Archive für 23.8.2009
F2 championship leader Soucek targets Formula One in 2010
23.8.2009 von Wolfgang.
Current FIA Formula Two Championship leader Andy Soucek is targeting a seat with a Formula One team in 2010 after taking his third commanding victory of the season at Donington Park last weekend. The Spaniard believes Formula Two’s level playing field has finally given him the chance to demonstrate the true extent of his talent.
Soucek has fully delivered in his debut F2 season, impressing onlookers with his speed, consistency and determination. He currently lies 22 points ahead of nearest rival Robert Wickens in the championship standings, and has recorded three wins and two second place finishes in the five events so far this year. He also produced a brilliant display of attacking driving in race two at Donington Park, including a stunning overtaking manoeuvre on Sebastian Hohenthal at the Craner Curves. The 24-year-old is one of the most experienced and successful drivers in this season’s line up having previously won the Spanish F3 championship, scored podium finishes in GP2 and been a race winner in Formula Renault 3.5. He has also sampled F1 machinery, testing for the Panasonic Toyota team in 2006.
Andy Soucek said: “I feel I am ready for the chance in Formula One. I am hoping to get my second test in an F1 car, following my run with Toyota in 2006. I believe I have the ability, experience and maturity to adapt quickly to a Formula One car again. I am in a good position having already driven an F1 car and most of the single-seater formulae below - it is about finding the limits of the car quickly and hopefully I will get the chance to prove I can do that.”
Formula Two is a series that features identical equipment for all 24 of its drivers and offers the prize of a full test with the Williams F1 team to its champion, whilst the top three drivers will be eligible to qualify for an FIA Superlicence.
Soucek added: “Formula Two has finally given me the opportunity to prove what I can do in equal equipment. Most of the time in other series it is the teams that really make the difference. You can see in F2 that it is extremely close – during qualifying, the top six have been separated by just two tenths of a second and the top 18 drivers covered by less than a second. It is incredible, and we all can honestly say that we, as drivers, have the same opportunities as each other. If I can win the championship this season, I will be really excited about the fantastic opportunity to test with Williams. There are also several new teams entering Formula One next season so it is a good time for me to be showing what I can do, as there will hopefully be more opportunities in 2010.”
Jonathan Palmer, Chief Executive of Formula Two organiser MotorSport Vision, believes Soucek has proved himself worthy of a drive in F1: ”Amongst an extraordinarily competitive field Andy has really stood out with a superb combination of pace, racecraft and consistency. Andy is also outstandingly professional as well as being a great guy and I have no doubt will be highly impressive when he makes the F1 debut he deserves."
Andy Soucek was a guest of the Williams F1 team at the European Grand Prix in Valencia, Spain, this weekend.
The next two rounds of the FIA Formula Two Championship will take place in Oschersleben, Germany, on 4/5/6 September, partnering the FIA World Touring Car Championship.
www.formulatwo.com
Aston Martin Racing: the Lord of the Ring!
23.8.2009 von Wolfgang.
Aston Martin Racing fully achieved its goal: the British team scored as many points as possible and could take the lead of the series thanks to today’s victory. Indeed, the pre-race four-point gap could seem very hard to fill and victory was the only option today to keep the team chances alive for the title chase, and obviously, the team used the necessary resources to achieve its goal. No less than three cars raced this weekend and will race at Silverstone, the last round of the season, which shows how important the title is for Aston Martin Racing.
Click here to read more
www.lemans-series.com
Kopecky completes celebrations on Barum Czech Rally Zlin
23.8.2009 von Wolfgang.
Jan Kopecky strode to a dominant victory on the 2009 Barum Czech Rally Zlin today, round 8 of the 2009 Intercontinental Rally Challenge. In so doing the 27-year-old became the first Czech driver in a Czech car to win the biggest motor sport event in the Czech Republic for eight years, enveloping the enormous crowds that lined the stages in celebration.
At the wheel of a works Skoda Fabia S2000, Kopecky took the lead from his team mate Juho Hanninen on SS2 and never looked back – his winning margin at the finish being almost exactly one minute after 15 fast and gruelling stages over two legs.
“This has been the perfect event for me and everyone involved,” he enthused amid an emotional reception in host city Zlin. “The car never missed a beat and I was able to concentrate the whole time on keeping an advantage. The atmosphere has been fantastic all week, the fans have given such amazing support I am so proud for them and for Skoda to bring home the win.”
