change at the Renault Group today as Jérôme Stoll took over from Jean-Michel Jalinier as President of Renault Sport F1.
Stoll moves into his new role in the wake of poor performances by the Renault power unit, despite a victory for Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo in Canada last month.
As well as his new position, Stoll will maintain his current responsibilities as Renault Sport F1’s Chief Performance Officer and Group Sales & Marketing Director.
Born in 1954, Stoll originally joined Renault in 1980 and has operated in numerous financial and administrative positions until 2000, when he became President and CEO of what was then Renault Samsung Motors.
By the middle of the next decade, Stoll had been promoted to the position of Mercosur Director and was appointed as Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing & Light Commercial Vehicles, before his last graduation in 2013.
Meanwhile, Cyril Abiteboul – a refugee of Caterham F1’s takeover – returns to Renault Sport F1 as Managing Director. Abiteboul previously acted as Development Director of Renault F1, later becoming Executive Director, before beginning a stint with Caterham almost two years ago.
Jalinier, who replaced Bernard Rey at the end of 2011, has been with the French manufacturer in various positions for almost three decades, occupying a number of management positions – particularly in Russia and Brazil – before taking on his occupation as Managing Director.
Jalinier has decided to take early retirement for personal reasons.
Mercedes have dominated much of this year’s F1 campaign, with the German squad having having secured seven of the eight Grand Prix that have taken place thus far.
Ricciardo’s Canadian success, while a welcome one, largely came due to an ounce of luck, propelled by technical failures in both factory Mercedes machines.
Apart from a Monaco podium, it has been tough going for Sørensen in FR3.5. © Renault Sport Media.
Formula Renault 3.5 stalwart Marco Sørensen has moved across to the GP2 Series with MP Motorsport.
The 23-year-old joins the Dutch team alongside Danïel de Jong as he replaces Tio Ellinas, who had originally replaced Jon Lancaster.
Apart from a podium finish at Monaco, this season has proved a difficult one for Sørensen – his 3rd year in the FR3.5 category.
The Dane entered 2014 as a championship contender with the Tech-1 team; however the partnership – pinned down to just a single car effort – has struggled to flourish, leaving Sørensen 12th in the standings with 29 points; some 103 points shy off of series leader Carlos Sainz Jr.
Sørensen is keen to experience a new environment. He commented: “This is a really good opportunity for me, I’m actually looking forward to a new challenge. It’s great that Gravity Sports Management, Lotus F1 Team and MP Motorsport gave me this opportunity to race in GP2 Series.”
Yet despite his outward confidence, the Dane is also aware of the enormity of the task at hand. “My plan 100% is to get up to speed quickly and get the best results I can for MP Motorsport, but the practice is only 45 minutes and then we have qualifying on the same day. For sure it will be difficult, but there isn’t a lot of pressure so I’m going to enjoy it – that’s when I drive my best.”
In a conversation with members of the Lotus F1 Junior Team earlier this year, Sørensen’s abilities as a test driver during simulator sessions were lauded and that on track results were occasionally less than representative.
There may still be more to come from Dane – it will be interesting to note if the environment at MP Motorsport helps to germinate better results during a year when they too have faced difficulties.
After four rounds, lead driver de Jong has yet to score a point, while Ellinas collected just seven from the three weekends spent in Europe.
Despite this, MP Motorsport team boss Sander Dorsman believes Sørensen is up to the task. “Although he is new to GP2, he brings good experience from Formula Renault 3.5 so we’re sure he will quickly adapt to the GP2 car and be a force to be reckoned with.”
Sørensen comes with experience. Hailing from Svenstrup, he progressed through the rank of Formula Ford in Sweden and Denmark (incorporating the Northern European Zone, and claiming 3rd overall in Denmark), before graduating to Formula Renault 2.0 (3rd in NEC in 2009) and German F3 (2nd in 2011).
His success in Formula Renault brought him into the Renault driver development programme and latterly the Lotus development programme. A move to FR3.5 in 2012 signalled great things, but a difficult 2013 season filled with mechanical issues put a dampener on his efforts.
Last year, Sørensen also ran in a tyre test for Lotus at Paul Ricard.
Not everything lasts forever. Even the most successful of endeavours are doomed to collapse at some point in time, but what of those ventures that, for one reason or another, never fly quite that high?
Some – like the recently defunct HRT or the long lamented Arrows teams for example – creak on, clinging to nothing as the floors are torn from beneath their feet.
Others get out early, although not always early enough to save the monetary pain — and the past five years have been painful for Caterham. Or more specifically, team owner Tony Fernandes.
Through name changes; once before they even entered a race, followed by a legal dogfights over the ghost of a long dead brand and political and technical upheavals, Caterham are bottom of the Constructor’s Championship and are again losing battle to Marussia.
