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Author: David Bodapati
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Singapore should suit us better; I’ve unfinished business there..: Kimi
After a second consecutive race with no points to show for his efforts, Kimi Raikkonen wants to make amends in Singapore.
Despite a storming drive through the Monza field – Kimi Räikkönen heads to Singapore pumped and ready for the challenge ahead:
Excerpts from an interview:
It’s now been announced where you will drive next year; how does that affect the rest of your
season?Hopefully it means I won’t be asked so much where I’m driving next year, but maybe it means more
questions. For my racing this season it doesn’t make any difference. I’ll keep pushing at every race to get
the best result I can.Are you looking forward to the Singapore Grand Prix?
I really like going to Singapore. It’s a great place to be, I love the local food, and I don’t mind the unusual
times we run in the car as it means I don’t have to get up so early. I have some unfinished business after
my three Grands Prix there so far, as I enjoy the circuit but have not yet had a podium. That doesn’t mean
I’m not quick there as I’ve been told I still hold the lap record from 2008. I crashed while fighting for fifth
place that year, finished down in tenth in 2009, and took sixth last season, so I want more this time.What difference does it make racing at night?
In the first years of the race being held I was a little bit surprised by how people were talking so much about
the different timing. Obviously when they switched on the lights it was exactly the same as racing in the day
time. I think everybody in Formula 1 enjoys the night race. It’s worked out really well as Singapore is a
buzzing city and lots of people turn up. Apart from one or two dark spots in the run-off areas the circuit is
very well lit, so there is not a big difference to racing in the day.Regardless of being at night, it’s a street race; what effect does this have?
Monaco was not that good for us but there is no reason why Singapore should be difficult. Like at every
street circuit it’s very difficult to pass other cars there, so starting the race as high as possible on the grid is
very an important factor in getting a good result on Sunday.How do you think the circuit will suit the E21?
Everybody will bring updates to this race so we’ll have to see what difference that makes. It’s a case of
trying to get the maximum from our package and working on achieving the best balance. If we get
everything right we should do okay.Any worries about the weather?
We saw rain last year in Singapore and it’s no secret that our car sometimes struggles in wet conditions.
It’s something we’ll deal with if it happens, and as always the weather is the same for everyone.Is it good to be back to a higher downforce layout?
After these two weekends with zero points it’s nice to get back to a circuit we expect to be more suited to
our car. We seem to go better at high downforce circuits that’s for sure. The car actually worked
surprisingly well at Monza during the race so it was a shame we lost so much time at the start. After getting
the new nose, our race pace was not too bad.What’s your target in Singapore?
Obviously, the podium is a target again. We’ve had two races without scoring any points so we need to
score as many as we can in the remaining races this season.How are you feeling about your Championship charge?
You don’t win Championships by not scoring points. We’ve had two races where we haven’t scored which
is not ideal. We’re here to race and score as many points as we can. Of course, that’s what everyone is
trying to do so we just have to keep pushing and hope that we have some pretty good races for the rest of
the year, then we’ll see where we end up in the standings.ends
File photo of Kimi Raikkonen by Lotus F1 team. -
Volkswagen driver Sebastian Ogier takes lead in Rally Australia
New South Wales, 13 Sept 2013: Eight special stages, seven best times – the Volkswagen factory duo Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (F/F) have made their mark on round ten of the FIA World Rally Championship in Australia. The pair, who are leading the WRC Drivers’ and Co-Drivers’ Championship, won almost every single Special Stage on Friday, giving them a 20.0-second lead over their closest rival, Mikko Hirvonen (Citroën), who has won the Rally Australia three times. Volkswagen’s Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila (FIN/FIN) have secured fifth place in the overall standings one third of the way into the event, despite starting from an unfavourable position. As one of the first World Rally Cars to tackle the Special Stages, they cleared all the loose dust and gravel off the track. Andreas Mikkelsen/Paul Nagle (N/IRL) finished the first 94.54 kilometres of 352.36-kilometre time trials in seventh position in the overall standings, according to a Volkswagen Press Release.
Saturday is the longest day at the Rally Australia. The teams will cover another 132.68 kilometres in the course of six Stages, including completing “Nambucca” twice which, at 49.90 kilometres, is the longest Special Stage in round ten.
Quotes following day two of the Rally Australia
Jari-Matti Latvala, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #7
“We’ve set ourselves the goal of playing it safe and primarily collecting points for the Manufacturers’ Championship and we’re on course to do that at the moment. Our early starting position this morning certainly didn’t give us an advantage – it was very slippery and we had to clear the track for the cars behind us. The afternoon went better; we worked our way up from eight to fifth position, which will give us a better starting position on Saturday. Saturday could prove crucial for the rally: the Nambucca Stage is almost 50 kilometres long, so everyone will have to pay close attention to their tyres.”Sébastien Ogier, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #8
“It was a perfect day for us – a really good start to the rally. This morning’s Stages were incredibly slippery, so we had to be really careful. There was a lot of loose gravel on the tracks, which made it difficult to find a good line. That’s why we didn’t go all out to attack because we really didn’t want to crash out of the rally early on because of some stupid mistake. The grip level was much better this afternoon, so Julien and I had loads of fun in the Polo R WRC. I’d like to say a special thank-you to the organisers for extending the starting interval to four minutes because the rally cars in front were throwing up an incredible amount of dust. All bets are off tomorrow because the weather experts are forecasting rain tonight.”Andreas Mikkelsen, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #9
“It was a really eventful day for us. Things went very well on the loop this morning until we came to a point where our pace notes were too optimistic. The track went over a blind crest then into a left-hand bend which tightened – more so than I expected. Luckily, there was a lane branching off so I could turn off towards the emergency exit. Then we sat there, virtually blinded by dust. We had to wait for it to clear before we could keep going. This afternoon brought another scary moment, when I broadsided a bank. After that, it felt like the car had a slow puncture. Luckily, it didn’t. All in all, we’re nevertheless pleased with what we achieved. But the rally is far from over.”Jost Capito, Volkswagen Motorsport Director
“It was a good, very successful day for Volkswagen at the Rally Australia. Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia were on top form today – they couldn’t have been better. Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila also made the most of their opportunities, although they had to cope with clearing the track as one of the first World Rally Cars today after a disappointing qualifying. With that in mind, fifth place in the overall standings is a really good result. Andreas Mikkelsen and Paul Nagle also performed well in the Special Stages today. All in all, we’re satisfied with the first third of the event Down Under. But all of the competitors will face tough challenges in the next two days. We need absolute concentration right to the very end and the whole team will have to work hard without making any mistakes.”And then there was …
… Miikka Anttila’s first-ever Rally Australia – with a Volkswagen Polo made in Hanover. In 1999, Anttila – now Jari-Matti Latvala’s co-driver – competed alongside his compatriot Janne Tuohino in a Group N Polo with just 120 hp. The Polo was built as a customer car at the site in Ikarusallee where Volkswagen Motorsport GmbH is now based. Unfortunately, this first overseas event ended early for Tuohino/Anttila. The Polo found a new home and went to a new owner in Australia after the rally.FIA World Rally Championship (WRC),
Rally Australia – resultsFriday,
13 September 2013km #7
Latvala/
Anttila#8
Ogier/
Ingrassia#9
Mikkelsen/
NagleSS 03 Tuckers Nob 1 08.44 P08
(+ 17.2s)P01 P05
(+ 4.9s)SS 04 Bellingen 1 10.72 P08
(+ 12.7s)P01 P05
(+ 7.2s)SS 05 Newry 1 24.91 P07
(+ 15.1s)P01 P08
(+ 26.4s)SS 06 Tuckers Nob 2 08.44 P05
(+ 3.3s)P01 P06
(+ 4.9s)SS 07 Bellingen 2 10.72 P04
(+ 1.9s)P01 P05
(+ 4.1s)SS 08 Newry 2 24.91 P04
(+ 6.8s)P01 P07
(+ 16.7s)SS 09 Coffs 3 01.60 P04
(+ 1.4s)P01 P02
(+ 1.0s)SS 10 Coffs 4 01.60 P01 P02
(+ 0.1s)P03
(+ 0.2s)Overall classification P05
(+ 58.2s)P01 P07
(+ 1m 03.8s)
FIA World Rally Championship (WRC),
Rally Australia – TV broadcastWestern Europe Andorra (Canal +); Austria (LAOLA1.tv, ORF, ServusTV); Belgium (RTBF); Denmark (VIASAT); Finland (MTV3, YLE Sport); France (Canal +, France TV, Léquipe 21, TF1); Germany (Sport1, RTL, n-tv, LAOLA1.tv, ServusTV); Greece (OTE); Ireland (Setanta); Italy (RAI, Canale Italia, Sportitalia); Monaco (Canal +, France TV, Léquipe 21, TF1); Netherlands (RTL 7); Norway (VIASAT); Portugal (Sport TV, RTP); Spain (Canal +); Sweden (SVT); Wales (S4C) Eastern Europe Czech Republic (Czech TV, Sport 5); Poland (TVP, TV4, TV6); Romania (Dolce Sport); Russia (Auto Plus); Slovakia (Czech TV, Sport 5); Ukraine (First Automotive Channel) Asia Pacific Malaysia (Astro); Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Guam, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Laos, Macao, Malaysia, Maldives, Micronesia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, New Caledonia, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam (ESPN Star); Japan (J Sports); New Zealand (Sky Sports); Australia (Speed TV); Thailand (Truevision) North and Latin America Argentina (Channel 12); Brazil (ESPN); Latin America (Fox Sports) International Worldwide (Reuters, SNTV) -
BIC to host National Racing events for both bikes, 4-wheelers
Greater Noida, 13 Sept 2013: For the first time in the history of Indian motorsports, both 2-Wheelers and 4-Wheelers of the National Racing Championship under the aegis of Federation of Motor Sports Clubs in India (FMSCI) will race together in a special weekend at the Buddh International Circuit in here this weekend.