Second place fell to championship leader Kris Meeke after a remarkable comeback drive from 33rd position on Friday night. The Peugeot UK driver started the rally with a five point advantage over Kopecky and worked hard all weekend in order to keep his seat at the top of the points table. His championship hopes were aided when two of the other main contenders hit trouble – Abarth team leader Giandomenico Basso crashing out on SS8 during torrential rain and Benelux Peugeot ace Freddy Loix suffering a puncture that put his car out of commission on SS10.
“There is so much to like about this rally, from the atmosphere to the stages themselves, which really ask some big questions of you as a driver,” said Meeke. “We were unlucky to pick up the puncture on the first stage that dropped us back, but I have to admit to making a few mistakes along the way that fortunately didn’t cost us anything except a chance to really pressure Jan for the lead.”
The podium was completed by the second Skoda Motorsport Fabia of Juho Hanninen, the Finnish gravel expert finding himself gaining confidence on the bumpy and fast asphalt around Zlin as the rally progressed. “I wasn’t too optimistic that we could finish this high before the start,” he said.
“But then we won the first stage! After that things were a bit more normal for me, the pace was incredible over the first day and so I decided not to take risks and build up my pace, which worked well in the end. I had a spin today and dropped to fourth but we were lucky and got it back.”
Hanninen’s result elevates him to fifth in the IRC points table, passing defending champion Nicolas Vouilloz. The Frenchman – Loix’s team-mate in the Benelux Peugeot team – started the rally strongly but was forced out of second place on SS4 when his 207 S2000 caught fire. Another conflagration befell Russian teenager Evgeny Novikov’s privately-entered Skoda Fabia at the end of SS12, the Citroen WRC driver being the third member of his team to have taken up the challenge of the IRC this season.
Another visitor from the world championship had a far more successful weekend – newly-crowned Junior WRC champion Martin Prokop – who finished fifth. As the Czech Republic’s first World Champion, the award of driving the BF Goodrich Drivers Team Peugeot 207 provided Prokop with a unique opportunity to perform in front of his fans.
“It’s been a great event – one I always enjoy but all the more so meeting everyone here as a world champion,” Prokop said. “The Peugeot took a lot of getting used to for me, but it’s a fantastic car and I’m glad that we found a way to go quickly in the end – and keep the car in one piece! It’s been a great drive, and I really enjoyed all the jumps!”
Prokop finished behind one of the Czech Republic’s most established rally drivers, Roman Kresta, in his privately-entered Peugeot. With three victories on the Barum Czech Rally Zlin to his credit, hopes had been high in his camp of taking a record-breaking fourth win – but ultimately the pace of the top trio proved too much. “I didn’t have any big problems all weekend – except how fast the other guys were! To be honest I can’t help but feel disappointed not to have got closer to the record but we will be back again,” he said.
Sixth place fell to another young Czech talent, Pavel Valousek. The former BF Goodrich Drivers Team entry on last year’s event arrived with a privately-entered Skoda Fabia and after mechanical problems on the opening day battled back into the points. “That was disappointing to drop down on the opening leg, and I had to go like crazy to catch up,” he said. “I made a few mistakes, had a few spins, but we got to the finish and showed that we can do a good rally even under pressure.”
Hungarian Janos Toth finished seventh in another Peugeot 207 S2000 with another Czech, Vaclav Pech, eighth after a battle royal for the last of the points positions in which the Ralliart driver overcame considerable hardships. “Our car has a turbo but is heavier than the S2000s so it was always going to be tricky,” Pech said. “But the rain on Saturday afternoon was incredible! We were aquaplaning at 60km/h and had water streaming into the car – it’s been worth it though.”
Kopecky delivered the result Czech fans have been waiting for
Skoupil claims 2WD honours for Abarth
In the IRC 2WD Cup Abarth bucked the odds to take victory courtesy of Czech driver Jiri Skoupil in his little 1600cc Punto. Ranged against him was an armada of 2-litre Honda machinery, from the latest JAS Motorsport-built Civic Type R3s to the tried and tested Civic Vtis, but Skoupil took the advantage early on the final day and held resolutely to take the win.
“It’s fantastic to see ten points in the IRC against my name,” he said. “The car was great, we have worked hard on it in the Czech championship and the rally suited both the car and us.”