For a time Fernandes spoke of taking points and climbing the order, but eighty-five Grand Prix later and the Caterham scoresheet is still blank.
Despite their best efforts, they have not been able to break into the top ranks. To top it off, the team entered this year with the CT05; a machine that is reportedly unbalanced, while Renault’s power unit has not delivered.
As an aside to that, the ongoing political strife within Formula One has also taken its toll and Fernandes, robbing him and several other team owners of a say in the sport. And there built frustration and disenchantment.
This is barely news and has rather been on the cards for some time. A great deal of money has been, but the return on investment is nil. So why wait..? Bye bye Tony and welcome back Colin Kolles and a hello to the new, as yet unnamed, investors from Switzerland and the Middle East.
Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul has departed and is replaced by former F1 driver Christian Albers, who will be assisted by Manfredi Ravetto.
Considering the task ahead, Albers has played it safe with his opening statement. “We are aware of the huge challenge ahead of us given the fight at the bottom end of the Championship and our target now is to aim for tenth place in the 2014 Championship. We are very committed to the future of the team and we will ensure that the team has the necessary resources to develop and grow and achieve everything it is capable of.”
Indeed. All change at Caterham.
All change at Caterham. © Leigh O’Gorman.
It has been a tricky year for Regalia and Hilmer. © GP2 Series Media Services.
Argentine racer Facu Regalia has split from GP2 Series squad Hilmer Motorsport, following a difficult start to the season.
The 22-year-old has endured a torrid opening four rounds, peppered by a series of mechanical issues, which have left Regalia rooted to the bottom of the standings with no points.
On his website yesterday, Regalia confirmed that another poor weekend at the Red Bull Ring drew a line under the sand. “On Sunday, after the second race in Austria, I decided not to keep running with the team,” he said.
Regalia added: “The team did not quite put a competitive car; I suffered problems tuning in Bahrain, Barcelona and Austria, and motor problems in all competitions.”
The Buenos Aires native noted that these issues did not reveal themselves in Monaco, partially due to the nature of the circuit; however an accident at the beginning of race one effectively ruined his weekend.
The lack of results has not been a one-sided affair. Regalia’s Hilmer teammate Daniel Abt has also been plagued by mechanical problems and occasional bouts of poor luck, rendering him scoreless, as the halfway mark of the season approaches.
The former GP3 Series race winner also revealed that ongoing budgetary issues hampered opportunities to join a leading team. “The lack of financial support has played an important role because, having had a start to the season I could have signed with Dams, Racing Engineering, ART and Campos.”
Meanwhile, Regalia is determined to carry on with efforts to secure another GP2 driver as soon as possible. “Personally, I need a car that allows me to fight on, as I proved last year, and keep intact my aspirations to get to Formula 1. Currently I’m evaluating proposals to continue in GP2.”
A member of Force India’s driver development programme, Regalia revealed that the lack of points frustrated his efforts. “What I do know is that with the results I had in the first four dates, [the] Driver Development program was not going to be able to perform […] as agreed, precisely for lack of results.”
With performance markers across the stretch of the season, it is likely the Argentine driver may have fallen short had he continued with the German team.
Hilmer replaced Ocean Racing Technology in the GP2 Series last season and launched a GP3 entry this year as late cover for the defunct RUSSIAN TIME squad.
Yet where the Force India junior team took four GP2 victories in 2013 – despite a seemingly ever-changing line-up – the team have struggled to repeat those efforts. Hilmer have yet to announce a replacement driver.
Haryanto will test at Silverstone. © GP2 Media Service.
GP2 Series racer Rio Haryanto has been confirmed to run the second day of F1 testing with Caterham at Silverstone next month.
Haryanto will join up with the Malaysian squad for the July 9th running at the Buckinghamshire / Northamptonshire circuit, three days after the British Grand Prix.
See also:
“Silverstone F1 Test for Stevens
The Indonesian has twice previously tested for the Caterham team, having run at Abu Dhabi at the tail end on 2010 and again at Silverstone two years ago. Haryanto said, “I can’t wait to be back in an F1 car and I’m delighted it’s with Caterham F1 Team. The last time I drove an F1 car was at the young driver test at Silverstone in 2012 and with the new engine regulations this year I’m sure it’ll be a very different experience.”
Despite a slow start to the season with Caterham Racing, the 21-year-old currently sits 10th in the GP2 standings with 26 points. Haryanto has registered one podium thus far, having taken 3rd place in the reverse grid Sprint Race at Monaco.
While his current campaign may be hotting up considerably, the former GP3 race winner is keen to make the most of his Silverstone experience. “The goal for me is to use this day as another learning experience, another chance to build on the F1 laps I’ve already done, and while my focus before the test is obviously to do the best job I can in GP2, I will be 100% ready to work to the plan the team set and help them develop as best I can.”
The team’s other reserve, Will Stevens, will open testing for Caterham on July 8th.
