Tomorrow will be a tough 78-lap race where anything can happen so getting off to a good start, getting the pit stops right and maintaining a good level of concentration will be key.

Pedro de la Rosa: “It was the best qualifying session of the year and, without a doubt, the best lap I’ve ever done in Monaco. The car went well and we decided to do three runs with three new sets of super-softs because we already know that in Monaco the most important thing is to do one good lap. And that’s just what happened and I’m delighted about it because getting into the 18.0’s here is very good. I’m very satisfied because we got our timing right, the team knew when was the right moment to come out in order to avoid traffic and I accomplished my job, which was to do the best lap possible. I must admit I took some risks, on some laps in the last sector I even almost closed my eyes, but I had to attack and did just that. With one more tenth we would have also overtaken Glock but the truth is that we’re very happy with how the day went”.

Narain Karthikeyan: “We carried out a different strategy to Pedro, and went for two runs when maybe three would have been better. The positive note is that we have one more set of new option tyres for tomorrow’s race and we have to get the best out of them. Pedro and I have been quite closely matched all weekend and I’m sure we’ll have a good pace tomorrow. Although, if it rains it will be a bit of a lottery. Whatever happens, we have to be ready to make the most of any opportunity that may arise”.

Toni Cuquerella, Technical Director: “The minor upgrades which we’ve brought to Monaco have helped us to achieve the best qualifying result in the history of HRT Formula 1 Team by finishing Q1 103.6% off the best time. Besides, we also managed to finish much closer to our main rivals, which is very important. The red flag forced us to alter our strategy; with Pedro we decided to switch to two short runs, whilst with Narain we continued with our original plan and did one run. We got our timing right since we were on the track at the right time and you could consider Pedro’s lap to be perfect. It’s a shame that Narain was unable to set a similar time but tomorrow he should have a good pace in the race. It will be an open race and I’m sure that we will be competitive and will fight to gain positions”.

The Frenchman, 36, replaces Hiroaki Ishiura, who withdrew from the race earlier this month due to a back complaint. He completes the driver line-up for the #8 car which already includes Anthony Davidson and Sébastien Buemi.

TOYOTA Racing completed its evaluation of Stéphane in testing this week at Paul Ricard and, as expected from a very experienced endurance driver, he showed the speed, consistency and team work required.

Stéphane, who has finished on the podium three times at Le Mans, is returning to TOYOTA Motorsport GmbH (TMG) after 10 years, following his spell as Formula 1 test driver in 2002.

Yoshiaki Kinoshita, Team President: “We are very pleased to recruit a driver of Stéphane’s quality and experience to TOYOTA Racing. He has a great knowledge of Le Mans and a proven track record, including two second-place finishes, so we are confident he will be a strong addition to our driver line-up. Several team members remember Stéphane very well from his previous time at TMG and we are all looking forward to working with him again.”

Stéphane Sarrazin: “I am really happy and proud to get this chance to participate at Le Mans for TOYOTA Racing. I have good memories of working with TMG; they work very hard and it is a real pleasure to be back. It has been quite intense this week to become familiar with the team and the car, but I have received great support and I feel we have made good progress. It is a steep learning curve with a completely new technology and we will no doubt learn a lot this season. It’s a new and exciting challenge for me.”

Stéphane drove the TS030 HYBRID for the first time this week at Paul Ricard, joining his new team-mates in the #8 car, as well as the #7 line-up of Alex Wurz, Nicolas Lapierre and Kazuki Nakajima.

The four-day session began on Tuesday with an evaluation of performance items and set-ups before the team’s third successful endurance test with the TS030 HYBRID.

Pascal Vasselon, Technical Director: “This test marked the end of our pre-Le Mans programme so our next chance to drive the TS030 HYBRID will be at La Sarthe itself next month. Clearly, due to the accident we had in April, our preparations have not been ideal but the time for regrets is over. We have made the best of the situation we faced. Le Mans is undoubtedly a great challenge for TOYOTA Racing in its first year but we can be satisfied with our preparations and we are certainly looking forward to the task ahead.”

TOYOTA Racing’s next appearance comes at the Circuit de la Sarthe on 3 June for the one-day test to prepare for the Le Mans 24 Hours.

Starting from pole, the 23-year-old led from start to finish to pick up his second F2 win since Monza last year. He was followed home by championship leader Luciano Bacheta with Christopher Zanella picking up the final podium spot after a superb drive from seventh on the grid.

The Romanian led as the lights went out with Kevin Mirocha quickly getting up alongside Bacheta with the Brit just managing to hold him off around Turn 1 while the Pole slotted into P3. Just behind, a slow starting Daniel McKenzie lost his third-place grid slot to Swiss teenager Mathéo Tuscher with Zanella and Alex Fontana following closely.

At the front Marinescu tried hard to pull away but was unable to shake his mirrors of Bacheta in a repeat of the battle we saw at Silverstone back in April during the opening rounds. Meanwhile, McKenzie was coming under increasing pressure from Zanella, allowing the top four to edge away. A few laps later McKenzie was forced to succumb to the pressure of Zanella with the 2011 F2 runner-up going around the outside at Turn 1 before cutting back through Turn 3 for fifth spot.

In clear air, Zanella was then able to push and catch the back of Tuscher who in turn was right up with Mirocha. Tuscher then tried to pass around the outside of Turn 1 but Mirocha gave him no room as the two ran very wide allowing Zanella to join the fight. The three then went three-a-breast into Turn 1 soon after with somehow the three emerging in the same order, all the while allowing the leading pair to pull away.

Zanella then got the better of his fellow countryman over the start/finish straight and now turning his attention to chasing down Mirocha for the final podium spot which he did shortly after at Turn 2.

Bacheta had no reply to Marinescu’s pace though with the gap now more than three seconds, leaving the Brit to settle for second. Mirocha and Tuscher completed the top five with Fontana in sixth and Chinese racer David Zhu in seventh.

McKenzie eventually crossed the line eighth after losing out to Zhu in the closing stages while German Markus Pommer endured a difficult home event to only manage ninth. Hector Hurst continued his unbeaten points run with 10th with Plamen Kralev narrowly missing out on a points score in P11.

Speaking afterwards Marinescu said: “It feels really good! I really missed the podium at the last race so it’s nice to be back. Last year I also missed out on the podium with a difficult weekend and I feel it’s where I lost the championship so it’s great to win here and was confident I could do it.”

Tomorrow’s second qualifying session gets under way at 9:00 (local time) tomorrow with full coverage and live timing on the F2 website.

Team Quotes

Heikki Kovalainen, car 20, chassis CT01-#3: “That was a good session for me. I’ve had a good balance all weekend and I went into this session knowing I could push. I’d said to my engineer before quali that I thought we could get into Q2 and we were very close – if it hadn’t been for one of the Marussia cars slowing me up in the final sector we’d have been there, but it’s not a huge issue, that’s what happens in Monaco.

“Around here I think tomorrow we have the car to be able to fight the cars ahead throughout the race. So far this season we’ve been able to stay with them for pretty much most of the first two stints, but because it’s a shorter lap here we’d like to be able to fight for the whole race. Whether it’s dry, wet or in between, it doesn’t really matter to me – whatever happens I’m looking forward to it.”

Vitaly Petrov, car 21, chassis CT01-#2: “That was pretty good – the car’s felt good every time we’ve been out and I think we probably got as much as we could out of it today. We had an issue with KERS this morning so we had to shut that off for quali, so that obviously cost me some time, but we worked around that and pushed as hard as we could in Q1 so it worked out as well as we could have hoped.

“The red flag obviously disrupted everybody and even though I’d got a lap in before the session started it wasn’t a quick one. When I went out again the second set of tyres didn’t feel quite as good, but all in all it’s been a positive weekend so far. Tomorrow will be exciting and I’m looking forward to it. We’ve already seen that people can make mistakes here so we want to make sure we’re there to take advantage of whatever happens on track and fight to the flag.”

Mark Smith, Technical Director: “This has been a good weekend for us so far, and today’s performance is another step in the right direction for us. Heikki put in another very good lap and had it not been for traffic he would probably have been into Q2. On Vitaly’s car we had a KERS problem at the end of FP3 so we had to switch that off for qualifying and that clearly cost him some time. Despite that he drove very well and continues to reward the team with maximum effort every time he’s in the car.

“Tomorrow is a chance for us to race the cars ahead for longer than we have been able to so far this season, so both drivers and the whole team are up for the challenge. The weather could play a major factor here and we are prepared for whatever it throws at us – hopefully we see an exciting race and we will aim to get both cars to the chequered flag to capitalise on whatever goes on up ahead.”

Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: “I am delighted to be back in Monaco and to see the whole team in such good spirits. We have increased the size of the QPR logo on the cars this weekend and I am very pleased to see that the same fighting spirit that helped the football club retain their Premier League status is alive and well in the Caterham garage. When the team sees both drivers giving everything they have got behind the wheel it makes the long hours and the hard work, here on track and back at the factory, all worth it.

“Despite the fact Heikki was held up by the Marussia we keep edging closer to the long-term goals. We have the right people in the factory and in the race team, the foundations have been laid for us to maintain the progress that has seen us close the gap to the midfield to the point where we are talking about Q2 in Monaco as a realistic proposition and we have the hunger to succeed. I do not want to make any predictions for the race tomorrow, but in our two previous seasons here we have performed extremely well, so that has to be the aim for race day. We have two drivers who know how to mix it in the midfield pack and the engineers and mechanics to use pitstop strategy to the best effect, so I would like to see us have a problem free race and who knows what might happen.”

Facu Regalia will race his second meeting in the European F3 Open next weekend, being one of the championships where he is contesting for Campos Racing. The young Argentinean driver made a good debut in Portugal last month, because he was 2nd and 3rd in qualifying sessions and both races went in a positive way too finishing in 6th and 4th respectively.

“I am working as hard as I can for next German venue. We made very interesting progress during our two-day test at Circuit de Valencia. Our feedback was very good and I am sure that those set-up details will be quite useful at Nürburgring. In addition, my new engineer is a very experienced man and without doubts he will be playing a key role for success”, Regalia explained. Nürburgring, Regalia added, “is a track which I like. From my debut there during my European Formula BMW days has been very suitable for my driving style and it will be another morale booster for everyone else at Campos Racing. Both my team and I will try our best for leaving Germany happy with our results. Our aim is to come closer to overall classification leader and, if we can clinch a podium finish, even better”, 20 years old driver finally explained.

Track activity will start on Friday with two free practice sessions at 9.10 and 13.25. On Saturday Qualifying 1 is scheduled at 9.55, and it will set the starting grid for race one at 16.35 (consisting of 16 laps). On Sunday another qualifying scheduled very early in the morning, 9.30, while heat 2 will start at 11.50 (same duration).

As opposed to previous years, this season there will be two Young Driver Tests, the traditional one celebrated in Abu Dhabi and a new one taking place earlier in the year just after the British Grand Prix. Each team could choose which one to attend and HRT Formula 1 Team has leaned towards the Young Driver Test taking place in Silverstone on the 10th, 11th and 12th of July.

With these tests, the 24 year-old Chinese driver will continue to make progress in his programme, which in the last months has included tests with cars from different categories, such as World Series or Formula 3, in Jerez and Valencia, whilst also carrying out tests on the simulator. The team considers him to be sufficiently prepared to take the next step and has complete faith in Ma Qing Hua’s capabilities.

The testing programme for the Shanghai-born driver at the Young Driver Test in Silverstone, just like the length of these, will be specified and confirmed further ahead.

Ma Qing Hua: “I’m very happy and fortunate to have the opportunity to drive a Formula 1 car at the Young Driver Test and do it with HRT Formula 1 Team. I’ve dreamed of this all my life and am aware of the great responsibility that comes with it as I’ll be the first Chinese driver ever to take part in the Young Driver Test. I’m very grateful towards HRT Formula 1 Team for this opportunity and the faith they have shown in me and I won’t let them down. I’m going to be the first Chinese driver at the Young Driver Test but I hope not to be the last one and for many to follow in my footsteps, thanks to the team’s driver development programme which is being very rewarding for me. I hope that with the backing of all my compatriots, both in China and elsewhere, the commitment and link between my nation and the pinnacle of motorsport grows stronger every day”.

Luis Pérez-Sala, Team Principal: “Over the last few weeks we’ve been working with Ma, as a part of our scheduled development programme, at the Valencia and Jerez circuits with different cars and we consider that he is ready to take part in the Young Driver Test that will take place in Silverstone. We’re pleased to be giving him this opportunity in Formula 1 and for the first member of our driver development programme to start accomplishing his targets. Ma is a young driver who has experience in different categories but who hasn’t perhaps had the continuity which he deserves. He’s very professional, with a positive attitude, he has a feel for the car and, what’s most important, he’s quick. We’ve got faith in his quality and are confident that he will do a good job in Silverstone”.

