A Roller coaster Year for Nelson Panciatici

Nelson Panciatici Barcelone

It’s on the Barcelona circuit and in front of 62,000 enthusiastic spectators, that the curtain fell on a rollercoaster season for Nelson Panciatici. Yet it had started well with a podium in the opening race in Alcaniz and promising performances during the first races such as Spa Francorchamps or Monaco.

The KMP Team never quit, even calling on, in Hungary, the title champion 2010 in the discipline with the Carlin Team, the Russian Mikael Aleshin. It was a worthy testimony to the quality of the team and they appreciated it. Up against his prestigious co-driver, Nelson Panciatici showed his own worth by being the fastest globally over the whole weekend.

For his part, Nelson never gave up. Many nice comebacks bear witness to this notably in Monza, where he crossed the finishing line in 7th place after a start at the back of the pack, or in Castellet. Not least, there was some very consistent racing which gave him precious points to finish in 9th place in a very high quality Formula Renault 3.5 Series, the highest in a long time according to the experts.

Unfortunately, success evaded the KMP Team and Nelson on many occasions and deprived them of important points in the championship.

This did not stop Nelson Panciatici from being fired up in the final race where, starting from 10th after the first qualifier, he snatched the points of 7th place after a fierce and intelligent race. Having set his mind to do the same in the second race, Nelson got off to a very good start but was hit violently from behind by a driver who makes a habit of it and who also sent four other drivers off the track! Nelson was hoping for a better finish in the last race.

“It’s always a bit sad when we leave our team at the end of a season,” Nelson Panciatici tells us, “we had some good times and some not so good, but we kept our faith until the end. We fought with all our weapons and I want to thank Adrien Beurdeley, my engineer, who supported me throughout the season and whose people skills I got to appreciate too. Nevertheless, I would be lying if I said I’m not disappointed because we started out to achieve much more. The plan didn’t stay on track, helped along with a dose of bad luck. I will keep on fighting because I know where I’m at and the winds of fortune change. I think I’ve shown that we weren’t far from being the best and we were very close to making our potential a reality. We have to turn to the future now because we can’t turn back the clocks and next year is where it’s at!”

The 2011 season is over, looking forward to 2012 and that success will finally be in our grasp!

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A WEEKEND TO FORGET FOR NELSON PANCIATICI

Silverstone: A Weekend to Forget

Nelson Panciatici Silverstone

The meeting in Silverstone will be one of the greatest disappointments of the season for Nelson Panciatici and his KMP Racing team. Everything was set to go, especially after the recent trials in Magny-Cours during which Nelson had progressed to a high level of performance.

Right from the first free practice, the “machine” choked up and the times were never met. The entire KMP team never admitted defeat and Nelson Panciatici tried as hard as he could to qualify well.

The disappointment was as great as the 17th and 21st positions in the two qualifying sessions were far from their usual performance since the beginning of the season. His co-driver, Anton Nebylitskiy, ran into the same difficulties.

Even if the results of both races are nothing to write home about, with one abandon in the first because of a fuel injection problem and an anonymous 17th place in the second, the level of performance was visible.

It’s a positive point that Nelson Panciatici brought up: “I would be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed. On the other hand, the times we made during the race show that we were in the running, which makes our poor qualifying results that much harder to bear! We have to concentrate now on the next date because we can’t change anything and I will continue to work with Adrien, my engineer. Whatever the cause, I’m still positive about the future because what happened at Silverstone was a blip on the landscape and something that happens to everyone in a season. However, we need to reverse the trend starting with Castellet where our aim is to step up on the podium.”

The dismay is the same for Bruno Besson, Team Manager for the KMP Racing team: “I don’t understand what happened this weekend, I think the basic setup was right because last year we had some great results and the car was very efficient. Yet during the whole weekend the drivers found the car quite difficult to drive. For the next race we will have a new set of tyres for each free practice session and we will be able to work effectively. We also worked hard during the private practice on this track so even if we didn’t show our best colours because of a technical problem which slowed us down, we picked up enough information to get us back in the race.”