According to a press release from Adrenna Communications, both the National Racing Championship and Indian National Motorcycle Championship will take place on Saturday and Sunday bringing together the biggest manufacturers in the world. Toyota, Honda, Yamaha will bring the international manufacturers together while MRF Tyres and TVS Racing will keep the Indian flag flying high. This will also mark the first time that a motorcycle race will be held at the BIC since the circuit opened in 2011.
The launch saw the 160+ participants standing on the main straight of the BIC under the start-finish lights along with various racing categories that will take place this weekend. The five partners (MRF, TVS, Toyota, Yamaha, Honda) all addressed the media and stressed on the need to develop motorsports in the country and this weekend being one little step.
Speaking on the main straight of the Circuit Vicky Chandhok, President, FMSCI, said: “This is truly a great moment for us to have both 2-wheelers and 4-wheelers racing on the same weekend. We would like to do this in a more regular basis depending on the outcome of the weekend. The home of the Indian GP is a great place to host this event for the first time ever. It is great to see manufacturers like Toyota, Honda, Yamaha, TVS and of course MRF Racing all coming together for one simple goal – develop the sport in India. To have the first ever motorcycle race at the BIC is truly a great feeling and I am confident that this is the first of many. We will have motorcycle racing, single-seater racing, sportscar racing, what more could a racing fan ask for?”
The historic weekend will feature the MRF 1600 category, Toyota EMR Trophy and the Indian Touring Cars and Indian Junior Touring Cars Championship in the 4-Wheeler category. The 2-Wheeler races will include the the TVS Apache RTR-180 category, Yamaha Y2F R15 One Make Championship, Honda CBR 250 One Make Championship and NRC Experts, Group C upto 165cc.
Ajit Thomas, President, MMSC, was thrilled at the prospect of both cars and bikes racing on the same weekend. “This is the 17th year of the National Racing Championship and we are really excited about this special weekend that will see both bikes and cars running together. In our 60th year I am extremely proud of the great work done by everyone at the MMSC and all our esteemed partner. We are keen to take this unique initiative to the BIC and looking to make this a constant fixture in the coming years. We have only one objective in mind and that is to develop motorsports in the country and do everything in our power to make it a success,” he said.
MRF Racing, will unleash their MRF 1600 category on the BIC for only the second time, after being the support race for the Formula One Indian GP in 2011. Ashwin Sundar wrapped up the championship in the last round in Chennai but young pretenders Tarun Reddy, Advait Deodhar and Vikash Anand will be looking to make their mark at this challenging circuit. The international drivers have been impressive with Yudai Jinkawa taking three wins and Kizuki Hirota taking one win.
Arun Mammen, Managing Director, MRF Tyres, said: “Coming to the BIC is always a special feeling and we can’t wait to see our cars go around this great circuit. Since the lap is longer and harder on the tyres we have had to push the envelope to ensure the driver’s can push the cars to the limit. We are extremely proud of the entire MRF 1600 season and a special thank you to the entire team who have made this possible. At the beginning of the season we were clear that we wanted to have a competitive series and am glad to see that we have achieved this. There is no better way to end the season that letting these young drivers fight it out at the BIC.”
The Indian Touring Car championship will see championship leader looking to close out the title as heads to the BIC with a 34 point lead. Last year’s champion Arjun Balu has seen his title hopes fade over the last two rounds as he has struggled to finish on the podium. He is level on points with V Ramnarayan as they will battle for the second place this weekend.
The Toyota Etios Motor Racing (EMR) Trophy will continue their participation in the 2013 NRC with 4 races being held at the BIC for the race weekend. This will be the first time that the Toyota EMR cars will race at the BIC. The winners will get an opportunity to race outside India to further hone their skills. The Toyota EMR had a great first round in Chennai and will give their young drivers the opportunity to impress at the BIC. Diljith was dominant at the earlier round in Chennai winning 2 out of the 3 races and will be the favourite to win again.
Commenting on this occasion, Sanjay Gupta, General Manager, Marketing, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, said, “After a fun & excitement filled exhibition race season last year, the inaugural round of EMR Trophy took place in July in Chennai this year. This is our second participation in the National Racing Championship and the first time that the EMR cars will be driven at the BIC. Racing at the BIC will be a huge boost for all our drivers as they are all geared to take on the EMR Trophy. The best three EMR drivers of both Trophy I & II will also get the opportunity to race at the Vios Cup scheduled to take place in Thailand this year. It is a single make racing conducted by Toyota Racing Development (TRD) in Thailand.”
The races from the FMSCI 2013 FMSCI Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship will include the TVS Apache RTR-180 category, Yamaha Y2F R15 One Make Championship, Honda CBR 250 One Make Championship and NRC Experts, Group C upto 165cc.
The TVS Apache RTR-180 category has Ananth Raj in the lead with 93 points, with second placed SK Prakash 20 points behind him and Arun M further behind. Arvind Pangaonkar, Head, TVS Racing and Advisor R&D, TVS Motor Company, commented, “TVS Racing’s commitment to motorsport is evident in the fact that TVS Motor Company has for more than 25 years participated in, supported and excelled in various types of motorsports events held across the country. Such platforms help us get practical, hands on learning and insights. This wealth of knowledge subsequently gets translated into our stock motorcycles to enhance customer delight.”
The Yamaha Y2F R15 One Make Championship is much closer with the top 5 riders separated by only 20 points. Shyam Shankar leads the championship ahead of Mathana Kumar. Behind them there is a five point difference separating M Sudhakar, P Ananth Raj and Dinesh Kumar.
Speaking on the occasion Mr. Ravinder Singh, VP- Sales Strategy Planning, Yamaha Motor India Sales Pvt. Ltd. said, “Motorsports has always been an integral part of our corporate philosophy. We’ve always given special importance to motorcycle racing in India as we consider it a way of expressing the ‘Spirit of Challenge’ that we value so highly. We’ve really come a long way since 2010 when we first started the R15 One Make Race Championships in India. Through the R15 One Make race Championship, which is one of our key initiatives to connect with our customers, we aspire to take the motorcycle racing culture to newer heights in the country. This is the first time the race involving national level riders is being hosted at the Buddh International Circuit, a step which will help increase awareness on the Indian racing culture in this part of the country as well. We are very happy with this development as it is very much in line with our endeavor to take the racing culture to newer heights in the country.”