Philippe Dumas, the team manager of the reigning world championship team announced it at Nogaro: the Hexis-McLarens must be in a position to give their drivers a podium finish in Navarra. It’s a realistic objective as the English GT came fourth in France and in Belgium. However, with the event concentrated into two days there will be no room for mistakes over the weekend. The slightest incident could prove very costly, so Hexis has stacked all the odds in its favour to tackle the Spanish round in the right frame of mind.

“Since Zolder, we’ve been able to work a lot and rest a little” says Dumas. “The team’s in tip-top form to aim for its first podium finish with a McLaren. We’ve optimised a host of details in the workshop. At Motorland the aim was to test new upgrades. The areas of development concern the cooling as well as braking and in particular, the ABS. This only goes to show the close relationship between Hexis and Mclaren GT. We really do work hand in hand and all the teams that race McLaren GT 12C GT3s will benefit from our technical steps forward.”

Hexis already knows the Navarra circuit as it has hosted the Spanish round of the FIA GT1 World Championship over the past two years, and the French team came second there in 2010. Last winter the nos 1 and 2 McLarens racked up the kilometers on the 3,933-km layout. So everything points to a positive weekend in Spain. Viva Navarra!

Since the event will take place in conjunction with the FIA GT3 European Championship the schedule will be tight:

Saturday, 26 May 2012

09:00 – 10:20 a.m. Free Practice Session 1

12:10 – 1:30 p.m. Free Practice Session 2

3:15 – 4:15 p.m. Qualifying Session

7:45 – 8:45 p.m. Qualifying Race

Sunday, 27 May 2012

09:00 – 09:30 a.m. Warm Up

12:45 – 1:45 p.m. Championship Race

There were as many as five CRG drivers on the World KF1 Championship grid at Suzuka. From the very beginning of the meeting, the Italians Felice Tiene and Davide Forè were in the lead pack behind the wheels of their CRGs powered by BMB engines prepared by KVS. Felice and Davide, who were fourth and fifth respectively after the heats, crossed the finish line shoulder to shoulder in those same positions in Race 1, with a gap of just 0.02 seconds between the two of them! With his sixth place, Jordon Lennox-Lamb completed this excellent overall performance on the part of the CRG team.

In Race 2, Forè was involved in a collision, while his team mate Tiene continued his attack and claimed the third step of the podium. CRG was also extremely satisfied with the recovery from 16th to 5th staged by an excellent Japanese driver, Kenta Yamashita.

The second day began with the best auspices for CRG thanks to Tiene’s first place after the qualifying heats. Felice fought for victory right to the end in Race 3 and claimed his second podium in a row by finishing second. Three CRG drivers made it again to the top 6, with Davide Forè in fifth place just ahead of Jordon Lennox-Lamb.

CRG concluded its weekend in beauty in Race 4, with Davide Forè’s triumph. But it had been Felice Tiene who had dominated most of the race, although an incident on the last lap stopped him despite his determination. Waiting in ambush, Forè used all his experience to lead his CRG-BMB to victory. “I would like to thank my team for putting their trust in me and for their huge technical expertise”, said the multiple World Champion. Tiene and Forè are now third and fourth respectively in the general classification and will certainly fight to improve their standings during the final round, to be held in Macao in October.

Group A

02. Josef Kral

04. Felipe Nasr

06. Nathanaël Berthon

08. Jolyon Palmer

10. Esteban Gutiérrez

12. Giedo van der Garde

14. Stefano Coletti

16. Stéphane Richelmi

18. Fabrizio Crestani

20. Ricardo Teixeira

22. Simon Trummer

24. Victor Guerin

26. Max Chilton

Group B

01. Johnny Cecotto

03. Davide Valsecchi

05. Fabio Leimer

07. Marcus Ericsson

09. James Calado

11. Rodolfo Gonzalez

15. Fabio Onidi

17. Julian Leal

19. Giancarlo Serenelli

21. Tom Dillmann

23. Luiz Razia

25. Nigel Melker

27. Rio Haryanto

The fast Italian driver and the young Argentine have worked hard to be more competitive ahead of the German round of the championship, focusing both on mechanical details and tyres as well as on testing different setups on their supercar from Maranello, studying carefully the 2012 updates. So, the aabar Abu Dhabi Villorba racing with Ferrari Team returns to the GT Open wothe the goal of closing the gap between the drivers and teams ahead in the standings, and willing to be back among the main contenders in the races, even for the overall podium.

“The round at Nurburgring – says Amadio – is one of the most challenging of the season, as we do not know the track very well and above all it is Porsches’ home race. But after our test session at Paul Ricard I am confident that we can manage a positive weekend trying to regain valuable points in the standings.”

“We are facing a new circuit – says Montermini – and there will be some new aggressive rivals. The level of competition keeps on rising and there is a lot of work to do, but for sure we will not pull back.”

“We obviously have very happy memories of Monaco after taking our first team win here last year, and now we arrive here on the back of our race win in Barcelona two weeks ago so we are optimistic about being able to challenge for the top step of the podium all weekend.  We know we have the equipment to do a good job and what driver doesn’t love racing in Monaco! Giedo’s previous results here have been strong which is very encouraging so now we must give our two drivers a competitive car and see if we can get them both into positions where they can score points for the team.”

Rodolfo Gonzalez: “I love this track. It is quite demanding and it is always a challenging race so I am really focused on doing a good job here. So far we have been a bit unlucky this season but I think we have a strong car and the atmosphere in the team is good so let’s hope we see both Caterham Racing cars up there in qualifying and then go on to finish in the points.”

Giedo van der Garde: “I quite like Monaco as it is always a spectacular race one way or another! Last year I was in pole position and the year before I finished second so I am looking forward to getting started here and keeping up that record. Barcelona was a good weekend for us where we were strong all weekend, so hopefully we can bring that sort of performance level here. The team had a good car here last year when they won the race with Valsecchi so hopefully we can do the same.

“First of all we need a little luck in qualifying. The good thing is we will do qualifying in two groups this year, but still we need a free, clean and tidy lap to put together a quick time – all these things count enormously in qualifying and here, more than anywhere else, you have to start at the front to win the race. But I am feeling quite confident so I think we can do that. Barcelona was a good push for me and the team so hopefully we can produce the same results here. ”

Caterham Racing Chief Race Engineer Humphrey Corbett: “It’s good to be back in the land of dreams! I have been racing here for around 30 years and I love the atmosphere of Monaco. It might be a spectacular venue but the team will prepare as normal for this race. We had a quick turn-around after Barcelona but luckily we had no real issues so we have come here feeling quietly confident. We won here last year so we have a lot of useful data from our 2011 set-ups, as well as the experience we have from this year, so I think we are as well prepared as we could be.

“At this race there is a new rule where we have the freedom to swap to different tyre compounds when we choose, which will certainly make a difference for race two as we have the option of a pit stop. Otherwise it is business as usual. Hopefully the weather will be kind to us and it will stay dry, allowing us to get out there, have a good clean race and score some more of those all important points.”

“Miles and Meals”, a limited edition gift for guests and friends of Pirelli, is a playful way of illustrating the similarities between tyres and risotto, as well as compounds and ingredients. It’s an alternative look at how the world of tyres works, bringing out the lighter side of life in the motorhome.

“Making a good tyre is like making a good risotto,” writes Maurizio Boiocchi at the start of the book: Pirelli’s research and development director and the ‘father’ of the Formula One P Zero and Cinturato tyres.

The book opens by drawing a parallel between kitchen recipes and tyre compounds. Both are the result of top quality ingredients and the harmonious balance between them, as well as constant checking, years of experience and undivided attention to the end client: whether it’s a team using tyres or a privileged guest in the motorhome. Another element in common is human know-how. The touch of an expert is crucial in the kitchen and no less vital when it comes to dealing with the cutting-edge technology that that characterises the production of modern competition tyres. This essential element is reflected by one key word in the book’s subheading, “handcrafted”, and also by the photographs that depict Pirelli’s engineers measuring, analysing and preparing the tyres for competition.

“Miles and Meals” brings together the recipes of Pirelli’s head chef Fabrizio Tanfani, overseen by hospitality manager Cristian Staurenghi. The book takes in some of the best dishes to emerge from their kitchen, race after race across all four corners of the world. Accompanying the recipes – all naturally based on Italian cuisine, but often influenced by the flavours of the countries visited during the year – are strikingly original photographs of the ingredients in a Formula One context, particularly when it comes to pasta.

So the agnolotti are in the shape of racing cars going head to head around a corner, the paccheri are single-seaters driving down a straight flanked by tyres made out of tomatoes and pine nuts, sprinkled sea salt is a gravel trap, a basil leaf is a green light, and even an octopus takes on the form of a mechanic with eight arms – ready to launch into the fastest pit stop imaginable.

Each recipe is accompanied by anecdotes that tell the story of every circuit from the point of view of the tyres and of the kitchen. So we find out that Australian Angus beef is the best possible choice for a typically Italian steak, in the markets ofDelhiit’s possible to find plenty of ingredients normally used in Tuscan cuisine, if you look hard enough, and that avocado can be the best accompaniment to a Mediterranean seafood salad.

There is also plenty of behind the scenes stories and atmosphere from the Pirelli motorhome and the company’s engineers. This takes in moments of relaxation such as the ‘Italian Sunday’ – a short break originally designed to beat the equatorial heat of Malaysia – to the everyday hard work of meetings, strategy analysis, data collection and calculation of camber and set-up for each race.

Tiago Monteiro can switch to the second half of the season with pride and peace of mind after conquering 5th place in the first race. In so doing, he secured 10 precious points for the drivers’ and constructors’ championships. In the second race, the driver of the SEAT León #18 car was as brilliant, but less successful since a flat tyre forced him to retire while he was battling with several rivals. At the time of his DNF, in the 5th lap, he had just recorded the 2nd fastest lap of the race.

Tiago Monteiro is once again satisfied with his performances in qualifying and in the races. “It was an important weekend for us. We managed to stand out in the leading pack despite the handicaps we had to deal with,” the Portuguese Seat Sun Red driver declared. “In terms of performance, the end result is positive; our race pace was good in particular. I was attacking from the first lap to the last lap in the first race, to guarantee this 5th place finish for the team, which is a fine reward.”

The result in the second race could have been as good as the first one, but a puncture forced the the Portuguese driver out of the race. “I knew that it was going to be tough managing the tyres. Despite everything, without this puncture in the fastest and longest corner of the circuit, I could have tried to equal my result from the first race.”

The next FIA WTCC races will be particularly important for Tiago Monteiro, since they will be contestd on Portugal’s Autodromo Internacional do Algarve, June 2 and 3. Tiago does not yet know if he will have the new 1.6 Liter Turbo engine. “Regardless of which version of the SEAT León we will have, we will prepare for these races with the greatest professionalism and the same determination, trying to obtain the best result within our reach. Logically, racing in front of my fans, I would like to have the new engine, but if that is not the case, it won’t effect my motivation at all.”

The three Chevrolet drivers started Race 2 from 8th, 9th and 10th in the reversed grid, but were able to climb to the top three positions by mid-race thanks to perfectly executed overtakes and the Cruzes which were performing excellently on the fast Austrian track.

In lap 8, though, Alain Menu spun off the track at high speed with a puncture in his front left tire, impacting violently against the crash barrier but escaping uninjured. He was followed a few moments later by MacDowall, in a Bamboo Engineering Cruze, with an identical problem.

Despite lifting off the pace, Frenchman Yvan Muller and Briton Rob Huff, who were leading the race, suffered the same fate in the final corners of the last lap. Muller ended in the gravel but regained control and limped home in 8th. Huff managed to resist the pressure from BMW driver Tom Coronel, but Stefano D’Aste took advantage of that duel to take his first ever WTCC victory.

Earlier in the day, the three RML run Cruzes, who had qualified in the three top positions, dominated Race 1 with Rob Huff clinching his second win of the season ahead of Muller and Menu.

While Chevrolet further extends its lead in the Manufacturers’ championship, Huff gained a position and now lies in 2nd place, eight points behind Muller who leads the Drivers’ standings. Menu is in third place on 175 points.

