Imola. © Wikipedia Commons
Although Romain Grosjean sealed his second GP2 Asia Series crown in Imola on Sunday afternoon, it was Racing Engineering’s Dani Clos that took the Sprint Race in style.
Admittedly, it was not all plain sailing for Grosjean – a post race penalty dropped him out of the points places, but the Frenchman still garnered a solitary score for fastest lap.
Indeed, Clos jumped into an instant lead as poleman Fairuz Fauzy (Super Nova) was slow away. The Malaysian dropped into the pack, passed by both championship contenders – Grosjean (DAMS) and Jules Bianchi (ART GP).
Sadly, those wishing for an epic title finale were quickly denied – Fauzy, determined to retake his lead, massively outbraked himself at the entrance of Tamburello, wiping out both Bianchi and Trident’s Stefano Coletti.
It truly was a ridiculous move by Fauzy, who should know better than that by now.
As the dust settled and a weary Bianchi removed himself to the paddock, Clos began to pull away from Rapax’s Fabio Leimer. Clos didn’t hog the good starts – Giedo van der Garde and Grosjean nabbed 3rd and 4th despite having both started on the fourth row.
Esteban Gutierrez also got away well. The Mexican lined up 11th on the grid following a difficult Feature Race, but was running 5th as he started the second lap.
It would be the beginnings of a race long battle.
Showing spurts of speed this weekend were Rodolfo Gonzalez (Trident) and Michael Herck (Coloni). The oft-criticised pair found themselves 6th and 7th early on and under pressure from iSport’s Marcus Ericsson (8th).
The Swede was not shy about attacking the Gonzalez / Herck pairing, but it would all come to nothing. Ericsson, probably trying too hard, spun twice (on laps five and and eight) leaving him near the rear of the field. Sadly Gonzalez could not complete his impressive run – mechanical gremlins would soon creep into his Trident machine, pulling him out of the race on the 14th tour.
Ericsson and Gonzalez were not the only drivers finding life at Imola tough, as Team AirAsia’s Davide Valsecchi suffered a truly torrid weekend. Following his Feature Race disqualification, the Italian suffered several offs during the race that would leave him mired at the back.
Even Julian Leal couldn’t locate good fortune. An early clash for the Rapax driver slightly dislodged his front wing, necessitating an eventual pitstop.
Meanwhile, the van der Garde / Grosjean / Gutierrez battle continued apace – the trio pushed eachother hard around Imola’s picturesque hills; always teasing, but unable to finalise the matter.
From the 8th lap right to the flag, rarely was there more than two seconds covering the trio and for much of the race, the gap measured just under one second.
All the while Grosjean ducked and dived around van der Garde, glaring around the outside and peeking down the inside. At the same time Gutierrez stalked patiently, waiting for his moment like a skilled hunter.
For Gutierrez, it would take time, but it would come. It would not be until the penultimate lap, but the stalemate was broken, as the Mexican – picking the perfect opportunity – dived down the inside of Grosjean at the Variante Alta, snatching 4th of the newly crowned Champion.
Yet, just as it seemed Gutierrez had forced the issue, Grosjean took to the grass to re-pass the ART GP pilot and keep the place. For Grosjean, it was an illegal move that would see him receive a 20 second post-race penalty.
Van der Garde on the other hand had escaped – the final podium spot was his.
The midpack was not absent of action either. Despite no points offerings, Sam Bird found himself charging for 11th spot with only four laps to go after starting 24th.
With a struggling Johnny Cecotto Jr (Super Nova) ahead, the Englishman took the inside line at Rivazza to pass. Unfortunately for Bird, Cecotto Jr’s revenge came less than a lap later – the Venezuelan inexplicably rammed the rear of Bird entering Tamburello, taking Bird out of the race. While Cecotto continued, he too would receive a post-race time penalty.
Amidst all this, Dani Clos barely appeared on the radar. The improving Spaniard garnered his first GP2 Asia victory and while he did so with no significant amount of pressure from behind, the racing Engineering driver still took the flag with some class.
Fabio Leimer also ran quietly, but well to take 2nd. The Swiss man did get close to Clos (ahem), but never truly looked like passing him. Giedo van der Garde was the final podium finisher, with the gutsy Esteban Gutierrez 4th.
The improving Michael Herck (5th) assumed a score for Coloni ahead of final points finisher, Paul Verhaug (6th). Following his post-race penalty, Romain Grosjean took home 7th spot with Oliver Turvey (8th, Ocean) and Josef Kral (9th, Arden). Luca Filippi secured 10th place for Coloni, despite starting 23rd.
There may not have been huge amounts of overtaking in the race, but there were several very intense battles that kept one of their toes.
And so the fourth GP2 Asia Series is complete and Romain Grosjean is the Champion (again). Now he needs to bring this form to the Main Series.
2011 is already showing plenty of promise.
Race Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Pos Driver Team Time/Gap
1. Dani Clos Racing Engineering 37m25.901s (25 laps)
2. Fabio Leimer Rapax + 0.931s
3. Giedo van der Garde Addax + 4.007s
4. Esteban Gutierrez ART + 8.366s
5. Michael Herck Coloni + 15.312s
6. Pal Varhaug DAMS + 27.415s
7. Romain Grosjean DAMS + 7.826s**
8. Oliver Turvey Ocean + 29.294s
9. Josef Kral Arden + 29.721s
10. Luca Filippi Coloni + 30.139s
11. Charles Pic Addax + 32.505s
12. Andrea Caldarelli Ocean + 36.006s
13. Nathanael Berthon Racing Engineering + 36.893s
14. Luiz Razia AirAsia + 38.998s
15. Max Chilton Carlin + 39.815s
16. Marcus Ericsson iSport + 40.192s
17. Davide Valsecchi AirAsia + 42.100s
18. Julian Leal Rapax + 1m05.466s
19. Johnny Cecotto Super Nova + 1 lap**
20. Mikhail Aleshin Carlin + 1 lap
** 20 second penalty
Retirements:
Sam Bird iSport 20 laps
Rodolfo Gonzalez Trident 14 laps
Stefano Coletti Trident 0 laps
Jolyon Palmer Arden 0 laps
Jules Bianchi ART 0 laps
Fairuz Fauzy Super Nova 0 laps
Pos Driver Team Points
1. Romain Grosjean DAMS 24
2. Jules Bianchi ART GP 18
3. Giedo van der Garde Addax 16
4. Stefano Coletti Trident 11
5. Fabio Leimer Rapax 9
6. Davide Valsecchi Team AirAsia 9
7. Marcus Ericsson iSport 9
8. Michael Herck Scuderia Coloni 9
9. Dani Clos Racing Engineering 8
10. Josef Kral Arden 8
11. Esteban Gutierrez ART GP 3
12. Sam Bird iSport 2
Imola. © Wikipedia Commons
Romain Grosjean cruised to an easy victory in the opening race of the final round of the 2011 GP2 Asia Series in Imola.
The Frenchman fought off an early attack from eventual runner-up, Addax’s Giedo van der Garde, eventually giving Grosjean a five-point lead in the standing with only a single sprint race remaining.