As we can see, Nelson Panciatici and the entire KMP Racing team have already set their eyes on the next race which will take place on the Castellet circuit in September on the 16, 17 and 18th.

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Nelson Panciatici ends weekend on a Positive note

Nelson Panciatici

The KMP team turned up at the Hungaroring track with high hopes. They had brought in, alongside Nelson Panciatici, the 2010 title champion of the discipline, Mikhail Aleshin.

This star value gave the whole team a boost. In every instance Nelson Panciatici did himself proud by the side of his new co-driver as he was essentially the fastest of the two over the weekend. It will be one of the positive aspects of this Hungarian meeting!

Qualifying ninth in the first race, Nelson Panciatici was determined to push through to the top. A storm then came along to change the parameters just one hour before the start. All the drivers, however, opted to drive on slick tyres. Blocked, Nelson had to break early in the first corner and found himself boxed in, in 11th place, before crossing the line 7th in what was a strong and intelligent race.

For the second qualifiers, Nelson’s momentum was lost at first when he got a yellow flag. He then didn’t do well in the first sector of his only fast lap, which put him back in 11th place on the grid. Finding his pace right from the start of the race, Nelson Panciatici could still hope to leave Hungaroring with a few more points to his name in the championship but a pit stop problem sent him to the bottom of the ranking.

Nelson Panciatici: “I’m disappointed with my weekend because we still haven’t had a win and yet we didn’t need much to be in the lead. On top of that, I didn’t manage my fast lap well in the second qualifiers. It’s a shame because the car was driving well in the race and my pace should have put me in the front runners. We have to keep working at it and stay calm and confident because the team has the capacity to succeed. With Adrien, my engineer, we do everything we can to make it happen. I still believe in our chances for a podium and more if all goes well!”

For Bruno Besson, the KMP Team Manager: “I think we really missed out on a successful result. Nelson could have been in the top 5 on Saturday but if we’re not at 102 percent this year we can soon find ourselves at the back, like Ricardo and Ramos this weekend. Sunday, we missed our target because the car wasn’t perfectly balanced. Aleshin assures me that the car has good balance but everything has to be spot on, especially on a track like Budapest where the gaps are tight.”

Nelson Panciatici, currently eighth in the provisional general ranking of the World Series by Renault, trusts his KMP team totally to help him up the hierarchy in the very next race at Silverstone on August 19, 20 and 21st.

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Nelson Panciatici in Top Five in Monaco

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Monaco’s circuit layout is nestled in the heart of the town and the narrow track, sinuous and hedged by rails, demands absolute concentration, the smallest error can be fatal. It is the mythical circuit all drivers dream one day of winning or at least showing their worth. That’s what Nelson Panciatici achieved when he crossed the finishing line in a nice 5th place in the Formula Renault 3.5 race.

In the one and only free practice session, Nelson Panciatici concentrated on reaching a maximum number of laps to be well prepared for the qualifiers. Time spent on the track here is essential to hope for a good qualifier, the starting position is key because overtaking during the race is difficult.

In Monaco, the qualifiers are divided into two groups and Nelson Panciatici made his group’s qualifying runs a heated race to the finish. In the top three right until the end of the session, he finally finished in 4th place synonymous with a 7th place on the starting grid.

The next day, Nelson Panciatici produced a solid and intelligent performance in the race, he made no faults and avoided all traps to finish in a good 5th place. It’s a shame Anton Nebylitskiy had to abandon because he was also having a good race.

Nelson Panciatici: “I arrived in Monaco with the level intention of fighting for the podium and so I’m a bit disappointed with the result. We were fast in the qualifiers, really close to the best, but in the race our potential did not get us closer to the podium. In these circumstances, our 5th place is positive because it puts us back in the championship. We worked well with Adrien, my engineer, we were just a bit short on performance which would have put the pressure on our adversaries. I got a lot of pleasure driving on this circuit!”