At the tradition-steeped track in the south of Great Britain, the BMW driver crossed the finish line in second place and is second in the DTM standings, 25 points down on Paffet. Mike Rockenfeller was the best-placed Audi driver in third. Thus, the 28-year old scored his best result of the season to date, just like reigning DTM champion Martin Tomczyk (BMW). At the 1.929 kilometres long track, the shortest circuit on the DTM schedule, the Hankook competition tyres showed a perfect performance. At the twisty track, the Ventus Race provided massive traction and convinced with a high level of consistency. Therefore, all drivers were able to drive very long and fast stints, without the tyres wearing out. The many stones, thrown onto the track by the cars, were dealt with by the surface of the Hankook competition tyres without any problems, just like the kerbstones.

Unscheduled pit stops denied BMW the podium finish it looked like getting for long periods of the race. The works-supported teams – BMW Team Schubert and BMW Team Vita4One – showed fighting spirit at the endurance classic, but were hit by several set-backs. Victory in a thrilling race went to Audi Sport Team Phoenix.

The number 20 car – also run by BMW Team Schubert – was also unlucky. Running in second place, the car rolled into the garage with drivetrain issues. The BMW Z4 GT3 rejoined the race 43 minutes later. Dirk Adorf (DE), Claudia Hürtgen (DE), Dominik Schwager (DE) and Nico Bastian (DE) ended the race in eighth.

One place further back was the BMW Z4 GT3 of BMW Team Vita4One, driven by BMW Motorsport test and development driver Marco Wittmann (DE), Jens Klingmann (DE), Pedro Lamy (PT) and Richard Göransson (SE). The second BMW Team Vita4One car experienced the perils of the “Green Hell” at close hand. The number 17 car, with Lamy, Mathias Lauda (AT), Ricardo van der Ende (NL) and Frank Kechele (DE) alternating in the cockpit, retired after a night-time collision in Pflanzgarten.

After the successful debut in the DTM in 2011, Hankook has extended its commitment to other motorsport categories as well and has become the official tyre partner of the Italian Superstars and GT Sprint International Series for this year as well. The top-class Italian series, organised by FG Group, are racing at legendary circuits like Monza, Imola and Spa. The undisputed highlight will be the finale at Sentul (Indonesia). “The most popular Italian series with top drivers and a large fan community are the perfect platform to display the potential of our Ventus Race. As a motorsports country, Italy perfectly suits our motto Driving Emotion”, sais Manfred Sandbichler.

The Swedish TTA – Racing Elite League is racing with Hankook Ventus tyres from this season as well. “With our involvement in the Swedish touring car series, we want to increase our presence in motorsport in the Scandinavian market. Moreover, the philosophy of the TTA of steadily fine-tuning the cars with innovative materials and designs, perfectly matches our own corporate strategy”, Manfred Sandbichler sums up. The specially developed touring cars look like “real” road-going cars, but underneath, they have high-end materials and powerful engines under the bonnet. The street races in Göteborg in a former harbour area that has been turned into a circuit are the highlights for the TTA – Racing Elite League.

At the start of the race it was however Repsol Honda Team’s Dani Pedrosa who got off to one of his trademark starts followed closely by teammate Casey Stoner. Their lead was short lived, as Lorenzo charged past the pair and instantly pulled out a gap. Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Cal Crutchlow also made a good start in fourth, followed by a surging Rossi in fifth.

It was heartache for the French fans from the beginning as Power Electronics Aspar’s local rider Randy de Puniet dropped his bike on the grid, and had to head out on his spare one. Near the front, Rossi soon moved past Crutchlow to take fourth, with Dovizioso following suit almost instantly. Avintia Blusens’ Iván Silva’s race was ended early as he fell foul of the wet conditions, crashing out of the race in the opening stages.

With Lorenzo building a three second lead, Stoner pushed past Pedrosa to chase down his championship rival. Pedrosa seemed to struggling on the wet surface, with Rossi capitalising on this to take third with 21 laps left. The Tech3 pair passed Pedrosa even further down the order as they looked to hunt down Rossi.

Towards the back, Lorenzo’s teammate Ben Spies was struggling and had a wobble at the end of turn two, shortly after which he entered the pits. Cardion AB Racing’s Karel Abraham retired with 17 laps to go, with NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s replacement rider Chris Vermeulen also having to come in for a helmet change.

As Lorenzo was maintaining his lead around the three-second mark ahead of Stoner, it was the ensuing tussle for third between Crutchlow, Dovizioso and Rossi that was providing some breath-taking overtaking in horrific conditions. Ten laps before the end it was misery for Crutchlow as he lost the front in the first chicane, leaving the two Italians to fight it out for the final podium spot, with Rossi taking third just two corners later. The Brit managed to restart his bike and re-join in eighth. Meanwhile, Lorenzo had extended his lead to six seconds at the front with Stoner a further four seconds ahead of Rossi.

With five laps to go Stoner was held up slightly by Avintia’s Yonny Hernandez, who was being lapped, allowing Rossi to get to within half a second of the Australian world champion. Two laps later, Dovizioso crashed out of fourth tying to stick with the pair, while down the field Came IodaRacing Project’s Danilo Petrucci crashed out of 11th.

The last three laps gave MotoGP fans a racing delight, as old adversaries Stoner and Rossi swapped positions throughout. It was however Rossi who looked back to his old self as he passed Stoner in the first chicane on the last lap, after which he pulled out a lead big enough to secure second.

At the end it was Lorenzo who took the chequered flag to take an eight-point lead at the top of the championship ahead of Stoner, who came home in third. Pedrosa managed fourth, while LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl recorded his best ever result in fifth, ahead or Rossi’s teammate Nicky Hayden. Dovizioso, who managed to re-join after crashing, finished seventh ahead of his teammate Crutchlow, while Pramac Racing’s Héctor Barberá and San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Álvaro Bautista completed the top ten. Paul Bird Motorsport’s James Ellison put in a great performance to finish as top CRT in 11th.

Spengler was not the only BMW driver to add to his points tally at the 1.929-kilometre “Brands Hatch Circuit”. Martin Tomczyk (DE, BMW M Performance Parts M3 DTM) finished fourth – his best result of the season – and leaves Great Britain with another 12 points to his name. Tomczyk also clocked the fastest lap of the race (42.138 seconds) on lap 57.

Spengler got off to a flyer from third place on the grid and immediately moved into second, before settling in to be within striking distance of Paffett throughout the entire race. With the race drawing to a close, however, the Canadian was forced to start looking over his shoulder. The front splitter of the BMW Bank M3 DTM was damaged on the kerb in turn one, preventing Spengler from pushing his car to the limit over the final few laps. Third-placed Audi driver Mike Rockenfeller (DE) was closing the gap with every lap, but Spengler was able to hold on to second. Tomczyk dropped two positions at the start, but quickly moved back into fifth thanks to overtaking manoeuvres against Mattias Ekström (SE) and Adrien Tambay (FR). The BMW Team RMG driver gained another position over the course of the race, courtesy of a good strategy and quick pit stops.

Jens Marquardt (BMW Motorsport Director): “I am very happy again with our third outing of the 2012 season. This is the first time we have brought a DTM car to Brands Hatch, and we found our feet very quickly. Our drivers were immediately able to compete with the front-runners. Second and fourth achieved by Bruno and Martin are fantastic results. Bruno once again showed nerves of steel and Martin was also extremely quick and produced a flawless drive. The last few laps were particularly nerve-wracking, but our drivers and teams did a super job and all deserve a huge compliment. We have a very good record so far, with three podium finishes from three races. We barely have time to catch our breath now before the next race in Spielberg in 14 days. We have found a good rhythm in the DTM, so I hope that we will be as quick in Austria as we were here. However, the first few races have already shown that the 2012 DTM pack is reshuffled at every circuit. The three manufacturers are on a par with each other, making it all but impossible to predict the race weekends. This is the best possible scenario for the fans, as motor racing can hardly get any more exciting and evenly balanced than in the DTM.”

The race in detail  Air temperature: 12.0 °C  Asphalt temperature: 14.4 °C  Spectators during the race weekend: 27,000

Start   Paffett takes the lead from Spengler, Rockenfeller, Albuquerque, Tambay. Vietoris drops back.

Lap 1   Tomczyk has overtaken Ekström and Vietoris and is now sixth.

Lap 2   Farfus also past Vietoris, the German is now ninth.

Lap 4   Tomczyk attacks Tambay for fifth and gets past at Clearways. Ekström goes past as well.

Lap 5   Paffett is leading from Spengler, Rockenfeller, Albuquerque, Tomczyk, Ekström, Tambay, Farfus, Vietoris and Mortara.

Lap 8   Tomczyk puts the pressure on Albuquerque in the battle for fourth.

Lap 9   Priaulx into the pits.

Lap 12  Priaulx into the pits again – retires due to a damaged front splitter.

Lap 20  Gary Paffett has a margin of 1.7 seconds over Spengler. Rockenfeller is third, then Albuquerque, 4.4 seconds behind the German.

Lap 24  Tomczyk, Vietoris, Scheider, Werner into the pits.

Lap 25  Albuquerque into the pits.

Lap 26  Ekström into the pits.

Lap 27  Schumacher into the pits.

Lap 28  Molina, Frey into the pits.

Lap 29  Farfus, Mortara into the pits.

Lap 30  Tambay into the pits.

Lap 38  Rockenfeller, Hand, Wickens, Merhi into the pits.

Lap 39  Spengler, Vietoris into the pits.

Lap 40  Ekström into the pits.

Lap 41  Paffett into the pits.

Lap 42  Green and Coulthard are the only two drivers yet to come in.

Lap 43  Coulthard into the pits.

Lap 46  Farfus into the pits.

Lap 47  Green, Tambay, Scheider into the pits.

Lap 48  Frey into the pits.

Lap 51  Tomczyk into the pits.

Lap 52  Albuquerque, Werner into the pits.

Lap 53  Schumacher into the pits.

Lap 55  Merhi into the pits. Schumacher gets a drive through for speeding in the pit lane.

Lap 56  Schumacher comes in for his penalty. Scheider, Wolff into the pits. Scheider retires due to engine misfires.

Lap 58  Green into the pits.

Lap 59  Wickens into the pits.

Lap 60  Spengler, Rockenfeller into the pits

Lap 61  Mortara into the pits.

Lap 62  Paffett into the pits.

Lap 63  Hand, Coulthard into the pits.

Lap 67  Molina into the pits.

Lap 69  All drivers having completed their mandatory pit stops, Paffett is leading from Spengler, Rockenfeller, Tomczyk, Ekström, Vietoris, Mortara, Albuquerque, Molina and Green.

Lap 73  Molina overtakes Albuquerque under braking for Paddock Hill Bend and is now eighth.

Lap 79  In second place, Spengler is 1.4 seconds down on Paffett, 5.5 seconds ahead of Rockenfeller.

Lap 81  Molina attacks Mortara and gets past, he is now seventh.

Lap 81  Wolff into the pits – retires.

Lap 85  The splitter on Bruno Spengler’s car is broken at the left front side. Albuquerque locks up under braking, Green gets past and is now ninth.

Lap 89  Rockenfeller is visibly closing up on Spengler.

Lap 95 Green has overtaken Mortara and is now eighth.

Lap 96 Tomczyk is closing up on Rockenfeller, who is stuck behind Spengler.

Final lapPaffett wins in front of Spengler, Rockenfeller, Tomczyk.

At the start, Daniel Juncadella took the lead, but his team-mate Raffaele Marciello took over first place following Juncadella’s drive-throgh penalty. The 17-year old, who is supported by the Ferrari Formula 1 team, was able to pull clear from Will Buller more and more and celebrated a dominant win. Juncadella dropped back to 14th after his penalty, but still moved up to finish eighth with a competitive drive.

Raffaele Marciello (Prema Powerteam): “In this race, I had a little bit of luck, because had it not been for Daniel’s drive-through penalty, I certainly wouldn’t have been able to overtake him. This victory is great and I am also happy that I am now only one point down on Daniel in the Formula 3 Euro Series. My car was great and once again, my Prema Powerteam has done an excellent job.”

William Buller (Carlin): “This weekend wasn’t bad. I was already quick in qualifying, but unfortunately, I was docked five places on the grid for race one because of a pit lane speed infringement. I am all the more happy having scored my maiden podium finish in the Formula 3 Euro Series.”

Michael Lewis (Prema Powerteam): “Being on the podium twice in a weekend is a good result. From now on, it can continue like this.”

They are manufactured at Pirelli’s state of the art motorsport facility in Izmit, just outside the Turkish capital of Istanbul. During the production process, each tyre is allocated a barcode provided by the FIA (the sport’s governing body). This barcode is the tyre’s ‘passport’, which is embedded firmly into the structure during the vulcanisation process and cannot be swapped. The code contains all the details of each tyre, making it traceable throughout the race weekend with Pirelli’s RTS (Racing Tyre System) software, which can read and update all the data.

