Archive für 14.8.2009
Jules Bianchi dominiert Qualifying auf dem Nürburgring
14.8.2009 von Wolfgang.
Lufttemperatur: 22,5 °C
Streckentemperatur: 23,3 °C
Zum dritten Mal in Folge ging die Bestzeit eines Qualifyings der Formel 3 Euro Serie an Jules Bianchi (ART Grand Prix, 1:22,823 Minuten). Hinter dem Franzosen machten Esteban Gutierrez (ART Grand Prix, 1:23,114 Minuten) und Valtteri Bottas (ART Grand Prix, 1:23,262 Minuten) den Dreifach-Erfolg der Mannschaft ART Grand Prix auf dem 3,629 Kilometer langen Sprintkurs des Nürburgrings komplett. Bianchi erhält für seine Pole-Position einen Punkt, damit vergrößert er seinen Vorsprung in der Tabelle der stärksten Nachwuchsserie auf nunmehr 19 Zähler.
Von Beginn an bestimmte ART Grand Prix das Qualifying. Nach der Hälfte hatte Rookie Valtteri Bottas die erste Position inne, doch kurz vor Schluss wurde er erst von Jules Bianchi und dann von Esteban Gutierrez auf Rang drei verdrängt. Der Schlussangriff von Sam Bird (Mücke Motorsport, 1:23,290 Minuten) brachte den Briten knapp hinter Bottas auf Platz vier. Christian Vietoris (Mücke Motorsport, 1:23,396 Minuten), der beim heutigen Pre-Event-Test noch die schnellste Rundenzeit realisierte und als Zweiter der Gesamtwertung zum Nürburgring reiste, musste sich bei seinem Heimspiel mit dem achten Rang zufrieden geben. Insgesamt 15 Piloten klassierten sich innerhalb einer Sekunde, was einmal mehr die hohe Leistungsdichte der Formel 3 Euro Serie unterstreicht.
Jules Bianchi (ART Grand Prix): „Ich bin sehr glücklich über meine Pole-Position. Ich glaube, ich hatte aber auch etwas mehr Glück als Esteban. Nach dem Test heute Mittag, bei dem ich nur die achte Position belegt hatte, haben wir viel gearbeitet. Das hat sich gelohnt.“
Esteban Gutierrez (ART Grand Prix): „Ich bin hier extrem motiviert und merke, dass ich immer besser werde. Ich bin noch Rookie und lerne mit jedem Kilometer dazu. Auch mein Team hat einen super Job gemacht. Zur Pole hat es heute nicht ganz gereicht, denn Jules war einfach schneller.“
Valtteri Bottas (ART Grand Prix): „Ich bin relativ zufrieden, aber lieber wäre ich natürlich Erster geworden. Mit dem zweiten Reifensatz konnte ich mich nicht so steigern wie Jules und Esteban. Aber mit einem guten Start ist im morgigen Rennen noch alles möglich.“
www.f3euroseries.com
Bridgestone Motorsport Valencia GP2 Series Preview
14.8.2009 von Wolfgang.
The seventh round of the Bridgestone-supported GP2 Series will take place at the European Grand Prix in Valencia, on 21-23 August. Valencia’s modern street circuit makes its second ever appearance on the GP2 calendar, and offers drivers the chance to work with the soft tyre for the third time this season. Bridgestone has made a change from 2008 when the medium specification tyre was brought to Valencia, the soft compound being allocated for this year’s event. With warm weather and high track temperatures expected during the race weekend, drivers will need to anticipate how their car set-up can be adjusted to ensure effective management of tyre degradation. In 2008, Campos stole the limelight in GP2 at Valencia’s street circuit during its Formula One debut event, as team-mates Vitaly Petrov and Lucas di Grassi both won races here. Quote from Hirohide Hamashima - Director of Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development “Valencia is a very high speed street course, with drivers experiencing the highest speeds after the bridge in the second sector. It is much faster than Monaco and due to the hard braking required in Valencia the drivers need to be careful not to flat spot the tyres. In addition, being a street circuit, high levels of concentration and car control are essential as there is not much room for driver error. It can also be difficult to overtake, with the best chance being at turn twelve. Degradation is expected to be fairly high due to the hot weather and high track temperatures anticipated.”
www.bridgestonemotorsport.com
Bridgestone GP2 Series: Q&A with Lucas di Grassi
14.8.2009 von Wolfgang.
