INDIA in F1

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  • Rosberg wins; Hamilton 3rd from P21

    Nico Rosberg closed the points gap to title rival Lewis Hamilton with a comfortable Belgian Grand Prix win but the championship-leading Briton limited the damage with a sparkling drive from P21 to third and a podium finish behind Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo.

    The race began in dramatic fashion. Rosberg made a good getaway from pole to take the lead but Max Verstappen making his first career front-row start began slowly from P2. He was passed by the fast-starting Ferraris of Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel, but Red Bull driver Verstappen attempted to recover by taking the inside line into La Source.

    Vettel though was taking a tight line on the outside of Raikkonen and there was contact, with Raikkonen spinning. Verstappen too picked up damage and all three went backwards. Elsewhere Carlos Sainz picked up a puncture and retired from the race and incident that brought out the Virtual Safety Car, with Rosberg leading from Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg and Daniel Ricciardo.

    When racing resumed again there was more drama as Renault’s Kevin Magnussen crashed out. The Dane lost the rear end of his car on the run up to Raidillon and spun off track, hitting the barriers hard with the right rear three-quarter of his car.

    It was a heavy impact but Magnussen was quickly out of the car and was helped away from the crash site. The smash brought out the Safety Car and when it became clear the barriers would take some time to repair, the race was red-flagged.

    As drivers were disadvantaged byt the instances or took the chance to pit under the safety car, some drivers profited greatly. The two most in receipt of good fortune were McLarens Fernando Alonso and Hamilton. Both had started at the back of the field due to penalties for power unit changes but as the cars halted in pit lane following the red flag, Alonso was in fourth place and Hamilon fith. Ahead, Rosberg was still in first place, but Ricciardo had moved past Hulkenberg who had pitted under the Safety Car.

    The stoppage was a boon for Ricciardo. The Red Bull driver had started fifth but had hit debris from the first corner incident and damaged his front wing. Under the red flag his team were able to change his front wing and Ricciardo took on new softs.

    When the rolling start under the SC took place Rosberg and Ricciardo comfortably held position but Hamilton was on the march, quickly passing Alonso and Hulkenberg to take P3.

    As the front three then worked through their strategies, Hamilton eventually closed to within a second of Ricciardo. The Briton needed another stop, however, and took on a final set of medium tyres on lap 32. He attempted to reel Ricciardo in but the 18-second gap to the Australian was too large and Hamilton settled for third place behind the Red Bull man. The Briton’s climb from P21 to P3 still set a new record for places gained at a Belgian Grand Prix.

    Ahead Rosberg was comfortable. For the bulk of the race he maintained a healthy gap to Ricciardo and with no mistakes made he crossed the line for his sixth win of the season and his 20th career grand prix victory with 14 seconds in hand.

    “It’s been great of course to get the win today on this special track, it’s a legendary track,” said Rosberg. “But Lewis starting from the back made it a lot easier this weekend and I’m sure he’s going to be back in Monza and it’s going to be a big battle as always.”

    Behind the top three it was an excellent afternoon for Force India, with Nico Hulkenberg fourth and tea-mate Sergio Perez fifth. The Silverstone-based team scored 22 points to move into fourth place in the Constructors’ standings, ahead of Williams whose drivers, Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa finished eighth and tenths respectively. Force India now have 103 points to Williams’ 101.

    Sixth place in the race went to Vettel who recovered well from the lap one incident, passing Verstappen, Bottas and Massa in the closing stages. Alonso, meanwhile, enjoyed an excellent outing, soldiering through to seventh place.

    Versatappen who had drawn a sell-out crowd packed with Ducth fans to Spa, had a rollercoaster afternoon. After the start incidents he dropped to P16 before beginning a fight back.

    That saw him chased by Raikkonen though and the pair clashed several times during the course of the race’s first third, leading Raikkonen to brand the youngster’s defence of his position “ridiculous”.

    Raikkonen got the better of the Dutchman eventually, however, with strategy playing the Finn’s way. He eventually claimed ninth place behind Bottas and ahead of Massa who took the final point.

    2016 Belgian Grand Prix – Race
    1 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 44 laps – 1h44m51.058s 2
    2 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing + 14.113 2
    3 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes + 27.634 3
    4 Nico Hulkenberg Force India + 35.907 3
    5 Sergio Perez Force India + 40.660 3
    6 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari + 45.394 3
    7 Fernando Alonso McLaren + 59.445 2
    8 Valtteri Bottas Williams + 60.151 2
    9 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari + 61.109 4
    10 Felipe Massa Williams + 65.873 3
    11 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing + 71.138 4
    12 Esteban Gutierrez Haas + 73.877 3
    13 Romain Grosjean Haas + 76.474 3
    14 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso + 87.097 3
    15 Jolyon Palmer Renault + 93.165 4
    16 Esteban Ocon Manor + 1 lap 3
    17 Felipe Nasr Sauber + 1 lap 3
    18 Kevin Magnussen Renault DNF 0
    19 Marcus Ericsson Sauber DNF 1
    20 Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso DNF 0
    21 Jenson Button McLaren DNF 1
    22 Pascal Wehrlein Manor DNF 0

    eom/FIA press release

  • A really challenging qualifying: Rosberg

    DRIVERS

    1 – Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)

    2 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)

    3 – Daniel RICCIARDO (Red Bull Racing)

    TV UNILATERAL

    Nico, what a dramatic qualifying session. How difficult was it out there and just describe your elation when you saw you had taken pole position at the end?

    Nico ROSBERG: Yeah, it was a really challenging qualifying: the conditions changing all the time, very exciting out there. In the end it was pretty amazing that it did full dry out towards the end. I mean some kerbs still had some patches – going on to the start-finish straight, you had to be really careful opening DRS, I think you saw a lot of moments coming on to there. Then, yeah, I just got a really good lap in on that last lap – awesome, I’m very happy with that.

    Lewis, I guess you must feel disappointed? You had set the fastest first sector and then you came across Fernando Alonso’s spinning McLaren. Do you think pole position was on for you today?

    Lewis HAMILTON: I don’t know how much Nico was up, but obviously as you said I got the fastest first sector, I was four tenths up, so I felt good on the lap. Bit unfortunate with Fernando, but these things happen. I’m not really too disappointed, it was a tricky session and I did the best I could do and yeah, we still have a long race ahead of us tomorrow, so I’ll give it everything I’ve got from there.

    Daniel, as Lewis says, it was a tricky session. You had a big moment exiting the final corner during qualifying. Describe what happened there and also your performance during qualifying, do you think you got the maximum out of the Red Bull package?

    Daniel RICCIARDO: I think yeah… the maximum? I don’t know. We got hurt by the yellow as well. I was pretty angry on that last lap, because I was up a bit and I think it would have put me closer to pole. It would have been interesting without the yellow, so I’m a little bit disappointed, because it’s a maybe what could have been. But at the same time I think the session went really well. I think in all conditions we were competitive. It was crazy. You had to adapt quickly – when to go on the slicks in Q2 and even just little things: getting out of pit lane on the slick tyre when it was so wet, yeah it was sideways coming into turn one. It was fun, it was challenging. On the last corner, I think it was in Q3. There was still a little bit of a wet patch just next to the kerb and it sort of just sucked me in as I opened DRS as well, so I was in for a little bit of a ride but in the end I survived.

    Nico, looking ahead to tomorrow’s race: you’ve never finished on the podium here at the Hungaroring and I guess looking to put that right tomorrow?

    NR: I don’t really think of the past in those ways, just looking forward to it now, yeah, because of pole position and I’ve been really feeling good out there the whole weekend, in all conditions – wet, dry, even with high fuel on Friday – so it’s been a great weekend so far. Looking forward to the race and a great opportunity tomorrow.