Once at the circuit, the tyres are then allocated to the teams in strict compliance with the list that has been previously prepared by the FIA. The bar codes allow both the FIA and Pirelli to ensure that the right teams, according to the regulations, are using the correct tyres.

Each team is allocated a Pirelli engineer, who works exclusively with that team for all of the year, but the database that every engineer works off allows the engineer to see only information relating specifically to his or her team over the weekend, so that individual strategies are not compromised. Development data is overseen by Pirelli’s senior engineers, who monitor all the information in order to assist the research team in charge of shaping the next generation of tyres.

As Pirelli’s motorsport director Paul Hembery points out: “Even if we wanted to – which we certainly don’t – there is no way that we could influence which tyres are being allocated to which teams, as this is a job taken care of entirely by the FIA once the tyres have left the Izmit factory. It is just another way that impartiality can be ensured among all the teams, which is a huge priority for us as exclusive tyre supplier. The way that our team engineers work also respects this confidentiality, which is always of paramount importance.”

Countdown to a Grand Prix:

Before the grand prix:

•   Pirelli, with the approval from the FIA, selects the tyres for the race – a softer compound plus a harder compound.

•   Production of the tyre allocation begins at the Izmit factory in Turkey. We supply approximately 1800 Formula One tyres for each race; about 700 more if the race is a GP2 round as well as 600 for GP3.

Two weeks before the grand prix:

•   For European events the tyres for the race are transported by road from Izmit to Didcot: a journey of approximately 3100 kilometres that takes three days.

•   The tyres arrive at the Didcot facility and have their bar codes scanned into Pirelli’s system. The FIA (the governing body of world motorsport) is then notified of the bar codes.

•   At random, the FIA allocates certain barcodes to each team. The allocated tyres are then sorted out by team in Didcot and loaded into seven trucks for transportation to the grand prix (four trucks for F1, three trucks for GP2 and GP3).

One week before the grand prix:

•   The trucks set off from Didcot for the race, normally arriving on the Monday before the race takes place. The 18 fitters set up the fitting area and the barcodes are confirmed again with the FIA.

Five days before the grand prix:

•   The fitters start fitting tyres onto the rims. It takes an experienced fitter 2.5 minutes to fit one tyre from start to finish: for all the tyres of the weekend they need two days. The teams own the wheels: they are brought to Pirelli at the circuit for the tyres to be fitted onto them.

During the grand prix weekend:

•   The sporting regulations determine that one set of the harder dry tyre must be returned after the first practice session, with one set of the softer and one set of the harder compound to be returned before the start of the third practice session. A further set of softer and one of the harder compound must be returned before the start of qualifying. This means that each driver has six sets of the dry compounds (three of each specification) available for qualifying and the race.

•   Tyres that are returned get taken off their rims, as they won’t be used anymore, with the rims being returned to the teams.

After the grand prix:

•   All remaining tyres, both used and unused, are taken off their rims and then transported back to Didcot. When they arrive, the tyres are taken to a specialised plant where they are shredded and then burned at very high temperature in order to produce fuel for cement factories. The material produced in this process can also be used for road surfaces and other industrial applications.

During that time, Pierre-César built up a stunning record of achievements behind the wheel of the most beautiful cars in rallying, and his crowning achievement would be as European Rally Champion in 1993 driving a Lancia Delta HF Integrale! His skilful driving, which made him fearsome in the high speed Specials, and his commitment in the technical field, would enable César, as his friends call him, to win 16 overall victories and a great number of podiums in his long career.

Always in search of new technical solutions and a perfectionist at heart, Pierre-César Baroni got involved at the beginning of 1993 in engine lubricants in collaboration with a chemical engineer of great renown. The innovation they came up with received, during 1988 and 1989, a great many awards in the innovation exhibitions and the prestigious Concours Lepine.

Still looking for technical perfection, Pierre-César Baroni and his entire technical team continued to develop the product whether it be in the reduction of fuel consumption, exhaust emissions or engine wear. He now distributes his new generation lubricants under the name of Exel Motor.

He ran more and more full scale tests certified by marshals on the road with drivers covering very long distances. Notably by Philippe Couesnon, the driver who beat the world record of non-stop long distance travel, 500,000 uninterrupted kilometres in one year. The result is without a doubt: approximately 10% less consumption and an especially remarkable drop in CO2 emissions!

At the same time, Exel Motor developed a range of products dedicated to Heavy Goods Vehicles. With the current climate promoting research in fuel consumption savings and the reduction in CO2 emissions, they are interested in any means that will give them results. It’s worth noting that the fuel budget is currently nearly 30% of the total running costs of their operations.

Just as they did for the car, the technical team arranged many tests with HGV companies such as Pepsico Spain in Barcelona  who, on the strength of the results, ‘lubricated’ their entire fleet of 1,200 vehicles, or the Deret Transporters and others. Recently, Exel Motor ran a year long trial with the Trans-Energy transporters on their entire fleet, the result there too was definitive with a fuel saving of around 100,000 Euros and more than 216 tons of CO2 emission reduction, a saving of approximately 7.8% per year on their fuel budget.

The Exel Motor range has also been developed in the arena of automotive competition with “performance” products.

We will give César Baroni the closing lines: “Since we created this product, we have put all our budget into its technical development, even though that was probably to the detriment of our communication. But we wanted an efficient product that gives concrete results, it’s our market brand. We ran many tests which helped our development get to the finished and efficient product we offer today. From now on, we want our product to be out there and I think that sport is a strategic communication tool which gives us much more credibility than the traditional channels. Our ambitious project is to be associated with a GT+ in Exel Motor colours running in the French Rally Championship, it develops more than 420 hp and will be a real scoop on the French rallies, a nice sporting and marketing tool driven by a youngster!”

The engine in Pierre-César Baroni, is his passion. He is full of ideas for Exel Motor and continues to drive his technicians and engineers to constantly improve his products, be they for the wheel or the competition.

Pramac Ducati sole rider Hèctor Barberà spent the morning and afternoon free practice sessions working through different set-up changes and tyre options in preparation for Sundays Grand Prix. The Spanish rider wrapped up the day in eighth position having taken just over two tenth of a second off his morning time with improved set-up and claimed the highest speed on the Le Mans circuit for the sessions, clocking 309.2 km/hr aboard his Ducati GP12.

Hèctor Barberà – Rider Pramac Racing Team - “Today has been a satisfying free practice session, confirming my liking of the French track. I can say that I really enjoyed myself riding on this surface. We started this weekend with the right foot and compared to the morning session, we have improved our lap time also in the afternoon. I’ve had a good feeling with my Ducati GP12 and I hope tomorrow doesn’t rain, because that would mean starting all over again.”

Francesco Guidotti – Team Manager Pramac Racing - “I share Hèctor’s feeling: this has been a positive day. We started at the beginning this morning with clear ideas, arranging heights, rigidity and choosing the right tyres. We are also very happy to be the fastest Ducati on the field in the combined free practice timesheet, but now we are focusing on tomorrow’s qualifying practice.”

Making the most of a dry day ahead of what is expected to be a weekend of sporadic rain, Marc Márquez and his team got to work in search of the best setting possible for the team’s Moto2 bike. The Repsol rider was the first in breaking the 1’39 mark and held third place on the timesheet after nineteen laps in the morning run. He was 4 tenths off Thomas Luthi and and 0.155 slower than Simone Corsi —the two early leaders in the class.

The Spaniard will have another 90 minutes in which to finetune things for the race: 45 in the morning and another 45 in the afternoon qualifying session for the French Grand Prix.

“I am happy with how things have gone in today’s practice sessions. We rode with the intention of finding a good setting and keeping up our pace over the course of the day. Up to now we have been working with the same method and it has been giving us good results, so we should continue with this level of concentration.

There are a lot of riders who could become rivals for us. We will need to be very alert to everyone at every Grand Prix, as there is a lot of competition. Luthi is a very strong rider and we should always bear him in mind, without taking our eyes off Iannone and Redding —who are also great riders. We still have room for improvement tomorrow, above all in the geometry of the bike, but we should also pay special attention to the tyres”.

Daniel Juncadella moved up to the top of the leaderboard at the start of the 30 minutes’ qualifying session already and defended this position against all attacks. He was the only one of the 18 competitors to post a lap time under 41 seconds. Behind Marciello, Buller, Lewis and Carlos Sainz (Carlin, 0:41.244 minutes), Pascal Wehrlein (Mücke Motorsport, 0:41.338 minutes) ended up as the best-placed rookie. However, British driver Buller will not be able to take up his third starting grid position for the first race: he will be docked five places on the grid for race one due to a pit lane speed infringement.

Daniel Juncadella (Prema Powerteam): “I am really happy being on top in qualifying. Particularly after the weekend at Pau, which didn’t really went as I wanted, such a performance feels good, and even more so, because it is my first fastest qualifying time of this year. Today, my car was really good and the laps were spot-on.”

Raffaele Marciello (Prema Powerteam): “This is my first time at Brands Hatch. The track is relatively short, but it isn’t easy, particularly the first corner is quite tough. I am happy with my second place and I also like the fact that there are three Prema cars among the first four places. However, I have to admit that today, I wouldn’t have been able to outpace Daniel’s lap time. He was really quick.”

“I’m satisfied with my lap, it was very good and the quickest that we’ve ever driven the Porsche here,” stated Marc Lieb, who won the long distance classic last year with Dumas, Luhr and Timo Bernhard. “I lost maybe one or two tenths of a second but it’s nothing serious. Even if I’d driven an absolutely faultless lap, I still couldn’t have made up the missing three seconds to the fastest. We’re also happy with the balance of the car. A lot can happen in 24 hours.”

Porsche factory pilot Marco Holzer (Germany) was somewhat disheartened with his 21st spot on the grid: “I wasn’t able to properly use the tyre grip on my fastest lap. But our set-up is good, so we won’t let it get us down. Our motto is now to look ahead, have a trouble-free race and make the best out of it.” The 22-year-old shares the 911 GT3 R fielded by Manthey-Racing with Porsche works drivers Joerg Bergmeister (Germany) and Patrick Long (USA) as well as Nick Tandy (Great Britain), the reigning champion of the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland.

Falken Motorsports under the direction of Sven Schnabl was not permitted to participate in the top 40 qualifying because it inadvertently went out on the track too early during the last practice. Like last year, at the wheel of the 911 GT3 R are four experienced and well-rehearsed pilots. Joining Porsche works driver Wolf Henzler (Germany) for the 24 hour chase are Sebastian Asch (Germany), Martin Ragginger (Austria) and Peter Dumbreck (Great Britain) driving for the Falken Motorsports squad.

The top 40 qualifying was introduced for the 40th anniversary of the race. The criteria to take part in the top 40 qualifying were the results of the first three Nürburgring Long Distance Championship races as well as the qualifying results of the 24 hour event. The qualifying order is then allotted. At about five-second intervals, the vehicles went out onto the track where a formation lap and two timed laps followed. The 24 hour race takes off tomorrow at 16.00 hours. TV station Sport1 broadcasts the entire race via live-streaming on sport1. The TV station also provides extensive coverage from the Nürburgring.

Setting a lap time of 8:31.567 minutes, Pirelli test driver Rudi Adams took start position 27 for Dörr Motorsport and his teammates Chris Goodwin, Lucas di Grassi and Jochen Übler in the McLaren MP4-12C GT3. Peter Kox in the sister car was only half a second behind, securing P29. However, he was not entirely happy with his lap. “I pushed too hard and made a mistake in my second lap. Otherwise, I would probably have done better”.

Team Manager Uwe Isert was relieved and confident after the last qualifying session. “I am more than happy. We did not suffer damages on any of our six cars and the three drivers who completed the Top 40 Qualifying did a great job again. The two teams of drivers in the McLaren’s are particularly well balanced, and they are setting steady lap times. We could do very well in the 24-Hour Race if nothing gets in the way”.

The three other Dörr Motorsport cars, the BMW Z4 M Coupé, the BMW M3 GT4 and the Seat Leon Supercopa, will start the 40th ADAC Zurich 24-Hour Race (Saturday at 4 p.m.) from the start positions 61, 79 and 81 respectively.