It helped that the DAMS runner also picked up a last dash pole position in qualifying, following that up with the race’s fastest lap. Saturday truly was a clean sweep for the former Renault pilot.
Whereas Grosjean stormed away from the line, fellow front-row man Sam Bird (iSport) bogged down, dropping to 8th by the opening chicane at Tamburello. Bird’s day would only continue to worsen – fighting over a poor 9th place with teammate Marcus Ericsson several laps in would see the iSport pair crash into eachother, rendering Ericsson’s day damaged and Bird’s over.
Championship challenger Jules Bianchi (ART GP) also had a poor start – albeit not as dramatic as Bird’s. With van der Garde soaring and Michael Herck (Coloni) maintaining his 3rd place, Bianchi could not hold Arden’s Josef Kral off for long, as Kral swiped 4th place away from the ART GP driver.
As Bianchi struggled, the Frenchman was also desperately trying to hold off Jolyon Palmer (Arden). Unfortunately Palmer collided gently with Bianchi’s rear on the run down to the Rivazza – a knock that would remove a section of Palmer’s front wing.
Van der Garde on the other hand had a startling launch from 5th on the grid, leaping ahead of Herck and the aforementioned Bianchi and Bird to 2nd place.
Esteban Gutierrez was another quick starter. The Mexican shot off his 15th place on the grid to 10th by the opening corner, before forcing passed Davide Valsecchi (Team AirAsia) to take 9th by the end of the first lap.
by the fifth tour, Gutierrez had closed in on Bird, only to run wide at Acque Minerale. It was an adventure that cost the reigning GP3 Champion three spots as Valsecchi, Mikhail Aleshin (Carlin) and Stefano Coletti (Trident) zoomed by, dropping the Mexican to 12th.
Determined not to make the same error, Bianchi pushed Kral and by lap 7, Bianchi stole 4th from the Czech driver. Sadly for Kral, a slow pitstop on the following lap would see him tumble down the order, where he clattered wheels with the now struggling Gutierrez.
With Grosjean seemingly unattainable, Bianchi zeroed in on the quickening Herck, yet it was made somewhat easy for the Frenchman. As Bianchi reduced the gap to Herck from 5 to 1.5 seconds, Herck readied himself for a stop that gave Bianchi just enough free air to jump him after his tyre change – 3rd!!
It would not be until 16th lap that Grosjean finally pitted, although the DAMS leader would have little to worry about. In fact the only runner to come close to the Frenchman was Trident’s Rodolfo Gonzalez.
With little to lose, the Venezuelan opted for a lengthy opening stint and it was his good pace that rewarded him with the (temporary) race lead, although Gonzalez wore it well. Eventually Gonzalez stayed out for a further four laps before pitting for new Pirelli’s, placing the lead back in Grosjean’s hands – the Trident racer emerged in 10th position.
As for Grosjean, the remaining laps were easy and rather than losing pace on ageing rubber, the DAMS charger set the fastest lap of the race on the penultimate tour.
Indeed such was Grosjean’s pace, that by the time the chequered flag flew at the end of 35 laps, the Frenchman had secured a 14.3 second lead over van der Garde, with 3rd place Bianchi a further 3 seconds behind.
Herck also ran a solid, if quiet race for Coloni, eventually taking 4th. The Romanian had a long gap to Coletti who took 5th ahead of Valsecchi; however Valsecchi failed a ride height test post-race and was excluded from the results.
With that Fabio Leimer and Dani Clos moved to 6th and 7th respectively, while Fairuz Fauzy moved to 8th to grab pole for the Sprint race. Gonzalez and Ericsson rounded out the top-ten, just missing the points.
The final results of the Feature Race at the fabulous Imola circuit leaves Grosjean with a significant advantage coming into the Sprint run.
With a five point lead and only seven available, the 2011 GP2 Asia Series is his to lose.
Race Rating: 2.5 out of 5
Pos Driver Team Time/Gap
1. Romain Grosjean DAMS 52m59.103s (35 laps)
2. Giedo van der Garde Addax + 14.349s
3. Jules Bianchi ART + 17.527s
4. Michael Herck Coloni + 21.502s
5. Stefano Coletti Trident + 41.228s
6. Fabio Leimer Rapax + 51.867s
7. Dani Clos Racing Engineering + 52.813s
8. Fairuz Fauzy Super Nova + 53.964s
9. Rodolfo Gonzalez Trident + 54.224s
10. Marcus Ericsson iSport + 54.661s
11. Esteban Gutierrez ART + 55.390s
12. Josef Kral Arden + 55.840s
13. Pal Varhaug DAMS + 1m07.700s
14. Oliver Turvey Ocean + 1m19.721s
15. Johnny Cecotto Super Nova + 1m20.567s
16. Julian Leal Rapax + 1m22.066s
17. Andrea Caldarelli Ocean + 1m24.224s
18. Jolyon Palmer Arden + 1m24.503s
19. Mikhail Aleshin Carlin + 1m26.672s
20. Charles Pic Addax + 1m29.215s
21. Max Chilton Carlin + 1m31.023s
22. Luca Filippi Coloni + 1m31.058s
Retirements:
Nathanael Berthon Racing Engineering 15 laps
Sam Bird iSport 7 laps
Luiz Razia AirAsia 0 laps
Davide Valsecchi AirAsia + 44.563s (Disqualified)
Pos Driver Team Points 1. Romain Grosjean DAMS 23 2. Jules Bianchi ART GP 18 3. Giedo van der Garde Addax 12 4. Stefano Coletti Trident 11 5. Davide Valsecchi Team AirAsia 9 6. Marcus Ericsson iSport 9 7. Josef Kral Arden 8 8. Michael Herck Scuderia Coloni 7 9. Fabio Leimer Rapax 4 10. Dani Clos Racing Engineering 2 11. Sam Bird iSport 2 12. Fairuz Fauzy Super Nova 1
The crash would hand victory to Ogier’s Citroën teammate (and seven-time WRC Champion) Sébastien Loeb, eventually dropping Ogier to 6th in the points standings. While Ogier solemnly considered what could have been his third victory, Loeb jumped to 2nd in the Championship, just behind the revitalised Mikko Hirvonen.
The departing message, “Viva Mexico”, was carved into the dust riddled windscreen, signalling the obvious despondency of losing what was a fantastic event.
Round 3 of the 2011 WRC continues next weekend when the series travels to Portugal.
© WRC / One Productions.
Barber Motorsports Park. © Wikipedia Commons
Helio Castroneves nudged Penske teammate, Will Power, off the top of the testing time sheets on the second and final day at Barber Motorsports Park, Alabama.
Castroneves ran 71 laps on the second day with a best of 1:11.943 – significantly lowering the bar from the opening day. The Brazilian only held 0.02 of-a-second advantage over Power; however the highly motivated Australian may still be comfortable with the 63 lap day he had.
