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Motorsports Mondial - May 2, 2012

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f1weekly @ 8:18 AM

 

Sitting Pretty, Racing Hard 

 

 The Felipe Nasr Way

Three rounds into the 2012 GP2 season and cream is already rising to the top.

Felipe Nasr is the Brazilian flavor. Though signing late to the series he has wasted no time in turning heads and passing competitors on the track.

The Beginning

After a very successful karting career Nasr notched up a podium finish in his first weekend of single-seater racing; in the final round of the 2008 Formula BMW Americas event at Interlagos.

Splash and dash to championship success with über domination was the story when he crossed the big pond and raced in the 2009 Formula BMW Europe series. Nasr was on the podium in 14 of 16 races, taking 5 wins and 6 pole positions. His championship tally was over 100 points from Daniel Juncadella who finished second.

Last year he won his second championship in Europe with victory in the British Formula 3, claiming 7 race victories and out-scoring his nearest opponent, Kevin Magnussen, by 81 points. He signed-off on his F3 campaign with an excellent second place finish in the streets of Macau.

Season opener in Sepang saw Nasr grab a podium finish in his first weekend of GP2 racing. The 2009 Formula BMW Europe and the 2011 British F3 Champion drives for DAMS team. The “A” in the name stands for Rene Arnoux who is no longer associated with the French team.

The Big League

GP2 is the official feeder series and final frontier before Formula 1. Nasr is driving for the French DAMS team which last year took Romain Grosjean to the title. The opening round at Sepang saw Nasr put in an impressive top 10 qualifying effort and was sixth at the end of his maiden GP race.

The sprint race saw Nasr finish third, only 3.4s behind race winner James Calado.

In the second round at Bahrain International Circuit Nasr qualified on the second row in third place for the feature race. Fighting tooth and nail with Johnny Cecotto half way through the race, the two Latin drivers collected – and blamed – each other.

Nasr put in a spirited drive in the sprint race to come back from behind – following a stall on the formation lap – and finish 6th at the end. Both races were won by his experienced teammate Davide Valsecchi.

The GP2 cars and crew stayed behind in Bahrain following the F1 weekend for a standalone event. Past weekend Nasr was 7th on the track but a 20s penalty for a yellow flag violation put him just outside the top 10 and point paying position.

He was able to claim another top 5 finish in the sprint race and is now 8th in championship.

The speed and ease Nasr has displayed in his first few races in GP2 will surely bring him maiden win in the near future.

The same flair was displayed when Nasr raced in this year’s Daytona 24-Hours where he finished third with Michael Shank Racing, prompting the team owner, when asked if he would like to have the Brasilia native back in his team, to comment; “I will make room for him in my team even if I don’t have any.”

It is only a matter of season or two before a team owner in the top echelon of motor racing makes room for this talented driver.

 

– Nasir Hameed

   Ola and racing regards from California. 

Photos: GP2 Media


Motorsports Mondial - May 1, 2012

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f1weekly @ 2:33 PM

 

Photo: lotusf1

Lotus F1 Team completed only morning session running due to inclement weather on the first of three days testing at the delightfully located Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello in Italy. Jérôme D’Ambrosio sampled the E20 for the first time, completing 40 trouble free laps. Because of today’s weather-induced reduced running, Romain Grosjean will drive for the next two days – contrary to the original plan of Kimi Räikkönen running tomorrow and Romain only on Thursday – due to the uncertain weather predictions for the next two days.

Jérôme D’Ambrosio, Lotus F1 Team Third Driver:
“It was great to finally get my hands on the E20 and I’d like to thank the team again for giving me this opportunity. It’s a fantastic car and I felt confident with it straight away, especially in the dry. It’s a real shame we’ve been limited by the weather today in terms of what we could achieve, but we had known for a few days that rain was forecast so it’s not a big shock. We managed to complete 20 laps in both wet and dry conditions which gives me a good knowledge of the car and will help me be a better asset to the team with this experience.”

Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director:
“It was not the most ideal day, but in spite of the weather we managed to get some useful laps on the board. Of course, it was the first taste of the E20 for Jérôme who was very happy with the car including his seating position and all the controls. This is important, as it means he will be much better prepared if called upon again further into the season. The mixed conditions, running intermediates to start and then switching to the medium compound slicks, also gives us a good base line for Romain over the next two days. We’ve opted for one driver for the next two days so we can make better use of the time after losing this afternoon’s running.”