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Well, Nico that was an unbelievably exciting qualifying session ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix. Timing seemed to be so important: when to be out on the track to ensure you were there when the track was at its driest. Just give us an insight into how tricky it was?

    NR: Yeah, it was unbelievable. Just changing all the time, and so many things count, even just getting a gap at the end of the lap, everybody is backing off and to make sure you get a good gap there was difficult, even for there, because the time was quite tight. And then, yeah, I really nailed that last lap, so I’m very happy about that.

    Congratulations. Lewis, I look to Q2 when I look at you. It was a very tense moment. You just got through into Q3 in P10; you heart must have been in your mouth?

    LH: I wouldn’t say my heart was in my mouth, but yeah, obviously when I came in and saw how close it was, that wasn’t great. I went wide at Turn One. The rest of the lap I pushed as hard as I could. I was up on my previous, but of course I knew that everyone else would be quicker, so I lost too much time there. Very fortunate to get through and so that’s why even though I’m second I’m just grateful I got through and this puts me in a position to be at least be able to fight for the win tomorrow.

    Well Daniel, Lewis wants to fight for the win tomorrow, do you think you can fight for the win?

    DR: That’s the plan. We’ve more or less fought for it the last two years and I think we’re even closer this year than we have been in the past, in terms of pure pace. We’re getting stronger and we were close today and in all conditions we weren’t too far off pole. Tomorrow should be interesting. As always the Mercs have had good long run pace, we’ve seen [that] in free practice, but we’ll be there and obviously we start close enough to the front to make a fight of it and so hopefully it’s an exciting race.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Balazs Vajta – Eszak Magyarorszag) My question is for Lewis. Well, first of all, unlucky last lap of course, and it seems you have been struggling a little bit more on this weekend than usual. Would you be able to explain why you are struggling? That’s question number one and question two: looking at your qualifying today, rainy conditions, do you prefer rain conditions tomorrow or a dry race?

    LH: Obviously I missed a lot of time yesterday. It was probably the first time, at least in the ten years that I have… actually in 2006 I had a spin in qualifying which meant I started at the back in GP2, otherwise in Formula One I’ve not really had any shunts here. Yesterday really put us on the back foot. Sometimes a missed session doesn’t really make too much of a difference but with a track as technical as this it’s really about building a solid foundation and I didn’t obviously get that yesterday and that was my fault. Today has been just trying to catch up from being on that back foot. I was kind of grateful it was wet at the beginning of qualifying because that levels the playing field a bit more, kind of helps you get back to the rhythm. As I said at the end it felt good. In terms of a wet or dry race, I hope it’s going to be a dry race tomorrow, but I don’t mind it being mixed because those are conditions I seem to go well in, so we shall see. For the fans I hope that it’s dry but for them also I hope that it’s a fun race like it was at the last one.

    Q: (Istvan Simon – Auto Magazin) Nico, we were lucky enough to see replays of your quickest lap in Q3 and it looked like there were double yellow flags right after the chicane. How do you remember that lap? How was it from the cockpit and aren’t you afraid of losing pole, perhaps after the investigation?

    NR: I don’t know. For sure there were double waved yeah, but I had a very, very big lift and lost a lot of time as a result and I was also slower than on my previous lap in that yellow sector, or in that yellow segment, or whatever it’s called, so I’m sure it will be OK.

    Q: (Péter Vámosi – Vas Népe) Question to all drivers: the Hungarian government will rebuild the whole building here, it’s now official here, in two years. The whole media centre, this building, the boxes. Can you give us some advice what you need? Elevators? Bigger places? Whatever?

    NR: We don’t really… it’s great that they’re doing it because yes, it’s a bit out-of-date, and that’s awesome because this place deserves to have Formula One for many, many more years y’know? So many fans come to watch us and the track is awesome – it’s a very, very exciting track – so it’s cool that they’re redoing it.

    Lewis, anything to add?

    LH: I love it here. I don’t think people need elevators! Could be a fun weekend but also one that you lose weight, bit of a workout! As Nico said, this is a historic grand prix, one of those that we cannot miss. I don’t think they need to go too overboard, we just need slightly bigger garages. I don’t know how it is for the hospitality but, just sensible improvement I would say.

    Daniel, your thoughts.

    DR: They’ve said it, yeah.

    Q: (Barna Zsoldos – Nemzeti Sport) How did you find the new surface and the new kerbs in the wet conditions? Is it any different to how it was in the past? To all.

    NR: It’s good. The grip is very high and that’s a great feeling, to be able to go so fast. Even in the wet, grip is very high. Yeah, I think they’ve done a very good job. Feels good. The only thing that still needs work are the two track limit areas where they just need to figure something out for there. Otherwise it’s been done very well.

    Lewis, your thoughts on the track surface and the kerbs?

    LH: I still don’t think they needed to do it, but obviously it’s done. I hope they don’t resurface it for a long time because it’s a track with age it gets better, it gains character. Yes, there are bumps and stuff but that’s what… as long as it’s not like a monster track bump then it’s fine; that means it’s more technical for us. But it’s very, very smooth now. And as Nico said, for one of the track limit kerbs, we have to find maybe a different solution – but the one seems to work now, so maybe that is the way forwards.

    And Daniel?

    DR: I’m sort-of on both sides. I definitely agree with Lewis that a lot of tracks have character through some bumps or some little parts on the track which… it’s like Monaco, for example, out of Casino Square we always avoid the bump, or the drain, whatever it is. If they smooth that out it would lose a lot of Monaco. It wasn’t to the extent here with Budapest, but there were some corners, like Turn Five, which was always really bumpy and sometimes uncomfortable but it was a challenge to work your way around that and setup the car around that particular corner. Thankfully it’s still got a lot of character, the track is still very flowing and still a lot of fun. Having a new surface, it does make it a lot grippier, so I think when you’re going faster as well, you are having fun. But yeah, they’ve done alright here. Hopefully they don’t resurface every track on the calendar because it does create a bit of atmosphere around it.

    Q: (Heikki Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Nico, you have now 26 poles like Mika Häkkinen, do you feel that you equalled the Finnish record in this way?

    NR: I didn’t know and, I don’t know…it’s not really…  yeah it’s great to here that. But it’s not something that I think about. It’s just statistics. I’m not really focussed on that. I’m focussed on this weekend, happy to be on pole because it’s the best chance of winning the grand prix tomorrow.

    Q: (Attila Lénart – Autó Stílus) I would like to ask all of you guys, after what we have seen here, we had more than an hour-long Q1, aren’t you feeling you are a bit over-protected?

    DR: The only thing I feel is Hungry. I had a light lunch and now I’m hungry.

    Can you elaborate a little bit for us? What were your thoughts about the conditions at the start?

    DR: I think, a lot like these new surfaces, they do… because they haven’t bedded in, there’s not many cracks and whatever, the water does seem to sit on top of these very smooth types of asphalt. You could see that even the Safety Car, at least from what it looked like, the first ten minutes after two o’clock, it was even aquaplaning a bit. Normally if the Safety Car’s having problems then it’s very hard for us. Sure, we want to be out there, we don’t want to wait but at the same time, the car can only handle so much water and the tyres can only handle so much. I think they made the best of the situation with what it was. I think all of us where amazed at how quickly it then dried. From extremes to then Inters and then slicks in 10-15 minutes nearly.

    Nico, do you feel the right decisions were made in Q1?

    NR: Yeah, for sure because these puddles, they make it unbelievably uncontrollable, the car, this aquaplaning. You can’t drive in that. Even when we did drive, there were still a lot of those as you saw people going off everywhere. So, it was fine, it was good.