India’s only MotoGP rider Sarath Kumar leads the charge in the Honda CBR 250 One Make Championship with 73 points. The battle behind him is extremely close with upcoming rider Sumit Lucas Toppo in second place ahead of international race winner K Rajni Krishnan.
“This is the first time that HMSI is conducting Honda One Make Race at Buddh International Circuit. As a responsible member of society, Honda will continue to expand safe fun biking culture in India. With the CBR 250R under Team Championship, Honda will promote its global legacy of providing advanced motor-sports experience of expert riders.”, said Mr. Y S Guleria- Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India.
The NRC Experts Group C upto 165cc category is the closest of all with K Jagan and Vivek Pillai tied for first place with Sumit Lucas Toppo in third place, just 8 points away.
For all the live action go to www.madrasmotorsports.in
Participants in all categories who will be racing this weekend at BiC. An Adrenna photoends
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Volkswagen driver Mikkelsen in first place after Day 1: WRC
Coffs Harbour, (NSW, Australia), 12 Sept 2013: Volkswagen has started the Rally Australia with best times in the first two Special Stages. The three factory duos from Wolfsburg claimed leading positions with the Polo R WRC Down Under following two spectacular sprints. The drivers completed the Super Special Stage through the middle of Coffs Harbour city twice. Andreas Mikkelsen/Paul Nagle (N/IRL) won SS 01. Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (F/F) – who are currently leading the WRC Drivers’ and Co-Drivers’ Championship – put in the second best time. Andreas Mikkelsen goes into day two at the top of the standings, while Sébastien Ogier will start Friday in fourth place. Just ahead of him are Jari-Matti Latvala/Miikka Anttila (FIN/FIN) in third, according to
a Volkswagen Motorsport press release.The Rally Australia is being held within an approximately 50-kilometre radius of Coffs Harbour. Spring in New South Wales provides the perfect conditions for rallying: the contestants can look forward to glorious sunshine and mild temperatures on Friday.
Quotes following day one of the Rally Australia
Jari-Matti Latvala, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #7
“The Super Special Stages in Coffs Harbour were a brief warm-up. As of tomorrow, we will face three very different, demanding days – starting with tight, technically challenging routes, followed by fast, flowing sections, then narrow tracks through the forests. Qualifying didn’t go as well as I’d hoped: I was obviously too cautious with the softer tyres, meaning I have to tackle the stages early on. All is not lost though because the rally is expected to be really tricky for everyone. I wasn’t happy with my performance in the last two rallies in Finland and Germany, so I really hope that I can finish well again here and collect as many points as possible for the Manufacturers’ Championship.”Sébastien Ogier, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #8
“Having crashed out of the Rally Germany early on, I’m aiming for another podium finish in Australia. It goes without saying that I want to win here and bag more important points to help me secure the title of World Champion. Qualifying wasn’t 100% perfect, but I’m satisfied with how it went. Although Kris Meeke surprised us with his impressive time, we’ve got a good starting position for the slippery gravel conditions here in Coffs Harbour. After all, what really matters is the rally as a whole, and it only really gets goingtomorrow. I’m really looking forward to the Special Stages. The recce showed that some of the Special Stages here are extremely fast, and that’s what I enjoy the most. On top of that, the scenery here in Down Under is absolutely fascinating. The only thing I’m a bit worried about is the snakes out in the bush – so I’m glad I’m in a car.”Andreas Mikkelsen, Volkswagen Polo R WRC #9
“Two short test days, two lots of free practice and the two Super Special Stages today – that’s pretty much all the competitive driving I’ve done with Paul Nagle as my co-driver as yet. So it’s just as well that we’ve proven to be a great team so far. But the next three days of rallying will be the real test. They’re like three rallies rolled into one: narrow and technical on Friday, an open landscapeon Saturday and full speed through the forests on Sunday. The surroundings are simply stunning too – I’m looking forward to the next few days. And if there is anything I can do to help Volkswagen or Sébastien Ogier secure the World Championship title, I’ll be happy to do it. With that in mind, it’s good news that day one went so well for us with first and second place in the Super Special Stages.”Jost Capito, Volkswagen Motorsport Director
“The two Super Special Stages today made for a fantastic start to the Rally Australia. That said, they aren’t all that meaningful in sporting terms. They only help us to go into the next few days in a positive frame of mind, because that is when things will really get serious. The Rally Australia is extremely challenging – both for drivers and co-drivers and for the cars. Complete concentration is essential. But the drivers and co-drivers in our team have shown that they’re right on the ball from the outset.”And then there was …
… the rally in Oz that is something of a home event. How can that be? Back in 1847, the waterside town of Coffs Harbour on the eastern coast of Australia in scenic New South Wales was named after John Korff. His father, John Conrad Korff, emigrated to Australia from Germany – Brunswick, to be precise. And Brunswick is between Volkswagen’s headquarters in Wolfsburg and the Motorsport department in Hanover. Reason enough to feel just a little bit at home on the other side of the world.
FIA World Rally Championship (WRC),
Rally Australia – resultsThursday,
12 September 2013km #7
Latvala/
Anttila#8
Ogier/
Ingrassia#9
Mikkelsen/
NagleSS 01 Coffs 1 01.60 P03
(+ 1.2 s)P05
(+ 1.6s)P01 SS 02 Coffs 2 01.60 P05
(+ 0.3s)P01 P02
(+ 0.1s)Overall classification P03
(+ 1.4s)P04
(+ 1.5s)P01
FIA World Rally Championship (WRC),
Rally Australia – TV broadcastWestern Europe Andorra (Canal +); Austria (LAOLA1.tv, ORF, ServusTV); Belgium (RTBF); Denmark (VIASAT); Finland (MTV3, YLE Sport); France (Canal +, France TV, Léquipe 21, TF1); Germany (Sport1, RTL, n-tv, LAOLA1.tv, ServusTV); Greece (OTE); Ireland (Setanta); Italy (RAI, Canale Italia, Sportitalia); Monaco (Canal +, France TV, Léquipe 21, TF1); Netherlands (RTL 7); Norway (VIASAT); Portugal (Sport TV, RTP); Spain (Canal +); Sweden (SVT); Wales (S4C) Eastern Europe Czech Republic (Czech TV, Sport 5); Poland (TVP, TV4, TV6); Romania (Dolce Sport); Russia (Auto Plus); Slovakia (Czech TV, Sport 5); Ukraine (First Automotive Channel) Asia Pacific Malaysia (Astro); Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Guam, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Laos, Macao, Malaysia, Maldives, Micronesia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, New Caledonia, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam (ESPN Star); Japan (J Sports); New Zealand (Sky Sports); Australia (Speed TV); Thailand (Truevision) North and Latin America Argentina (Channel 12); Brazil (ESPN); Latin America (Fox Sports) International Worldwide (Reuters, SNTV) -
No more pressure, says leader Sebastian Ogier of Volkswagen
Coffs Harbour (NSW, Australia),Volkswagen’s Sebastian Ogier leads the Drivers’ Championship. Photo by Volkswagen Motorsports 12 Sept 2013: FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP pre-event press conference ahead of Rally Australia
Present:Kris Meeke, Citroën Total Abu Dhabi World Rally TeamSébastien Ogier, Volkswagen MotorsportThierry Neuville, Qatar World Rally TeamAndreas Mikkelsen, Volkswagen Motorsport IIQ:Kris, this is your second opportunity in a WRC car this year and this time you are with the manufacturer team. It has got off to a good start so far, quickest at Qualifying!KM:For me it was a nice morning and quite a nice stage actually, I think it was still probably a little bit slippery in places but a lot cleaner than we will expect tomorrow. It’s going to be a very difficult and technical rally but I knew road position was going to be quite important especially as it’s so slippery. It was nice to do the best time because the best choice is where we want to be.Q:And what is that choice going to be?KM:I think that maybe it will rain at some point over the weekend but we have to see this afternoon what develops, and also it’s quite important what decision the organisers make for the dust and I think it’s at a point, it’s not for competition, it’s for safety. We really need to put gaps out there, it’s not hurting anyone to have a larger gap but we need that.Q:Talk to me about that run this morning because you had your free practice runs and you were one of the last drivers to go into that Qualifying stage. You would have known what Ogier’s time was, did you think you could get a few seconds on that, or did you go in with an open mind?KM:I had a good run in the first pass. Free Practice 2 wasn’t so good. I knew I made some mistakes so there was more to come. I heard Seb’s time over the radio and thought that’s going to take some time to beat it.Q:And how are you feeling ahead of the weekend in terms of pressure?KM:I think it’s fair to say this is what you work for all your career, to try and get into a factory team. There will always be some pressure from some angles. If you’re performing at the top, you need to keep performing at the top and prove you’re good enough. I’m just happy to be part of the team, and to be part