James Allison, Technical Director:
“We had a busy programme lined up for Jérôme including a fair amount of aerodynamic work, sensor measurement work and of course preparing foundations for Romain over the next two days. We’ve been able to do some of that work in the limited dry running that was available, but there is now a lot more we need to fit in to Wednesday and Thursday. The important thing is we now have base line to build on, so the next two days should be much more productive.”


Motorsports Mondial -

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f1weekly @ 8:52 AM

 

FRENCH F4 CHAMPIONSHIP 2012 A GREAT START TO THE SEASON FOR SIMON GACHET

Serious business got underway last weekend on the Ledenon circuit with the first challenge of the French F4 Championship. After some very good winter trials, which saw him constantly holding his own in the lead positions, Simon Gachet is one of the favourites.

He held his rank from the first practice where the “EUROFORMULA VOLANT” 2011 put himself forward when he made the second best time of the session. A performance he confirmed when he did it again with the second best time in the qualifiers: 0,010 seconds behind the first, raising high hopes for many victories!

From the start of race 1, Simon Gachet grabbed first place and kept it until the half mark of the race when he unfortunately span out. Back in fourth position, the “EUROFORMULA VOLANT” was determined to climb back but a small collision two laps later forced him to retire.

Avid fan of Fernando Alonso, Simon Gachet was not going to give up because he knows he has what it takes to climb onto the podium for race 2. That’s exactly what he does crossing the line in second place of a race he had livened up throughout, just ahead of Victor SENDIN, the brilliant finalist of the “EUROFORMULA VOLANT” 2011.

The outcome of the weekend in Nimes was very positive overall even though his abandon in the first race left him with a few regrets.

Simon Gachet: “I am happy with my meeting as far as the level of performance is concerned but I am disappointed that I did a 360° in the first race when I was in the lead, I lost some big points. I got the situation back under control in race 2 and that’s the most important part because I know now that I can fight for the championship and I will do all in my power to confirm that in the next race. I am really happy to be a part of the AUTOSPORT ACADEMY because I know I am going to learn a lot.”

Laurent Fradon, the director of the EUROFORMULA School, is also satisfied: “Simon has always been in the front ranks and has shown his skill at speed. His slip up in the first race is one of those normal things but he livened up both races of this meeting and we are very happy with his performance. Simon also showed he has the mental strength, he has proven that he should be among the big favourites of the French F4 2012.”

The date for the next challenge of the French F4 championship which will take place on the urban circuit of Pau is for the 12 and 13 May. Simon Gachet’s aggressive style should allow him to get into the fight for first place!


Motorsports Mondial - April 30, 2012

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f1weekly @ 9:39 AM

Photo: btccmedia

WINS FOR JACKSON & SHEDDEN AT WET & WILD THRUXTON AS PLATO HOLDS ON TO POINTS LEAD

Warwickshire’s Mat Jackson and Fife’s Gordon Shedden, the latter with a victory double, shared the wins in today’s three rain-soaked Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship races at the high-speed Thruxton circuit in Hampshire.

Oxford’s Jason Plato continues to lead the points table but only just from new second-placed man Shedden as Britain’s premier motor racing championship now heads to the spectacular Oulton Park circuit in Cheshire for its next three races on the weekend of 9/10 June.

Staffordshire’s Andrew Jordan had headed Saturday’s qualifying session to line up on pole position for the first of today’s races. But it all went wrong for the Pirtek Racing driver at the first bend as his Honda Civic tangled with Plato’s MG KX Momentum Racing MG6 and crashed.

This left the way clear for Jackson to reel off his second win of the season in his Redstone Racing Ford Focus ahead of Inverness’s Dave Newsham in his Team ES Racing.com Vauxhall Vectra and Plato. Newsham’s second place was the best of his career so far. Having started from lowly 18th and 19th spots after a disastrous qualifying session, Shedden and team-mate Matt Neal, the reigning Champion, were sixth and tenth.