    And Lewis, your thoughts on Q1.

    LH: I agree with them. Honestly. I’m pretty crazy and I like to go out in conditions like that but I had crazy aquaplaning at one point Nico was mentioning. I was ahead of him. And so I think they made the right calls. Unfortunately the tyres… there is water sitting on top of the track and the tyres cannot disperse the water quick enough, and so I think they made the right call and the right steps.

    Q: (Ralf Bach – Auto Bild Motorsport) A question to Nico and Lewis. We will see a total free race tomorrow between you guys, or could it be that we hear “keep position” at one moment of this race?

    NR: For sure we can expect a good battle and free racing.

    Lewis?

    LH: Good to see you smiling Ralf! We’re supposed to race, same as always.

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – Globosport) To Daniel, your team-mate comes from two podiums, two second places. What is the importance for you in this race to be in front of him?

    DR: Always you want to beat your team-mate. That’s always, in a way, your first target. Everyone wants to win but if you can’t win you want to try to win the team battle, as it’s called. So yeah, I want to have a good race tomorrow. I really feel we can fight for more than just a podium – but let’s see. Yeah, I’ve obviously put myself in a good position I think from the start of the weekend, things have been working well. Obviously Max has done very well and he’s got some great results since he’s been here and I really believe we’re pushing each other to that next level and I think it’s showing in the team’s results. But also on myself I want to make sure I’m doing everything I can. So I focus on me first, and then try to understand a little bit of what’s happening around me.

    Q: (Silvia Arias – Revista Parabrisas) For all of you, I want to know how difficult it’s going to be tomorrow: Avoid three times the corners Four and 11 out of the limits with the electronics.

    NR: It’s OK. You can see the white line and I’m sure it will be fine.

    Lewis, anything to add? Track limits.

    LH: I don’t think it’s going to be a problem. It is relatively easy, you just don’t go through as fast as you would if you could go wider.

    Daniel?

    DR: Yeah, just being disciplined. That’s all it is really. It’s good that they are applying it. I think three times is definitely enough. Some people try to say ‘what if this happens? Or in this scenario…’ Three times is enough and that’s that. We can see it. It’s not like, as Lewis said, we can see the kerb, we can see the track limit. So, just be disciplined, be sensible and not too greedy.

    Q: (Dan Knutson – Speedsport) Daniel, your team-mate reported on one run in Q3 that he lost ‘sync’. What does that mean, and did you have a similar glitch?

    DR: Yes, so normally when you download from iTunes… I’m not sure what Max is using but obviously the music must have stopped. Weak wifi! Anyway, it’s normally just for the gears. Like a quick shift setting.

    Did you have any problem?

    DR: No, it was all good.

    Q: (Péter Farkas – Autó Motor) Daniel, it was difficult to judge because of the conditions but based on what happened in P3, Red Bull seemed to get closer to Mercedes today than it was yesterday. How confident were you of fighting for pole if the conditions were staying dry?

    DR: I think we would have got close on the last run, with the yellow. It sounded like Lewis was improving as well but looking at the 19.9 that Nico did, I did a 20.2, I think and I was three-and-a-half tenths up a the time of the yellow on my time, so I think it would have been very close at least to the time Nico set, so I was pretty frustrated on the radio. But anyway. It is what it is. I think we’ve definitely made some ground today over yesterday which is really nice because, particularly in qualifying Mercedes seem to, if not hold the gap, normally increase it, generally speaking. So I’m really happy with what we’ve done today. I did a little long run this morning which I was more comfortable than I was yesterday, so the signs are going there to be more competitive for tomorrow. Let’s see, give it a good crack.

    Q: (Agris Lauzinieks – Kapitals) Nico, as a leader this season and your contract just being signed now, how can it be justified that you are earning less than Lewis?

    NR: How do you know that?

    I can feel it

    NR: Well you need to check your feelings maybe. I don’t want to talk about such details.

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – Globosport) To all drivers. In dry conditions, what do you project concerning tyres.

    NR: Concerning tyres, it’s going to be, I think quite straightforward. Of course the supersoft is going to be very difficult initially, that’s going to be interesting how that goes. There could be some big differences there. After that, it’s going to be OK.

    Lewis, you all did a lot of laps on the supersoft in Q2. How’s that going to impact on that first stint tomorrow.

    LH: I only did the one lap on the supersoft in Q2. I think it’s the same for both of us. Only one lap on that tyre. I’m pretty sure that’s the case.

    Daniel, how do you think it’s going to play-out tomorrow?

    DR: I think if it’s hot the supersoft, it’s quite hard to get a lot of laps out of it. Or at least fast laps. It depends what the weather is doing. If it’s cooler, you can definitely run it longer but it does suffer more in the heat. Let’s see. I don’t think it’s going to be a one-stop race. We’ll see if anyone proves me wrong but at this stage it looks like a two stop and whether people do… obviously we’ve got three compounds to choose from. They might mix it up a little bit – but I don’t think we’ll see extremely long stints at the beginning with the supersoft.

     

    eom/FIA transcript of the press conference

     

  • Penalty for Rosberg; Hamilton, just a point behind leader

    After the 10-second penalty awarded by the FIA stewards for the Radio communication from the team to Nico Rosberg, Max Verstappen moved to the second place. The German had to settle for a third and it helped Hamilton move within a point to the championship leadership table.

     

     

  • I took a risk and fortunately it paid off: Hamilton

    I took a risk and fortunately it paid off: Hamilton

    DRIVERS
    1 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)
    2 – Nico ROSBERG (Mercedes)
    3 – Nico HULKENBERG (Force India)

    TV UNILATERAL

    Lewis, it was one of those days when I guess it was all about the timing of the switch onto the slick tyre and then actually coming across the line it must have been extremely exciting, the final few minutes of that session?
    Lewis HAMILTON: Yeah, it was a really fun session. It was one of those sessions that it starts off dry, goes wet, and quite incredibly here it dries up so quickly, it’s like driving through fog at some stages. I think it just added to the excitement of the while thing. I’d never driven here in the rain before and being a new surface as well it was very, very slippery. It was drying up corner by corner and at the end it was about getting that last lap. The previous lap was a good lap as well but if I had finished that lap I would have been right behind Daniel Ricciardo, so I backed off, which was a big risk really. If I didn’t finish my lap or there had been a yellow flag I wouldn’t have been able to get pole, but it was the risk I took and fortunately it paid off, so very happy with it.

    Well done. Turning to you, Nico, you’re second but it’s a bittersweet feeling I imagine, knowing that you’ve got to go back five places on the grid after the accident this morning and the subsequent gearbox penalty. A shame really, because your preparations for the race up to that point had been pretty ideal. Tell us about your day and your prospects from here?
    Nico ROSBERG: First of all, a really unbelievable job from everybody, even Lewis’ mechanics came on to my car to try to get it out in time, so that was a huge team effort. We got it out 11 minutes to go in Q1, so it was really tight and awesome, so that was great. And then a very exciting qualifying, going dry-wet-dry and it was unbelievable how quickly it dried in the end then to get back on to slick tyres. I think Lewis just did a good job there in the very end, so that’s it. Second not first, but it’s OK. The five places will be quite costly… well, very costly of course for tomorrow, unfortunately. I’ll make the best of it anyways and try to get a good race from there.

    OK, thank you for that. Nico Hulkenberg, welcome back. Reminiscent, conditions-wise and the way you drove, of Brazil a few years ago, in the Williams days. You must be absolutely ecstatic and set yourself up now, moving up to the front row of the grid with Nico Rosberg’s penalty, for a great day?
    Nico HULKENBERG: Yeah, no, absolutely, it reminded me a lot about Brazil and I was feeling really good in the car and it was just a flashback to back then. I was feeling really good and to be honest, I was expecting a little bit better, so when he said third… I wasn’t disappointed. A great effort from the team. Not an easy session to be out there at the right time, it’s all about timings. The car performed well, we put it together, so a very solid job and a very good starting position for tomorrow.