of a factory team for the first time is a nice opportunity.Q:It is your first time here, what have you done to prepare?KM:To be honest we’re limited to what homework you can do before the rally. I think there are only three stages the same as 2011, so in that respect, it’s quite new. It’s always better and this is only my eighth or ninth start in a world rally car so I don’t have so much experience but it always helps when it’s new stages for everyone. It’s more of a level playing field but it’s surprisingly tricky in places. Quite narrow and bad drops in places and in some places the forestry roads are not clearly defined. It’s a bit difficult sometimes to make the notes, and you have to drive around with feeling.Q:Sébastien, the possibility of taking the title is getting tantalisingly close for you. How are you feeling coming into Australia?SO:Good. I think it’s nice to be in this position, of course. Okay, I will approach this rally just like another one and I just want to get another good result if I can. It could be good for the Championship but also we need now the points for the Manufacturer’s title because it is getting close, and that’s so far also on target, so definitely I will try to do my best if I can.Q:When you were in Germany a couple of weeks ago it was mathematically possible for you to win at that event, but it really did depend on what Thierry (Neuville) and Jari-Matti (Latvala) did. This time around it’s closer, it’s more on your shoulders, on what you can do this weekend as well as what they do. Do you feel more pressure coming into Australia than you did going into Germany?SO:No more pressure, but like you mentioned, because we are close for the Championship this weekend, but in Germany it was not depending only on me, and of course I didn’t do a good rally and it was not possible. But this weekend it comes very close with Thierry.Q:I can imagine you are pretty motivated to have a better weekend?SO:Of course, it has been very good for us until Germany and then okay we did our first mistake of the season. It was not a huge one, but okay that’s finished and now I just want to restart this weekend and do a good result again for the rest of the season. As I mentioned, it is important for me but also for the team because that battle is raging all the season and to get the Manufacturers title I will do my best to win that; I have to.Q:You’ve been in Australia for two weeks now. Is your jet lag completely gone?SO:Yes, I had two weeks in Sydney, so it has completely gone for me.Q:Thierry, after a fantastic battle in Germany just two weeks ago you now head to an event that you have never contested. Do you feel you will be able to fight as close to the top as in Germany?TN:Obviously I don’t know because this rally is new for me, so Malcolm (Wilson) is telling me to be careful. Okay, everything is good in the Fiesta and I feel very comfortable, so maybe it is possible to be competitive this weekend. This is mostly a new event for everybody so the disadvantage is possibly not so big. We try to do our best, of course, and I hope to go to the finish because we need the experience.Q:What preparation have you done prior to the event?TN:Honestly I feel like I’m not really well prepared because there is really nothing to do here. Only two stages are the same as last time so at home we tried to watch some of the in-car footage and get some videos. At the end we all face the same conditions, but the most important thing is the recce, the notes must be good so we can be confident.Q:Did you have a good recce?TN:It was not an easy recce with the dust hanging in front of you, it was sometimes difficult to see but we’ve done very well I think. The pace notes are very good. I’m really looking forward to the start this evening and especially tomorrow.Q:I guess you’ll be aiming for the podium, I’m sure Sébastien Ogier will be keeping an eye on where you are in relation to himself of course – what’s your aim?TN:Like I said before, my aim is to keep my second position in the World Championship. I will definitely keep my eye on Jari-Matti because he is my closest competitor. If there are no problems for Sébastien and he does well, he will be World Champion anyway so for me it doesn’t matter. It’s important to stay second in the Championship. I will keep my eyes on Jari-Matti and be ready when we have to fight.Q:Your performance in Germany had many people talking, is there any news on where you will be next season yet?TN:I have a good position for next year of course. But at the end, it’s me who will make the decision.Q:Andreas, Paul Nagle is taking over for the injured Mikko Markkula here in Australia. You tested with Paul before the event. How is the relationship working so far?AM:Things with Paul are working really well. I didn’t have a doubt he was the man for the job. I’ve competed with him ever since I was 17-years-old and I started off my rallying in Ireland so I know him from some time before. The choice was quite natural that he could take Mikko’s place when he had his back injury. And things have been working really well. His calling is good, his speaking is nice and we did two days’ test as well and we adjusted ourselves together; so, yeah, I am confident that he will do a very good job.Q:How about Mikko’s recovery? Have you spoken to him?AM:Yeah, I have talked with Mikko. He is slowly recovering but it is one of those injuries that takes its time, eight or nine weeks, and at the same time it is better to wait a bit longer time than be too quick.Q:So what is your plan for this event?AM:I will take it as it comes. If I can help Seb (Ogier) in some way, or for the Manufacturer’s title, of course I will do it. But at the same time that means I need to finish, so we will take it stage by stage and I’m sure I will have a new goal for each day.Q:Is there any stage that particularly stands out as being incredibly difficult here or is it a tough three days?AM:It is three very different days. Obviously the first day is very technical; the second day is much more open, quite nice roads, and the last day is super-fast inside the forest. So, three very different days but I must say the really long stage has a small place inside of it which is about five or six kilometres long which is really narrow, over crests, where we go uphill and that is a really good section.FIA WRC 2 CHAMPIONSHIPPresent:Abdulaziz Al-KuwariHayden PaddonQ:Abdulaziz, it is a welcome back to the Championship for you. You missed Finland and we didn’t see you in Germany either. Is it good to be back on the WRC?AA-K:Yes, of course, it has been three months since Sardinia and it went very quick so we are back, but it was good that we did some testing at M-Sport two weeks ago to get back into the driving seat again, so I’m looking forward to this rally, to be in good competition. This is my first time competing against (Hayden) Paddon so it will be really good to see what the pace is against him. Yazeed (Al-Rajhi) is back in the Championship after his injury and two (Ford) R5s. It will be really good to see our RRCs against the R5s so it will be good competition, I think.Q:In the Championship itself you are in second position to Robert Kubica. He is not competing here this weekend, so do you see this now as a chance to reclaim the lead?AA-K:Yes of course we are keen to get the lead again and I think Kubica is using all his bad luck in Poland… I think surely he is the fastest in WRC 2, plus Paddon and some drivers like Lappi, but I think he should win the Championship.Q:Do you think this is a rally you could be successful on, from what you have seen of the stages from the recce?AA-K:Yes, I think you have to be careful with some stages. We have some notes where you have to be careful, and some stages are very fast, like one stage or two stages on Sunday. You have to drive very fast to be very close to the guys at the front and also you have to be very careful to finish because honestly I came here to take some points, not to just go flat-out on three days, so I really try hard to finish this rally.Q:You’ve made a great start in WRC, had some great results. What are your plans for next year?AA-K:I don’t know. I would like to come back to do WRC 2. Before I can drive a world rally car, I have to win all the stages in a WRC 2 car or at least to lead all the stages but I am not doing all that well at the moment, honestly. There are many faster drivers than me, so if I get the budget for next year from Seashore then I think everything will be the same, yes, WRC 2, I will do it again.Q:Hayden, this is as close as you are going to get to home this year on the WRC. You competed here in 2011 and sealed the Production Car Championship on this event. Does it bring back good memories being here?HP:Yeah, it’s always been very kind to us this rally. Even two years prior to that we won Group N in 2009 so we’ve certainly got a good track record here. Obviously we’ve got this weekend but it’s as close as we’ll get to home and you know, it feels like you’re at home. I know the Kiwi’s won’t like me saying that, but everything is very similar. You don’t feel so much culture shock as you do in some places in Europe. We’re feeling good, feeling comfortable and the car is great.Q:Are there similarities between the roads here and New Zealand?HP:Nothing compares to New Zealand’s roads! But there are some stages here that are very nice. Particularly the long stage; it’s one of the best stages in the Championship. It’s got a bit of everything, a lot of very fast flowing stuff, some technical stuff in the middle and opening up again at the end. Some of the other stages I’ve compared to Portugal, similar bedrock, so there’s a variety of stages which is going