Archive für 5.4.2009
ING Renault F1 Team: 2009 Malaysian Grand Prix Sunday
5.4.2009 von Wolfgang.
It was a disappointing afternoon for the ING Renault F1 Team as both Fernando Alonso and Nelson Piquet ended a very wet Malaysian Grand Prix outside the points. A heavy rain storm at the mid-way point saw the safety car deployed before the race was eventually red-flagged on lap 32 and was not restarted.
Fernando Alonso, R2903, P11
First stint: 22 laps, soft dry tyres
Second stint: 6 laps, extreme wet tyres
Third stint: 2 laps, wet tyres
Fourth stint: 1 lap, extreme wet tyres
Fernando: “We made a good start from P9 to P3 and after that we had to defend our position because we were slow. This part of the race was interesting and it was difficult to decide what tyre to take when we made our stop because we didn’t know how heavy the rain would be. We stay optimistic for the next race in Shanghai and we remain determined to continue fighting for the championship.”
Nelson Piquet, R2901, P13
First stint: 22 laps, soft dry tyres
Second stint: 7 laps, extreme wet tyres
Third stint: 1 lap, wet tyres
Fourth stint: 1 lap, extreme wet tyres
Nelson: “Just before the red flag it was impossible to drive; really difficult to hold the car. We tried to call the right decision at the right time and there is nothing more we could have done in these conditions. The balance of the car was good, but the grip on the track was quite low, although we had a good start to the race. We have learnt a lot again this weekend and I now need to get ready for the next race.”
Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering
“I suppose in many ways the heavy rain is no surprise to anyone who knows the area, but it brought some interesting elements to the race. In the early part of the race the value of the KERS system certainly showed, but as in Australia we still need to find performance from the car in other areas.”
Remi Taffin, Head of Engine Operations
“Today we are disappointed. The race was challenging and we tried our best to adapt, but the weather was so difficult to predict. We knew it was going to rain, but we didn’t think it would be so heavy. However, I didn’t expect the race to be stopped. We now have to work hard, but I feel we have taken a step forward since Melbourne, as shown by our strong start to the race.”
www.ing-renaultf1.com
Spies on the podium in Valencia
5.4.2009 von Wolfgang.
It was a mixed day for the Yamaha World Superbike Team in Valencia today. Race one saw Ben Spies fall going into turn one on the ninth lap as he moved in to take Neukirchner (Suzuki) for second position. Team-mate Tom Sykes faired better, having started in 16th position following an unlucky tyre decision in Superpole yesterday, he steadily worked his way through the field to finish seventh with an impressive display of consistent race pace.
Race two saw Spies touch with Haga (Ducati) on the opening laps, bending his brake lever in the process. Undaunted he stayed on the pace, and although unable to catch Haga he put in consistent fast laps to finish in second position, taking valuable championship points away with him. For Sykes race two was equally impressive, after starting in 16th position he fought his way up to ninth, passing Biaggi and Hopkins in the process. Sitting up to avoid a late braking rider in front he ran wide five laps from the end allowing Biaggi back through and leaving Sykes in tenth position for the end of the race.
Spies remains second in the championship with 95 points, trailing leader Haga by 40. Team-mate Sykes leaves Valencia with 47 points, sitting eighth in the championship as they head to Assen for round four.
Ben Spies, Yamaha World Superbike Team, (DNF, 2nd)
“Race one was unfortunate for me, I was pushing really hard to make up for an electrical issue going into the corner and crashed. We tried as hard as we could in race two to make it up. For the first couple of laps I had a couple of small problems and just didn’t quite get rolling and by the time we got into second position I would have needed to be right on the back of Nori to challenge for it as he was riding at a very good pace. I guess I just didn’t have the speed today. We’ll come back at Assen and try to step it up. “
Tom Sykes, Yamaha World Superbike Team, (7th, 10th)
“I got a good start in race one and got past a few in turn one. It was a fairly decent race in the end, I think I could have gone for fifth but Leon Haslam had done a good job in the last few laps and made a big gap. I think we could have been in the top five otherwise. For me it was very difficult in race two, I had a good start, but going into turn two I was held and others came round the outside and went through. I worked my way back up to ninth and was looking good and catching up with Neukirchner but unfortunately got so close to Biaggi and just as we were going into turn one I ran wide a bit and let two or three past. I’ve learnt from my mistakes this weekend, I messed up in qualifying and potentially cost myself two very good results. With the R1 working so well round here it’s a lesson learnt and hopefully won’t let it happen again!”
Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha World Superbike Team Manager
“We lost points during race one however in the second race we came back to achieve second position which is good for championship points. We’ve learnt from the mistakes of race one. In the end we had a strange weekend with good and less good results on both sides. Both races were tough for Tom from the start, starting from the fifth row meant he had a lot of hard work to do. This gives us more experience for the upcoming rounds, as Ben said, in Assen we will be ready to step it up.”
www.yamaha-racing.com
Aston Martin Racing leads the Spanish Armada!
5.4.2009 von Wolfgang.
No less than seven teams could have won the race in Spain today, emphasizing just how competitive the 2009 Le Mans Series season should be. IPB Spartak Racing returned to form, Aston Martin Racing was back on top, Racing Box scored their first victory in the class, and Team Felbermayr-Proton clinched their best result since a while.
The winter intensive development work has obviously paid off for the bulk of the team; this is why the race has been thrilling till the end. 23,000 spectators could meet the drivers during the autograph session and enjoy a very entertaining round, whose issue has been confused by three safety-cars. The sun has unexpectedly been shining all day to praise official Aston Martin Racing’s come-back and…victory!
www.lemans-series.com
Bridgestone Motorsport’s Malaysian Grand Prix Report
5.4.2009 von Wolfgang.
Bridgestone Potenza intermediate and wet tyres made their first race appearance of 2009 as severe rain fell on the Sepang circuit after a dry race start with everyone on the soft compound dry tyre, causing the Malaysian Grand Prix to be stopped after 32 laps, with Jenson Button awarded the win.
Black clouds provided a backdrop to the start of the race, but it was Bridgestone’s black rubber which provided the crucial performance variable. Once the rain started, the water levels on track changed lap by lap making it very difficult for competitors to choose whether the dry slick, intermediate or wet tyre should be used, and the best tyre for the conditions changed frequently.
As the race was stopped before three-quarter distance, only half points will be awarded. Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber) took second and Timo Glock (Panasonic Toyota Racing) finished third.
Q&A with Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development
How was the race from Bridgestone’s perspective?
“This was a very interesting race, even before the rain started. Everyone started on the soft tyre. The soft gave good consistent performance in the conditions we saw today and there would have been good strategy options had the weather remained dry Starting on the soft was a sensible move as the soft has a lower working range than the hard, so when the rain started it delivered better performance than the hard would have done, before the wet tyres became necessary.”
How important was tyre strategy?
“Choosing the correct tyre at the correct time is absolutely crucial and we saw many illustrations of how beneficial it is to make the right choice. Once the rain started there was a window where the intermediate tyre was the best one to use, as shown by Timo Glock who was up to ten seconds faster than the other cars. Some drivers used the wet tyre too early, and suffered in the too dry conditions.
However, once the rain became harder the wet tyre was the correct tyre for conditions. Unfortunately, the rain then became so hard that it was too wet for Formula One cars.”
Stats of the Day
Bridgestone Potenza Driver Tyre Strategies
Rd.2 – Malaysian Grand Prix
In 2009, the tyre regulations stipulate that the two dry tyre specifications must be visibly
distinguishable from each other. At the Malaysian Grand Prix, the soft compound Bridgestone Potenza tyres were marked with green bands on the sidewalls. The wet weather tyre was also marked with a green line in a groove.
www.bridgestonemotorsport.com
Bridgestone Motorsport’s GP2 Asia Series Report
5.4.2009 von Wolfgang.