Scott Dixon (3rd) was the first Ganassi car on the list, followed by the final Penske of Ryan Briscoe (4th). If nothing else, this was another clear warning shot to the rest of the field of Penske’s power (sorry) on the road courses.
Oriol Servia improved to 5th on day two with a 1:12.359 during a 73 lap session in his Newman-Haas machine. Although the Spaniard finished some four-tenths off of Castroneves’ pace, he did hold a one-tenth gap over Takuma Sato (6th, KV Racing), James Hinchcliffe (7th, Newman-Haas) and Marco Andretti (8th, Andretti-Autosport). All three completed very busy programmes.
Dreyer and Reinbold’s Justin Wilson did not improve on the second day, dropping to 9th; however the Sheffield man did run long. Andrett0-Autosport’s Ryan Hunter-Reay rounded-up the top-ten.
Dario Franchitti struggled again on day two, this time only completing 29 laps. The Scot registered the 11th quickest time, just ahead of Alex Tagliani’s Sam Schmidt Motorsport entry.
Danica Patrick rose to 13th on the second day thanks to a best tour of 1:12.963, as she added 50 laps to her roster. Graham Rahal also improved during the final session, although still ended the day 14th, some 1.03 seconds slower than Castroneves.
Neither EJ Viso or Mike Conway went faster than their opening day times, but while Viso logged a busy Tuesday, Conway was only able to manage six laps following an accident in turn 14.
Vitor Meira (17th) and Simona de Silvestro (18th) also advanced ahead of Sebastien Bourdais (19th) who could not better his Monday time, although the trio did not fall shy of laps. Charlie Kimball’s best of 1:13.335 was an improvement in time, however that did not stop the Anglo-American driver from falling to 20th – Kimball still ran an impressive 65 laps.
The mysterious James Jakes improved to 21st in the final session taking him ahead of Conquest’s Sebastian Saavedra (22nd), while Dreyer and Reinbold’s Ana Beatriz rose to 23rd.
JR Hildebrand fell to the bottom of the sheets, but did not run due to accident damaged incurred the previous day.
Pos Driver Team Time Gap 1. Helio Castroneves Penske 1m11.9434s 2. Will Power Penske 1m11.9636s + 0.0202s 3. Scott Dixon Ganassi 1m12.2815s + 0.3381s 4. Ryan Briscoe Penske 1m12.2954s + 0.3520s 5. Oriol Servia Newman/Haas 1m12.3594s + 0.4160s 6. Takuma Sato KV 1m12.4742s + 0.5308s 7. James Hinchcliffe Newman/Haas 1m12.5200s + 0.5766s 8. Marco Andretti Andretti 1m12.5255s + 0.5821s 9. Justin Wilson Dreyer & Reinbold 1m12.6791s + 0.7357s 10. Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti 1m12.7749s + 0.8315s 11. Dario Franchitti Ganassi 1m12.8447s + 0.9013s 12. Alex Tagliani Schmidt 1m12.8533s + 0.9099s 13. Danica Patrick Andretti 1m12.9638s + 1.0204s 14. Graham Rahal Ganassi 1m12.9804s + 1.0370s 15. EJ Viso KV 1m13.0170s + 1.0736s 16. Mike Conway Andretti 1m13.0338s + 1.0904s 17. Vitor Meira Foyt 1m13.1151s + 1.1717s 18. Simona de Silvestro HVM 1m13.2671s + 1.3237s 19. Sebastien Bourdais Coyne 1m13.2904s + 1.3470s 20. Charlie Kimball Ganassi 1m13.3351s + 1.3917s 21. James Jakes Coyne 1m13.4323s + 1.4889s 22. Sebastian Saavedra Conquest 1m13.6503s + 1.7069s 23. Ana Beatriz Dreyer & Reinbold 1m13.9431s + 1.9997s 24. JR Hildebrand Panther 1m14.5534s + 2.6100s
Barber Motorsports Park, Alabama. © Wikipedia Commons
Will Power topped the first day of testing earlier this week at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama.
The Penske driver completed only 42 laps with a best of 1:12.505, yet still managed to keep Ganassi rival Scott Dixon (2nd) from leading the table.
Dreyer and Reinbold’s Justin Wilson penetrated the top-three with a quickest run just 0.173 of-a-second shy of Power, while the Briton notched up 47 laps during what appeared to be a productive day. No doubt Wilson will be hoping to bring this form into the season proper. Helio Castroneves lined up 4th on the sheets in the Penske.
James Hinchcliffe garnered the headlines in his outing for Newman-Haas. The series rookie set his best time in the morning, ending 5th overall after a 70 lap session. While his final position was impressive, Hinchcliffe will most likely be prizing the mileage he got to run.
Despite a trip through the gravel, the final Penske of Ryan Briscoe lined up 6th just ahead of KV Racing’s EJ Viso, while the returning Mike Conway headed the Andretti-Autosport group in 8th, albeit half-a-second off Power’s Pace.
Ryan Hunter-Reay (Andretti-Autosport) and Alex Tagliani (Sam Schmidt Motorsports) rounded out the top-ten, just pipping the Ganassi pairing of Graham Rahal (11th) and Dario Franchitti (12th).
Takuma Sato (13th, KV Racing) registered a respectable best of 1:13.191, although the Japanese driver suffered a couple of offs during the day. Veteran racer Oriol Servia made a return to IndyCar’s as he ran in a second Newman-Haas entry – it is reported that the Spaniard will be in the car for the first race at St Petersburg next week.
Marco Andretti only ran 48 laps on his to 15th in his Andretti-Autosport machine. The American did finish ahead of four-time Champ Car champion, Sebastien Bourdais. This was the first time that Bourdais had stepped into any sort of IndyCar since his Champ Car days, seeming happy enough with his pace following 69 laps.
Simona de Silvestro (17th, HVM) and Charlie Kimball (18th, Ganassi) were the final runners within one second of Power’s pace. Just outside of that margin were Danica Patrick (19th, Andretti), Vitor Meira (20th, AJ Foyt) and Sebastian Saavedra (21st, Conquest) – all of whom ranked approximately 1.2 seconds down.
Former-Indy Lights Champion, JR Hildebrand finished 22nd for Panther after only 41 laps of running, while surprise tester James Jakes ranked 23rd for Dale Coyne. At the time, Jakes was a complete unknown, but as reported on this site earlier this week, it appears the Briton has split from GP2 drive with Scuderia Coloni.
Ana Beatriz brought up the rear in her Dreyer and Reinbold runner come the chequered flag. With 66 laps under her belt, the Brazilian set a best of 1:15.077 – approximately 2.57 seconds down on Power.