to keep the drivers honest. Even things like car set-up and stuff are going to vary as the weekend progresses.Q:You are the only WRC 2 driver in an S2000 here, up against RRC and R5 cars – how much of a difference will it make?HP:Here it won’t be as much of an advantage as it is in some other rallies. The Skoda has a very good chassis and what we’ve got is speed and momentum and our car is just as good, if not better, than some of the others. Where we’re missing out is engine power and torque, being able to get out of the tight corners hairpins, and Germany was a prime example of that. Here it’s not such a problem but it is interesting how Super 2000 cars have become quite obsolete over the space of two or three months which is not good for the sport, but hopefully there’s a few of them still sitting around in sheds and a few more will hopefully come out.Q:What is the objective for you this weekend in Australia?HP:Of course it is to try and win but that’s not going to be easy. We have some tough competition. We’re going to have to try and set a good pace from the word go and probably our biggest hurdle this weekend is with the car. It’s our own car that we’ve got and we’re using our own New Zealand team. But we’ve basically got no spare parts for the weekend so it is going to mean on the rougher sections we’re really going to have look after the car. And that’s down to budget, we don’t have the budget to be buying expensive parts so it’s going to be a fine balance trying to drive fast and trying to look after the car.Q:When you say no spare parts, none at all?HP:We’ve got little bits and pieces but no suspension arms, gearboxes or diffs or anything like that. So we’ve got to be very very careful.Q:So a definite element of caution over the weekend?HP:Oh definitely. But in saying that, in some of the stages which are smooth and fast, they’re not car breakers so you can push 100 per cent and as long as we keep in the middle of the road, it shouldn’t be a problem.Q:At present I believe the plan is not to return to Europe due to budget restrictions this season, could a win here help to secure extra budget?HP:It will certainly help. We’ve obviously out of France, we’ve missed the entry cut-off for France but we are still working on trying to do things for Spain and GB. We’re never giving up. Of course we would still like to do the full Championship, but that’s maybe not so possible now but we will be heading back to Europe where we have some testing and some things involved when we head back over there and hopefully we can keep working on a budget and maybe we’ll get to Spain.Q:Is there anything in the pipeline for next year, can you tell us anything about 2014?HP:It’s very early at the moment. We will have a lot more substantial program for next year and we simply haven’t been in the WRC enough this year. So there are several things that we’re working on which are proving positive and things are looking much better now than they did six months ago. -
5-round Indian National TSD Rally calendar released
Chennai, 11 Sept 2013: The Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) on Wednesday announced the calendar for the 2nd year of the highly popular Indian National TSD Rally Championship 2013. This championship will be run under the TSD (Time, Speed, Distance) format of rallying, with the objective being to maintain precise times and average speeds on various segments of a predefined route. Leading Indian manufacturer Mahindra have already confirmed their support by supplying 6 cars for the season, a press release from Adrenna Communications said.
Last year, JK Tyre entered the rally scene after a long gap and sponsored the TSD championship which soon became a popular event.
File photo of 2012 winners of Indian National TSD Rally championship. Photo by JK Tyre TSD rallying in india is extremely popular as you don’t have to prepare a Special vehicle for this all it needs is a good navigator and coordination between driver and navigator. Any cars/SUV having a valid registration in India (RTO) may participate. The total distance of the rally is set at a distance of minimum 175 Km and maximum of 200 Km.
FMSCI President Vicky Chandhok said that the Federation is excited about the second year of the TSD Rallying championship after a successful first year. He said, “Our first year of the TSD Rallying Championship was received very well and that is why we are keen to promote it again this year. The interesting thing about TSD is that it is the only form of motorsport where speed is not a priority but rather precision and is a great stepping stone for rally enthusiasts. We had good manufacturers support last year and we hope to get more of them involved this year as well.
“The beauty of this championship is that any car can participate and no modification is necessary. It connects with the grassroots level of the sport and is hugely popular. We are keen to continue to promote awareness of the sport and confident that this will reach a completely new audience. We would like to thank the organizing clubs for stepping in and taking on the responsibility to ensure we have another successful year.” added Chandhok.
The 2013 Indian National (TSD) Rally Championship will consist of 5 rounds with the first round taking place in Nashik. There will be two main categories, namely, Pro Expert and Pro Stock. The cars need not be altered or modified as it is a TSD format. Each car will be fitted with Transponders, GPS, Trip Meter and digital cameras for backup times and verification etc.
Round 1 of the 2013 TSD championship will be held in Nashik on September 28-29. This will be followed by rallies in Chikmagalur, Coimbatore and Bangalore.
The calendar for the 2013 TSD Championship will be as follows:
Round 1 : September 28-29 : Nashik
Round 2 : October 19-20 : Chikmagalur
Round 2 : November 16-17 : Coimbatore
Round 3 : December 7-8 : Bangalore
Round 1 : December 20-21 : Coimbatore
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Parth Ghorpade finishes 5th in Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS at Mugello
Mugello, 9 Sept 2013: Young Indian racer Parth Ghorpade finished in a brilliant 5th position to record his best finish of the season in the Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS race at Mugello, Italy. Parth had his best weekend of the series with a solid qualifying and race performance at the challenging Mugello Circuit in the Tuscany region of Italy. Parth finished in 9th position in the second race, an Adrenna release said
Parth Ghorpade finishes 5th at Mugello on Sunday. An Adrenna Communications photo .
For the first time this season Parth had a great start to the weekend with competitive times in all 3 free practice sessions. This was followed by an even better qualifying session where he finished P5 in a very strong Group A . He missed P4 by 0.003 of a second to Piers Gasly, who is currently running 2nd in the Formula Renault Eurocup series. There were a number of Eurocup drivers for this race to form one of the strongest grids this season. Parth qualified overall in position for Race 1 P9 for Race.
In Race 1, Parth had a great start and he moved up to 5th position at the first corner. He held this position till the end , but to do so he had to set some consistently fast times as in front of him was Vermont of Team ARTA and behind him was Silva of Koirannen GP. Parth was all over Vermont for P4 throughout the race but could not find a way past. He had the 4th fastest lap of the race even recording the fastest time in sector 3 giving him a strong finish.
Race 2 was tougher for the Indian as he lost couple of positions at the start. Parth got stuck in a 3 way battle for 8th place behind his teammate Dario Capitanio and Sahara of Euronova. The last lap saw Parth battling with his team-mate Capitanio for P9, with Parth pulling off a brave move on the inside of the last corner. The two cars were side by side from halfway through the corner right to the finish line, with Parth managing to nose ahead by a few centimeters. It was a thrilling finish in a race where he had the pace to finish in a higher position.
Parth was confident of a strong end to the season after his ability to fight with the top guys on a challenging circuit. He commented, “It was great to finally fight with the top guys especially at a great challenging track like Mugello. From the first practice session the car has been really good and we have been competitive. Race 1 was perfect but due to overtaking being tough over here we just could not get past Vermont. Race 2 was tougher as I did not have a great start and then got stuck behind slower cars. It was nice to finish wheel-to-wheel with Dario (Capitanio) as I just nudged ahead. I am confident heading into the last round at Imola and hope to fight with the top guys again.”.
The Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS, is one of the most competitive feeder series for the Formula Renault 3.5 championship. The Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS, powered by the Clio III Renault Sport engine, has a paddle-operated 7-speed sequential gearbox, with 250bhp and push rod suspension.
The ALPS series will have 36 drivers for the 2013 season with 7 rounds consisting of two races each. The 2013 Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS calendar includes visits to the historic Spa-Francorrchamps, Monza, Imola and Vallelunga. Each race weekend has three 60 minute practice sessions on Friday, with qualifying and Race 1 on Saturday and Race 2 on Sunday.
19 year-old Ghorpade is the 2012 Formula Pilota Asian Champion, a five-time National Karting Champion, and runner-up in the inaugural 2010 Volkswagen Polo Cup India.