For drivers and teams to adapt to the specific characteristics of a circuit and all weather situations, tyre manufacturer Hankook already delivers the black gold to the circuit days before the start. Every time, over 600 slicks and the same number of rain tyres for the DTM as well as 400 slick and as many rain tyres for the Formula 3 Euro Series plus all the necessary equipment are being loaded into four 40 ton trailers at the intermediate warehouse located at the Nürburgring in Germany. Then, 2,000 tyres go on the road towards the race track in the fully air conditioned, temperature-controlled transporters. In total, some 20,000 tyres are being transported like this in the course of a DTM season. At the same time, Hankook has an on-site presence with a 30-strong crew of engineers and mechanics who are closely working together with all the teams. In the process, they are measuring and collecting data like air pressure and tyre temperature while the results are being analysed after the weekend.

The Ventus Race is being produced at the Hankook factory in Daejon, South Korea, one of the world’s largest tyre plants with an annual output of 25 million pieces. Both for its road-legal and its competition tyres, Hankook has refrained from using carcinogenic highly-aromatic oils (Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon) for a long time already. From Daejon, the black gold is being transported in an environmentally friendly way by ship to the central intermediate warehouse at the Nürburgring, from where they can be dispatched for in-time delivery to the teams at any test track and any race circuit.

In the two rounds of the most popular international touring car series held so far, not only Hankook’s logistics worked well. The newly-developed Ventus Race also convinced with an impressive overall performance. The slicks mastered the unusual high track temperatures and the high kerbstones in Hockenheim’s season opener. One week later, it showed a similarly perfect performance on the 12 degrees cold and slick asphalt at Lausitz. “In different meteorological conditions, our tyre has provided a lot of grip, combined with the usual high consistency and safety. At Brands Hatch, too, it will show a strong performance”, promises Hankook Europe’s competition manager, Manfred Sandbichler.

Andy, what are your impressions of the DTM after your first two races?

Andy Priaulx: “The closeness of the competition is very impressive. When you have less than a second covering the top 18 in a session you know just how tough it is going to be. We are still learning and so it is easy to make a small mistake in the car’s set up and it can cost you ten places. Having said this, it is also great to see all the hard work put in by BMW Motorsport has paid off.”

How do you rate your own performance?

Priaulx: “I believe I have adapted well to the DTM and I have been extremely pleased with my personal performances. Hockenheim was really pleasing and even more so my race pace was very strong. Lausitzring was a tough weekend but it was fantastic to see BMW win so early in the season, that gives me so much hope and focus for the future. DTM has a great future with three major manufacturers and 22 fantastic drivers.”

Priaulx: “I don’t think you can ever underestimate what it means to have a crowd supporting you. When I get into my Crowne Plaza Hotels BMW M3 DTM I am in my own private world and the car is all that I concentrate on, but there are still moments when you look up and see the support out there. Also it means I get the chance to see a lot of people who don’t make it abroad to watch us race. At Brands, like at all the other circuits, I sleep on site in my motor home but here I reckon we get through ten times the amount of tea bags. The kettle is always on and it is great to see mates popping in for a cuppa.”

Tell us a bit about Brands Hatch as a circuit…

Priaulx: “I just love the place, but it is over a decade since I raced on the Indy circuit. I think it is great for the fans to be able to see the entire track and after 98 laps they will have seen a lot of us out there. I put Paddock Hill as a corner at the top of my list of challenging corners. Then you head to Druids, which is uphill and blind and you can’t see the Apex. That will certainly be very interesting for the first couple of laps with 22 of us rushing up there. Then you drop down the hill side again back down the other side of the bank and through the fast left of Graham Hill and then Clearways. It is going to be a really interesting challenge taking this car through there nearly flat or flat in qualifying and then have all the weight transfer over to the other side and then obviously driving that last corner. It is a fun track to drive, but not an easy one.”

What about the weather?

Priaulx: “Of course there is a risk of rain. I actually like driving in the rain, but believe it would be better if it stayed dry. The dynamics of this car are amazing so I am sure we can make it fast in the wet thanks to the terrific downforce. Rain will be something new for all of us. Even if we have a dry Friday I shall certainly be looking to see what setting we need if the rain does come.”

Everyone who assisted got an insight of the facilities where the entire team is already working and saw the result of the team’s effort in these short but intense months.

Once the official act concluded all the guests enjoyed some Spanish wine offered by Marqués de Murrieta wine cellars, accompanied by the selection on pintxos that the prestigious catering company Arzak-Bokado has created at each of this season’s Grands Prix.

Honourable Madam Ana Botella, Mayoress of Madrid: “I would like to thank HRT for choosing Madrid to set up its headquarters. I congratulate them for being the first Spanish team to obtain a Formula 1 license, there are only 12 teams and just being there is very important for Spain. They’ve written a golden page in the history of Spanish motorsport and for the people of Madrid it’s an honour and a privilege to have them here. In the Caja Mágica they have chosen the best facilities to become a sporting and technological icon and with this we are going to help Madrid to continue progressing and become an innovative city. With their presence we strengthen a sport that has thousands of followers and we give the citizens of Madrid a chance to get to know the Formula 1 world on the inside. I wish them the best of luck as their triumphs are also those of the people from Madrid and Spain”.

Carlos Gracia, President of the Spanish Motorsport Federation: “Today is a very important day because we needed a Spanish Formula 1 team in Spain and now we have it. A few weeks ago I accompanied Jean Todt when he visited the facilities and he was impressed with what he saw. They’ve completed it in a record time, I’ve been by their side through this period and the effort they’ve put in is impressive and something we have to value, no one can complete a project like that. I’ve seen teams with more tradition who have been in Formula 1 for longer but I’ve never come across such a hungry and united team. We’ve achieved a lot but we must be patient, Formula 1 is the pinnacle of world motorsport and just being here and finishing races is a lot. I want to thank the Mayoress for making this possible. The Caja Mágica is a magical project and I hope she feels proud”.

Luis Pérez-Sala, Team Principal HRT Formula 1 Team: “We’re extremely proud to have finally opened our doors to everyone and have shown what, since a few months ago, is HRT’s home. It’s been a lot of hard work but it’s a dream that has finally come true and an exciting project. This is the present but we continue to work looking ahead to the future to make this a top level sporting and technological centre and surely, with the help of everyone, we will achieve this”.

Pedro de la Rosa: “It’s a pleasure to share such an important moment for the team with all of you. We’re satisfied because we’ve reached one of our targets which was to have modern and functional facilities like the ones at the Caja Mágica. And we’ve achieved it. We’re on the right path to consolidate ourselves and gain confidence and competitiveness. Being in the Caja Mágica will definitely help us to be quicker every day. As a facility it’s right up there with the rest. We’ve taken the first step but now we must take the next one and develop it for it to become a leading sporting and technological centre”.

A mere 0.294 seconds shy of the pole-sitter, Nicki Thiim (Hermes Attempto Racing) posted the second quickest time. However, the Dane and winner of round three on the Lausitzring was relegated back to fifth starting position due to a collision at Sunday’s race in the Lausitz. Instead, Sean Edwards (Great Britain, Team Deutsche Post by tolimit), the third qualifier and two-time winner this season, takes up the four-lap race from the second grid spot.

His namesake, Philipp Frommenwiler, is another unfamiliar name in the fiercely-contested one-make race series. Driving for Attempto Racing, the Swiss racer first contested the Carrera Cup in 2011 and concluded his first season as the best newcomer. Because of Nicki Thiim’s penalty, the 22-year-old takes up tomorrow’s race at 11.35 hours from the third grid spot. Although last year’s Nürburgring winner, René Rast (Germany, Team Deutsche Post by tolimit), managed to secure the fifth fastest qualifying time despite scraping the barrier, he was also bumped down the grid by five positions due to the Lausitzring collision.

For this reason, Jaap van Lagen (Netherlands, FE Racing by Land-Motorsport) starts from fourth place. Sharing the third grid row are Kévin Estre and Michael Ammermüller (Germany, SWITCH IT Lechner Racing). The Frenchman driving for Hermes Attempto Racing currently leads the rookie classification, but he already has one season of experience under his belt. At the end of the 2011 season, Estre took home the ‘Rookie of the Year’ title. Although the ex-Formula 1 test driver Michael Ammermüller is new to the Carrera Cup, he is not eligible to campaign for rookie honours, as the Bavarian is already 26-years-old.

The Nordschleife race is aired live by Sport1 tomorrow from 11.35 to 12.35 hrs. Also on the official Porsche website, the race is broadcast live exclusively and in high quality – with editorial reports before the actual live-streaming, live-timing and commentary in Germany and English. The broadcast begins at 11.10 hours. On May 21st, the Monday after the race weekend, news station N24 televises the 30-minute “Porsche Carrera Cup Magazin” at 18.30 hours. Sport1 broadcasts Carrera Cup highlights on Saturday, 26 May, from 17.45 to 18.15 hours.

“On track it’s one of the races where the pack bunches up a bit and that might give us a chance to do something special. Last year I finished 14th, one of our higher finishes of the season, so hopefully we can improve on that this year. We have KERS this year and a car that has good race pace, and as our car is slightly easier on the tyres than some of the teams ahead, maybe that will help us achieve a high race finish.”

Vitaly Petrov: “I’ve raced a lot in Monaco, not just in Formula One. I had a podium there in GP2 when I finished second in 2009, which was good. In F1 I’ve raced there twice. The first time wasn’t so great but last year was pretty good, right up until the point I crashed! That was so disappointing, but I couldn’t avoid it. We had a good strategy and I’d had a good race up to that point, but that’s how racing goes sometimes. Monaco is an unbelievable place though. Normally, between Barcelona and Monaco we have just one week and I’d leave Barcelona on Sunday night and drive to Monaco, because on the Tuesday of the race week we have the football match for the F1 drivers, which is always great.

“The track itself is always a little bit dirty at the start of the weekend and it’s quite difficult to get tyre temperatures up during the lap. It’s tricky because the walls are so close. If you make one mistake or have a little bit of oversteer, you don’t even get a chance to correct it – you’re in the wall. It takes quite a bit of mental preparation and you need to be totally focused for every single lap of every session. The race itself? The atmosphere in the race is incredible. It’s just an amazing place to drive a racing car and I really love it.”

Although a new addition to the FIA World Touring Car Championship calendar, the Salzburgring circuit is not unknown to many drivers. Tiago Monteiro will have to become familiar with the Austrian circuit and explained, “I love to have to adapt to a new and unknown situation. Generally, that suits me well. It is a circuit that looks very fast and demanding, but I hope that we will be competitive there. Once again, we will concentrate on qualifying, because it is essential to start from the front lines on the grid in order to be able to secure points. That will be my objective.”

Both Salzburgring races will be broadcast live on Eurosport, Sunday May 20 at noon and 1:00 pm.

The Austrian rounds mark the mid-point of the competitive 2012 season, in which Newmarket’s Huff has secured seven podium finishes and victory during his racing debut at the Slovakia Ring. His results to date put him third in the drivers’ standings, only 30 points behind current leader and Chevrolet team-mate Yvan Muller.

“Salzburgring isn’t somewhere I’ve raced before, but we’ll be doing the usual thorough preparation to make sure we’re ready for the new challenge,” said Huff. “Former WTCC racer Michel Nykjær has raced here in the European Touring Car Cup with Chevrolet, so I will be utilising his track knowledge.”

Despite the unknown, Huff is resolute that successes will continue in Austria and during the second half of the season. It’s this determination that has secured him runner-up places in the WTCC Drivers’ Championship for the past two seasons, and this year he is again focused on taking the fight to the wire.

“At this point in the championship, there’s still so much that can happen,” added Huff. “This time last year Yvan was behind me in the points but went on to win the title, so the tables can easily turn. My main aim for Austria and the remainder of the season is to get our qualifying performance back on track so that we’re at the front of the grid, and to follow this up with two trips to the podium.”

While Juncadella would love to extend his championship lead, Carlos Sainz (Carlin), the currently second-placed driver, will try hard to close the gap to his compatriot. Sainz’ team, Carlin, has fond memory of Brands Hatch: three years ago, the circuit located not far from the team headquarters was the venue of the only Carlin win in the Euro Series to date – courtesy of Brendon Hartley. Meanwhile, Juncadella also can look back on a Brands Hatch success: in 2011, as Euro Series rookie, he secured a podium.

In addition to the regular Formula 3 Euro Series entrants, there will be four guest drivers contesting the 2012 season’s only Euro Series event on British soil: the two Britons Harry Tincknell (Carlin) and Geoff Uhrhane (Double R Racing) as well as Jazeman Jaafar (Carlin) and Fahmi Ilyas (Double R Racing) from Malaysia.