Pos Driver Team Time Gap 1. Will Power Penske 1m12.5056s 2. Scott Dixon Ganassi 1m12.5538s + 0.0482s 3. Justin Wilson Dreyer & Reinbold 1m12.6791s + 0.1735s 4. Helio Castroneves Penske 1m12.7764s + 0.2708s 5. James Hinchcliffe Newman/Haas 1m12.8729s + 0.3673s 6. Ryan Briscoe Penske 1m12.9715s + 0.4659s 7. EJ Viso KV 1m13.0170s + 0.5114s 8. Mike Conway Andretti 1m13.0338s + 0.5282s 9. Ryan Hunter-Reay Andretti 1m13.1048s + 0.5992s 10. Alex Tagliani Schmidt 1m13.1187s + 0.6131s 11. Graham Rahal Ganassi 1m13.1366s + 0.6310s 12. Dario Franchitti Ganassi 1m13.1524s + 0.6468s 13. Takuma Sato KV 1m13.1913s + 0.6857s 14. Oriol Servia Newman/Haas 1m13.2537s + 0.7481s 15. Marco Andretti Andretti 1m13.2586s + 0.7530s 16. Sebastien Bourdais Dale Coyne 1m13.2904s + 0.7848s 17. Simona de Silvestro HVM 1m13.4546s + 0.9490s 18. Charlie Kimball Ganassi 1m13.4830s + 0.9774s 19. Danica Patrick Andretti 1m13.7102s + 1.2046s 20. Vitor Meira Foyt 1m13.7737s + 1.2681s 21. Sebastian Saavedra Conquest 1m13.8020s + 1.2964s 22. JR Hildebrand Panther 1m14.5534s + 2.0478s 23. James Jakes Dale Coyne 1m14.7775s + 2.2719s 24. Ana Beatriz Dreyer & Reinbold 1m15.0777s + 2.5721s
© Creative Commons / John Chapman.
The Jaypee International Race Circuit in Greater Noida, India appears to be coming together at a rapid pace.
Situated some 25 miles outside of India’s capital Delhi, the Hermann Tilke designed circuit was initially expected to be completed by June 2011, however it is thought the project may be finished with time to spare.
The sixteen-turn course is due to hold the inaugural Indian Grand Prix in October, with homologation of the arena pencilled in for May.
As well as the circuit, the Jaypee complex will also eventually contain a 100,000 seater cricket stadium, as well as a sports academy, golf course and hockey stadium.
Capacity for the track will start at 110,000, although there is potential to increase that to 200,000 at a later date should demands require. The first layer of asphalt for the is due to be laid today, while work progresses on service roads and run off areas.
The progress of the circuit is certainly a far cry from the near disaster that befell last year’s Korean Grand Prix at Yeongam. It is also a positive representation of the largely independent nature of Jaypee’s programme.
It is thought that tickets for the three-day race weekend will go on sale within the next month.
Unlike other circuit developments in recent years, the Jaypee circuit has absorbed the benefit of driver input in order to help overtaking. Initially this feedback was gathered at the design stages, with drivers also offering advice during the building stages.
Although the alterations have been relatively minor, it is hoped that these changes will make for better racing. A planed hairpin has been removed, potentially making the Jaypee circuit the quickest on the calendar, bar Monza.
Hermann Tilke has taken much criticism over the years for designing circuits lacking in imagination; however with input from a number of experienced racers, it is hoped the Jaypee circuit will break Tilke’s series of strikes. With Narain Karthikeyan behind the wheel for Hispania Racing in 2011, India will have at least one driver to get behind when the Formula 1 circus rolls into Greater Noida in October.
The photographs below were posted on the site Skyscrapercity.com two weeks ago showing the then state of progress on site.
Main grandstand. © Master of Disguise / Skyscrapercity.com
Paddock buildings. © Master of Disguise / Skyscrapercity.com
Pit complex. © Master of Disguise / Skyscrapercity.com
Turn 5. © Master of Disguise / Skyscrapercity.com
The rise toward turn 3. © Master of Disguise / Skyscrapercity.com
The final turn. © Master of Disguise / Skyscrapercity.com
A further shot of the main grandstand. © Master of Disguise / Skyscrapercity.com
James Jakes drives for Coloni in 2011. © GP2 Media Service
An unexpected name cropped up on the timing sheets at today’s IndyCar test at Barber Motorsports Park.
In the seat at Dale Coyne Racing today was 23-year-old James Jakes. The Briton has spent the last several years in some of Europe’s most demanding junior categories, including British Formula 3 and the Formula 3 Euro Series, before tasting GP3 in 2010.
This year sees Jakes running for Scuderia Coloni in both GP2 Asia and the GP2 Main Series – the latter of which will be supporting Formula 1 during its European tour.
It is an unusual move for Jakes to test for Dale Coyne – especially as so few seem to have heard about it, however the test may just be a toe in the water for future endeavours.
This year sees some rather impressive talent lining up on the GP2 grid and while Jakes does possess some speed, it is debatable as to whether Jakes fits into the mould of Formula 1 star.
Along the road to GP2, Jakes took an 8th place finish in the British Formula 3 Championship, some distance short of eventual champion, Mike Conway in 2006.
The next two seasons were spent in Formula 3 Euro Series, where Jakes finished a credible 5th in 2007 behind current Formula 1 racers / reserves Romain Grosjean, Sebastien Buemi, Nico Hulkenberg and Kamui Kobayashi. Jakes took his sole win of the year at the French circuit of Magny Cours.
Unfortunately his 2008 campaign proved to be not far short of disastrous for the young Englishman. Running with the highly regarded ART Grand Prix, Jakes finished the 12th in the points standings alongside teammate Jon Lancaster. Fellow ART Grand Prix drivers Jules Bianchi finished 3rd, while the year was dominated by the returning Hulkenberg.
A hand injury severely reduced Jakes’ running in 2009; however he did eventually run in the GP2 Asia Series twice with some minor rewards – although the GP2 Asia Series has often been criticised in the past for weak grids. A step down to the GP3 Series saw Jakes rewarded with 8th in the final positions.
GP2 winter testing saw Jakes occasionally produce speedy runs, but whether the consistency exists to make him a frontrunner at this higher level remains to be seen.
During what was a day of learning, Jakes finish 23rd of the twenty-four runners at today’s IndyCar test – some 2.27 seconds down on quick man, Will Power following a 72-lap stint.
His 2011 year is already signed up leaving it difficult to prize open a window to the IndyCar Series; however a realignment of his goals may be in the works. With the GP2 Series running at around the same power band as Indycar’s current Honda units, Jakes may be able to garner a feel for the machines rather quickly.
Whether he is bringing any money or not is a different matter, but James Jakes is rarely a driver tied to large sponsorship or bulging cases of cash.
Superleague will be returning to Navarra this year. © 2010 Superleague Formula S.A.
From time to time, calendar alterations happen pre-season, but rarely do they ever amount to significant changes.
However, when the Superleague Formula released a revised 2011 schedule on Friday afternoon, I could scarcely believe I was looking at the same series sheet that I posted following Christmas.
This year’s championship – which was originally due to begin on April 16th at Monza, has now been pushed back to a May 28th start at Estoril. That is only only one of a raft of changes.
From the original calendar Monza (Italy), Portimao (Portugal), Nurburgring (Germany), Ordos and Beijing (both China) have departed, only to be provisionally replaced by Estoril (Portugal), Magny Cours (France), Smolensk Ring (Russia) and Curitiba (Brazil).