Calendar for the 2013 Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS
1 April 7 Vallelunga 2 May 12 Imola 3 June 9 Spa-Francorchamps 4 July 7 Monza 5 July 28 Misano 6 September 8 Mugello 7 October 6 Imola http://www.facebook.com/parthghorpade
https://www.twitter.com/ParthGhorpade
www.parthghorpade.com
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A fantastic race and we beat the red guys: Sebastian Vettel
DRIVERS
1 – Sebastian VETTEL (Red Bull Racing)
2 – Fernando ALONSO (Ferrari)
3 – Mark WEBBER (Red Bull Racing)
PODIUM INTERVIEW (Conducted by John Surtees and Jean Alesi)
Q: Sebastian, you won your first grand prix, here at Monza, in an Italian team. So, it’s very special coming back for you, isn’t it?
Sebastian VETTEL: Yeah, definitely. A fantastic race – but you can hear the difference, obviously, when you don’t win here in a red suit, you get a lot of that but in the end it’s very nice because it means you’ve done very good and beat the red guys. So we are very proud of that. Great job by the whole team today, very good job by Renault. Usually this is one of the toughest tracks we go to but this year the car’s been absolutely fantastic, the race has been incredible. I think for both of us towards the end we were struggling a little bit with the gearbox so we had to pace ourselves but obviously for me it was not that bad because I had a little bit of a cushion but very great to win here, to see all the fans coming, it’s the best podium of the season so very proud to be up here.
Q: It’s important that they come and the emotion is all about Italy, isn’t it?
SV: Yeah, for sure.
…Fernando did a very good drive and kept you honourable, so that was fantastic.
SV: Yeah, definitely. Most people, you can see are dressed in red – but there’s a lot of blue caps as well and I’m sure those guys are very happy. Thank you.
Q: Fernando, you must explain how was the overtaking in the beginning of the race for you.
Fernando ALONSO: It was difficult obviously. The car was OK and we overtook Nico [Hülkenberg] but then we had to overtake Mark and Felipe later on. And then with Sebastian we were not able to close to the gap so we were fighting with Mark until the end. Second place is good, to have this podium ceremony that is the most spectacular podium of the year for sure and hopefully next one, next year, we come back here but in the top place.
Q: And Fernando, when you make the pass, the whole public jump on the grandstand, it was amazing. Inside the car, how it was? It was very close.
FA: It was close. Obviously we have to risk. There is nothing now to lose for us. We are second in the championship and we have to take some risk. We did it and that’s OK.
Q: You understand Ferrari love you? You have to love Ferrari, we are all behind you…
FA: Ah, of course. I always said the same thing, big thanks to the team for everything they do for me and huge support from all the fans from all Italy. Some people still try to create some tension between team and driver but here is the better symbol: zero tension and we fight for the championship always.
Q: Mark, you had to fight very hard to be on the podium. From the middle of the race you had… it looked like from outside you had better speed, compared to the beginning. Can you explain how it was at the beginning of the grand prix?
Mark WEBBER: Yeah, I felt a little bit better on the tyre at the end of the race. The hard tyre was not quite as comfortable for me but I felt very, very good at the end. So it was a good battle with Fernando. Great team result. Thank you to Monza, last time here in Formula One, so thank you very much. See you next time.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Well done Sebastian, your third win here but tell us the problems you had with the gearbox – you said between fifteen and ten laps from the end. Was it getting worse or was it just one problem?
SV: In the end we finished the race so it was not a disaster. I think yeah, the heartbeat was a bit higher in the car and also at the pitwall because we didn’t know what’s going on. Fortunately, as I said, we didn’t have any big issues. Just the last ten, fifteen laps, tried to pace myself a little bit more and control the gaps. Obviously it was good to have these ten seconds on hand, so I didn’t have to push that much and also I didn’t have to squeeze it all out of the tyres even though I stopped a couple of laps earlier than Fernando. So that was positive. But yeah, we didn’t know how bad the problem is. We’ll probably know better once we strip the car next week and have a look inside the gearbox. We’ll probably know for both cars, I think, how close it was.
Q: Fernando, were you happy with that second place? Was that as much as you could have achieved today?
FA: Yes, very happy. I think the weekend we took the maximum from the car. Practice were OK and we learnt some good information Friday. Saturday it was very good, both cars in the top five. I think the last time was Malaysia this year, so very, very long time, so we were very, very happy. Today, being in the podium again, it’s a fantastic feeling here in Monza. The fourth year that I drove for Ferrari, the four times that I was in the podium and every year is something amazing, something unique again, to be there in that moment. And we did the maximum and nearly a perfect weekend. We didn’t close the gap in the championship, which is obviously the goal every weekend but y’know, when Sebastian and Red Bull dominate Friday, Saturday and Sunday and they win the race we have to congratulate them. They were the best all through the weekend and we need to do hopefully a better job next time but from what we had this weekend I think we did the maximum. So we are extremely happy.
Q: Mark, you’ve had your best finishing position here and finally experienced a Monza podium – but at the same time, tell us about the start, tell us why you pulled off at the end.
MW: Yeah, very happy to be on the podium here at Monza. It’s one of the most famous ones in the world, up there with Monte Carlo and a few other signature events but yeah, brilliant to experience that, even though the atmosphere I was not completely a fan of, to be honest. Sebastian won the race and the atmosphere is not completely correct but anyway… that’s their choice. It was good to have a clean weekend from start to finish and then fight for top positions, which was certainly the case today. The start was pretty good but both Sebastian and I, I think, compared to the Ferraris were not as strong off the line. Felipe had a good one so he had to go to the other side. Seb gave me enough room up the inside. I thought he was going to go straight. He was very deep on the brakes but just managed to pull it up, so then we settled into the first part of the race. I was not super-happy on the hard tyre but anyway that’s the way it was. Fernando was into the rhythm a little bit quicker, we had a good little battle in the second chicane and then after that really just trying to managed the pace on the rear tyres to when we were going to stop to try to pass Felipe – which I was very, very happy with, the in-lap. And also the whole thing went well in terms of for the line, pitstop, exit, out-lap. We executed that as a team effort: driver, pitcrew, and got the job done against Felipe. And then actually it was a good battle with Fernando on the other tyre. Tried everything but yeah, as Seb touched on, we had to nurse the gearbox a little bit but in the end second was the maximum, we got third but we pushed Fernando all the way. It’s always a good battle racing Fernando, you have to be very accurate. We pushed as hard as we could and I’m satisfied with today’s result.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Adrian Huber Rodriguez – Agencia EFE) Fernando, is the only way for you to win this championship is for Sebastian to lose it?
FA: Well, I think we need to be realistic about the championship now there’s a very big gap. We don’t have enough races and probably we don’t have the speed right now to win some consecutive races and hope to reduce the gap just by pace. We need to be lucky and we need to have some DNFs from Sebastian or something to win the championship. With the races left and the points disadvantage, it’s hard but in a way, it was exactly the same last year. We could only lose the championship, with 41 points advantage in front of Sebastian after the Monza race. It was difficult for him to catch up and so it was maybe up to us. We didn’t complete the job and we had a DNF in Suzuka and some other problems. There’s still a long way to go; we will try until the last race to be as good as we can and score as many points as possible and then in Brazil we will see how many points we have compared to him.
Q: (Adrian Huber Rodriguez – Agencia EFE) And yesterday, there was so much talk and so much written as to whether you had said this or said that. Did you feel today that the fans spoke out for you? They cheered you; do you feel much better today than yesterday?
FA: Concerning yesterday, it’s the third or fourth consecutive race that some people have tried to create some tension between the team and the drivers. Then we come to the press conference, we explain everything but obviously this doesn’t sell so many newspapers – normality. Every time I leave an airport, the hotel, home, everywhere – here in Italy there’s huge support, huge love from them and me to them as well and to the team and we keep repeating this and we saw today on the podium maybe not many of them read the newspapers in the morning, luckily.
Q: (Jaime Rodriguez – El Mundo) Fernando, can you explain the overtaking manoeuvre on Mark, maybe the most spectacular in the whole race?