It goes without saying that this has been a very difficult Formula One season for the Caterham squad. With a car that has stalled in the development stakes, the Anglo-Malaysian team are last in the Constructor’s Championship with a best finish of 11th for Marcus Ericsson at Monaco. The Leafield-based team have yet to register a point since joining Formula One in 2010.
Mygale’s new-for-2015 FIA Australian F4 car was placed on display at the governing body’s Sport Conference in Munich this week.
Created to create a stable step between karting and Formula 3, the Formula 4 category was launched in Italy and South America (forming the Sudamericana Championship) earlier this year.
The machine, which will be run in next season’s Australian F4 championship, was the first F4 car to receive its shakedown, before completing some demonstration laps at Melbourne in March during the Grand Prix weekend with GT racer Karl Reindler at the wheel.
The Australian championship will replace the ailing Formula Ford category, which has struggled on occasion in recent seasons.
When the category launches, it will be one of four new F4 championships to join the already existing series’. Along with Australian F4, next year will also see FIA F4 classes spring up in Japan and Germany; both of which will replace Formula Challenge Japan and ADAC Formel Masters respectively.
FIA F4 will also launch in the UK, under the governance of MSA (UK motorsport governing body) replacing Formula Ford.
Of the change, Gerard Quinn – Head of Ford Racing in Europe – commented, “We are very pleased that many months of work has brought us to the point today where we can announce our plans for the long-term future of Formula Ford. We have worked closely with the MSA and the FIA, and in particular with the FIA’s Single Seat Commission President Gerhard Berger, to bring the project to fruition.”
Quinn added, “The FIA has a focused objective – it wishes to see a clearly set-out path leading to Formula 1, and has created regulations aimed at securing consistent organisational standards, technical fairness, sporting relevancy and stability. Ford is delighted to be working with the MSA and the FIA to bring those plans to fruition.”
However the pre-existing BRDC F4 will continue to run on British grounds, with the latter not running to FIA technical regulations. If nothing else, the dual categories are bound to put the BRDC and the MSA at loggerheads.
More territories are expected to sign up to the class in time for the 2016 season. Meanwhile, Italian F4 made its first visit to the famed Imola circuit at the weekend for the second round of its series.
No.
(Qualifying 9th probably did though.)
© Carlin Motorsport.
Leading British motorsport squad, Carlin Racing, have announced a new academy programme to focus on developing young drivers.
Well known for nurturing talent throughout the years – including the likes of Kevin Magnussen, Daniel Ricciardo, Daniil Kvyat and Jean-Eric Vergne amongst others – the Farnham-based team have decided to formalise the process.
Headed by former racing driver turned commentator Tom Gaymor, the Carlin Academy intends to focus on developing drivers’ on track capabilities, alongside their education commitments, as they aim to take their first step onto the single-seater ladder.
Operating from the team’s facilities at Pembrey, the programme sets out to train young drivers about the machinations of braking and steering under the steady guide of engineer Stefan de Groot.
From there, academy members will partake in a simulator programme, before taking track sessions at the Pembrey circuit.
According to Gaymor, the desire to support young drivers through their key years was pivotal to starting the Academy. ‘This is a fantastic opportunity for drivers to learn as much as they possibly can during the time that they spend with us. Our aim is to take a young driver and deliver to them the necessary learning programmes in order to support them at being as good as they can possibly be.’
Gaymor added: ‘Having the Academy within Carlin means that we are able to welcome these young drivers into the Carlin family from a younger age and allow them to work closely with engineers, develop relationships and skills to take them further; giving them long term development and stability which will in turn provide a great platform for high performance’
Team boss Trevor Carlin also noted: ‘The motorsport industry can be quite daunting, but the aim of the Academy is to assist and equip young drivers with the skills they need to step into single-seater motorsport. We hope that this will be something that continues and produces some great talents over the coming years.’
Drivers will be announced shortly.
Martsenko will drive for Hilmer in Austria… © Sam Bloxham/GP3 Series Media Service.
Nikolay Martsenko and Riccardo Agostini will make their respective GP3 Series débuts with Hilmer Motorsport at the Red Bull Ring this weekend.
Although Martsenko started the season competing in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series, the 20-year-old has endured staggered opening half to the year.
Martsenko had competed with Comtec Racing in the opening two rounds of the FR3.5 Series, claiming a runner-up finish at Motorland Aragon; however budgetary issues curtailed his running. As such, it is unknown how long the Russian has registered for or if this was just a one round deal.
Although Martsenko has raced at the Red Bull Ring previously, the Russian acknowledged that GP3 was an entirely new prospect. “It will be my first experience at the wheel of GP3 car but I will do my best to achieve good result. I’m well prepared and I will give everything for the team.”