A further race in Brazil is to be confirmed for the middle of October, while dates in the Middle East and New Zealand are pencilled in for November.
There are painfully few circuits in New Zealand that may have the appropriate license to hold a Superleague Formula race, while the provisional “Middle East” round currently occupies that same dates as Formula 1’s third visit to Abu Dhabi – no doubt, that too will eventually change.
September’s single round in China is also marked down as “tbc“.
Should Superleague’s Russian event take place, it will be the début race for an international single-seater championship in the country, pipping Formula 1 by at least three years.
The Smolensk Ring, built in 2009 for a potential MotoGP race, sits 77 km outside of Moscow and held its first FIA Truck Racing event last year. It currently holds a category 2 circuit license. A video of a GTR 33 lapping the Russian circuit is at the tail of this post.
As Superleague enters its fourth season, the scale of these changes are worrying indeed. Rarely do such mammoth alterations happen to a racing calendar, especially when the original green flag is five weeks away.
Stranger still is Superleague’s lack of reference to the dropped dates. In fact, their news reports site no reference to any lost events at all. It raises a quick question. Who did the dropping – Superleague or the circuits and why so close to the start of the season?
Provisional 2011 Superleague Formula schedule: Date Venue 28-29 May Estoril 4-5 June Assen 2-3 July Navarra 9-10 July Magny-Cours 16-17 July Zolder 6-7 August Donington Park 10-11 September Smolensk Ring 24-25 September China (tbc) 8-9 October Curitiba 15-16 October Brazil (tbc) 12-13 November Middle East (tbc) 26-27 November New Zealand (tbc)
Polc in action. © http://www.filippolc.sk
Every so often, clips crop up on the internet that have the power to blow ones mind. This weekend, just such a clip appeared.
Slovakian downhill racer, Filip Polc, mounted a helmet camera for a run at the Valparaiso Cerro Abajo in Chile several weeks ago.
The stint, which earned him his second consecutive VCA title, took in several narrow lanes an obstacles through the downhill event.
What started out as a small event several years ago, has since grown into a must attend race for downhill riders from around the globe.
The course is littered with danger and is very technical, demanding high amounts of skill and sharp reflexes.
At the end of day, Polc finished ahead of France’s Cedric Garcia and Mario Jarrin of Ecuador.
With all the talk amongst Formula 1 drivers about triathlons, cycle tours and the like, one wonders if Mark Webber, Jenson Button or Nico Rosberg would ever give this a go?
I fear the answer will most like be a swift “no”.
Hispania F111
© Hispania Racing Team.
© Hispania Racing Team.
© Hispania Racing Team.
Drivers: (22) Narain Karthikeyan, (23) Vitantonio Liuzzi; (Reserve) tbc.
Team: (Principal) Colin Kolles, (Technical Director) Geoff Willis, (Chief Designer) Paul White.
Engine: Cosworth CA2010 V8 (90°), limited to 18,000 RPM, naturally aspirated, mid-mounted.
Transmission: Williams Seven-speed with reverse gear.
Weight (with driver, et al): 640 kg
No streams for IndyCar in 2011.
To think things were going well. Then an announcement popped up earlier that made my skin crawl with sheer embarrassment.
With immediate effect, indycar.com will cease live streaming of practice, qualifying and the races for all IndyCar and Indy Lights events. The decision has come from executives at Comcast / NBC.
Have they lost their minds? As someone who has worked in the music industry for a long time, I can tell those folks now that this will backfire badly.
Randy Bernard was quoted as saying:
“…we’ve known this change was coming for a while. I understand their goal here, and it’s to drive more people to watch the broadcasts on television–to get the ratings up. That’s everyone’s goal.“
Really? That’s sounds just like outdated rhetoric from people with no concept of modern media, desperately trying to wield the ageing hand of disapproval.
Here’s a clue for the folks at NBC. You really count TV and Nielsen ratings?? Get over yourselves – you either start counting the people on the internet as legitimate audiences or the digitised folk of the world will just take your product when you’re not looking.
Worse still, those on the web may just not bother with you at all. There you go and there’s the scrap heap – simple. Very, very simple.
This idea that viewers will automatically switch back TV now that streaming is no longer available, is blinkered nonsensical garbage with little basis in reality. Audiences started diversifying a long time ago and that is not going to change any time soon – television companies desperately, desperately need to grasp that reality.
Will this drive more people to the likes of Justin TV and filesharing torrents. Absolutely and why wouldn’t it? The quality can often be found there and ironically enough, IndyCar’s HD broadcast will most likely make the illegal streams very watchable indeed.
Advertisers and executives… If you want to find people utterly clueless about their own product, just seek out its advertisers and executives.
Bernard also said:
“…I know we have a lot of fans overseas that have used our web streams to watch our races live, so we’re talking about what can be done to maybe offer the races online after they’ve aired first on Versus.”
Randy, by the time a race is on indycar.com or Versus.com, everyone will have already seen the streams or downloaded the files.
That’s how the internet works. Imaginary lines on a map will not halt the internet (unless it’s forced; see despotic regimes for examples) and they will not stop ripped online broadcasts. NBC may be scared about the numbers they need to sell to advertisers, but their blindness may be more of a problem.
Just ridiculous in this day and age.
The quotes can be attributed to Marshall Pruett’s article on Speed TV.com, which can be found here.
Circuit de Catalunya.
Nico Rosberg topped the final day of testing in Barcelona in torrid conditions, before the 2011 Formula 1 Season gets under way.
Any significant running that might have been done, was unfortunately curtailed due to the monsoon weather conditions that prevailed. As such, the Mercedes driver only ran 35 laps in the afternoon; however the German seemed pleased with the knowledge gained on wet tyres in the session.
Rosberg was partnered at the test by teammate Michael Schumacher, who completed five installation laps in the morning, prior to examining potential race weekend scenarios with his engineers.
During the washout, Williams’ Pastor Maldonado ventured out on track for 23 tours of the Catalan circuit, with a best of 1:44.333. The run was quite significant for the Venezuelan for it was his first time running in wet conditions at the wheel of an F1 car.
Lewis Hamilton rounded up the top three in his McLaren Mercedes, but with the on track water levels running deep, potential for aquaplaning was rather high. With that, the team decided against long runs.
For the few Spanish fans in attendance, Fernando Alonso managed five installation laps bringing plenty of cheers from the grandstand, but with little to learn, Ferrari wrapped everything up early.
Dampers for Hispania Racing’s 2011 charger remained in customs, meaning the small team were unable to do any running.
It may seem easy to say, but as with every year, testing times mean nothing. There is painfully little to take from the times that teams set over these sessions as one will never know what programme a team is on at any particular time.
Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap Laps 1. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m43.814s 35 2. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m44.333s + 0.519s 23 3. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m44.560s + 0.746s 33 4. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 5 5. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 5
Circuit de Catalunya.
Seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher topped the fourth day of testing at Barcelona.
The 42-year-old completed 67 laps of the Circuit de Catalunya, setting a best of 1:21.268 during a qualifying simulation; however the Mercedes veteran also took in a number of aerodynamic evaluations during the day.