Lucas di Grassi is now in his fourth GP2 main season and is currently with the Fat Burner Racing Engineering team. He has just missed out on the title twice, but won the Valencia sprint race last season. That puts the Brazilian driver in the hot seat for this year’s title fight and makes him a perfect person to interview ahead of the Valencia round, which is the second street circuit on the calendar. Bridgestone e-reporter finalist Tim Biesbrouck took on the role of interviewing this charismatic driver. Q: The Valencia street circuit is one of the two street circuits on this year’s calendar, do you like racing on this type of circuit? A: I really do like racing on street circuits, mainly because the feeling of speed is greater and the walls are nearer to you. And on top of that, there is no room for mistakes. I really enjoy driving on the Monaco circuit and I won the second race in Valencia last year. Valencia is a great circuit and it was a great experience when I drove there for the first time. There are a lot of straights, overtaking possibilities are good and the circuit is well made and safe. Valencia is also a beautiful city to host a Grand Prix weekend. Q: In what ways can you compare it with the Monaco circuit? A: Honestly I find Monaco nicer to drive, because it’s more technical and difficult. In comparison with Monaco, the Spanish circuit is very wide and open, so you can miss your braking point and still come back. If you make one single mistake in Monaco, you are finished. Q: Last year you drove on medium compound tyres during the Valencia race weekend and it will switch to soft tyres this year. Will that improve your overall performance there? A: I think it will improve my performance. Like in Turkey we switched from hard to medium and we gained performance. So, I expect the same will happen in Valencia. If it’s really hot, then the tyres will show degradation. Sometimes they get overheated, so that’s our only main concern with conserving the tyres. Of course I find it better to race with softer tyres because the grip level with new tyres is really high and you can do really fast laps. So I think it’s a really good solution to go on softs for Valencia. Q: What strategy would you use to conserve your tyres in Valencia? A: We change the set-up of the car during the weekend and you really have to think about your driving style. The race is different from qualifying, because in qualifying you need to push one hundred percent and during the race you need to take care and make sure the tyres will hold for the race. There is not much grip in Valencia, which is normal for street circuits, so I expect we won’t have high tyre wear. I don’t have concerns about it. Q: After winning the sprint race in Valencia, you moved into the title battle. Do you think you are able to strengthen your position in the championship there? A: Yes definitely. We had a good start to the season, but we wasted some points. It was not because of our performance, so I believe we are in a good position to catch up, getting back into the title fight. But the season is long and there are still many points to collect. It can turn around much quicker in GP2 than in other series. I really need to concentrate to get the most out of the weekend and we will see what happens next.
www.bridgestonemotorsport.com
Meeke tips Kopecky for Zlin victory
14.8.2009 von Wolfgang.
Jan Kopecky has been tipped to win Barum Czech Rally Zlin, round eight of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, by the current leader in the IRC standings, Britain’s Kris Meeke.
Twenty-seven-year-old Kopecky will drive a Skoda Motorsport Fabia Super 2000 on his home event and Meeke believes that Kopecky’s pace will be hard to match.
“Jan showed in Ypres how quick he could be and I’m sure there will be no driver quicker than him,” said Meeke. “He knows the event well and he’ll be wanting to prove he’s the top Czech driver.”
Kopecky has yet to register his first IRC win but has finished on the podium on three occasions this season. His Skoda team-mate Juho Hanninen was victorious when the IRC visited Russia in July.
“I am certain this will be a fantastic rally for us and I am really looking forward to it,” said Kopecky. “I wish to invite all our fans to come to the rally.”
Kopecky has been flying on asphalt and wants a home victory
Wittmann leads huge entry for Ralliart
The Ralliart challenge on Barum Czech Rally Zlin has been boosted by the addition of several star crews.
Ralliart is currently third in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge manufacturers’ standings after seven events thanks largely to the efforts of Austrian Franz Wittman Jr.
The Interwetten Racing driver has had to shoulder the burden of the firm’s expectations for much of this season. However, the Ralliart line-up will also include Dutch driver Jasper van den Heuvel and Czech Vaclav Pech when the IRC resumes next week.
“There will be great competition, I can’t wait,” said Wittman Jr, whose father Franz Sr won the event twice in the past. “Our goal is to close the gap to the Super 2000 cars. It’s not easy because our car has less power and more weight but it’s good we have more cars to help.”
Franz Wittmann hopes to close the gap to S2000 cars
Prokop ready for BF Goodrich outing
Jacques Morelli, the man in charge of tyre firm BFGoodrich’s Intercontinental Rally Challenge campaign, has spoken of the high hopes he has for Martin Prokop on Barum Czech Rally Zlin.
Prokop was selected to drive the BFGoodrich Drivers’ Team entry on the Tarmac event. Although Prokop has scant experience of the Peugeot 207 Super 2000 he will use, Morelli said he was confident he would replicate the performances of Sebastien Ogier and Thierry Neuville, who represented the team in Monte Carlo and Ypres respectively.
“It promises to be another exciting event,” said Morelli. “Martin is quick on all types of surfaces and he is very experienced too, which he showed by sewing up the Junior World Rally Championship in Finland recently.”
A jury of journalists and representatives of the Czech motorsport governing body, BFGoodrich and Kronos Racing, which runs the Peugeot 207, chose Prokop for the seat ahead of four other Czech drivers.