IRC regular Denis Millet ended the event fourth in the 2WD standings at the wheel of his Peugeot 207, currently the only 1.6 turbo rally car in international competition. The five points earned on the Barum Czech Rally Zlin promote him to the series lead over Italy’s Manuel Villa.
The rest of the points positions were monopolised by Honda drivers, with Hungary’s Laszlo Vizin taking second in the Civic Type R3 ahead of the older Type R of Egon Smekal, while Skoda was denied its first points of the 2WD Cup season on the penultimate stage after a brave performance from Vlastimil Hodan at the wheel of a Felicia 1600 Kit Car was not quite enough to fend off the Honda of Jan Brezik.
Barum Czech Rally Zlin - facts and figures
Overall Positions
1 Kopecky (CZ) – Skoda Fabia S2000 – 2hrs 24m 21.1s
2 Meeke (GB) – Peugeot 207 S2000 – +1m 0.4s
3 Hanninen (FIN) – Skoda Fabia S2000 – +2m 0.8s
3 Kresta (CZ) – Peugeot 207 S2000 – +2m 10.8s
5 Prokop (CZ) – Peugeot 207 S2000 – +2m 39.6s
6 Valousek (CZ) – Skoda Fabia S2000 – +4m 50.5s
7 Toth (HUN) – Peugeot 207 S2000 – +5m 19.7s
8 Pech (CZ) – Ralliart Evo IX – +5m 23.2s
2WD Cup
1 Skoupil (CZ) – Abarth Punto S1600 -2hrs 44m 29.6s
2 Vizin (H) – Honda Civic Type R3 – +1m 41.0s
3 Smekal (CZ) – Honda Civic Type R – +2m 32.0s
4 Millet (F) – Peugeot 207 RC – +2m 42.0s
5 Krizek (CZ) – Honda Civic Type R – +4m 5.0s
6 Blatak (CZ) – Honda Civic Vti – +5m 51.5s
7 Jakubec (CZ) – Honda Civic Vti – +8m 52.9s
8 Brezik (CZ) – Honda Civic Vti – +10m 2.9s
Stage Winners:
SS1: Hanninen, SS2-3: Kopecky, SS4: Meeke, SS5-6: Kopecky, SS7: Hanninen, SS8-9: Kopecky, SS10: Meeke, SS11: Kopecky, SS12-13: Meeke, SS14-15: Hanninen
Leading Retirements:
Grzyb (CZ) – Peugeot 207 S2000 – SS13, accident
Novikov – Skoda Fabia S2000 – SS12, fire
Loix (B) – Peugeot 207 S2000 – SS11, puncture/damage
Basso (I) – Abarth Grande Punto S2000 – SS8, accident
Odlozilik (CZ) – Peugeot 207 S2000 – SS7, gearbox
Lapdavsky (SK) – Peugeot 207 S2000 – SS7, accident
Tarabus (CZ) – Abarth Grande Punto S2000 – SS6, mechanical
Kuzaj (PL) – Peugeot 207 S2000 – SS5, mechanical
Vouilloz (F) – Peugeot 207 S2000 – SS4, fire
Fontana (I) – Peugeot 207 S2000 – SS3, wheel
Wilks (GB) – Proton Satria Neo S2000 – SS2, engine
Bouffier (F) – Proton Satria Neo S2000 – DNS, engine
IRC Drivers’ standings after 8 of 11 rounds
1 Meeke 42 points
2 Kopecky 39
3 Basso 27
= Loix 27
5 Hanninen 20
6 Vouilloz 19
IRC Manufacturers’ standings after 8 of 11 rounds
1 Peugeot 95 points
2 Skoda 59
3 Ralliart 42
4 Abarth 34
5 Proton 5
6 Honda 1
IRC 2WD Cup Drivers’ standings after 8 of 11 rounds
1 Millet 31 points
2 Villa 28
3 Tulio 10
= Piepers 10
= Koitla 10
IRC 2WD Cup Manufacturers’ standings after 8 of 11 rounds
1 Peugeot 69 points
2 Abarth 46
3 Honda 40
4 Volkswagen 16
Remaining Events:
Rally Principe de Asturias (Spain) September 10-12
Rally Sanremo (Italy) September 24-26
RAC MSA Rally of Scotland (UK) November 19-21 www.rally-irc.com
Bridgestone Motorsport’s European Grand Prix Report
23.8.2009 von Wolfgang.