    Very well done. Lewis, coming back to you, on a serious note we saw a couple more suspension failures during that qualifying session with Kvyat and Pérez. What’s the feeling among the drivers, what’s the conversation going to be this evening and what’s the concern there?
    LH: I can’t speak on behalf of all the drivers, but for me those yellow kerbs are quite dangerous. We’ve now seen a couple of incidents already. I don’t know how many more of those it’s going to take before a car ends up in the wall and perhaps someone gets hurt. I’m sure Charlie and the FIA are looking at it but that’s definitely an area we can improve. The idea is good, because they definitely don’t want us running wide and using the outside of the circuit but perhaps another solution is going to be needed.

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Q: Lewis, one of the interesting talking points arising out of the second part of qualifying was the decision by Ferrari and Red Bull to go out and set their time on the supersoft tyre. You and Nico had both used the ultrasoft but then right at the end you went out and had a bit of a look on the supersoft just as some rain began to fall. So, your thoughts on why you went the way that you did in the first instance and what happened at the end there.
    LH: I just did what I was told! I think our strategists understand that that ultrasoft was the better tyre. We had the supersoft available I think they perhaps saw – I’m guessing – I’m assuming they saw that the Ferraris had gone out and they thought we might try to go out and see if we could do a time on it, even though we think there is a time delta between the two. Naturally a hard tyre often goes further so that doesn’t seem like such a bad option. They have qualified on supersofts?

    Yes – they’ll start on the supersofts and so will Red Bull
    LH: OK, that’s not a bad thing. I think the ultrasoft is not a good tyre for the race. It’s going to be a struggle to get a lot of laps out of it so the strategy will be interesting tomorrow. Obviously those guys are starting behind me so I’m hoping I have a bit of an advantage at the start just from being on the softer tyre but… yeah, in practice my tyre lasted for four laps, so I think for Nico it lasted maybe eight? He says five. So it’ll definitely be tricky but we’ll do the best we can with it.

    Q: OK, the same question to you Nico. Your race, the first stint is going to be much more complicated because of where you’re starting. So your thoughts on this situation going into the race tomorrow. And also, picking up on what I was asking Lewis before about the kerbs, is it just a case now of, for the rest of the weekend, staying off them – or is there more to it than that?
    NR: For sure yeah, need to stay off them. I even stayed off them in qualifying now most of the time, except for when it really counted. Tyres is going to be tough tomorrow but the thing is we don’t really know because the temperature is going to drop so much so who knows how the tyres are going to be? For sure in the hot it was really tough but maybe in the cold it’s going to be better.

    Q: Nico, coming to you, obviously your team is going through a bit of a purple patch at the moment with podiums in Monaco and Baku recently. You’re still looking for your first Formula One podium personally. You must be feeling that tomorrow may well just be your day. Are you very optimistic and excited going into tomorrow’s grand prix?
    NH: Yes. First of all I’m happy and excited about today. Special circumstances obviously with the rain in Q3 and then the drying-up track but for sure starting second is a very good starting position. Tomorrow we’ll do what we can. I’m not thinking too hard about that now. We’ll do that in the next couple of hours and tonight and tomorrow but our car has made huge steps forwards since Barcelona really and ever-since we’ve scored a lot of points and a few podiums so yeah, we’re on a good slope, we have good momentum and just try to carry it into tomorrow and make it into another good Sunday.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Angélique Belokopytov – AutoDigest) Lewis, yesterday you considered that you were not at your top level. So what did change? Did you improve since yesterday? Was it work more on your mental, or the car or maybe both?
    LH: A little bit the car but mostly I just had to find time today. Nico had been performing well all weekend and it was just chipping away at improvements, constantly looking at my data, trying to figure out where I was losing the time and how I could improve. Bit by bit, corner by corner… at one point there’s five corners where I’m down, then it’s four corners I was down, then two, then just one corner where I was down. That’s something that… then it rained and I was thinking ‘Jeez, I’ve finally got into this position where I can perhaps battle for pole with Nico’ and then it rained – but fortunately those are conditions I like as well, so it made it a little bit easier, I have to say, when it got into those conditions ‘cos it’s then a bit more about who takes the most risk, I guess.

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – GloboEsporte.com) Hulkenberg, we received indication on the screens that you were under investigation because of the yellow flags in Q2. Are you aware of this?
    NH: No, I wasn’t aware that I’m under investigation. I think it was the incident where Sainz’s car’s engine blew up and he was parked on the right on the main straight. I did lift, I did lose time there but still with new tyres, track improvement I might have gone faster, I don’t know but we will see. I’m not too concerned.

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – GloboEsporte.com) Lewis, when you came in here, you stopped to watch your lap – all the lap – what was your view of it, what was your analysis of your own lap?
    LH: I could have been faster! I was looking at some places where… you know, when you do a lap like that it’s really difficult to… you know, the previous lap maybe I had an oversteer moment in one corner, you don’t know if it’s dried up and what… it probably has dried up on that next lap so you don’t know just how much you can push on each corner. In hindsight… hindsight’s always a great thing – there were drier patch and more grip and more potential in some corners that I did, but it doesn’t matter because I’m where I need to be. That’s what happens when I watch it. I’m just thinking could be a little bit more there, a little bit more there.

    Q: (Silvia Arias – Parabrisas) Nico, I would like to know – maybe you said it before but I don’t know – but when this accident happened, was it because you touched the kerb or is it because there was a mechanical problem in the car and the suspension was broken?
    NR: The suspension broke. On the kerb, on the normal exit kerb, the first one, the thin one.

    Q: (Peter Vamosi – Vas Nepe) To all of you: there’s a possibility that next year maybe we will have a bigger version of the Austrian Grand Prix, a new track layout but of course the old one, the Osterreichring. Are you satisfied with this information? Would you like to compete with Formula One cars on this  or is it OK now?
    LH: Me personally? That’s the best news I’ve probably heard in Formula One for a long time. They’re going to take a track back to what it should be or what it was previously. The track is nice as it is now but I’ve not seen the old track but I can imagine going up into the mountains and into the woods it’s going to be epic so I really hope they do that personally.
    Q: Nico, your Dad raced here on the old one, any thoughts on that?
    NR: I just watched the video from 1982, one of the closest finishes with my Dad finishing second and definitely it looks very exciting so yeah, if they do that, cool.
    NH: I wasn’t even aware. Don’t know what the layout was but yeah, whatever. fine.

     

    eom/FIA transcript of the Press ConferenceHami takes pole in austria FIA pic 2jul2016

     

  • Hamilton dedicates win to Muhammad Ali

    DRIVERS
    1 – Lewis HAMILTON (Mercedes)
    2 – Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari)
    3 – Valtteri BOTTAS (Williams)

    PODIUM INTERVIEWS
    (Conducted by Michael Douglas)

    Bonjour Montreal. It’s a pleasure for me to be here and an honour to be able to introduce our podium winners. Lewis, incredible. We have to talk about the first turn. You had Sebastian coming in on your left, you had Nico touching wheels on the right. Tell us about that.
    Lewis HAMILTON: It was horrible. Firstly, I want to say a big thank you to everybody who came out here today and made the atmosphere the way it is. Thank you everyone here. We come here every year and we have the best week. The city, they just put on such a great event. The ambiance, the atmosphere is better than ever. Today, I had another really bad start, I’m not quite sure why, I think probably I overheated my clutch. Sebastian and Nico got quite a good run down to Turn One, tyres are cold, big understeer, and I feel very grateful that me and Nico didn’t damage anything on our cars. And otherwise it was just trying to chase this guy down. He was so quick out there. The car felt fantastic and it was set up just right with great work from the engineers and mechanic. Hey man, I won my first grand prix here in 2007, so this just feels like such a blessing.