Schumacher’s teammate, Nico Rosberg, had a small amount of running yesterday. As Schumacher completed his work, Rosberg took to the track with an hour remaining to register 22 laps and 3rd position on the timing screens.
With rain forecast in Barcelona for today’s session, the team felt it necessary to give Rosberg some running at least.
Fernando Alonso split the silver cars in his Ferrari 150º Italia. The Spaniard completed 141 laps as he ran various upgraded aerodynamic components and a race simulation.
Renault ran with Nick Heidfeld yesterday, picking up 4th on the time sheets, while the team concentrated on high fuel runs, with work on achieving a nominal balance with the new Pirelli tyres a premium. There were plans to run a race simulation, however an afternoon gearbox change put paid to those plans.
Williams ran both of their race drivers yesterday, with Rubens Barrichello placing his FW33 5th in the final standings. The Brazilian had a solid day, but teammate pastor Maldonado suffered thanks to an oil leak just prior to his afternoon stint. The English squad have suffered from numerous reliability problems during this test and Maldonado’s lack track time (11 laps in the end) only served to add to their woes.
Kamui Kobayashi had only slightly better luck in his Sauber C30. The Japanese driver took on 98 laps in Barcelona, interrupted somewhat by a driveshaft problem.
Toro Rosso completed a programme testing aerodynamic parts, followed by race set-up configurations, all of which appeared to satisfy the Italian squad. With Jaime Alguersuari at the wheel, the STR6 finished the day 7th, some 1.407 seconds down on Schumacher.
Reigning World Champion Sebastian Vettel placed his 2011 Red Bull charger 8th on the timing sheets following a 64 lap day. The team completed some final preparations before they head to Australia having done more testing this year than they have ever done in the short existence.
Lotus had a busy day as Heikki Kovalainen completed a double-race test. The Finn notched up 138 laps, with a best of 1:23.437 as the T128 once again showed itself to be quite a reliable machine.
Both Force India drivers took to the track yesterday, completing just over a race distance between them, with Adrian Sutil running in the morning (11th, 26 laps) and Paul di Resta in the afternoon (10th, 42 laps). Meanwhile the team fine-tuned several aerodynamic parts and can take some positives thanks to some solid reliability.
Jenson Button lined up 13th on the time sheets in his McLaren MP4-26, as the team decided to forego outright pace during their 57 lap session. The team ran several pitstop practices as well a number of aerodynamic tests using high-visibility flow paint.
Jerome d’Ambrosio completed Virgin’s final testing with a 46 lap run, taking in further tyre evaluations. The Belgian’s best lap was some 6.107 seconds off Schumacher’s pace. but for d’Ambrosio, the opportunity to get in a full week of testing was something that could not miss.
Unfortunately Hispania Racing cannot now run this week at all, thanks to certain parts of the car being held up in customs. The team’s shakedown will now be in practice for the Australian Grand Prix in two weeks time.
Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap Laps 1. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m21.268s 67 2. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m21.614s + 0.346s 141 3. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m21.788s + 0.520s 22 4. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1m22.073s + 0.805s 67 5. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m22.233s + 0.965s 89 6. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m22.315s + 1.047s 98 7. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m22.675s + 1.407s 72 8. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m22.933s + 1.665s 64 9. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m23.437s + 2.169s 138 10. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m23.653s + 2.385s 42 11. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m23.921s + 2.653s 26 12. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m24.108s + 2.840s 11 13. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m25.837s + 4.569s 57 14. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m27.375s + 6.107s 46
Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona.
Sergio Perez topped the third day of testing at Circuit de Catalunya today.
There are those that will say that testing times are irrelevant as one can rarely tell what fuel loads are being run and this may well yet be another case of such an situation. Admittedly, Perez’s quickest lap (1:21.761) came at the end of a Q3 simulation on the super-soft tyres, however the day was not all positive for the Swiss team.
An afternoon race simulation was halted after only six laps, when the C30 suffered a powertrain failure, leaving Sauber’s 2011 charger garage bound for a time.
Felipe Massa had no such issues. The Brazilian took part in a programme comparing various aerodynamic parts and configurations, before assuming race length duties after lunch. By the chequered flag, Massa had completed 132 laps, with a best some three-tenths slower than Perez.
For the first time this week, a Red Bull did not top the charts; however Mark Webber still registered a solid 97 laps in the untried third chassis, registering a best lap of 1:22.466 to place him 3rd in the standings.
Rubens Barrichello had something of a mixed day though. The Brazilian finished the day 4th following a series of aerodynamic mapping checks, but suffered from two separate car failures; although it is thought the faults were due to high wear rate.
At Mercedes, Michael Schumacher took to the wheel of the MGP-W02. The seven-time World Champion took in 89 laps of the Barcelona circuit, as the German continued with set-up work, while trying the recent upgrade package for the first time.
Renault, meanwhile, ran both Nick Heidfeld and Vitaly Petrov today. Heidfeld claimed 6th on the timesheets, with Petrov in 8th, although neither set a blistering number of laps. Heidfeld completed just 32 tours, as the team concentrated on set-up work and other evaluations; however Petrov’s day was blighted by a KERS failure during the morning running.
Also on track with both race drivers were Team Lotus. Heikki Kovalainen ran during the afternoon, eventually splitting the Renault pair with a best of 1:23.990 as the team worked on various programmes.
Things, however, did not progress so well for Jarno Trulli. The Italian finished bottom of the timing sheets after only completing six laps. Trulli’s tough day started with a gearbox failure not long after the green lights, followed by a water leak shortly afterward.
Adrian Sutil had more luck than Trulli at the wheel of his new Force India machine. The German driver ran 108 laps in the VJM-04, as the Silverstone based squad prepared several programmes aimed at testing new aerodynamic configurations. His best lap of 1:24.334 came during a qualifying stint in the morning.
Toro Rosso ran through various length race simulations and pitstop practices with young Spaniard Jaime Alguersuari fronting the STR6. Alguersuari completed 107 laps with no issues, with the headline grabbing pace of the previous two days forsaken.
A fuel pressure problem did not get in the way of Jerome d’Ambrosio completing 96 laps in his MVR-02. The Belgian pilot has been taking advantage of the illness of his teammate, Timo Glock, to get a large number of laps under his belt. Several long stints left d’Ambrosio 5.57 seconds down on Perez.
Hispania Racing did not run today.
Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap Laps 1. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m21.761s 95 2. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m22.092s + 0.331s 132 3. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m22.466s + 0.705s 97 4. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m22.637s + 0.876s 105 5. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m22.892s + 1.131s 89 6. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1m23.541s + 1.780s 32 7. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m23.990s + 2.229s 40 8. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m24.233s + 2.472s 24 9. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m24.334s + 2.573s 108 10. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m24.779s + 3.018s 107 11. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m27.336s + 5.575s 96 12. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m34.485s + 12.724s 6
Silverstone Circuit.
Jazeman Jaafar topped the second and final day of pre-season testing for the British Formula 3 series yesterday at Silverstone.