For Bruno Besson, Team Manager of KMP Racing, his statement is practically the same: “We worked well during the free practice session to prepare for the qualifiers and even though Nelson was in the higher group, I think we could have finished 2nd or 3rd, but he made a small mistake in his last lap. Nelson then ran a good race without making any mistakes, which isn’t easy in Monaco. We are going to have two important meetings where we will need to make it to the podium to keep rising in the championship.”

The next meeting for Formula Renault 3.5 will be on the Nurburgring track, the 17, 18 and 19 June next in the context of the World Series by Renault.

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Nelson Panciatici’s nice come back in race

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The third challenge of the World Series by Renault Championship took place for the first time as a round of the FIA WTCC Championship on the Monza track in Italy.

Nelson Panciatici and his KMP Racing team all arrived full of determination to race in the first free practices on Friday but unfortunately, from the very first spin of the wheels, performance was not to be found.

After checking and testing everything on Nelson Panciatici’s car and not the slightest improvement to the problem, the KMP team led by Bruno Besson decided, after a first qualifier to the back of the grid, to change the engine and get rid of any possible doubts. They had to forgo the first race because the second qualifier would start, quite exceptionally, a few hours after the finish and they would have run out of time.

Despite a 19th place which bears no reflection on the quality of the KMP Racing team, a definite improvement was noticeable as Nelson Panciatici was finally able to make some good times.

After a chaotic start at the lights-out where several drivers pre-empted him quite seriously, Nelson found himself down below 20th place before he pulled himself back into the ranks to 7th and to top it off with the 3rd best time in the race just 1 tenth behind first.

Nelson Panciatici: “It was a difficult weekend because we were far from imagining such a sequence of events, the whole team was outstanding and I want to thank them. It paid off in the end because I had an incredible car for the second race, I overtook a dozen cars and a few more laps would have been even better, I really enjoyed myself.”

If the Team Manager of KMP Racing, Bruno Besson, was disappointed, he still has confidence because: “the great race Nelson performed shows our real potential but it’s frustrating to see that we can be in the front positions and then everything goes wrong this weekend. We were looking for grip the whole time and we’re as perplexed by this as the results were good during the winter trials when Nelson and Anton Nebylitskyi were very fast. Nevertheless, we leave Monza on a high note and it bodes well for the future. The whole team is gunning for a battle to the end!”

The next meeting for Formula Renault 3.5 will be on the F1 circuit in Monaco on 27, 28 and 29 May.

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Nelson Panciatici in the rhythm at Spa Francorchamps

Communiqué

The KMP Racing team and their manager Bruno Besson were very confident when they reached the difficult track of Spa Francorchamps for the World Series by Renault. Nelson Panciatici would confirm this with a position in the top ranks right from the free practice on Friday where he finished 5th.

For the first session of qualifiers, Nelson managed to reach an excellent 4th place in one lap before being blocked, which was a shame because the first line was in view!

Nelson Panciatici then fought hard for 3rd place right up to the last lap of race 1 when he was overrun and crossed the line in 5th position.

For the qualifiers the next day, the drivers of KMP Racing pulled off a combined attack with Nelson 8th and his co-driver Anton Nebylitskiy 9th, but fell foul of the traffic once more and the young Frenchman would be left with a few more regrets.

In race 2, after a lively start which saw him lose a few places, Nelson Panciatici lined up some fast laps before taking a late pit stop which should have seen him come out in the lead positions. Unfortunately, he was immobilised for some long seconds following a problem with the gear box selector and came out in 11th place. Nelson would eventually finish a very disappointing 10th considering the extremely fast times he had clocked at that point in the race.

Nelson Panciatici: “We had the speed but success evaded us all weekend, whether in the qualifiers or the race. The championship is far from over though, and we’re still in this despite everything. The new points allocation system also means we just need a good weekend to be back in the running, we just need to grab the opportunities! »

“Nelson is still 5th in the championship despite our problems,” added Bruno Besson, the Team Manager for KMP Racing, “ we have got to work hard and do everything we can to eliminate any unknowns because we’re still in this to win. Nelson had two very good races and the ranking does not reflect his performance at all, his race times prove it. Nelson also spends a lot of time with his engineer and the two of them have really hit it off, it’s their strong point. I’m optimistic for what’s to come even though I know it won’t be easy considering the exceptionnally high level of the championship this year but we have nothing to envy the others, up to us to attract our success! »

The next meeting in the World Series by Renault will be on the F1 Monza track on the 13, 14 and 15 May.