Diego Nunes (Piquet GP) and Vitaly Petrov (Campos) both took race wins in the fifth round of the GP2 Asia Series which took place in Sepang, Malaysia. Bridgestone’s medium compound slick GP2 tyre was used for the first time here, giving drivers a greater tyre management challenge than previously, when the more durable hard compound was used. Additionally, the Sepang weather served up a surprise with heavy rainfall before Sunday’s race, meaning that Bridgestone’s wet GP2 tyre was used in a race which started under safety car conditions. Saturday’s Feature Race saw Nunes manage his tyres to perfection to take his first win for the Piquet GP squad. After making his compulsory pit stop on lap 13, Nunes was able to maintain good lap times right to the finish line, which he crossed ahead of Kamui Kobayashi (Dams) and James Jakes (Super Nova). Pole-sitter Jérôme d’Ambrosio (Dams) was unable to start the race due to a driveshaft problem. Sunday’s Sprint Race was delayed by thirty minutes due to heavy rain. It was then started behind the safety car and the chequered flag was waved due to time expired rather than laps completed. Petrov made the most of the grip levels provided by Bridgestone’s dynamic wet tyre, which wears to provide suitable grip as a race track dries. Pastor Maldonado (ART) finished second and Davide Valsecchi (Durango) took third. Leaving Malaysia, Kobayashi continues to lead the championship with 47 points, ahead of Valsecchi with 34. Petrov jumps to third place with 28. The teams’ championship continues to be led by Dams with 70 points from Campos on 54. ART are in third with 41. The final round of the GP2 Asia Series takes place alongside the Bahrain Grand Prix on April 24-26. Quote from Kentaro Yamamoto – Bridgestone Motorsport GP2 Series Engineer “We enjoyed two very different races here in Sepang. On Saturday we had dry conditions so we were able to watch the drivers face the challenge of the medium compound tyre, which is one position softer than the tyre we used here last year. Race winner Diego Nunes managed his tyres very well and was consistent at the end of the race, whilst drivers who changed their tyres relatively early experienced more drop off in performance. Sunday’s race was interesting as we have not previously seen wet conditions in the GP2 Asia Series. Despite this, the drivers did very well in difficult conditions and our wet tyre worked very well.”
www.bridgestonemotorsport.com
Bridgestone Motorsport’s Saturday Update Malaysian Grand Prix
5.4.2009 von Wolfgang.
Bridgestone’s soft tyre allowed Jenson Button to set an exciting pole lap of 1min 35.181secs at Sepang for the Malaysian Grand Prix.
Button took pole by just over nine hundredths from Panasonic Toyota Racing’s Jarno Trulli. Track conditions were improved from Friday, with more rubber down, but teams and drivers still struggled to find the best compromises with the exciting new cars and Bridgestone’s slick tyres.
Q&A with Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development
What was significant about today’s running?
“Today showed us that the cars are very close to each other on lap times. For example, in FP3 the top thirteen cars were covered by a second. In terms of tyre performance, the soft tyre has an advantage of about around 1.0–1.3 seconds over its best lap. The soft is able to deliver its best lap time generally on its first flying lap and the performance drop-off does not appear to be as extreme as we saw with the super soft tyre in Australia. The hard gives its best lap time after around 3-4 laps and we have seen very durable performance from it, so it should be the better race tyre.”
How have track conditions evolved since Friday, and what are your predictions for the race?
“Sepang is an interesting circuit as the track surface improves a lot over the course of the race weekend. This is because the high temperatures mean that the rubber laid melts into the track surface allowing very good surface from a grip point of view. Race strategy should be interesting here, as the difference between the tyres in terms of performance drop-off is not as great as in
Australia, so there could be more strategy options.”
Stats of the Day
www.bridgestonemotorsport.com