Like many of the field, the Carlin driver set his quickest time in the final afternoon session (1:52.920) following a cool and damp start to the day.
While Jaafar showed the way at the chequered flag, Fortec Motorsport’s Lucas Foresti displayed his natural skill in the difficult conditions prior to the grey lunch break, as did Carlos Huertas (Carlin) and the highly rated débutante, Scott Pye (Double R Racing).
By the close of action, it was Felipe Nasr that lined up on the timesheets just over one-tenth shy of Jaafar. The Brazilian has shown some exceptional speed during the four days of testing this year and is marking himself as one of the main championship favourites at this early stage.
Formula BMW Europe runner-up Jack Harvey completed a Carlin 1-2-3, with Double R Racing’s Pipo Derani breaking up the Carlin monopoly. Pye and Huertas eventually took 5th and 6th respectively – the pair continued their wet track form with solid dry running later on.
They edged Carlin’s Kevin Magnussen out of the top-six, although the Dane may well be pleased with his first tests in a Formula 3 machine.
Menasheh Idafar was one of the few that was quicker in the opening afternoon session. Despite not improving late on, the reigning National Champion had just nudged ahead of Pietro Fantin (9th, Hitech) and Rupert Svendsen-Cook (10th, Carlin).
Sino Vision’s Hywel Lloyd missed out on the top ten by a mere 0.024 of-a-second; however the Welshman finished the day with a healthy 0.4 of-a-second gap to Foresti (12th) and Riki Christodoulou (13th).
Harry Tincknell’s best lap of 1:54.232 saw the Devon man slot in at 14th on the sheets ahead of Fortec teammate William Buller, while Yann Cunha (T-Sport) emerged 16th (1:54.747), ahead of Sino Vision racer, Adderly Fong (1:55.064).
The final two places were taken up by Rookie Class runners Bart Hylkema (18th) and Kotaru Sakurai (19th). Although Hylkema has spent much of the last two tests garnering laps, yesterday was Sakurai’s first run of the Mugen-Honda powered Dallara.
Sakurai never made an appearance during the damp morning conditions, eventually only taking to the track in the afternoon, setting a best lap of 1:58.092 from only 21 laps.
Pos Driver Team Car Time Gap 1. Jazeman Jaafar Carlin Dallara-VW 1m52.920s 2. Felipe Nasr Carlin Dallara-VW 1m53.059s + 0.139s 3. Jack Harvey Carlin Dallara-VW 1m53.207s + 0.287s 4. Pipo Derani Double R Dallara-Merc 1m53.267s + 0.347s 5. Scott Pye Double R Dallara-Merc 1m53.306s + 0.386s 6. Carlos Huertas Carlin Dallara-VW 1m53.344s + 0.424s 7. Kevin Magnussen Carlin Dallara-VW 1m53.396s + 0.476s 8. Menasheh Idafar T-Sport Dallara-VW 1m53.415s + 0.495s 9. Pietro Fantin Hitech Dallara-VW 1m53.469s + 0.549s 10. Rupert Svendsen-Cook Carlin Dallara-VW 1m53.479s + 0.559s 11. Hywel Lloyd Sino Vision Dallara-Merc 1m53.503s + 0.583s 12. Lucas Foresti Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m53.899s + 0.979s 13. Riki Christodoulou Hitech Dallara-VW 1m53.914s + 0.994s 14. Harry Tincknell Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m54.232s + 1.312s 15. William Buller Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m54.514s + 1.594s 16. Yann Cunha T-Sport Dallara-VW 1m54.747s + 1.827s 17. Adderly Fong Sino Vision Dallara-Merc 1m55.064s + 2.144s 18. Bart Hylkema T-Sport Dallara-Mugen 1m55.402s + 2.482s 19. Kotaru Sakurai Hitech Dallara-Mugen 1m58.092s + 5.172s
Circuit de Catalunya.
Not only did reigning World Champion Sebastian Vettel take over the RB7 from teammate Mark Webber yesterday, the 23-year-old also assumed the quickest lap in testing.
Vettel set an impressive 112 laps in his Red Bull machine, setting a fastest lap of 1:21.865 amidst a number of short runs; however the team were cautious to project over confidence regarding their pace.
Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Buemi fell just over half-a-second shy of Vettel. The Swiss driver was the busiest of the day, completing 120 tours of Circuit de Catalunya, as the team progressed with race simulations as well as qualifying runs.
After showing quite well on the opening day of this test on Tuesday, Vitaly Petrov placed his Renault R31 car 3rd on the standings in day that saw the Russian clock up 116 laps. Like Vettel and Buemi, Petrov had no problems, as he spent the day working on set-up variations for the rear suspension.
Lewis Hamilton’s wasn’t a free-flowing though. The McLaren pilot suffered a stuttered day due to a hydraulics leak and later, an exhaust failure. Although the 2008 World Champion only ran 57 laps, Hamilton appeared happier with the recent front wing updates for the MP4-26.
Next up was Ferrari’s Felipe Massa. The Brazilian registered 101 laps on his way to 5th on the timing sheets, with a best of 1:23.324; although fans of the Scuderia will surely hope the team are closer to Red Bull come the opening weekend.
Paul di Resta had a busy day at the wheel of his VJM-04. The Scot ran qualifying simulations in the morning, before switching to race stints after lunch.
Di Resta’s best was 2.47 seconds off of Vettel’s pace – only one-tenth quicker than Sauber man Kamui Kobayashi. The Japanese driver spent his day evaluating various updates; however found adapting the C30 to changes in balance occasionally difficult.
Mercedes ran updated bodywork parts as well as a new exhaust yesterday, with Nico Rosberg concentrating on short stints, with a best of 1:25.807.
Rosberg’s best gave him a 0.3 advantage of Lotus’ Jarno Trulli. The Italian set 98 laps as the team ran through a programme consisting of set-up evaluations – stints in the T128 remained short throughout the day.
Unlike Lotus, Williams suffered from a somewhat difficult day. A KERS failure halted running for Pastor Maldonado very early on, although the team did eventually do 29 laps – minus the KERS unit – during the afternoon.
Jerome d’Ambrosio also had his day shortened. The Belgian completed 64 laps at the wheel of his MVR-02, before an electrical problem stopped progress.
Hispania will be joining the test tomorrow with their new F111.
Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap Laps 1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m21.865s 112 2. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m22.396s + 0.531s 120 3. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m22.670s + 0.805s 116 4. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m22.888s + 1.023s 57 5. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m23.324s + 1.459s 101 6. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m24.334s + 2.469s 118 7. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m24.436s + 2.571s 107 8. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m25.807s + 3.942s 100 9. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m26.090s + 4.225s 98 10. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m26.989s + 5.124s 29 11. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m28.982s + 7.117s 64
Circuit de Catalunya.
Mark Webber grabbed the headlines following a dreary opening day of the final Formula 1 pre-season test in Barcelona.
The Red Bull driver topped the sheets after a day that saw him complete 97 laps – the most of the day, it would turn out.