Shedden was unstoppable in race two as he quickly made up positions to pass Jackson for the lead and a comfortable win. Plato took second ahead of Jackson in third. Neal was fifth. In race three Shedden and Neal then simply romped clear of the opposition to give Honda a dream 1-2 result. Third, adding to earlier fifth and fourth place results, was the impressive Frank Wrathall in his Dynojet Toyota Avensis. Plato was fourth.

As a result, Plato leaves Thruxton holding a four-point lead from the charging Shedden. Next up are Neal, Jackson and Hampshire’s Robert Collard who, on his home track, took a fourth and two seventh places today in his eBay Motors BMW.

Plato enthused: “We’ve had zero running in the wet before with the MG so to take away a big points haul on a rainy day is very pleasing. We’ve got a big test programme planned between now and Oulton which should really enable us to make big gains with the car.”

Dalgety Bay’s Shedden, who also set the fastest lap in all three races at Thruxton, added: “Two wins at Donington a fortnight ago and another two wins today… it’s been a mega weekend, even if qualifying didn’t go our way. The Civic’s chassis really came into its own today in the wet and round the fast corners but it’s still early days.”

And commented Droitwich Spa’s Neal: “It’s been a bit of a scruffy day for me so to get on the podium in the third race was a good way to finish – and of course it’s another great result for Honda. The main thing is I’ve come away still in the hunt but it’s extremely competitive out there.”

Jackson, from Henley in Arden, said: “The conditions today haven’t been ideal for the Focus which runs a slightly smaller tyre compared to the Honda and MG so I’m delighted by what we’ve achieved today. It’s all about consistent scoring and not letting the others escape at this stage.”

Meanwhile, Honda/Dynamics and the Honda Yuasa Racing Team have extended their respective leads in the Manufacturers/Constructors and HiQ Teams championships respectively. Jackson and Redstone Racing have taken over at the top of the Independent Drivers and Teams standings.

Elsewhere, two drivers were today penalised for on-track incidents. Redstone Racing’s Liam Griffin was handed a time penalty in race three which relegated him from 11th to 12th place while team-mate Aron Smith was officially reprimanded and had two penalty points added to his competition licence for an incident in the previous round at Donington Park.


Motorsports Mondial - April 29, 2012

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f1weekly @ 9:47 AM

Photo: f3euroseries

Third Hockenheim success for Prema Powerteam

In the third race of the Formula 3 Euro Series at the 4.574 kilometres long Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg, that counts towards the newly-founded FIA Formula 3 European Championship, just like the first race, a Prema Powerteam driver claimed victory. Daniel Juncadella (Prema Powerteam) crossed the finish line in first place, followed by Carlos Sainz (Carlin) and Felix Rosenqvist (Mücke Motorsport). After the first Formula 3 Euro Series race weekend, that was also attended by FIA president Jean Todt as a guest, Juncadella is first in the drivers’ standings.

Carlos Sainz wasn’t able to convert his pole position into the race lead, he had to let Daniel Juncadella and Felix Rosenqvist pull away. Once in the lead, the Prema driver immediately pulled clear from the rest of the field while Sainz initially had to make his way past Rosenqvist, who was second after the start. After that, Juncadella’s lead was already too big for Sainz to jeopardize the second victory of the weekend for his compatriot.

Guest driver Alex Lynn (Fortec Motorsport) claimed fourth place ahead of the best-placed rookie Sven Müller (Prema Powerteam) and William Buller (Carlin).

Daniel Juncadella (Prema Powerteam): “Apart from the second race, the weekend could hardly have been better, I am really happy. I was particularly quick in the early stage of the race and I was able to pull a nice gap over Carlos. Eventually, I had some problems with traction and Carlos closed up again.”

Carlos Sainz (Carlin): “Generally, I hadn’t expected that we would be this good over here, because compared to most of the other teams, we don’t have a lot of experience with the Hankook tyres. Unfortunately, I had problems at the start again. Now, we have to investigate what the reason for that was.”

Felix Rosenqvist (Mücke Motorsport): “Like all weekend, I wasn’t able to match the pace that Daniel and Carlos had. Third place was the maximum for me. In spite of the problems, I was on the podium in all the races and I have scored many points. Given these circumstances, I can be happy with that.


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