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First podium for Nelson Panciatici

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The World Series by Renault championship took off in front of an enthusiastic crowd of 60,000 on the very technical track of Alcaniz in Spain.

Nelson Panciatici, comfortable with his new team KMP Racing managed by ex-driver Bruno Besson, started the weekend well with the best time in the first session of free practice on Friday. A good omen for the qualifiers for Race 1, during which Nelson made 6th time.

Feeling confident, the driver from Asnieres sur Seine did have a superb race and garnered the first podium of the season for the young team of KMP Racing. Nelson Panciatici overtook his opponents before prowling behind the Canadian, Robert Wickens, right up to the flag, to take second place.

During the second qualifiers, Nelson confirmed his level of performance with a 4th best time. Bruno Besson’s instructions for Race 2 were to reach the podium and start collecting big points.

Right from the start, Nelson Panciatici followed the rhythm of the first three without a hitch until to a fuel pressure problem caused him to abandon in the 8th lap.

The KMP Racing team’s disappointment was fortunately lessened by the appreciable progress of his co-driver, Anton Nebylitskiy who finished 6th.

Nelson Panciatici: “We immediately found the right rhythm. I passed practically all the sessions at the top of the time sheet, we are getting results in the qualifiers and the race. It’s good for morale! Even if our abandon costs us some precious points in the championship, I prefer to stay positive because we have a high-performance car which is important for what comes next. Mechanical breakdowns are part of the race, we have to accept that and there’s nothing we can do about it anyway!”

Bruno Besson, KMP Racing Team Manager, said: “We worked well during free practice and found a good set-up for the qualifiers during which gaps are very small and the least error or

problem can lose a lot of places on the grid. Nelson had a very good first race, no faults and he moved up well. For the second race, as Nelson was holding 4thplace with ease, waiting for his pit stop, the fuel pump broke which led to his abandon. Nelson is nevertheless well placed in the championship and I can’t wait to go to Spa Francorchamps to score big points in both races this time!”

The next meeting in the World Series by Renault is indeed on the mythical track of Spa Francorchamps on the 29th, 30th April and 1st May.

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KMP and RALF TECH in World Series by RENAULT!

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After taking a first step into motorsports in 2009 in partnership with the young French hope Nelson Panciatici, RALF TECH returns this year in the world of racing in the World Series by RENAULT with the KMP team.

The two official pilots, Nelson Panciatici (French, 22, already 44 wins, 77 podiums, 37 pole positions and 46 fastest laps in different racing competitions and cars) and Anton Nebilitskiy (Russian, 21, already a champion in Formula Ford and participating for the third consecutive World Series championship) will have RALF TECH watches on their wrist.

You can find this year the two iconic RALF TECH watches WRX Night Explorer and WRX Hybrid on the circuits at Spa, Monza, Monaco and Silverstone, to name a few. This will be a fantastic opportunity to again demonstrate the reliability and extreme accuracy of RALF TECH watches in the most extreme environments.

The KMP team, based in the south of France, consists of 3 engineers, 6 mechanics, and an experienced technical and logistics staff directed by Bruno Besson. Despite its young age, the team plans this year to achieve podiums and victories for the first time utilising a very competitive car.

Without a doubt RALF TECH commitment to the world of car racing will not stop here and together with the KMP team will soon turn an eye on Formula 1.

Nelson Panciatici joins the KMP Racing team

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Nelson Panciatici has joined the Franco-Russian KMP Racing team for the World Series by Renault Formula 3.5 championship.

Having spent a year with Lotus Junior Racing, the French driver, 22, Spanish vice-champion of Formula 3 in 2008, is ready to step into the fray and fight for the title.