FA: I tried a lap before but I was not close enough in turn four, in the second chicane, and then we were very close in the first chicane on that lap. Mark had a little slower exit in the first chicane so I used all the KERS on that straight hoping that with the KERS plus the slipstream it will be enough to pass, but it was not enough so that we arrived side by side. At one point, I thought ‘well, I will miss the second chicane and I will give the place back’ but at the last moment I get the grip, we were very close to touching each other but again we come back to the point that it’s not the same fighting with an experienced and respectful driver compared to some others with whom you would never try that move, with whom we’ve had some incidents already.
Q: (Cesare Manucci – Autosprint) Sebastian, in parc ferme you changed gears five, six and seven I think, because you already had a warning of the same problems with the transmission that you had during the race, or was it a completely different problem, or just to be more safe for the race?
SV: We already saw something on Friday, obviously something similar but Friday to Saturday we changed the gearbox and then I think in the race it was a surprise. We were obviously aware of the Friday problem but we didn’t see anything before that. There’s not much you can do; obviously once you start the car there’s nothing you can change so in the end, I think we were lucky or in a comfortable position to have a little bit of a gap especially towards the end. I don’t know what they saw on the pit wall in terms of data, if the problem got worse and worse and worse or stabilised, but obviously I tried to save the car, save the engine and gearbox as much as I can. In the end, I still have to go full power on the straights; basically try to short shift and save the car a little bit.
Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Sebastian, does it hurt to see the people against you on the podium?
SV: About the general atmosphere, fortunately I had an experience in 2008 which blew me away completely when we won here in an Italian team with a Ferrari engine so the atmosphere was fantastic. When we won here in 2011 and this year… 2011 was a surprise, this year I think it was kind of expected. I said on the radio on the in lap that the more booing we get, the better we have done today. It’s normal. I don’t blame the people to be honest, I think their love of Ferrari is in their genes. It’s something very special. Obviously Fernando is in a great position on the podium, whereas if you’re dressed in any other colour it’s not the same, but still, it’s a fantastic race, a fantastic podium here.
Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Sebastian, I think the only hard moment was at the start when you locked up the front tyres a bit. How was it after that, please?
SV: Our start was difficult, as I mentioned. I didn’t get off the line that well, couldn’t see Mark so tried to give him enough room and then tried to brake late, probably a little bit too late, locked the front right and then had lots of vibrations after that because I had a flat spot on the front right tyre. Fortunately we weren’t front limited on this circuit, so the front tyre was not a big issue, so I tried to look after the rears after that and we still got far enough to make the one stop work.
Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action and National Speedsport News) Mark, can you describe your side of when Alonso passed you and how badly did that damaged wing affect your race?
MW: I think that I braked pretty deep into there, so did Fernando. It was early in the race, we were still to get a feel for where everything is. Obviously as Fernando touched on, it’s very easy to go straight there and not make the entry to the chicane. I was also mindful of the fact that I wanted to make the entry to the chicane as well but when Fernando then got pretty much level on the outside of three, the chess match is over, basically, so you then obviously have to concede and look to take the fight to another part of the race. The wing, I think, wasn’t too bad. I think we’ve had quite a few little snags on the front wings this season but that seemed to be OK. It wouldn’t have helped; I don’t think we had the best balance in the first ten, 15 laps because of that. As the race went on towards the end, it might not have been too bad to help the stint but I couldn’t go anywhere against that with Felipe and at the end of the stop the guys might have tweaked it up a little bit, but in general, not a big difference. I was concerned that the wing might have been more damaged when I saw it go and also on the back straight on the way to the Parabolica I thought I saw Fernando’s left rear – just an illusion maybe – but I saw the tyre about to go down but it didn’t, it stayed up and in the end we both survived.
Q: (Flavio Vanetti – Corriere della Sera) Sebastian, Adrian Newey in Spa said that Monza wouldn’t be a positive track for Red Bull, but looking at the dominance here, maybe he was wrong. What happened, how were you able to change the situation?
SV: I think he was as surprised as we were. Just on the way up to the podium, he said ‘I thought that it was going to be damage limitation this weekend.’ I said to him ‘well, if damage limitation is like that, I want to have a lot of damage for the rest of the season.’ It was very unexpected. Already the pace on Friday surprised us. From a balance point of view, I was very happy with the car, similar to two years ago. So obviously we’ve been very competitive in Canada, very competitive in Spa on medium downforce tracks. This one was a little bit unknown. We haven’t been the fastest down the straights again, but fast enough, somewhere in the mid-field which is enough to use the strengths that we have through the corners, despite running as little wing as we can afford.
Q: (Carlos Miguel – La Gaceta) Fernando, what do you expect for Singapore, because in theory it is very good for your car. Do you believe Red Bull is now at the level of 2011?
FA: Yeah, we will see. Obviously we were expecting a lot from Monza and it was a very good Monza. It’s true that we didn’t win the race because Red Bull and Sebastian did an even better job and they were very very good but in our level of competitiveness that we had this year, Monza is one of the best weekends, as we expected before. We came from Silverstone, from Nurburgring, from Hungary where we had Red Bull in front of us, Lotus in front of us, Mercedes in front of us and some other cars sometimes, so here in Monza we were able to beat all those cars and fight for the wins, so if we can repeat this good performance in Singapore, we hope so but this will be the real test for us. We made some changes in the car, they seemed to be positive in Spa, seem to be good and positive in Monza, but when we reach the maximum level of downforce in Singapore, like we had in Hungary, we need to check. If we still have Mercedes in front, Lotus in front and some other teams, we will be more or less the same as in Hungary and we don’t want to be. I think we prepare the car and we prepare everything to make a step forward and in Singapore hopefully we can see it.
The level of domination? Well, I think as Sebastian touched on before as well, already in Canada, Spa, Monza are very unique tracks in terms of level of downforce. They were quick in Spa so more or less… we saw it in Canada so Spa was not a surprise and here in Monza also they performed really well. I think it’s more tight this year than 2011 and also there are more teams in the battle. There is not only Red Bull who can be on pole position etc; there is Mercedes who have done many pole positions this year etc, so many races are coming with many interesting combinations of performance so what we have to do is try to be close to the top in all track characteristics.
Q: (Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) Sebastian, you said some minutes ago that the car reminded you of the 2011 car here. It means a very dominant car as we already saw in Spa – Francorchamps, you have 53 points advantage over Alonso. What do you predict for the rest of the season? You are very close to being World Champion for the fourth consecutive time?
SV: I’m trying not to think about it too much. I think that when I spoke about the fact that it was similar to 2011 I was speaking about the experience here in Monza because usually… you know, 2009, 2010, 2012 it was very tricky for us here. Obviously this year was similar to 2011 when the car just seemed to be very well balanced in the corners, I felt very good through all the medium speed and the chicanes. It’s not as simple as you think. People say ‘at Monza, you just need horsepower, little wing on the car’ but in fact if the car doesn’t feel right and doesn’t allow you to play, you lose a lot of lap time, just because you are not comfortable. The cars are sliding more than the rest of the year because you run less downforce so you need to be happy with that and accept that. We have a car this year that was similar in 2011 in that regard and allowed myself to play and still to feel comfortable, even though the car was loose. Other than that, I think I tend to agree with Fernando. Obviously the last two races have been very good for us but overall this year, I think it’s been very close. Yesterday was the first pole position we got in real dry dry conditions, if you don’t consider Melbourne because it was a little bit damp and drying up in Q3. So on that front, we seem to have made progress and in the race it has stood out this year that we have had a very very strong race car. Together with Ferrari, I think on average we have been the fastest in the race.
Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Sebastian, during the race we heard a little message radioed by you that you were complaining about the rear light on the Vettel car. I would like to know how disturbing, how annoying it was for you during the race?
SV: Me?
FA: Was the question for me? Well, it was…
SV: Will you listen now? You complained about the red light?
FA: Yeah, yeah. It was disturbing a little bit. Obviously it’s a very strong light with no rain.
SV: It’s worse in here.
FA: Sebastian is not used to having a car in front so he doesn’t know how it feels to have a red light on but when you are behind, a little bit close, it’s always flashing and sometimes you just have to touch one button because that’s the red light or something that you press by mistake, if he could switch, but he didn’t. So the whole race I had it flashing in my eyes.
SV: I was trying to get away so it wasn’t disturbing you so much.