Running in the RB7, the Australian suffered no problems while running a series of short and long runs in the secondary chassis.
Webber’s best lap of 1:22.544 was enough to beat McLaren’s Jenson Button to the head of the time sheets by some 0.366, with much focus being on a new front-wing design for the MP4-26.
With Ferrari absent (they do not run until today), it gave Renault’s Vitaly Petrov an opportunity garner 3rd place in the R31, while the ill Nick Heidfeld secured 5th. Neither Renault driver completed that many laps with Petrov running 27 tours of the Catalunya circuit and Heidfeld notching up 20 circulations, before handing over to his Russian teammate. The team plans to get into their stride tomorrow with their new aero package consisting of a new floor and rear wing.
The Renault pair sandwiched Sauber’s Sergio Perez in 4th. The Swiss squad brought a redefined aero package to Barcelona; however a hydraulic problem limited running after the lunch break.
Force India also ran two drivers as reserve pilot Nico Hulkenberg and race driver Paul di Resta to the morning and afternoon sessions respectively. It was an important test for Hulkenberg as he tried KERS and the movable rear wing for the first time, while di Resta made his KERS début as well. The Scot eventually finished the day 6th in the standings after his 38 lap day, with Hulkenberg assuming 9th from 31 tours.
Lotus continued the two-driver fashion as they ran their GP2 driver pairing, Davide Valsecchi and Luiz Razia. Valsecchi’s opportunity in the T128 came in the morning, where his 50 lap sequence would see him take 7th, despite a light off prior to lunch. Razia suffered from a more disturbed afternoon run, losing over ninety minutes due to a mechanical problem.
Sebastien Buemi also lost a huge chunk of time. A component on the STR6 failed, damaging the Toro Rosso, leaving the Swiss driver on the sidelines until after lunch. He would register 8th place on the standings by the evening close.
With Timo Glock recovering from an appendectomy, Jerome d’Ambrosio was assigned to pilot the MVR-02 this week; however yesterday saw the Belgian commit to pit stop practice and various system checks.
The test continues today.
Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap Laps 1. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m22.544s 97 2. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m22.910s + 0.366 74 3. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m22.937s + 0.393 27 4. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m24.117s + 1.573 90 5. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1m24.735s + 2.191 20 6. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m25.039s + 2.495 38 7. Davide Valsecchi Lotus-Renault 1m25.406s + 2.862 50 8. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m26.004s + 3.460 48 9. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m26.030s + 3.486 31 10. Luiz Razia Lotus-Renault 1m26.723s + 4.179 29 11. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m32.060s + 9.516 57
British F3 runners tested at the Silverstone GP circuit yesterday.
Volkswagen-driven machinery dominated the opening day of British Formula 3 testing at Silverstone yesterday.
Indeed Carlin also maintained their early position of power with F3 veteran Carlos Huertas setting the quickest time of the day. The Colombian secured his place at the top of the sheets during the first hour of running, with a lap of 1:52.564 several minutes before the break.
Fellow Carlin pilot Felipe Nasr lined-up just behind Huertas at the close of day, although the 18-year-old fell just one-hundredth shy his teammate.
If only to confirm their stranglehold, three fellow Carlin drivers filled out the top-five, with the sixth entry – Jack Harvey – taking 7th by the chequered flag. Ahead of Harvey, Jazeman Jaafar claimed 3rd spot, just 0.250 behind the Huertas / Nasr pairing, with Kevin Magnussen (4th) and Rupert Svendsen-Cook (5th) a quarter-of-a-second further back.
Hitech’s Pietro Fantin was again he only driver to break the Carlin party, eventually ending the session 6th. The inexperienced Brazilian has certainly been showing some solid pace in these recent tests and continued to impress at the wheel of his Dallara F310.
Riki Christodoulou guided the second Hitech entry to 8th spot with a best of 1:53.357, only just nudging the Double R racers, Pipo Derani (9th) and Scott Pye (10th). The Brazilian Derani also headed the list of Mercedes-powered drivers, beating more experienced hands to the top-ten.
Lucas Foresti secured 11th best, although the Fortec driver found himself over one second off of Huertas’ pace. Harry Tincknell (12th, Fortec) and Hywel Lloyd (13th, Sino Vision) followed close behind, with the gap extending further as William Buller (14th, Fortec), Menasheh Idafar (15th, T-Sport), Adderly Fong (16th, Sino Vision) and Yann Cunha (17th, T Sport) wrapped up their respective days.
Sole National Class pilot, Bart Hylkema rounded up the classification. The 21-year-old T Sport driver was the only to run a Mugen-Honda power plant in his Dallara F307, eventually finishing 2.8 seconds off the pace.
The test continues tomorrow.
Pos Driver Team Car Time Gap 1. Carlos Huertas Carlin Dallara-VW 1m52.564s 2. Felipe Nasr Carlin Dallara-VW 1m52.574s + 0.010s 3. Jazeman Jaafar Carlin Dallara-VW 1m52.828s + 0.264s 4. Kevin Magnussen Carlin Dallara-VW 1m53.066s + 0.502s 5. Rupert Svendsen-Cook Carlin Dallara-VW 1m53.108s + 0.544s 6. Pietro Fantin Hitech Dallara-VW 1m53.174s + 0.610s 7. Jack Harvey Carlin Dallara-VW 1m53.305s + 0.741s 8. Riki Christodoulou Hitech Dallara-VW 1m53.357s + 0.793s 9. Pipo Derani Double R Dallara-Merc 1m53.371s + 0.807s 10. Scott Pye Double R Dallara-Merc 1m53.528s + 0.964s 11. Lucas Foresti Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m53.602s + 1.038s 12. Harry Tincknell Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m53.661s + 1.097s 13. Hywel Lloyd Sino Vision Dallara-Merc 1m53.701s + 1.137s 14. William Buller Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m53.958s + 1.394s 15. Menasheh Idafar T-Sport Dallara-Merc 1m54.353s + 1.789s 16. Adderly Fong Sino Vision Dallara-Merc 1m54.674s + 2.110s 17. Yann Cunha T-Sport Dallara-Merc 1m55.204s + 2.640s 18. Bart Hylkema T-Sport Dallara-Mugen 1m55.440s + 2.876s
It’s not just quiet, it’s deathly solemn. In the distant surrounds, leafless trees sway gently amidst subtle winds, and though the immediate path retains few obstacles, not all is completely silent.
Every once in a while, the peace is disturbed by the clang of dropped spanners and machine gun ratcheting wheelguns. With only a solitary car circling, the calm is only occasionally broken.
Come 10.15 am, more runners join in and the noise becomes even more intense, as the odd roar grows to an explosive crescendo of power in a matter of moments, yet the sonic punishment doesn’t last too long.
Red flag. Someone’s binned it and soon the roar of engines descends into a whimper. A cut of power and soon silence swallows the pitlane.
In these clean and open garages, there are hopes and desires. For several young things, this is a temporary stop off on the way to greater things. For others it will be the bump where aspiring racing careers grind to a halt.
TheMotorsportArchive.com 