    Congratulations Lewis, well done, fourth time?
    LH: I think fifth time!

    Yes, fifth time! Sebastian, nice to see you, wonderful, wonderful race. You had a phenomenal run earlier in the race, what were the issues later on?
    Sebastian VETTEL: Lewis was a bit too quick! That was the issue. No, I think we had a great weekend. Obviously a fantastic start and then, yeah, lap one was a bit hairy, I just struggled to stop the car in the last corner. It was very windy today and maybe I struggled a bit with the wind from behind but I was pushing all race. I think we committed fairly early to a different strategy, which we were planning to come back. Obviously then Lewis had the chance to stay out and see what the tyres were doing and I think probably the tyres lasted a bit better than what we expected, so that made it quite tricky to refresh the tyres and close the gap but overall a great weekend for us. We struggled a little bit in the last couple of races and the beginning of the season and now to see that the car has performance and to unleash it, it was a really fun race, I really enjoyed it. I can only add on what Lewis said: thanks to the crowd, it’s great to come here. Friday, free practice, to have you guys here at the hairpin, all around the track, waving at us is making our job just much more pleasant, so this is a place we’ll have to come to forever I guess, so thank you very much.

    Fantastic, a really, really wonderful run, congratulations. Mr Bottas, really nice to see you up here on the podium again. I think it was Mexico last see [the last time]. The season started a little slow but you’re coming on strong. How was the race for you today?
    Valtteri BOTTAS: Well, I’m really pleased with today. As a team, it was really a strong one for us, really good strategy, really good pit stop; the time was perfect, the car felt really good today. I felt I was pretty on it today. So it’s great to be here. I really want to thank Williams, thank you guys; everybody made an amazing job. Thank you Montreal, you’ve been really good to me.

    Congratulations. Lewis, that’s two wins in a row, so how does the rest of the year look to you, what do you think?
    LH: We’re going to just take it one race at a time. There’s still work to do. We’re going to continue to improve this car. There’s a lot of race so we’re really just trying to stay… we need to try to keep on a roll if possible. There’s a long, long way to go. These guys are getting faster and faster at Ferrari and Red Bull, so collectively as a team we’re just going to keep our heads down and keep pushing. Honestly I’m just overwhelmed with today. I remember, what was it, ten years, nine years ago here, and it feels just as great [as it did] back then.

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Lewis, 45th career victory and your fifth in Canada, as you were quick to point out on the podium. You obviously lost the start to Sebastian, but you got this win I guess, in a way again, because for the second race in a row you were able to do a very, very long final stint on the tyres. How much of that was data about what the tyres would do and how much was pure feel?
    LH: Well, firstly, if I may, I want to… I never really dedicate wins to anyone but someone who really inspired me so much throughout my life, Muhammad Ali, and obviously he passed just recently, so I’d love to be able to dedicate this to him and his family. The last 15 laps, for some reason all I could think of was him and Rumble in the Jungle, it was really, really weird. I was driving and I was just thinking of him, and thinking maybe he would be watching the race, I don’t know. So, that’s to him and his family. Rest in peace.
    In terms of the tyres: It was really feel. The team obviously told us what the tyres could do, how far they would go. I wasn’t really sure how far the ultrasoft would go. I had already seen graining earlier when I was behind Sebastian. So I was a little bit nervous about it, but it seemed to last, which was great. I could have kept going on the ultrasoft, which was interesting; I had a good pace. Then we swapped. It was a long stint on the information we got before that that tyre could last quite a long time and it was just a beauty. I didn’t have to push too much on the tyre at the beginning, just looking after them, but very conscious that this guy behind was pushing. I was really enjoying the race with him, you know, just battling times here and there. He was so quick and it’s great to see how quick they are and they are really giving us a run for our money, and I just happened to be on a one stop. But fantastic job by the team. I’m really overwhelmed to think just how difficult this season was before these last two races and I feel incredibly grateful and very blessed to have had these two great weekends. I’m just going to keep working hard, as you can see I’m super-focused. For me I felt that today was one of my best races for a while, maybe not as good as the last one, but still really happy with it. Onwards and upwards hopefully.

    Very well done. Turning to you Sebastian, got the feeling before the race that Ferrari might be able to win this, had that amazing start, and then obviously you committed to that two-stopper with the pit stop on lap 17 under the VSC. Was that because the team thought you wouldn’t be able to do what Lewis did and do that one-stopper and in the final part of the race did you think that a 13-lap tyre offset to Lewis would be enough to challenge?
    SV: Yeah, I think that was the plan, so obviously we committed fairly early. We were in the lead. As the second car in the row, which was Lewis in that case, obviously you have the chance to choose – if the car in front pits you might pit, if the car front stays out you might pit. We committed fairly early to that strategy and I think I was probably the right thing to do in terms of getting to the chequered flag the quickest way. But obviously we lost track position and we didn’t expect that the soft tyre that Lewis put on… first of all the ultrasoft and then the soft would last as long. Myself, I was also surprised to see how long the supersoft lasted and then the soft tyre lasted until the end. As Lewis said, we could have kept going. The degradation wasn’t maybe as high as we expected. That’s maybe where we lost the race. But I want to make one thing clear: I’m not a big fan of blaming anyone or anything. I think it was a great weekend for Ferrari. We’ve had a difficult start to the season because we were never really able to show the true performance of the car and this was maybe the first clean weekend if you look at Saturday and Sunday. And actually I enjoyed the race a lot. Didn’t get the result I was hoping for, especially after the start, but I was enjoying it a lot. The last 30 laps I was just flat out – maybe pushing a little bit too hard at times. It just felt great. That’s what racing should be about. The tyres were fairly consistent. I really enjoyed chasing him down but a couple of laps to go I realised that he was just a bit too quick or the tyres didn’t drop enough.

    Q: Valterri,, podium here for the second year in a row in Montreal. Same strategy as Lewis that got you ahead of the two–stopping Red Bulls and Kimi Raikkonen; tell us about your drive today and also those strategy calls?
    VB: Thank-you, yes. It feels really good to be here again. Montreal has been pretty to me and pretty good to us as a team. For sure it was always going to be one of the good tracks for our car but really pleased with what we have done. Of course, today didn’t come easily. I really needed to thank the team for the decisions they made to commit to the one stop and also the stop lap, it was perfect. This stop was again, massively quick as we’ve seen all season so really thankful for Williams, for today and for the whole weekend. We need more of these kind of results. We just need to keep trying but just very happy at the moment.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Peter Windsor – F1 Racing) Lewis, what happened at the start, more of the same?
    LH: Yeah, the start was… I don’t understand it. This time I really don’t understand because practices have been good, the formation lap was amazing, dropped the clutch and the thing pulled away perfectly. Yeah, I stopped, did the normal procedure, let the clutch out and it just didn’t go anywhere. I’m really lost as to know what… Obviously I had really good pace today and that really got in the way. Had it been a longer straight, I would have been a sitting duck. I don’t really know what to say about it. And into turn one, these tyres, these ultrasofts, he(Sebastian)  was lightning on the first lap but me, I had no grip. I got to turn one and I had this understeer and I thought that it was going to continue for the rest of the lap. I think the guys behind me were also tiptoeing but very close, obviously, between me and Nico which wasn’t intentional. But fortunately none of our cars were damaged.