“I improved all through last year and I learnt a lot. I feel pretty confident now that I can go for the title this year,” says Nelson Panciatici.

“To start with, I’m going to have to win some races. To be a KMP Racing driver gives me that opportunity and I’m going to work hard to maximise my chance of success. I got to appreciate the quality of the team’s work during the winter trials and I’ve already picked up a few “tricks” with regards to the car’s performance. Even though you never know how a new season is going to pan out, I feel quietly confident.

Not only do I have technical staff who know the discipline, I also have Bruno to give me sound advice. It is a real bonus to have an ex-pilot at the head of a team because they know what we need to go fast. I’m going to make the most of this opportunity and I want to thank the team for putting their trust in me.”

Bruno Besson, Team Manager of the KMP Racing team, says : “I followed Nelson’s progress closely all of last year and he fits our ethos perfectly. We got to know each other better during the winter trials, he’s a “winner” and I like that quality. Nelson has the skill to finish in the top three of the Drivers’ Championship. However, it is a very competitive championship and one can lose ten places for a small one or two tenths of a second in the qualifiers. Hard work and success will be key to take the title.”

Nelson Panciatici has applied himself really hard physically and mentally to prepare for what could be a landmark season. His main objective will be to win the title, how he gels with the team will be decisive to get to pole position, without which one cannot hope to win!

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Panciatici in top six for Junior Lotus Racing

WORLD SERIES FORMULA RENAULT 3.5  BARCELONA

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Junior Lotus Racing and Nelson Panciatici showed strong form in qualifying for the first race of the final round of this year’s Formula Renault 3.5 Series at the Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona. But unfortunately Nelson Panciatici was denied a strong result when he was forced wide and into the gravel on the opening lap of the race.

Frenchman Panciatici made a good start to the race and was up to seventh at the beginning, but lost a lot of time after being elbowed off the track. He was therefore down to 21st at the end of the opening lap and could only recover to 16th by the end.

Peter Crolla, team manager of the Mofaz Racing-run squad, said: “Today was
looking pretty good after qualifying, especially with Nelson’s grid position. After his problem, he worked his way back up the order but got stuck behind some slower cars and couldn’t make a break to work his way past them. Ultimately it was tough race caused by bad luck on the first lap.

The team is looking forward to tomorrow’s race, which features pit-stops and also, after today’s low-aerodynamic-downforce race, the cars return to conventional downforce. Both cars ran extremely strongly in this trim yesterday, with Panciatici setting times in the top three.”

Effectively, Junior Lotus Racing finished the year with a strong sixth place for Nelson Panciatici in the final round of the Formula 3.5 Series at Barcelona’s
Circuit de Catalunya.

Wet conditions made the going tricky for all the drivers, but Frenchman
Panciatici kept calm to race from eighth on the grid to sixth. I ran in seventh place early in the race, and emerged after the pit-stop cycle in sixth, a position he was able to retain to the finish.

Team manager Peter Crolla said: “We were really quite pleased with this afternoon’s race. It was looking like a tricky day as far as tactics were concerned, but the weather made those decisions easier for us because it was constantly wet in the race. Both drivers made good starts and managed to avoid some incidents early in the race, and they read the conditions well when others were struggling. Nelson had a good qualifying. Conditions were difficult but he got a good time in and we were quite content with his position. Then he ran well in the race.

The season finished with Panciatici claiming equal 11th in the drivers’ championship, and Junior Lotus Racing taking ninth in the teams’ table.“This has been the first season for Mofaz Racing and Junior Lotus Racing,” said Crolla. “It has been a learning-curve year but there have been some good results. Overall we have a strong team, which we should fortify beginning with the upcoming tests in preparation for next year.”

But the activity doesn’t stop: the Junior Lotus racing and Nelson Panciatici will take in two days of Formula Renault 3.5 testing this week at the Circuit de Catalunya, Nelson make this test in KPM team, before three days of running next week at the Alcaniz circuit the 18, 19 et 20 0ctober.