Rubens Barrichello (Brawn GP Formula 1 Team) used a soft-soft-super soft strategy to achieve the 150th GP win on Bridgestone Potenza tyres after a thrilling European Grand Prix in Valencia .
Barrichello took his tenth career win in a highly tactical race, where Bridgestone’s soft and super soft tyres were closely matched. He led pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton (Vodafone McLaren Mercedes) across the line by 2.3 seconds whilst Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro driver Kimi Raikkonen finished third.
Hiroshi Yasukawa – Director of Bridgestone Motorsport, says
“Congratulations to Rubens on taking the 150th win on Bridgestone Potenza F1 tyres. We are very proud to have supported so many drivers in their Formula One World Championship victories over the past 13 seasons but it is apt that Rubens, who has been on Bridgestone tyres for all but a season since we entered in 1997, should take this special victory. When Bridgestone started as a tyre supplier to Formula One it was on slick tyres. Since then, there have been several evolutions in tyre technologies and specifications but throughout we have received the fantastic support of the teams, FIA and FOM. We have also seen tremendous growth in the brand awareness of our company around the globe and much of this can be attributed to our F1 related activities. We would like to thank all involved in F1 for their support. We are now in the second of a three year Official Tyre Supplier tenure and look forward to seeing many more exciting battles on our tyres.”
Hirohide Hamashima - Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development, says
“I am very happy to see Rubens win. He first used our F1 tyres in 1997 so it is fantastic that he still has the competitive spirit to win in this highly competitive sport. We are pleased with the performance of both the soft and the super soft Bridgestone Potenzas today. The circuit improved very rapidly, as expected, and as a result drivers could be competitive using the super soft over a stint at the start. The soft was the more consistent tyre however, and we even saw one-stop strategies. Regarding Kazuki Nakajima’s tyre, we believe it was a puncture and we are investigating this with the team.”
Stats of the Day
Bridgestone Potenza Driver Tyre Strategies
Rd.11 – European Grand Prix
In 2009, the tyre regulations stipulate that the two dry tyre specifications must be visibly distinguishable from each other. At the European Grand Prix, the super 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 Series Report Valencia
23.8.2009 von Wolfgang.
Vitaly Petrov (Barwa Addax Team) and Nico Hulkenberg (ART Grand Prix) both claimed victories in the seventh round of the Bridgestone-supported GP2 Series at Valencia’s street circuit, on Bridgestone’s soft compound racing slick.
Despite GP2 experiencing its highest track temperatures of the season so far, the soft compound performed well at the Spanish track with levels of rear tyre degradation lower than expected.
In Saturday’s 31 lap feature race, Russian driver Petrov won ahead of Hulkenberg after the German ran wide on the second corner of the first lap which allowed Petrov to dominate the race. Hulkenberg had started from pole position and fought hard but was unable to pass the Barwa Addax car, finishing second. Sergio Perez (Telmex Arden International) was third which marks his first ever podium finish in the GP2 main series. Hulkenberg also took the point for fastest lap.
Sunday’s 23 lap sprint race required the safety car to be deployed three times, and there were ten retirements as a result of various incidents. The podium featured the same three drivers as in race one just placed in a different order, with Hulkenberg first, Perez second and Petrov third. Hulkenberg once again set the quickest lap, making his final points tally for the weekend 18.
Hulkenberg has now extended his lead in the drivers’ championship, with 75 points. Petrov is in second place on 55. Although Romain Grosjean moved to the ING Renault F1 Team for this weekend he is still ranked in the GP2 standings, third on 45 points. ART Grand Prix is at the top of the teams’ championship table with 106 points from Barwa Addax Team on 100. Super Nova Racing is in third position with 44.
The eighth round of the GP2 Series will be held in Spa Francorchamps on 28-30 August, with Bridgestone’s soft compound GP2 tyre making its fourth appearance of the season.
Quote from Hirohide Hamashima - Director of Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development
“Bridgestone’s soft compound GP2 tyre has performed well in Valencia. The appearance of the tyres has been good and the rear degradation reasonable considering the high track and ambient temperatures. The GP2 teams have dealt with the degradation well and knew what to expect from this circuit in terms of the overall demands on the tyres, with GP2 having visited this venue last year. Vitaly Petrov worked hard in the feature race to hold his position at the front and benefited from good tyre management and a well timed pit stop. Sunday’s race was eventful but Nico Hulkenberg showed he can consistently finish in the points.”
www.bridgestonemotorsport.com