    Q: (Peter Windsor – F1 Racing) And second question is – as Sebastian has said, the cars are pretty good as you’ve said as well, you had a good view of them in the early laps. What’s the power like on the straight, how quick were they on the straight compared with you now?
    SV: Quite quick. I think we’re quite quick.
    LH: These guys were pretty quick on the straight. I didn’t get quite close enough to really gauge just how quick they are but I think it looked pretty close, I have to say. I was so excited with wheel-to-wheel racing but then he pitted after the VSC  and I’m like shoot, I was a bit annoyed. Still it was a good battle at the time.

    Q: (Dan Knutson – Speedsport Magazine) Valterri, as you say, a good track for you and the team. However does it give you confidence that you can now start to challenge Red Bull or was it just track and strategy specific today?
    VB: It definitely keeps confidence for us that we can do good things. For sure, it is one of the good ones, as a track for us but I think as a team we did such a good job with the strategy but the car was also good today at the beginning and end of the race when everyone was on the same tyres, I did feel that I could put pressure on Kimi in front and even the Red Bulls, so that was a good feeling and even though some of them were on two stop and we were still on one stop and we put pressure, so that was good. I think the next few races should be good. Lot of confidence now and this really makes a lot of good for the team, a result like this, a motivation boost for the next ones.

    Q: (Ralf Bach – AutoBild Motorsport) Seb, my impression is that we already saw the race from today in Melbourne, didn’t we?
    SV: I don’t think that’s true. I think Australia, you can argue with hindsight, we would do a different strategy. If it’s that straightforward and easy to know what it’s like, then everyone is doing the right thing. As it turned out, we committed fairly early, maybe we were also hoping that the virtual safety car gives us a bit of an advantage and makes the two stop favourable but I will always defend our strategies, what we committed to as a team. I think there were other people as well, favouring the two stop. With hindsight maybe they would do a different job but as I said, that’s a decision we take as a team. Kept in hindsight it’s always easy. Put yourselves in the shoes of those on the pit wall, to make that call is quite tricky and you have to be really quick. Strategy-wise I think we have a very very strong team. I wouldn’t favour anywhere near to criticise them because the guys are really on the money and very strong, reacting very well and if here and there we maybe don’t do the optimum, that’s part of the job but overall I think we end up doing better choices than other people.

    Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto Motor und Sport) Lewis, was the tyre management here more difficult than in Monte Carlo because at a certain stage we saw one big, black stripe on one of your front tyres. Was that graining?
    LH: Honestly, as Sebastian said, the tyres were really good today, I have to say. I guess with the cooler temperatures graining wasn’t really an issue. I think if it was hot like it was in P2, I think, maybe a one-stop wouldn’t have been possible but yeah, there was a small bit of… on the Ultrasoft there was a little bit more graining but on the soft there was hardly any graining at all. It was like a small band on the front left tyre but otherwise they stayed very, very consistent. Being so cool I think you just had to try to keep the temperature in them more than anything. I was really actually, for once, happy with the performance of the tyre, to be honest. They did a good job.

    Q: (Jimmy Gordon – AP) Lewis, we heard you talk about Ali. Can you tell us what it was about his life or his career that made such an impact on you?
    LH: I think it’s the same for everyone really. I think he was just a unique, iconic individual who had a character unlike anyone else’s and everyone aspired to be like him. I wish I could have spoken with the charisma that he would have, or the comedic side that he would have, that confidence that he could carry into a fight and outwit and outsmart his opponents. And then for the things that he stood for. Even more importantly politically, I think believing in who you are and not letting anyone dictate who you have to be. I think as a kid, when I saw that, I think I was like: ‘this is the guy I want to be like’. In terms of an athlete I hope one day I can be like him. Coming from a family of similar background in a sense of ethnicity, it was someone to look up to. Obviously in Formula One there was no one of the same colour as us as a family, so it was another athlete for me to look up.

    Q: (Luigi Perna – La Gazzetta dello Sport) A question for Seb. Seb, during this weekend we’ve seen one of the closest gaps between Ferrari and Mercedes. Are you confident you feel you can be even closer to a win in the next race?
    SV: First of all, I hope that you write exactly that tomorrow: that we were closer than ever. So, I think sometimes it’s a bit surreal. We are an Italian team. I think Ferrari stands for great passion and a lot of values in Italy and sometimes it seems like the Italian press is our biggest opponent. So, maybe you can write something nice, which would be a nice message for all the people in Maranello that are really working their arse off  day in, day out to make a strong Ferrari car. I’ve never had a doubt. I know this car is a big step up and I think we had a mixed-up start to the season which was difficult because we were never really in the position to show what the car can deliver. Especially because Saturdays here and there weren’t great. So, I think this weekend was just normal. We had a great Saturday and great pace today. Just look at the opening laps of the race. I was pulling away, pulling a gap to… maybe not so much to Lewis but to all the cars behind. So, it felt great and the car felt great all weekend. So, really happy and happy with the progress the team is making. Again, I ask you to be a bit patient, a bit more patient. The team is on a great path, things are improving and I think we’re seeing results quicker than anyone else so far in the history of F1. So, I think we’re on the right track, it’s a great team and I’m enjoying it a lot.

    Q: (Bill Beacon – The Canadian Press) For Sebastian. Can you go over for us what you did off the start? Where you planning that ahead of time? And what exactly did you do to slip by everybody and get first place?
    SV: I know it sounds silly saying it now but I sort-of had the gut feel that I will have a good start. Obviously it depends on what the other people are doing but I had the feel that, when the lights went on… [to Lewis] I didn’t know what you were doing but I knew there would be a good start. I had a good feeling the formation lap and I think I reacted well, as well – without giving myself too much credit. I just… I don’t know… I felt it would be a good start. It was, so I was very happy with that and just went for it. Had a big lead in the first lap which, nearly all of it I gave away in the last corner and then it was obviously it was a bit more tricky to keep Lewis out of the DRS until a couple of laps in – until just before the Virtual Safety Car actually. I was a bit distracted, we chatted about it, I have to mention it, I don’t know why but I have to, there were two seagulls. I think it was a couple that wanted to commit suicide. They were at the apex of Turn One. Lewis obviously didn’t care, so he made up quite a bit of time, about half a second, but I didn’t do that couple that favour to say goodbye for good, so by the time Lewis came around they just flew off. Wasn’t fair! I brake for animals, Lewis doesn’t but… yeah. Then the Virtual Safety Car came and freezes the gap at that point.

    Q: (Peter Windsor – F1 Racing) Following on from that Sebastian, I wonder what you felt about the grip level on the in-field of the chicane there? You went through it three or four times just to get it right. What was the racing line like through there? You were very quick the first time you went straight on.
    SV: Very quick on the first lap. Braking very late. I think I was a bit caught out by the wind, to be honest. I shouldn’t have – I had all the information but I was struggling a bit. It was very gusty and, here and there, got caught out. So, I was trying everything all around the whole lap. I was getting close to the wall: exit of Four; exit of the last corner, exit of Nine as well. So really trying everything. Eventually in there too much, which obviously loses you more than a second. And then yeah, I think I was around four and a half seconds to Lewis and then back to five and a half. Didn’t do myself a favour but I had to try. For some reason yesterday I was very good friends with the last corner and today not so much. So, yeah, not great from my side obviously to miss the braking. Quite tricky with a bit of bottoming. Just locked it three times in total and didn’t make it.

     

    eom/FIA transcript of the Press Conference

     

  • Gill and Team MRF-SKODA start favourites for Whangarei crown: APRC

    Whangarei (New Zealand), April 28: Gaurav Gill and Team MRF-SKODA will renew their assault on the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship crown when the new, six-round season commences on Friday with the super fast International Rally of Whangarei.

