Category: Non-F1

Le Mans (France) 14 June 2012: Indian racing driver Karun Chandhok completed his first qualifying session at the historic Le Mans 24 hours as his team JRM Racing set a time of 3:37.088, 11th quickest in the overall classification. JRM makes the step up to Le Mans after its FIA GT1 World Championship title victory last year. The trio of David Brabham, Peter Dumbreck and Karun Chandhok will use the Honda HPD ARX-03a to contest the LMP1 category alongside works and privateer outfits.

Earlier in the day, Brabham opened running in the practice session for JRM with three runs in the first 90 minutes. The Le Mans 2009 winner recorded the team’s best time of 3:34.641, 10th in the overall classification. Brabham then handed over to Chandhok, but the Indian reported some instability on the rear of the car on his second run and returned to the pits for checks before Brabham got back in the car to compare set-ups with the beginning of the session. The Australian then handed over to Dumbreck. In the second qualifying Dumbreck was first out in the car, completing four timed laps with his – and the team’s overall – best time of 3:37.088. Chandhok, who will become the first-ever Indian to compete in the Le Mans 24 Hours this weekend, then posted three timed laps before Brabham rounded off the day.

Chandhok was happy to get more time in the car, especially as he had never driven in the dark at the historic Le Mans circuit. He commented, “Today was about getting more time in the car and fine tuning the balance. We’re still very new round here, both myself and the team, so the learning curve is very steep. We’ve made a lot of changes as we’ve understood more about the tyre warm up and performance, plus the behaviour of the new aero package. It’s been a fairly tough day as the grip is low and temperatures have changed throughout the sessions but we are still learning all the time. On the plus side we have covered a lot of ground and there’s a lot of time between now and qualifying tomorrow to completely understand how we can improve.”

Team Manager and Chief Engineer Nigel Stepney commented, “We did what we had to do today: completed the obligatory night qualifying laps for each driver and did more checks. We didn’t run any new tyres in the session and got caught in traffic on several potential fastest laps so the times aren’t entirely representative of our potential. We are struggling for grip and getting the tyres up to temperature but we do have an idea of why this is happening, which gives us a direction to go tonight.

The race can be seen live at www.fiawec.com and live onboard streaming can be seen live from www.jrm-racing.com

About JRM

After winning the 2011 FIA GT1 World Championship with Nissan, The British-based JRM Racing will partner with Honda Performance Developments to enter the brand new FIA World Endurance Championship in the LMP1 class.  JRM Racing will enter a single LMP1 Honda Performance Development ARX-03a powered by a specially designed and tested 3.5-litre naturally aspirated V8 engine. The ARX-03a is currently hailed as the most competitive petrol Le Mans Prototype around.

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Road safety will be highlighted at the Circuit de la Sarthe, as drivers participating in the 3rd round of the FIA World Endurance Championship at the 24 Heures du Mans joined Michelin and the Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) to show their support for the FIA’s Action for Road Safety campaign, an FIA release says.

Michelin and the ACO reinforce their commitment to improving road safety within the framework of the FIA Action for Road Safety campaign via the distribution of 50,000 tyre tread depth gauges to the public. The gauges will be handed out over the course of the race weekend opposite the Michelin enclosure in the 24 Heures Village.

Building on twelve months of activities to raise awareness of safer motoring, the FIA Action for Road Safety’s presence at the 24 Heures du Mans highlighted the importance of drivers ensuring that their tyres are in good condition, and called on race goers to support the campaign which aims to save 5 million lives on roads around the world.

A special group photograph featuring the 168 drivers taking part in the 24 Heures du Mans, along with the FIA President and the President of the ACO will take place to mark the first year of the campaign and will be later distributed to racing fans along with the FIA’s Golden Rules for Safer Motoring.

FIA Action for Road Safety: Every year road traffic accidents are responsible for the deaths of 1.3 million people around the world and the injuries of nearly 50 million others. The World Health Organisation (WHO) reports that unless something is done to address this critical issue by 2030 traffic accidents will become the planet’s fifth most common cause of death, with a predicted 2.4 million fatalities per year.

 The FIA’s Action for Road Safety campaign aims to address this problem and to limit the number of deaths and injuries on the world’s roads by focusing the federation’s resources on helping its member organisations around the globe to educate and advocate for safer roads, vehicles and behaviours. Supported by the ACO and Michelin, the FIA Action for Road Safety initiative is part of the Decade of Action for Road Safety programme launched by the United Nations (UN), 2011-2020.

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Rockingham (Northamptonshire, UK) 10 June 2011: What was shaping up to be a promising weekend despite early hiccups ended in disappointment for Indian driver Sailesh Bolisetti as a technical failure left him stranded while in a comfortable lead at round three of the 2012 British GT championship held here.

Earlier in the weekend, Sailesh and his teammate Briton Phil Glew had managed to qualify second despite several mechanical hiccups throughout.

“I can’t begin to describe the feeling. After all the hard work through the weekend we were finally in a strong position for the race but everything just fell apart, literally.”