Tom Blomqvist (ma-con Motorsport): “I’m looking forward to my home event in England. I have fond memories of the short Brands Hatch circuit as I succeeded in securing my British Formula Renault 2.0 title there, in 2010. And I’m particularly delighted as my grandpa will make the trip from New Zealand to Brands Hatch to attend the race weekend. He is a kind of my lucky charm. Whenever he witnesses me racing on site, things are running particularly well, for me.”

Already fielding cars in the AirAsia Renault UK Clio Cup and Total Quartz Ginetta GT5 Challenge this year, the Wednesbury squad has been hungry to restore itself at the forefront in Ginetta’s flagship GT Supercup championship and is confident of doing so with Breeze and Orton back onboard.

Kings Lynn-based Breeze, of course, raced with TCR in the championship during the previous three years and was Vice-Champion in 2010 and 2011. Budget restrictions ahead of the new campaign initially dictated a move elsewhere in the paddock but the 32-year-old is now back in the TCR fold.

“It feels like coming home”, said Breeze, “I’m really looking forward to being back with TCR and I want to get back to winning ways. I knew Lee [Brookes – TCR team principal] was keen to have me back in the team and we wanted to be there, but we’ve had a situation with our budget this year which has made things difficult. Luckily, we’ve now managed to do a deal for the rest of the season.

“We’re quite a long way behind in the championship but, as we saw last year, it can all change pretty quickly. If we can start off with some good results at Oulton Park I know we can put the pressure on, and I’m confident I’ll have a car capable of winning races at every circuit we go to. I’m delighted to be back with the team and looking forward to working closely with Jamie.”

Orton, who cut his teeth in the ultra-competitive world of Caterham racing and won the R300 title in 2011 off the back of the Roadsport A crown in 2010, debuted in the Michelin Ginetta GT Supercup with TCR during last year’s championship finale at Silverstone but purchased his own Ginetta G55 for the new season.

Although having taken his first category podium in only the third race of the year, the 32-year-old Londoner is keen to make even greater progress and sees working with Breeze, coupled with the vast experience of TCR, as a true winning partnership.

“I’m really excited to be back working with TCR, when I debuted in GT Supercup with the team last year everything was great”, commented Orton, “So far this year I have struggled a bit without a team-mate and with Carl [Breeze] back onboard at the team, that’s what I need – a quick team-mate and the chance to work together on the data and find out where I need to improve.

“I really want to do a good job for Lee [Brookes] and the guys, they always put their heart and soul into everything they do. The whole team puts so much effort into giving its drivers the best possible equipment, they’re so into the detail of everything and always want to go out there and win.”

Having won the team championship in its first season in the category in 2009, securing the title with six races to spare, TCR has enjoyed huge success each year since and team principal Lee Brookes is sure the return of Breeze and Orton will deliver continued silverware.

“It’s fantastic news for everyone at TCR we’re back in the GT Supercup”, added Brookes, “We know we’ve got plenty of ground to make up on the others in the championship but we’re aiming to go out there and be fighting for wins and podiums straight away.

“Carl’s more determined than ever to get back onto the top step of the podium and we’re certain we can give him the car to do it. Jamie’s very quick and has a lot of ability, we saw that when he raced with us in the final round last year. We know they’re going to work really well together and help push each other on.”

Ahead of the Oulton Park race meeting on 9th/10th June, Breeze is third in the driver standings on 192 points while Orton is 10th in the championship with 99 points.

Russian Helicopters is a subsidiary of United Industrial Corporation Oboronprom. It is one of the global leaders in helicopter development and production with a number of special, innovative and widespread models, both civilian and military. Russian Helicopters is dominant in the Russian and CIS markets and is the leading player in the fast growing Indian and Chinese markets. The company is also rapidly increasing its presence in the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific regions.

As a global market leader Russian Helicopters leads the field in the use of innovative technological methods. This provides the perfect synergy between its high-tech business and the high-tech world of Formula 1. The global business interests of Russian Helicopters takes the company into markets worldwide, and now, through its partnership with Caterham F1 Team, Russian Helicopters will also be represented at Grands Prix all over the globe.

Tony Fernandes, Team Principal of Caterham F1 Team, commented on the deal: “I am absolutely delighted to welcome Russian Helicopters into Caterham F1 Team. It is a sign of the increasingly strong relationships we are growing in Russia that we can attract partners of this calibre and we look forward to repaying their faith in us and Vitaly on and off track.”

Dmitry Petrov, General Director of JSC Russian Helicopters: “Russian Helicopters are delighted to announce the start of our partnership program with Vitaly Petrov’s Caterham F1 Team. It is important for Russian businesses to support projects which positively raise the profile of Russian interests worldwide and as Russian Helicopters is a global high-tech company it is a natural step for us to support Vitaly, as Caterham F1 Team’s Russian driver, in his role in a high-tech sport which is enormously popular all over the world. Our helicopters are actively marketed internationally and I am sure that our involvement in Formula 1, a sport that is popular worldwide and is at the pinnacle of modern technology, will help us to strengthen the international image of Russian Helicopters, as well as contribute to the growth of investment in the Russian economy.”

Russian Helicopters is a subsidiary of UIC Oboronprom, which in turn is a part of Russian Technologies State Corporation. It is one of the global leaders in helicopter production and the only helicopter design and production powerhouse in Russia. Russian Helicopters is headquartered in Moscow. The company comprises five helicopter production facilities, two design bureaus, a spare parts production and repair facility, as well as an aftersale service branch responsible for maintenance and repair in Russia and all over the world. Its helicopters are popular among Russian ministries and state authorities (Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Emergency Control Ministry), operators (Gazpromavia, UTair) and major Russian corporations. Over 8000 helicopters of Soviet/Russian make are operated in 110 countries worldwide. Traditionally the demand is highest in the Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Russia, and CIS countries. Russian Helicopters was established in 2007. In 2011 its IFRS revenues increased 27.8% to RUB 103.9 billion and deliveries reached 262 helicopters.

Caterham F1 Team began in September 2009 when shareholders Tony Fernandes, Kamarudin Meranun and SM Nasarudin were granted entry into the 2010 FIA Formula 1 World Championship. Just six months later, the team had two cars classified in the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, a platform which served to propel the team, then on track under the guise of Lotus Racing, to the position of fastest new team in F1. 2011 saw the team race as Team Lotus, successfully achieving its goal of winning tenth place in the championship and closing the gap to the established midfield teams ahead. For 2012, Caterham F1 Team is the new, long-term identity the team is racing under and the home of Russian driver Vitaly Petrov, who joins Heikki Kovalainen as one of the two race drivers pushing to join some of the most famous names in global motorsport as they challenge for honours in Formula 1.

Huge crowds are expected for what will be the first-ever WTCC event to be held in the Alpine country, which boasts a rich motorsport tradition. Austrian fans are motorsport connoisseurs, with their country producing great champions such as Jochen Rindt (F1 World Champion, 24 Hours of Le Mans), Niki Lauda (three-time F1 World Champion) and Gerhard Berger (F1).

The 4.225 km Salzburgring, located in a narrow valley close to the beautiful baroque town of Salzburg, was established in 1968 as a motorbike track. Its design is relatively straightforward, composed of two long straights connected by a sweeping corner at the bottom and a narrower corner at the top. The track belies the Austrian Waltz tradition as power and speed play a great role in this circuit.

While the Salzburgring has never played host to the WTCC before, it was the venue of the European Touring Car Cup (ETCC) finale in 2008 and 2011, the former edition won by Michel Nykjær for the Chevrolet Motorsport Denmark team.

Having won all but two of the 10 races held so far and relying on the performance and reliability of the 1.6 turbo engine, the Cruzes head to Austria with confidence and aim to consolidate their advantage in both championships.

Since his second place at the Ayrton Senna Trophy, at the end of last season, Max Defourny has continued to progress at each new meeting. Behind the wheel of his PCR-Parilla, he has become one of the fastest Juniors in the hypercompetitive KF3 class. “Max is highly committed and is becoming increasingly self-confident. He knows that now he has the potential to fight for the first positions, and he has already shown it. He still needs to polish a few things to be regular in his excellent performance level. One must consider that he is only 13 and that he faces drivers who are much more experienced that he is”, Alain Boumal, his team manager, commented.

For Max, the season began with the WSK Master Series in Italy. He has achieved his best performance so far at Sarno, in mid-March, when he climbed up to 8th place in his pre-final, though his results were not equally good in the final race. A few days later, he was at the opening of the French Championship at Varennes sur Allier, in early April. He took an excellent sixth place in Final 1, where there were as many as 40 drivers, he made a good start in Final 2 and was on his way to a podium finish when he was involved, through no fault of his own, in a collision.
Max Defourny proved to be perfectly familiar with the special features of the Varennes track at the second round of the European Championship, held on that same circuit four weeks later. “After the first qualifying heats, Max seemed to be in excellent position to access the final phase. Unfortunately there was a long series of race mishaps on Sunday morning and Max only gained access to Final B, where he finished 6th with the third fastest lap in the race”, Alain Boumal pointed out.

The French round of the WSK Euro Series held at Val d’Argenton also offered its fair share of satisfaction, with an excellent performance level, on a dry as well as on a wet track surface. “I set the 12th time and finished two heats in 4th place. Unfortunately, I could not even pass the first bend of the pre-final owing to a collision. Some drivers are too impetuous and think they can win the race at the very start! It is a pity to lose races this way…” Max regretted.

But now more than ever, Max Defourny appears to be on the right track to translate his progression and competitiveness into tangible results.

While the main focus of the newly agreed working relationship is currently on 18-year-old star Jacob Nortoft, who made his Formula Renault BARC debut with Hillspeed during the season-opener last month, plans are also in place to provide a range of testing opportunities for other Danish racers.

“It is very important for DASU to maintain a network of professional and dedicated partners”, said the federation’s Sports Director Bo Nielsen, “Hillspeed fits the bill perfectly with its experience, dedication and driver coach Ollie Hancock [2008 Formula Renault BARC Champion]. The Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship offers a cost efficient and competitive environment that is an ideal way for a young driver to start a career.”

From Hillspeed’s perspective, the agreement with DASU is a hugely important step for its Formula Renault BARC squad – not only for the current season but also for 2013 and beyond as the team aims to solidify and build-on the existing arrangement.

“We’re delighted to have agreed this high-profile partnership with the Dansk Automobil Sports Union”, said team principal Richard Ollerenshaw, “It’s a major development for Hillspeed and an arrangement which will hopefully see us bringing more and more of Denmark’s talented young racers to the UK to begin their car racing careers. Formula Renault BARC is the ideal proving ground.

“Jacob is a hugely talented young driver and we’re certain he’s going to become one of the category front-runners in the not too distant future. The immediate plan in partnership with DASU is to help develop Jacob throughout the current season and then look at testing some other Danish drivers later in the year. We’re hopeful this will be a long and mutually rewarding agreement.”

Nortoft, who resides in Vemmelev near Slagelse, will be back in action for the fourth and fifth rounds of the Protyre Formula Renault BARC Championship season this coming weekend, 19th/20th May, at Rockingham in Northamptonshire where he will team-up with British driver Marcus Allen.

Following untimed practice on Friday, 18th May, qualifying will take place at 09.30 and 12.10 on Saturday. Both races will then be held on Sunday with round four getting underway at 10.55 and round five scheduled to start at 15.35.

Lotus F1 Team put a second Renault engine on the podium with Kimi Raikkonen finishing in third position. Team-mate Romain Grosjean came home in fourth, giving the Renault RS27 engine a total of three of the top four positions.
Red Bull Racing-Renault experienced a more difficult race, with Sebastian Vettel finishing in sixth. The reigning world champion served a drive-through penalty for not observing yellow flags and then took on a new front wing at his last pit stop. Mark Webber came home in 11th, just outside the points after an early stop for a new front wing.

Caterham F1 Team again achieved a double finish with Heikki Kovalainen 16th and Vitaly Petrov 17th.
Unfortunately Williams’ Bruno Senna retired from the race on lap 13 after an incident involving Michael Schumacher.
Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso are tied for the lead of the drivers’ championship while Red Bull Racing continues to lead the constructors’ championship. Lotus F1 Team has edged closer to second, with Williams sixth, on equal points with Mercedes. Caterham remains in 11th.

Jean-François Caubet, Renault Sport F1 managing director
Naturally we are delighted for Williams and we are all very proud that the collaboration is doing justice to its heritage. The engine-chassis package has worked very well all season and has promised to score some huge results – obviously this one is the best we can get! It’s a testament to all at Grove and Viry that the new deal can achieve success so early on in its life cycle.
Naturally we were concerned that the celebrations were mitigated by the fire in the Williams garage after the race. No one from Renault Sport F1 was seriously injured, but our thoughts go to our colleagues at Williams and also our partners at Caterham who were involved. We wish them all a speedy recovery.