See also:
“Force India join with Hilmer Motorsport for GP3 effort”
Meanwhile, former FIA European Formula 3 racer Agostini will also appeared at Hilmer. The Italian ran at the opening three rounds of the F3 series with EuroInternational; however his campaign came to an abrupt halt following the visit to the streets of Pau last month.
Agostini commented, “I am happy to debut in the GP3 Series with the Hilmer Motorsport. I met the team and I feel to have a good relationship with everyone. The partnership with a F1 team such as Force India is an added value.”
He added: “In this championship a positive result has a double value. It’s a unique opportunity to be under the spotlight, even if the level of the series is very high.”
The duo replaced Ivan Taranov and Beitske Visser; both of whom had only signed with Hilmer for the season opener.
…as will Agostini. © Sam Bloxham/GP3 Series Media Service.
Stevens to test for Caterham at Silverstone. © Renault Sport Media
Caterham Racing Academy have confirmed that Will Stevens is to test with the Caterham F1 squad at the post-British Grand Prix test at Silverstone on July 8th.
The 22-year-old Stevens is currently Caterham F1’s test driver, requiring the Briton to act as a Grand Prix support pilot in the Leafield simulator during Grand Prix weekends – a difficult task in 2014.
The coming test at Silverstone offers Stevens a rare chance to test the car in anger, following on from his last test, which occurred just under one year ago at the same circuit.
Meanwhile, the delighted Stevens is clearly keen. “It’ll be great to be back in an F1 car for the first time since the 2013 Silverstone test and with the amount of time I’ve already spent in the virtual car in the simulator, I can’t wait to see how it compares to the real thing.”
There are of course elements to this test which could prove intriguing, such as utilising this real life run to assess the nature and quality of information delivered by Stevens and processed by the Caterham simulator programme.
Stevens continued, “I’m sure we’ll have a busy runplan set for the day and my focus will be on doing the best job I can for the team, building on the work I’ve been doing all year in the sim at Leafield.”
Competing in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series with Strakka Racing, Stevens lies an encouraging 4th in points with one victory and two podiums, as the series moves toward its halfway mark in Moscow.
The Briton is running with Strakka in FR3.5. © Renault Sport Media.
Formula Gulf 1000 is closing in on its 4th season. © Formula Gulf 1000 / Mo7arekat
The Formula Gulf 1000 Series has been awarded ‘National Championship’ status by the FIA and ATCUAE (UAE motorsport’s body).
Since last season, the series allowed drivers as young 15-years-old to compete in the series, but only under the condition that they had strong backgrounds in karting.
Licences are also dependent on passing several safety procedures and a circuit racing assessment.
ATCUAE handed out two such licences last year, one of which was delivered to the eventual 2013-14 Formula Gulf 1000 champion, Tom Bale.
The National Championship classification comes following the series’ declaration that two inner-competition classes will be formed: ‘Championship Class’ for 15-24-years-old and the ‘Masters Class’ for drivers of 25-years and older.
Also, further support from the series’ technical partners, Gulf Oil International, has ensured the season budget has been reduced by AED 50,000 (£8,020) to approximately AED 226,000 (£36,250).
Training sessions for this year’s competition are continuing throughout June, with two young regional racers taking to the track at Dubai Autodrome over June 23rd and 24th in order to garner the necessary qualifications.
The lead-in will also see the youngsters take to the series’ FG11 simulator for several sessions, as they prepare for the on track activities.
Earlier this month, Kenya’s Tejas Hirani completed 200km of running at the Dubai Autodrome. Part of the test was designed to analyse how both driver and car would perform in the 40°C heat that can be common in many Gulf States.
The new classification of the series also brings Formula Gulf 1000 a step closer to be recognised as a potential candidate for FIA Formula 4 status.
Last month, series organisers announced their push to increase the power output of the FG11 cars to 160bhp, in order to bring it in line with FIA F4 regulations.
© Auto GP World Series.
Salvatore De Plano is to make his Auto GP debut with the Euronova Racing squad at the upcoming round in Imola.
The 39-year-old will take to the series with the Italian squad, despite having a relative small amount of single-seater racing experience since the late-90s.
De Plano, who will race alongside points leader Kimiya Sato and Shinya Michimi, tested for Euronova at the Ricardo Tormo in Valencia following a private session at Adria in April. De Plano having agreed an initial plan to race with Vincenzo Sospiri’s team.
In order to get De Plano up to speed, Euronova will run him at the Formula Renault 2.0 NEC round at the Hockenheimring this weekend.
The Tuscany native does have something of an ongoing relationship with Euronova, having previously acted as their official test driver, following his brief foray into Italian F3000 in 2004.
More recently, De Plano has been competing in the Italian F2 Trophy Cup and was, for a time, the Sporting Director of the Porsche Superstar squad, Petricorse. The veteran also has experience in the defunct Formula Europa Boxer Series, as well as Formula 2000 and Italian F3.
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