A driveshaft failure, something which Sailesh’s Lotus Sport UK squad hadn’t experienced in their three-year existence, was zeroed-in as the culprit for the DNF.

It was the season’s first two-hour race and having taken to the wheel in the opening stint, Glew had done a sterling job to keep the chasing Ginettas at bay.

After stopping for fuel and tyres, where the crew once again did an exemplary job – meant that the squad had over a lap’s lead when Sailesh took the wheel for the final stint.

“We had a massive cushion – I just had to drive without getting into trouble and the win was ours.”

However, it wasn’t to be as the car spluttered to a halt, with a grinding noise and a small blaze in the engine compartment confirming that the race was over.

“A DNF at this stage, especially since not for our direct oversight, is extremely disappointing as it has really put us on the backfoot in the championship stakes.”

To make matters worse, Lotus Sport UK’s championship challengers, Team WFR, whom Sailesh was slated to outpace easily early-on, went on to win the race.

“It was a double whammy really, we scored zero points and they scored full points, so it is a large deficit now. But we can’t do much except put our heads down for the next round at Brands Hatch, and hope for some luck as well.”

The championship is slated to visit the iconic, former F1 circuit on 29 July-1 August.

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Rockingham (Northamptonshire, UK) 9 June 2012: Indian driver Sailesh Bolisetti has qualified second on the grid at the third round of the British GT Championship being held here.

Continuing their good work from his maiden victory at Nurburgring last month, Sailesh’s Team Lotus Sport UK squad looked all set to grab pole at the banked circuit but an untimely yellow flag put paid to their chances.

The foundation for this performance was laid earlier in the day during the two practice sessions, where the team faced some gremlins but worked tirelessly to eradicate the issues for qualifying.

“The first practice wasn’t too productive in terms of race work. We were having a tough time with the brakes and tyres which didn’t seem in very good shape”, said Sailesh.

But Sailesh’s teammate Phil Glew still managed to set the quickest time of the session, with Sailesh going second fastest.

Second practice was better as the duo had new tyres and brakes to work with. The team then decided to make some setup changes to cope with the unique demands of the banked circuit, but things didn’t go well to begin with.

“We went backwards with the setup to early on in the second session, the rear felt especially loose –in fact it was worse compared to the first session.”

However, both drivers were still able to post similar times as the first session and retained their 1-2 spots on the timesheets.

“We were quick yes but there were still a lot of issues that needed to be sorted. I got just six laps of running during the hour since Phil spent most of the time trying to zero in on a setup.”

Come qualifying, it was clear that the team’s hard work had paid off as feedback from both drivers seemed much more positive.

“The car felt much better than practice and I could push harder”, confirmed Sailesh.

“But unfortunately I had some problem with the radio and couldn’t communicate with the pits. There was a yellow flag at turn two as a car had gone off track so I just played it safe and lifted on a flying lap.

“I didn’t want to push it unnecessarily and ruin our efforts with a penalty”, he reckoned.

As a result the team had settle for second on the grid for tomorrow two-hour race.

“We knew we were quick enough for pole, so yes I am somewhat disappointed. But it’s a long race tomorrow, with pit stops for fuel and everything, so it’ll be race pace and pit work that will decide the result.

“Our race pace has been pretty good, and our pit crew has been getting the job done right from the first race, so I am looking forward to a good result”, he concluded.

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Fifteen-year-old Lina Von Schedvin has been selected by representatives of the CIK-FIA and Women in Motorsport Commission to receive a funded drive in the 2012 CIK-FIA Karting Academy Trophy. Lina, from Sweden, won this opportunity following a shoot-out against eight other young karters vying for a drive in this low-cost educational formula.

Lina said: “I am obviously delighted to have won this selection. I have learnt many things and being able to receive the advice of Cathy Muller was a privilege. She is so experienced with karts and cars. I wish to thank the Women in Motorsport Commission and the CIK-FIA for having implemented this selection and for enabling me to compete this season in the CIK-FIA Karting Academy Trophy. I look forward to starting!”

Working in association with the FIA’s National Sporting Authorities around the globe, nine aspiring female kart racers were invited to attend a two-day assessment process in Friuli, İtaly. The youngsters, all under 15 years of age, were put through their paces both physically and mentally, taking part in activities designed to assess their movement, agility and reflexes, the reaction of their bodies to stress, as well as their knowledge of karting history and sporting regulations. The second day the young karters took to the wheel at the Friuli circuit to demonstrate their speed and racing ability with brand new karts supplied by Parolin.

Lina – deemed as the driver to have demonstrated the greatest potential – receives a free entry to the 2012 CIK-FIA Karting Academy Trophy and a €5,000 prize fund, along with a Parolin-FIM-LeCont kart from the official supplier and free overalls.

The 2012 CIK-FIA Karting Academy Trophy takes place over three races, in addition to the official pre-season test session. And, this season, race weekends will also address highly-important issues relating to safety, driving conduct and the anti-doping code. All competitors will compete on equal terms in karts provided by the official equipment supplier.