Rémi Taffin, Renault Sport F1 head of track operations
Across all our clients, the engine has performed efficiently this weekend. We know Barcelona incredibly well from the winter testing but there are nevertheless some tricky parts to get right, including providing drive and response in the slower sections while retaining good top speed down the straight. To get three engines in the top four again is fantastic and shows our preparations paid off.
Congratulations to Pastor for his first win, and to Williams for its first win since 2004. Scoring a victory so early on in an engine-chassis partnership is a fantastic achievement and shows just how aligned the systems and procedures on both sides of the table are.
We wish all our colleagues at Williams well, particularly in light of the incident after the race, and look forward to continuing the momentum throughout the season.

Nigel Melker had qualified in 12th position on the starting grid in the first race and climbed his way to finish 8th which, in addition to securing points, let him set his sights on starting in the pole position in the second race. But a penalty for speeding in the pit lane – the Dutch driver exceeded the speed limit by 1km/h – cost him several positions and he finished the race 14th. In the second race, he was once again fighting for points when a driver lost control of his car in front of him and collided with him. His car’s wing did not hold up against the impact and Nigel Melker was forced to pit in order to change it. “I was not lucky on Sunday, it was a race incident but I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Yesterday’s penalty was the result of a stupid mistake and I certainly won’t make that mistake again. Once again, we showed that we were the fastest and the results should quickly come to us,” Nigel Melker declared.

Victor Guerin was getting to know the GP2 Series in Barcelona without ever having driven a single lap with his new car. He was only able to do six laps in the free practice and despite his inexperience with the track, the team, and the series, he qualified just 1.6 seconds behind the polesitter. His first experience with the carbon clutch cost him dearly in the start of the first race, where he stalled and had to start from the pits as dictated by the rules. Victor Guerin did not admit defeat, however, and adopted a very good pace to rejoin the pack and overtake several competitors. In the second race, he started from 21st position, but was penalized for slightly moving his car before the start. He was relegated to the back of the pack and again was very fast, going as far as retaking 1 to 2 seconds per lap off the race leaders. “It was my first race weekend in the GP2 Series, I did not know the car and I did not drive much in the free practice, but in qualifying I had already reduced the gap between me and the fastest drivers,” declared Victor Guerin. “In the first race, I let the motor cut out in the formation lap and in the second I was still not very familiar with the clutch and I got penalized for a jump start. So logically I was assessed with a drive through penalty. But the car was very good and I managed to exploit its potential. I am very content to have had the fastest race lap.”

Ocean Racing Technology’s directors have mixed feelings after the Spanish races. “On the one hand, there is satisfaction at seeing our drivers and cars are very fast and can fight for a win, but on the other hand there is the disappointment of being penalized or caught in accidents by our rivals,” declared José Guedes and Tiago Monteiro. “We will be heading to Monaco with the motivation and determination that characterize the team.”

The next GP2 Series races will be held two weeks from now in Monaco.

Mark Webber
“It was an interesting race and a difficult first lap. I don’t know where I got damage to my front wing, but I had to pit for a new nose. I lost a lot of time with that – and on the few laps before when it started playing up. We had to pit and when you’re out of position here it’s tough – you have to look after your tyres and when you catch people your tyres get killed, so it’s chicken and egg. If you push past them, you have to pit earlier and commit to another stop. It was a mystery with the pace; I was stuck behind Force India, you see the McLarens weren’t doing so much and Seb was just chipping away.”
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton
“I’m proud of my performance today, and proud of the team too. They did a great job: a real improvement with the pitstops, following our difficulties in that area recently. All in all, then, I think today’s result was the best we could do. I was the only driver to attempt a two-stop strategy, and I’m glad I was able to made it work. People often say that I have an aggressive driving style, but my final stint on the Prime tyre was 31 laps, so I reckon I proved today that I can make tyres last. It was a huge challenge to come through the field from the back, but I never gave up for a single second, right up to the finish line. Before the race I said I’d race my heart out, and that’s exactly what I did. For me, that’s what racing is all about. Today was all about damage limitation. But, now, looking at the bigger picture, I can’t really complain because, despite the setbacks I’ve had this season, I’m still only eight points behind the leader of the drivers’ world championship. The team has been working extremely hard, and our car is quick. So, when things go right, I think we’ll be in a great position – and it’ll come to us before too long. Finally, big congratulations to Pastor [Maldonado] and everyone at Williams – it’s a fantastic result for them and this is a great day for him personally.”

Jenson Button
“Congratulations to Pastor! His was a great drive and I’m sure it will instil a lot of confidence in him and the Williams team. The Formula 1 form-book is very mixed-up at the moment, which is unusual, but that’s the way it appears to be going this season. As for us, well, a lot of my afternoon was spent stuck in traffic, and I had a Sauber breathing down my neck for most of the race. All in all, we weren’t quite quick enough today – but that’s something I need to solve myself. I need to find a set-up that suits me better as I feel like I have pretty poor grip at the moment. Having said that, I’m already looking forward to Monaco and a much better weekend there. It’s a circuit I love and hopefully a place where we can achieve a good result.”

Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro
Fernando Alonso
“This second place feels like a victory. Having finished the race in Sakhir almost a minute off the winner, today we overtook one of the two Red Bulls and we fought right to the very end for the win. On top of that, we have made up a lot of points on the Red Bull and the McLaren drivers, which makes the outcome of this weekend even more positive. At the end of the second stint of the race came the key moment: maybe Maldonaldo pitted a bit early and we stayed out on track, but we lost time behind a backmarker for a whole lap, partly because there was a yellow flag on the last part of the main straight. Then, with seven laps to go, I suddenly lost grip at the rear: I asked the team if something was broken because the handling of the car changed from one moment to the next, for no apparent reason. However, in the final stages, the Williams was still very quick and, right at the end, we were also lucky to hang onto second place as Kimi was coming back at me. This championship is very hard to interpret with all the different winners and the performance of the top teams going up and down from race to race. We definitely did not do the best job when it came to designing the car – there is still much to do – but we can be proud of how we got the most out of our potential, probably over and above the limits of the car. After two Grands Prix – China and Bahrain – where we suffered a lot, to be back for the podium is very positive and gives us confidence for the rest of the Championship. We must continue to bring updates all the time for the car, because it is all very close and the slightest thing can make the difference.”

Felipe Massa
“Today my race was affected by a penalty that I had to take on lap 28. Honestly, I don’t think I did anything wrong and I believe it is better to look into the detail of what happened, because I was in the middle of a group of cars and I definitely did not try to overtake anyone. It’s a real shame, because up until then, the race was going well for me and a place in the top ten was comfortably within my reach. I was in the group with the Red Bulls and the McLarens and I could match their pace. I had a good opening lap when I managed to make up a lot of places. I am happy that Fernando was able to fight for the win all the way to the end, as it shows our car’s potential has definitely improved: we still don’t have the quickest car but it seems we are going down the right road. I want to congratulate Pastor, who is a great friend: the taste of a first Formula 1 win is something amazing and I can understand how he feels right now.”

Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team
Nico Rosberg
“That was a difficult day for us and a very strange race. We didn’t manage to find the right tyre management so I lost two positions towards the end of the race on my last stint which was 26 very long laps. The one positive thing is that I was able to defend my position against Lewis and keep seventh place, rather than eighth. Once again today we saw a surprising and well deserved win which is good for Formula One. Congratulations to Pastor and Frank at my old team Williams! Now I’m looking forward to my home race in Monaco in two weeks with some updates on the car.”

Michael Schumacher
“Obviously I am not happy with the outcome of the race as I think we could have achieved some nice points today. But then this is sometimes what you have to go through in racing. It is not easy to see from the TV replays but what happened from my viewpoint was that he went to the right to defend the inside line, and then suddenly, shortly before the braking point, went to the left. When you are so tight together in the braking zone, you have no other choice than to try to react and avoid hitting but it was too late. It is a shame, as I said, but then what I will do now is to look ahead to the next race and try to attack there.”

Lotus F1 Team
Kimi Raikkonen
“I had a very good start and had a chance to overtake on the outside, but we did not have enough speed and I hit the limiter in fifth gear. I am a bit disappointed because if everything had gone right in the first part of the race, we could have won. There was no issue with the speed of the car, but it is so close between all the teams that if you have a small problem or a small issue it can cost so much. Our car can do it, but everything has to fall into the right place to be able to get on to the top step. My first stint was okay, but I didn’t have the speed to stay with the cars in front. We changed the tyres and it seemed to be pretty good, but we were too far away. At the end we needed a few more laps and we could have fought for the win. We’re not far away from it and so far we’ve made good steps forwards; the car feels strong everywhere.”

Romain Grosjean
“We lost position at the start and with it a bit of front wing too! It was cooler today which didn’t suit us so much. Despite this, I am very happy with P4 especially when you look at yesterday where I missed all of the final practice session. Both cars finishing strongly in the points is great for the team. It was pretty difficult for me at the start of the race as it was hard to get the front working properly with the wing damaged, but we made some changes and at the end of the race the car was really flying. I think we made the right decisions today; if you told us we could finish third and fourth at the beginning of the weekend we’d have taken it.”

Williams F1
Pastor Maldonado
“It’s an unbelievable feeling winning my first race. The car felt really consistent, was fantastic to drive and our pace was strong throughout. Alonso was chasing me hard but we looked after our tyres well and I managed to open the gap towards the end. The team has worked so hard all year and this win is for them. To be the first Venezuelan to win a Formula One race is a big honour and hopefully I will win more races in the future.”

Bruno Senna
“It has been a disappointing weekend for me on the whole. It was difficult to overtake at the beginning of the race and then Schumacher got a big DRS boost coming down the straight and went into the back of me. These weekends with lots of bad luck happen sometimes, but on the up side our car has shown excellent pace with Pastor’s win. I am really happy for him and this will give the team a big boost headed into the next race.”

Sahara Force India
Paul Di Resta
To be updated

Nico Hulkenberg
To be updated

Sauber F1 Team
Kamui Kobayashi
“The team did a really great job, and the update on our car works very well. The pace in the race was a big improvement compared to the last race. I absolutely believe I could have made it onto the podium today if I had not been so unlucky in qualifying yesterday. If you start ninth you can be happy finishing fifth, but the car had more potential. I was in traffic and overtaking was not easy. I could not do it on the straights with the help of the DRS because there I wasn’t close enough. So I had to take some risks and do it in the corners. I damaged my tyres quite a lot in the last stint. The competition is really tight at the moment. If you want to get in front of the pack you have to get everything right on the weekend. This is what Pastor (Maldonado) did. The last time I came fifth was last year in Monaco, and I am very much looking forward to returning to the Principality soon.”

Sergio Pérez
“We have been very unlucky at the start. In turn one I managed to get passed Romain (Grosjean), but then he hit me and I had to pit after lap one. We could not really recover from the back of the field, and later I had to retire because of a transmission problem. Whatever it was, it is over and I will be focusing on the next race. Monaco is a very special Grand Prix for me.”

Scuderia Toro Rosso
Jean-Éric Vergne
“I had a really good start, moving up as high as tenth in a couple of laps. We decided to pit early to try and get ahead of some more guys and I came in from eighth place on lap 10. But then I was behind Di Resta and got a bit stuck. When I made my second stop for new Prime, I hoped I could have got past Di Resta through the stop but the pit stop was not the best and so unfortunately that did not work out and I was still behind the Force India. I lost more time towards the end of my third stint and then in the final one, on the Prime again, I was quicker than Daniel ahead of me. It took me a lot of time to get past. After that I tried to catch Webber and Hulkenberg, but the tyres were no longer good enough. Overall, it was disappointing, because I feel points were possible today, but for various reasons we did not manage it.”

Daniel Ricciardo
“I did not have too great a start, but with our strategy we managed to make up a few places. There were some parts of the race where we ran quite strongly, but in the final stint on new Primes, we no longer had the pace we had in the previous stint. I had managed to look after the tyres quite well all the way to the end and produce relatively good lap times, but by then we had lost too much time. It had looked for a while as though we might have been able to challenge for tenth but it did not pan out that way. Overall, it was a bit up and down, but at least it showed some slight progress compared to Bahrain.”