    Gill, the 34-year old from Delhi who in 2013 became the first and only Indian to win the coveted APRC title, will be seeking to regain the Whangarei crown that he had claimed in 2014.

    He will be piloting a brand new Race Torque-prepared Skoda Fabia R5 that he drove for the first time on Wednesday during the test session and looked hot and ready for this weekend’s battle.

    Gill and his Australian co-driver Glenn Macneall, appear unbeatable though they will be wary of new team-mate 23-year old Fabian Kreim who has had more seat time in the R5, having competed in the German championship last year when he along with co-driver Frank Christian finished second, but the pair has no experience driving on gravel surface.

    The two Skoda Fabia R5 cars, powered by 1.6 litre turbo engine, were extremely quick, responsive and settled as they were given a run during Wednesday’s test session. It will take some doing to beat MRF-SKODA team who are eyeing their eighth APRC crown.

    Gill is all too familiar with the Special Stages, famous for their wide gravel tracks, flat-out straights and high-speed corners that seem to suit the Indian who looked impressive during Wednesday’s run as he settled down in his car that performed to his every bidding without a twitch.

    “It is well known that the Stages in New Zealand are among the fastest in the World. They have extremely fast straights and flowing corners. You can expect average speed of around 125 Kmph. The Stages this weekend are almost same as last year. However, the last Stage which is new is tight and twisty, but still quick.

    “Our aim is to do well in Friday’s Spectator Special Stage and then build on the momentum over the following two days,” said Gill on Thursday after completing a reconnaissance run of the Stages.

    As for young Kreim, it will be a steep learning curve, having never competed on a gravel surface. However, given his experience in the R5 and with the experienced Christian in the co-driver’s seat, Kreim is expected to be competitive.

    Race Torque’s Lane Heenan said: “We’re excited to be starting another season in the APRC with Skoda and Team MRF. Together with MRF Tyres, we are aiming for our eighth Asia-Pacific Rally Championship title, as well as our fifth with Skoda.

    “We expect both drivers to be fast, although as always with the first event for the season, the plan is to get both cars to the finish and score valuable points to get our championship defense off to a solid start.”

    The three-day International Rally of Whangarei kicks off on Friday with a ceremonial start followed by the Super Special Stage which will be an appetizer for the main course. The action moves to the Special Stages to be run on Saturday and Sunday. In all, the 16 Special Stages are spread over 275 Kms.

    ===============

  • Stage set for exciting Coffee Day India Rally; 8 entries for Asia Cup

    Chikkamagaluru, 10 December 2015: With 40 entries in fray, the Coffee Day India Rally 2015, which doubles up as the concluding round of the FIA Asia Cup and the FMSCI Indian Rally Championship, promises high-octane action as the cream of country’s rally talent converge here for the three-day extravaganza beginning Friday.

    The event, also supported by Karnataka Tourism and Indian Oil, kicks off with a ceremonial start at the Coffee Day Global premises on Thursday evening, followed by the hugely-popular Super Special Stage at the Amber Valley School grounds on Friday. The cars will then head out of town for the Special Stages on Saturday and Sunday.

    The 180 Kms-long Asia Cup Rally which is also a contender event for a round of 2016 Asia Pacific Rally Championship, has attracted eight entries led by Mysuru’s Lohitt Urs with Srikanth Gowda of Mudigere as his co-driver in a Mitsubishi Evo VIII, and Arjun Rao Aroor of Mangaluru (co-driver Satish Rajagopal, Bengaluru) driving the Volkswagen Polo (R2B variant).

    None of the registered Asia Cup crews from overseas is taking part as Japan’s Hitoshi Takayama has already clinched the title with a round to spare. However, the Asia Cup participants in the Coffee Day India Rally are eligible for IRC points.

    With two wins from three starts this season, the vastly experienced Urs heads the IRC points table with a tally of 95, well clear of Team Mahindra Adventure’s former National champion Amittrajit Ghosh from Kolkata (co-driver Ashwin Naik, Mangaluru) who is on 72, driving the Mahindra XUV 500. Also in title hunt is Arjun Rao Aroor with 64 points.

    “We have not done much work on the car apart from what was necessary. We didn’t have too many problems this season, winning the previous two rounds, and we hope to carry the momentum in Chikkamagaluru,” said Urs.

    Behind the top three is Delhi-based reigning National champion and Team Mahindra Adventure’s marquee driver Gaurav Gill (co-driver Musa Sherif, Mangaluru) who has had a dismal season as he drew blank in two of the three rounds after opening the season with a win in Nashik. With 52 points in the kitty, Gill, the 2013 APRC champion, is effectively out of the title race. The maximum points available are 39 (25 for win and 14 Leg points).

    The tight and twisty terrain interspersed with fast and flowing corners, is expected to favour the all-wheel-drive Mitsubishi Evo and the compact Polo cars, though Gill, piloting the heavier and bulkier XUV 500 has often authored his own script with some stunning drives, defying all odds in the process.

    In the IRC 2000cc category, Bengaluru pair of Rahul Kanthraj and Vivek Bhatt of Team Yokohama, who won all the three previous rounds, are set to clinch the class championship as they are 34 ahead of Hyderabad’s Sumit Panjabi.

    A three-way battle is on in the IRC 1600cc class which Kerala’s Dr Bikku Babu (87 points) leads, closely followed by Team Yokohama’s Karna Kadur (70) and Aroor Vikram Rao (61), all driving the Volkswagen Polo.

    The scenario in the FMSCI 1600 Cup is much tighter as Ashwin Reddy (87), Druva Chandrasekhar (83) and last year’s champion Adith KC (69) are bunched together at the top.

    The organizers, Motor Sports Club of Chikkamagaluru, have laid out yet another challenging route that comprises four physical Special Stages, three of them in the Coffee Day estates and one at the University in Birur with the Asia Cup cars covering 180 Kms and the IRC, 120 Kms.

    MSCC have put in massive efforts to get the route ready for the event after overcoming huge odds, mostly by way of unseasonal wet weather that hampered preparations.

    eom/MSCC press release

    File photo of former APRC champion Gaurav Gill. Image by Anand Philar
    File photo of former APRC champion Gaurav Gill. Image by Anand Philar

  • Tough terrain to test Team MRF stars Gill, Tidemand: APRC

    Johor Bahru (Malaysia): The indications are that the Malaysian Rally which is also the fourth round of the FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship and commencing here on Saturday after tonight’s ceremonial flag-off, will prove to be a tough test for Team MRF’s Gaurav Gill and Pontus Tidemand who are locked in an intense battle for supremacy.

    Following the reconnaissance run on Thursday, both Gill, the 2013 Asia-Pacific champion who trails team-mate Tidemand of Sweden by 34 points, described the 14 Special Stages, totaling 226.56 Kms that will be run over two days, as “tough and extremely challenging”.

    Speaking at a pre-event Media conference here on Friday after the shakedown where the two MRF Skoda Fabia S2000 cars were among the quickest, Gill, who w

    Gaurav Gill during Friday's shakedown in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, ahead of the Round 4 of FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship. Image Anand Philar
    Gaurav Gill during Friday’s shakedown in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, ahead of the Round 4 of FIA Asia Pacific Rally Championship. Image Anand Philar

    on here last year, opined that the rally tracks had knee-high growth of grass which could test the vehicles.

    “I have never seen so much grass on a rally route in all my years in this event. It is going to be hard on the cars, but hopefully, we will come through,” said 33-year old Delhi-based Gill who will be partnered by his long-time co-driver Glenn Macneall from Australia.

    Echoing Gill’s views, 24-year old Tidemand, who is coming off a second-place finish in World Rally Championship-2 in Finland a fortnight back, felt that as much as the track, the weather conditions could also be a major hurdle.