The BF Goodrich Drivers Team is a much-prized drive for local talent
Bouffier joins Proton for Barum Rally Zlin
The factory Proton effort will double in number for the first time this season when Bryan Bouffier joins Guy Wilks in the Malaysian manufacturer’s team.
Bouffier, who gave the Proton Satria Neo Super 2000 its competition debut last season, will contest Barum Czech Rally Zlin with the fledgling squad. The agreement is currently for the eighth round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge only.
“It was always the plan to run a second car and Bryan is a great driver to have on board because of his experience,” said Chris Mellors, whose MEM operation is responsible for Proton’s IRC campaign.
Proton’s best result since joining the IRC on June’s Belgium Ypres Rally is the fourth place Wilks recorded on Rally Russia last month.
“We’ve got ideas of how we can go even faster,” said British driver Wilks. “It’s still a new car and the most important thing is to get to the finish of each event so we can build the experience.”
Bryan Bouffier joins Guy Wilks in a two-car Proton squad
www.rally-irc.com
BMW DRIVERS GET READY FOR HOME RACES
14.8.2009 von Wolfgang.
BMW drivers are getting ready for when the WTCC resumes at Oschersleben in three weeks. The German event will mark the beginning of the championship’s final phase and also BMW’s home race meeting.
Augusto Farfus, third in the drivers’ classification, is visiting Asia: "I came here on behalf of Formula BMW Pacific and PETRONAS to be involved in a young drivers’ development programme. After my return to Europe I will work hard with the team to ensure that we are best prepared for the final races," he said.
Test drives, PR appointments and other events equally fill the agenda of Farfus’ team-mate at BMW Team Germany, Jörg Müller: "It’s hardly a summer break for me, there is always something happening. The break is more important for the engineers and technicians, as they work on the cars every day in search of more speed."
Andy Priaulx of BMW Team UK puts his family as top priority during a break. "Quality time with the family is always my priority. To get several days together without me flying off for a test or race is bliss," said Priaulx who will visit the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix at Spa.
BMW Team Italy-Spain’s Alessandro Zanardi and Sergio Hernández are enjoying deserved holidays, but they will return to the wheel of their BMW 320si cars for a test at Adria at the end of August.
The next WTCC meeting at Oschersleben will mark BMW’s home event
LADA SPORT TO RACE THREE NEW CARS
The Russian Bears team that run the LADA factory squad are ready for a complete switch to the Priora car.
The new model was introduced in Porto last month, where James Thompson joined the team to drive the new car alongside two 110 2.0 machines for Jaap van Lagen and Kirill Ladygin. The same happened in Brands Hatch two weeks later. But from the next event in Oschersleben the team will race three Priora cars.
Thompson will be forced to miss Oschersleben due to his commitments in the Australian V8 Supercar championship, which were already in place before he signed for Lada. He will be replaced by team principal Viktor Shapovalov.
After having tested in Zolder last week, the team have another test scheduled at Magny-Cours on August 22, which will focus on the engine.
The LADA Sport team will race three Priora cars from Oschersleben
WTCC DRIVERS KEEP ON RACING DURING SUMMER BREAK
While the championship is having a long summer break, some of the drivers keep on racing in other series.
THOMPSON WINS IN DENMARK
James Thompson extended his lead in the Danish Touring Car Championship winning two out of the three races held last Sunday.
At the wheel of his Hartmann Racing Honda Accord Euro-R, Thompson claimed victory in the first and the third race beating the Chevrolet Lacetti cars of Henrik Lundgaard and Michel Nykjær.
With these results, Thompson has now an 18-point margin over Nykjær, while Lundgaard is 32 points behind him.
CORONEL AND ENGSTLER AT SEPANG
Tom Coronel and Franz Engstler took part last Sunday in the 10th 12 Hour Merdeka Millennium Endurance Race at Sepang, Malaysia.
They both drove Porsche 996 GT3 cars - Lammertink Racing for Coronel, Autoracing Club Bratislava for Engstler - and both retired because of technical failures.
The race was won by dominated by Manabu Orido in a BMW Z4 of the Petronas Syntium Team; Orido drove for Chevrolet in selected races of the 2008 WTCC.
MENU RETURNS TO BUENOS AIRES
For the fifth time in six years, Chevrolet driver Alain Menu will take part this weekend in the Buenos Aires 200 km.
The race counts as the seventh round of the Argentine TC2000 championship and the second round of the Endurance Series.
Menu will share with local ace Guillermo Ortelli a Chevrolet Astra car run by the Chevrolet Elaion team.
During his previous visits to Buenos Aires, Menu always managed to finish on the podium: he claimed victory in 2006, was classified second in 2004 and third in 2005 and 2008.
www.fiawtcc.com