Caterham F1 Team
Heikki Kovalainen
“I think we got as much out of the car as we could this afternoon. I had a good start, passed Senna and was hanging on to the pack ahead up until the second stops. The first stint on the options was good, and we stayed on the soft tyres right up until the last pitstop but maybe the last stint on the hards was a couple of laps too long. Still, it was a decent race and we showed we have decent pace on Sundays, more than enough to easily pull away from the teams behind, but not quite enough to be able to fight throughout the whole race with the cars ahead. We knew this track was going to be one of the tougher ones for us, but now we go to Monaco which will give us a chance of fighting higher up, so we’ll keep pushing to close the gap and aim to take another step forwards at the next race.”

Vitaly Petrov
“I’m pleased with how I drove this afternoon and, like Heikki, I don’t think we could have got much more performance from the car today. Yesterday we found a good KERS map for qualifying but this afternoon it wasn’t working as well in the first and second stints, and I think that’s where we lost some time to Heikki. The tyre degradation was higher than we’d seen in the long runs in practice, so we need to look again at why that happened and how we can fix it for future races. Apart from that it was one of those afternoons when we got as much out of the race as we could so now we’ll move on to Monaco where the circuit layout and the difficulty of passing should give us a better chance of pushing the cars ahead throughout the weekend.”

Hispania Racing F1 Team
Pedro de la Rosa
“Racing in front of your home crowd is fantastic and so is finishing the race. I’m very happy because it’s the second home Grand Prix of my career that I finish, so I’m really satisfied about that. It’s true that it’s a discrete position but we gave it our all and we did what we could. We were ahead of the Marussias on some laps and behind on others but our rhythm, in general, wasn’t bad. We know that we must continue to improve but we’re on the right line. The race was even harder than we anticipated. We did a four-stop strategy and we finished near the limit because the tyres were degrading a lot. The first twenty laps were complicated. The softs literally disintegrated, but the hards went much better and we were able to maintain a better rhythm which enabled us to finish in our best position so far this season in front of our fans.”

Narain Karthikeyan
“I had some trouble at the start with a little bit too much wheel spin, but it didn’t affect me too much and by the first turn I was already back up behind Pedro. It was the first time I drove on heavy fuel this weekend so, with the first set of tyres, my objective was to get used to them. On the second set I had a really good stint and was catching Pedro as we came in for the pit stop to switch to hard tyres. That’s when my bad luck continued…I hope to leave it behind in Spain and have a fresh start in Monaco.”

Marussia F1 Team
Charles Pic
“I didn’t get a very good start today. From then on I was working well on my pace and got the right side of the HRTs again. Things were going well for me then on lap 26 I suddenly lost drive and came back into the pits, where unfortunately I had to retire. We could see then that we have experienced a problem with the drive shaft, so we need to understand why that happened. There’s a lot of work for all of us in the next two weeks to improve for Monaco as we have not had the weekend we hoped for. After going to Sir Frank’s 70th birthday event last night I am pleased for him that he had this result today for Pastor and his team. For our side we look ahead to the next race and some more progress.”

Timo Glock
“I had a pretty good start. The first lap was good and I had a bit of a fight with Lewis for that lap. In general after that when positions were settled I just tried to keep the tyres alive as long as possible and we struggled with rear end instability again. From my side I can only push around 80% at the moment. It’s still not perfect and we’re missing pace, so we have to analyse and get on top of the problem before Monaco. On a lighter note, congratulations to Pastor Maldonado and the Williams F1 Team. They’ve done a great race result today.”

Vitaly Petrov
1330 leave for grid, 2 laps
Start on soft tyres
Lap 10: pitstop 1, hard tyres
Lap 28: pitstop 2, soft tyres, front wing flap adjustment
Lap 44: pitstop 3, hard tyres
Finished: 17th

Team Quotes

Heikki Kovalainen, car 20, chassis CT01-#3: “I think we got as much out of the car as we could this afternoon. I had a good start, passed Senna and was hanging on to the pack ahead up until the second stops. The first stint on the options was good, and we stayed on the soft tyres right up until the last pitstop but maybe the last stint on the hards was a couple of laps too long. Still, it was a decent race and we showed we have decent pace on Sundays, more than enough to easily pull away from the teams behind, but not quite enough to be able to fight throughout the whole race with the cars ahead. We knew this track was going to be one of the tougher ones for us, but now we go to Monaco which will give us a chance of fighting higher up, so we’ll keep pushing to close the gap and aim to take another step forwards at the next race.”

Vitaly Petrov, car 21, chassis CT01-#2: “I’m pleased with how I drove this afternoon and, like Heikki, I don’t think we could have got much more performance from the car today. Yesterday we found a good KERS map for qualifying but this afternoon it wasn’t working as well in the first and second stints, and I think that’s where we lost some time to Heikki. The tyre degradation was higher than we’d seen in the long runs in practice, so we need to look again at why that happened and how we can fix it for future races. Apart from that it was one of those afternoons when we got as much out of the race as we could so now we’ll move on to Monaco where the circuit layout and the difficulty of passing should give us a better chance of pushing the cars ahead throughout the weekend.”

Mark Smith, Technical Director: “I am pleased with the performance from both drivers today. They kept pushing throughout the whole race and made sure they didn’t make any mistakes, particularly at the start of the race. Our early pace was good and we used the tyre strategy well to keep ourselves within touching distance of the midfield pack, but again we saw the issue with blue flags, having to let the cars ahead pass articifially lengthened the gap to the cars we had been fighting with, but we have to deal with that on tracks like this where we knew we would be lapped at some point. We now have a busy couple of weeks before the next race, with an aero test in the UK, part of the program that is helping us keep edging closer to the midfield, and we will go to Monaco, hopefully aiming to repeat the sort of performance we saw last year when we finished 13th and 14th.”

Pedro de la Rosa: “Racing in front of your home crowd is fantastic and so is finishing the race. I’m very happy because it’s the second home Grand Prix of my career that I finish, so I’m really satisfied about that. It’s true that it’s a discrete position but we gave it our all and we did what we could. We were ahead of the Marussias on some laps and behind on others but our rhythm, in general, wasn’t bad. We know that we must continue to improve but we’re on the right line. The race was even harder than we anticipated. We did a four-stop strategy and we finished near the limit because the tyres were degrading a lot. The first twenty laps were complicated. The softs literally disintegrated, but the hards went much better and we were able to maintain a better rhythm which enabled us to finish in our best position so far this season in front of our fans”

Narain Karthikeyan: “I had some trouble at the start with a little bit too much wheel spin, but it didn’t affect me too much and by the first turn I was already back up behind Pedro. It was the first time I drove on heavy fuel this weekend so, with the first set of tyres, my objective was to get used to them. On the second set I had a really good stint and was catching Pedro as we came in for the pit stop to switch to hard tyres. That’s when my bad luck continued…I hope to leave it behind in Spain and have a fresh start in Monaco”.

Luis Pérez-Sala, Team Principal: “Once more we proved a good reliability which enabled Pedro to finish the Spanish Grand Prix in front of our home crowd. It was a really tough race, with the tyres degrading a huge amount and that’s why we had to go for a four-stop strategy. But despite the fact that we have a lot to improve, we’re satisfied with Pedro’s result, which is the best we’ve achieved this season thus far. It’s a very special Grand Prix and for that reason we would have liked to have finished the race with not one but both cars. But unfortunately this was not the case because of a problem with Narain’s second tyre change. These things can happen when you take it to the limit, to any team, and more so when you’re in a learning process as we are. But in this case, after an uphill weekend, it leaves me with an especially bad taste in my mouth to have not finished the job off”.

Tutumlu, who is driving a FÖRCH Racing by Lukas Motorsport´s Porsche, was “upset because I couldn´t race my home race, I felt very happy racing here with my family, friends and fans attending the event. Anyway I think it was a fair decision, after the problems with rims. For my part these problems were affecting my rims for wet tires, so with slicks it wasn´t a problem. It has been a shame but this is racing!” . The 26 years old driver added that “I´m pretty sure that everything will go better in Monaco, surely the most well-known circuit around the world. And last but not at least, I have another chance to race in Spain, during meeting scheduled in Valencia next June”.

Porsche has to study if the cancelled race will be held at another track over the course of the season.

The qualifying sessions did not go wonderfully for the three drivers: Robert Cregan was credited with the 23rd best time, Carmen Jorda the 24th, and Kevin Ceccon was not able to clock a time due to a technical problem, which earned him a start from the last position on the grid.

Starting from the back of the pack, the Portuguese team therefore had a very difficult task for its first race. Kevin Ceccon had an excellent start that enabled him to move up 10 positions, but once again he was surprised by a technical problem that left his car immobilized on the track. As for Cregan and Jordan, they adapted well to the championship. The Irish driver, who was getting his feet wet in this formula for the first time, had a good race, finishing in an excellent 15th place. The Spanish driver finished in 20th place after also overtaking a few competitors for her first GP3 race. She kept up a good pace and was involved in several battles.

For the second race, which was held early Sunday morning, Kevin Ceccon, despite a start at the back of the grid, had a fantastic race that enabled him to climb up to 10th place. The end of the race again saw him put pressure on the driver in front of him. His very good result enabled him to secure 1 point, in addition to the point for the best race lap. With a time of 1’40.6, Kevin was he only driver in the top 10 to race under 1’41. Robert Cregan was caught in a collision involving several other drivers and was forced to retire, although he had been moving up in the classification. Carmen Jorda finished in 21st place in this second learning race. The Spanish driver probably could have secured a better result without the penalty assessed to her for an early start.

At the end of the weekend, Ceccon was satisfied, despite the problems encountered: “I am very content with what we did in the second race. My pace was much faster and I managed to move up to the top 10. I don’t think we could have done any better. In qualifying, we were not able to complete a lap because of a technical problem. Considering that, this 10th place finish and two points are already a very good result, plus the pride of having been the only driver in the top 10 to race under 1’41,” the young Italian driver declared.

Carmen Jorda was also satisfied with her work: “Many things happened over the weekend. I think that we made many improvements. There are still a lot of things I have to adapt to. In qualifying, I had some difficulties due to so many cars being on the track. In the first race, I think I improved and managed some good times. In the second race, the penalty prevented me from taking part in the fight,” the Spanish driver declared.

Robert Cregan, who had a good first race, lamented the results of the second: “I was very content with the result of the first race. I found that we showed good progress. Unfortunately in the second race, starting 15th on the grid, I could have had a good result, but I got caught in an accident that forced me to abandon the race. Despite everything, I am content with the development and I hope to be even more competitive in the next race weekend.”

For Tiago Monteiro: “The three drivers had to face many challenges and they managed to overcome the difficulties, each one in their own way. Our start in this championship was a bit turbulent, but I think we have great potential. I would like to congratulate everyone.”

José Guedes also hailed the work by his team: “My congratulations to the drivers for the excellent work they did, to the technical crew, and to every part of the Ocean structure, with whom we managed in such a short amount of time to create the necessary conditions to take part in these first races and secure our first points. It is an excellent image of the ability of Portuguese companies to be able to fight it out on even footing in this sector, as competitive as the cutting edge of technology and international motor sports is.”

Driving a Dallara Mugen-Honda, the 22-year-old Australian put behind him the disappointment of a differential problem prior to round seven on Saturday, 12th May, at the famous French street circuit to add to the National Class victory he achieved at Monza last month.

Joining competitors from the FIA European Formula 3 Championship, meaning a combined grid of well over 20 cars, Double R’s best placed International Class runner was Malaysia’s Fahmi Ilyas who was eighth in the British F3 classification, having finished seventh in the opening encounter at the wheel of his Mercedes-powered Dallara F312.

Geoff Uhrhane, meanwhile, was forced to pit at the end of lap one of the blue riband 40-minute Grand Prix due to a puncture. He eventually finished 10th of the British F3 contingent, a lap down in 18th overall, but the Australian Formula 3 rookie confirmed his ever-improving pace with a best lap of 1m12.739 seconds, just 0.4 seconds shy of British F3 winner Carlos Sainz Jnr’s best.

“It’s been a great weekend, we’re really happy with the performances all of the guys put in”, said team principal Anthony ‘Boyo’ Hieatt, “It was great to see Duvashen pick up his second class win of the year after missing out on points on Saturday, to win at Pau is always fantastic for any driver.

“Fahmi was hit about quite a bit in the first race so he did a fantastic job to finish where he did with the tracking being out on the car. To then back that up with another good run in the GP itself was great to see. All in all, he’s had a very strong weekend.”

Hieatt added: “Geoff picked up his pace throughout and in today’s race his lap times were very impressive. He got caught-up and banged wheels with someone on the first lap, which led to a left front puncture, but when he got back out there his pace was very impressive. He showed more and more confidence as the weekend wore on, kept it out of the wall and did a great job.”