    “The Stages are rough and it is my first time in Malaysia. So, I have to get used to the heat and humidity, but I hope to do well,” said Tidemand who will have fellow-Swede Emil Exelsson beside him.

    Gill said his Skoda Fabia S2000 is fitted with a new engine for the Malaysian Rally, and after tweaking the set-up on Friday, he was happy with the car.

    At the half-way mark in the Championship, Tidemand heads the championship after wins in New Zealand and Australia and a second place finish behind Gill in the season-opener in New Caledonia.

    With three more rounds, including the Malaysian Rally, to be run, Gill can ill afford to drop any more points, like he did in Australia where he packed up after the engine expired.

    “It was unfortunate not to get the result we were after in Queensland, but we had a great battle with Pontus and I am looking forward to renewing that competition in Malaysia this weekend,” said Gill.

    Team MRF’s Skoda Fabia S2000s have not only been the fastest cars in the APRC in recent seasons, but have also been the strongest and most reliable.

    Team MRF boss Lane Heenan said: “The Skoda Fabia S2000 is the most successful S2000 car ever, and we are confident the cars and MRF Tyres are up to the task of winning at each event we attend.

    “The APRC gives us such diverse conditions that the car needs to be capable of coping with widely varying roads, whether that be the smooth, flowing roads of New Zealand, or the rougher plantation roads in Malaysia.”

    Tidemand and Gill will have to contend with 2005 APRC champion, Jussi Valimaki, a former MRF team driver, returning to pilot a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X after a gap of eight years, besides 22-year old New Zealander Mike Young in a Subaru WRX, and Indonesian Subhan Aksa in a Lancer Evo X.

    eom/AP media communications/MRF release

  • MRF Jan Kopecky wins Rally of China; Gill crashes out: APRC

    November 9, 2014: Team MRF completed their best season ever in the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) by winning all six races in the 2014 Championship with Jan Kopecky coasting to the win in the China Rally Longyou. Kopecký driving an MRF Skoda Fabia S2000 convincingly won the China Rally reinforcing his and Skoda’s dominance of the series in 2014.

    Kopecký’s task was made easier on Day 1 when team-mate Gaurav Gill who was leading the event at the time, hit a rock on Stage 5 that damaged the Skoda’s steering resulting in a heavy crash and retirement on Stage 6. Team MRF continued to prove that they are the team to beat after winning 3 titles in a row on MRF Tyres. MRF Tyres is the only Indian based tyre company to enjoy such success in international motorsport.

    At the finish-line Kopecký said, “It’s been a great year and thanks a lot to the whole team it was a great opportunity in APRC and hopefully I can come back for some rallies in the future. I think the highlight is we won the championship, our team-mate Gaurav was very strong, he knows the conditions and we managed to beat him.  I’m very happy we showed that Skoda is really strong, a really strong brand and we showed to everyone our car is really fantastic. The tyres have been great so a big thank you to Team MRF for making this possible.”

    Cusco Subaru driver Yuya Sumiyama was second overall and in doing so, won the 2014 Asia Cup for a third time. “Asia Cup champion and overall 2nd position, very very happy and good result for the team. The conditions were very slippery and rough condition so we’re lucky”, said Sumiyama at final service.

    It was another giant killing performance from New Zealander Mike Young bringing his Cusco Proton Satria home in 3rd place overall and securing the APRC Production Cup. Young was the only driver to finish all events in 2014 and doing so moved himself into second place in the drivers points “Its amazing for our team and Cusco, the boys worked so well, not even had a mechanical (problem) this year – we’re over the moon! Malcolm’s done an awesome job all year, kept me on my toes and in the grove so we’re really happy. Consistency has rewarded us with second in the championship in a 1.6 Proton, against all the four-wheel drive cars its just awesome”.

    In only his third APRC event EZY Racing’s Dinesh Deheragoda from Sri Lanka found the conditions very difficult, but is looking forward to the next event in Thailand where he hopes to secure second in the Asia Cup, “Points for second in Asia Cup is more than I expected and my congratulations to Sumiyama who is already the Asia Cup champion mathematically. My target now is to see if I can finish second in the championship with some more points in Thailand.”

    China Rally again proved to be a tough event to finish, especially with the wet conditions on Day 1.  Australian Mark Peddar suffered the same fate as Gill hitting a rock on Stage 5 and retiring with damaged steering. Taiwan’s Huilan Shen didn’t make it past Stage 2 after she when off road in her Fiat Abarth 500.

    There was no finish ceremony or celebrations at 2014 China Rally, after an accident on Stage 6 claimed the life of 20 year old Taiwanese driver Xie Chengxun.

    ends

    Jan Kopecky of Team MRF Tyres wins in China. Image courtesy APRC
    Jan Kopecky of Team MRF Tyres wins in China. Image courtesy APRC

  • Team MRF looking to make it six wins out of six rallies: APRC final leg

    Longyou (China) 7 Nov 2014: Team MRF will be hoping to complete the perfect season at this weekend’s China Rally Longyou, when they aim for their sixth win from six starts in the 2014 Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (APRC). With Czech driver, Jan Kopecky, clinching the 2014 APRC driver’s crown at the previous round, he and team-mate, Gaurav Gill (India), will be going head-to-head for victory in the Team MRF Skoda Fabia S2000s. Team MRF’s title win is their fifth, and their third in a row, and the team will be celebrating their success after the China Rally.

    2013 APRC Champion and Indian Gill_NC1 (1)Rallying Ace Gaurav Gill is hoping to finish the season on a high and is cautious of the challenge that lies ahead this weekend. He said, “It is always very tough and difficult here in China because of different changes in the Stages. You know you can go from gravel to wet and rocky surfaces and then onto the really fast concrete roads. It can also be very unforgiving with long and winding roads. The season has not turned out as well as I had hoped but am still proud to be part of Team MRF and our unbelievable record this year. I will be going for the win here and am confident of fighting for the win.”                                                         

    Both drivers have been evenly matched this year, with Kopecky being a little more consistent on his first season in the APRC. His 2014 title comes after he won the 2013 European Rally Championship. Kopecky said, “It’s been a great experience competing together in all these different countries, and again China will be something new. Hopefully we can get a good result in China, because it would be the perfect way to finish this incredible season.”

    Team MRF’s first win in this hat-trick of titles came in 2012, when Australian Chris Atkinson took the crown, with current driver, Gaurav Gill, tasting success last season. Team MRF Technical Head Lane Heenan, said, “The victories have been hard fought and are a real credit to all the Race Torque guys who prepare the cars. The APRC provides some of the most challenging conditions in world rallying, from the fantastic roads in New Zealand, right through to the slippery tracks and unpredictable weather in Malaysia.Throughout the past three seasons the Skoda Fabia S2000 has been the car to beat, and has really proved itself in these conditions.”

    This weekend, Jan Kopecky and Pavel Dresler, and Gaurav Gill and Glenn Macneall, will face 13 closed road special stages over a mixture of gravel and concrete surfaces that will test them to the limit. In a total competitive distance of 231 kilometres, the event’s longest stage is the 25.64km Mu Chen test, which will be run as stage eight and 11.

    The China Rally is based in the city of Longyou, 400 kilometres south-west of Shanghai and 200km from Hangzhou, the capital city of Zhejiang Province. Longyou has a long history. It’s 2236 years since its foundation, and on one side of the city, there are bamboo covered mountains, hills, plains and rivers; on the other side peaks, cliffs, caves, stones, pools and lakes.

    Team MRF’s main opposition will come from Australian Mark Pedder in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X, and Japan’s Yuyu Sumiyama.

    eom/Adrenna Press Release