FA: You didn’t…
Ends
From left: Alonso (2nd), Christian Horner (Red Bull), Vettel and Webber (3rd) on the the Podum at Monza on Sunday. An FIA photo -
Facile victory for Vettel at Monza; Alonso second, Webber third
Monza, 8 Sept 2013: Sebastian Vettel took a controlled Italian Grand Prix victory ahead of Fernando Alonso and third-placed Mark Webber, despite late-race gearbox troubles that forced the Red Bull Racing driver to drop his pace in the closing stages.Starting from pole position, Vettel held his lead into turn one despite close attention from team-mate Mark Webber, who started second. As Vettel protected his lead, however, Webber was forced to back off and that allowed fourth-on-the grid Felipe Massa to steal P2 as the field swept towards the Curva Grande, an FIA release said.
File photo of Vettel courtesy FIA photo gallery Behind them, though, there were incidents. A good start saw Kimi Raikkonen close on Sergio Perez but under braking the Finn collided with the rear of the Mexican’s McLaren in turn one. Perez continued but Raikkonen’s was forced to pit for a new front wing. The accident defined the Lotus man’s race and he spent the next 52 laps battling through the midfield to eventually finish 11th.
Force India’s Paul Di Resta also ran into trouble, slamming into the back of Romain Grosjean’s Lotus as the field entered the Roggia chicane. The Lotus driver continued on but Di Resta’s front left wheel was torn off and his race ended there.
Ahead, Alonso slotted into fourth behind Webber and on the third lap, the Ferrari driver made a brave move at the second chicane and passed the Red Bull. Alonso soon reeled in team-mate Massa and on lap eight he breezed passed Massa into the Rettifilo.
That leading order held until the first, and for many, only pit stop. Vettel and Webber both dived in on lap 23 for hard Pirelli tyres and Alonso swept into the lead.
It didn’t last long. The Ferrari’s pace was never a match for the Red Bull’s and when the Spaniard made his stop for hard tyres on lap 27, Vettel flew into the lead again. When Alonso rejoined, the gap to the Red Bull driver was more than 10 seconds and the race was largely run.
Webber, meanwhile, gained in the tyre switches. Massa stopped on lap 24 but when he exited pit lane he found the Red Bull alongside and Webber held a tough line into the first corner to take third place.
He set off in pursuit of Alonso and soon closed to within half a second of the Ferrari and for a while it looked like the race might turn into a Red Bull one-two.
But first Webber’s engineer told him to short shift second and third gears and then Vettel was given the same message. The duo duly moderated their pace and the order held until the flag.
Afterwards, Vettel admitted that while the issue had not been serious, it had caused nervous moments in the final quarter of the race.
“In the end we finished the race so it was not a disaster,” said Vettel of the gearbox issue. “I think the heartbeat was a bit higher in the car and also at the pit wall because we didn’t know what’s going on. Fortunately, as I said, we didn’t have any big issues. Just the last ten, fifteen laps, I tried to pace myself a little bit more and control the gaps.”
Alonso, meanwhile, said that his second place was the best possible with the car at his disposal.
“I’m very happy,” he said. “I think this weekend we took the maximum from the car. The car was OK and we overtook Nico [Rosberg] but then we had to overtake Mark and Felipe. With Sebastian we were not able to close to the gap, so we were fighting with Mark until the end. Second place is good to have [and] this podium ceremony is the most spectacular podium of the year. Hopefully next year, we’ll come back here but in the top place.”
Behind fourth-placed Felipe Massa, Nico Hulkenberg took an excellent fifth place for Sauber. After a successful 2012 in which it landed three podium finishes, the Swiss outfit has struggled with an uncompetitive car throughout this season, but on Saturday Hulkenberg took a shock third place on the grid to give his team hope of its best result of the year.
And the German didn’t disappoint. Despite losing two places at the start, any expected further drop failed to materialise and Hulkenberg matched the pace of those around him to take 10 points, three more than the team has managed in the whole of the season so far.
Behind him Nico Rosberg finished sixth for Mercedes, ahead of Toro Rosso’s Daniel Ricciardo and eighth-placed finisher Grosjean.
It was Lewis Hamilton who made the most significant moves in the closing stages. The Mercedes driver made a relatively early pit stop on lap 13 to shed his starting hard tyres and then cycled through two sets of mediums as he attempted to use their better pace to work his way up the order.
The tactic worked and in the closing laps he leaped from 12th place to ninth, passing Raikkonen, Pérez and McLaren’s Jenson Button, leaving Button to take the final point on offer.
Vettel 32nd career win means he extends his lead over Alonso at the top of the drivers’ championship leaderboard to 53 points. The German now has 222 points, Alonso 169. Hamilton lies third with 141. In the Constructors’ title fight, Red Bull Racing now have 352 points. Ferrari move back into second with 248 and Mercedes are third with 245.
Italian Grand Prix 2013 – Race result
1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 53 1:18:33.352 25
2. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 53 +5.4 secs 18
3. Mark Webber Red Bull Racing 53 +6.3 secs 15
4. Felipe Massa Ferrari 53 +9.3 secs 12
5. Nico Hulkenberg Sauber 53 +10.3 secs 10
6. Nico Rosberg Mercedes +10.9 secs 8
7. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso 53 +32.3 secs 6
8. Romain Grosjean Lotus 53 +33.1 secs 4
9. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 53 +33.5 secs 2
10. Jenson Button McLaren 53 +38.3 secs
11. Kimi Räikkönen Lotus 53 +38.6 secs
12. Sergio Perez McLaren 53 +39.7 secs
13. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber 53 +40.8 secs
14. Pastor Maldonado Williams 53 +49.0 secs
15. Valtteri Bottas Williams 53 +56.8 secs
16. Adrian Sutil Force India 52 +1 Lap
17. Charles Pic Caterham 52 +1 Lap
18. Giedo van der Garde Caterham 52 +1 Lap
19. Jules Bianchi Marussia 52 +1 Lap
20. Max Chilton Marussia 52 +1 Lap
Ret Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 14 Transmission
Ret Paul di Resta Force India 0 Accidentends
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Brembo awards Niki Lauda during Formula One Italy Grand Prix
Monza, 8 Sept 2013: Niki Lauda, the legendary Austrian racing driver, three-time Formula One World Champion, received ‘Bernie Ecclestone Award 2013’ for contributing with his sporting and entrepreneurial capabilities to the history of Formula One.
On the occasion of Formula One Italy Grand Prix at Monza circuit, Alberto Bombassei, Brembo Chairman and Bernie Ecclestone, Formula One Management (FOM) Chairman, gave the prize ‘Bernie Ecclestone Award 2013’ to Niki Lauda.
The special award, a Formula One braking system, was achieved with the following motivation: “To have contributed to the history of Formula One as a racing driver, with three-time World Champion victories in 1975, 1977 and 1984, 177 races competed, 25 wins, 54 podiums, 24 pole positions. After the retirement from competition, in the role of teams consultant, television commentator, motorsport writer and journalist and now as non-executive Chairman of Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 team.
Moreover, in September 2013 the movie RUSH will be released about F1 battle between Austrian driver and James Hunt in Seventies and contribute to further spread the culture of Formula One worldwide. Thanks to the award assigned to Niki Lauda, Brembo brings the award outside Italy at more international level”.
The award ceremony took place at FOM (Formula One Management) motorhome. The ‘Bernie Ecclestone Award by Brembo’ was born in 2011 to celebrate 50th anniversary of the Italian Company. The first edition of the award, a braking system personalized with the colour of the Italian flag, was given to Bernie Ecclestone. In 2012 the award was assigned to Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, Ferrari Chairman.
The Italian Company continues to invest maximum commitment in research and development of highly innovative and technological products, offering high performances and guaranteeing the best reliability and safety. Since 1975 to date, Brembo has achieved 18 Drivers World Championships and 23 Constructors World Championships, divided in this way: 14 with Scuderia Ferrari, 3 with McLaren Honda, 3 with Red Bull Racing, 2 with Benetton Renault and 1 with Brawn GP.
ends
Bernie Ecclestone award presented to Niki Lauda on Sunday. Photo by Brembo Brakes
