INDIA in F1

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  • Espargaro takes pole to lead Suzuki 1-2 in record-breaking Catalan GP qualifying

    Catalunya, 13 June 2015: Aleix Espargaro continued his superlative pace at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya today as he seized pole position for the Catalan Grand Prix ahead of Team SUZUKI ECSTAR teammate Maverick Viñales.
    Having been the quickest rider in yesterda

    Aleix-Espargaro-of-Team-SUZUKI-ECSTAR-takes-pole-at-Catalan-MotoGP on Saturday.A Bridgestone image
    Aleix-Espargaro-of-Team-SUZUKI-ECSTAR-takes-pole-at-Catalan-MotoGP on Saturday.A Bridgestone image

    y’s practice sessions, Espargaro was able to up the ante today and in Qualifying Practice 2 set a lap time of 1’40.546 – the quickest ever lap around the Montmeló circuit, beating the existing Circuit Record Lap by three-tenths of a second. A mere 0.083 seconds behind him in second place was teammate and MotoGP rookie Viñales who secured his best premier-class qualifying result, while rounding out the front row was Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Jorge Lorenzo who set a personal best time of 1’40.646. All three riders on the front row used the medium compound front slick to set their quickest time, and while Lorenzo used the medium compound rear on his hot lap, both Suzuki riders set their best times using the soft compound rear slick in a session in which the Circuit Best Lap record was broken four times in quick succession.

    All sessions today were subjected to similar conditions to yesterday, with a mild start giving way to hot temperatures in the afternoon. Today’s peak track temperature was 49°C at the beginning of Free Practice 4, after which temperatures cooled slightly towards the end of QP2. The fine conditions allowed the riders to do further evaluation on different tyre combinations and following FP4 the medium compound front and rear slick combination is likely to be the most popular choice for tomorrow’s race. However, a number of open-class riders look set to opt for the soft compound rear slick, while the majority of Ducati riders appear to favour the hard compound front slick for the race, so tyre choice will be quite diverse for the twenty-five lap Catalan Grand Prix.
    The weather forecast indicates ambient temperatures could be even warmer than qualifying for tomorrow’s race at 1400 local time (GMT +2). Before then, the riders will have one final chance to finalise their settings for the race in the twenty minute Warm Up session at 0940.
    Shinji Aoki – Manager, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development Department
    “The quick and highly competitive pace we saw yesterday continued today and the result was a record-breaking qualifying session. I am pleased that Aleix was able to set a 1’40.5 lap and the top four riders were able to lap quicker than the existing Circuit Best Lap record, as it shows that on a track surface that is getting bumpier and lower in grip every year, our tyre allocation provides excellent performance and control. At this stage, the medium compound front and rear slicks are preferred by the majority of riders but the soft compound rear and hard compound front will also figure on the grid for tomorrow’s race. What is evident after FP4 and qualifying today is that the pace over a single lap and also long runs among the top riders is very close.”
    Catalan MotoGP QP2 times – Riders that qualified from QP1 shaded in gray
    Pos Rider Team QP2 Time Gap
    1
    		 Aleix ESPARGARO Team SUZUKI ECSTAR 1’40.546
    2
    		 Maverick VIÑALES Team SUZUKI ECSTAR 1’40.629 0.083
    3
    		 Jorge LORENZO Movistar Yamaha MotoGP 1’40.646 0.1
    4
    		 Marc MARQUEZ Repsol Honda Team 1’40.754 0.208
    5
    		 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati Team 1’40.907 0.361
    6
    		 Dani PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team 1’40.928 0.382
    7
    		 Valentino ROSSI Movistar Yamaha MotoGP 1’41.058 0.512
    8
    		 Bradley SMITH Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’41.068 0.522
    9
    		 Cal CRUTCHLOW CWM LCR Honda 1’41.195 0.649
    10
    		 Yonny HERNANDEZ Pramac Racing 1’41.333 0.787
    11
    		 Pol ESPARGARO Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’41.385 0.839
    12
    		 Andrea IANNONE Ducati Team 1’41.524 0.978

  • Hamilton extends championship lead over Rosberg with Canadian win

    Lewis Hamilton extended his championship lead over team-mate Nico Rosberg to 17 points as he took his fourth win of the season in a closely-fought Canadian Grand Prix.

    Valtteri Bottas scored Williams’ first podium finish since last year’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with third place, while Kimi Räikkönen took fourth ahead of hard-charging team-mate Sebastian Vettel who took 10 points after a P16 start.

    When the lights went out, Hamilton made a good start and held his advantage over Rosberg into the first corner. Behind them Räikkönen briefly came under pressure from Bottas but the Ferrari driver held on to stay third, with Lotus’ Romain Grosjean fifth behind Bottas. Hulkenberg, meanwhile, passed Maldonado for sixth.

    Unsurprisingly, with Massa, Vettel out of place, most of the action happened at the rear of the field. By lap four Vettel was up to 14th place from P16 on the grid and then passed Fernando Alonso into the chicane to claim P13. Massa, who had started 15th was already up to P12. At the very back Jenson Button, who had suffered a 15-place grid drop due to power unite parts replacement and thus had take a time penalty due to not taking part in qualifying, served a drive through and set off after P19 man Will Stevens.

    Vettel’s progress through the order was hampered, however by a bungled first pit stop on lap seven. The German spent 6.6s waiting for his opening new supersofts to be exchanged for another set of the red-banded tyres and rejoined in last position.

    By contrast, Massa was prospering. On starting soft tyres he worked a superb overtaking move on the supersoft-shod Marcus Ericsson on lap 10 to take 11th place.

    At the front, by lap 12, Hamilton led Rosberg by three seconds, with Räikkönen a further 2.4 seconds back. The Ferrari driver was being shadowed by Bottas who was now two seconds behind in fourth. Grosjean held fifth ahead of Hulkenberg and Maldonado. Red Bull’s Daniil Kvyat was 4.7s off the back of the Lotus but was inside DRS range of Force India’s Sergio Perez who had earlier passed Daniel Ricciardo for ninth.

    Meanwhile, Massa’s charge continued. He dismissed Ricciardo with ease and then halted Perez’ pursuit of Kvyat by brushing past the Mexican to take eighth place. He then claimed the scalp of Kvyat, who was struggling with his supersoft tyres, on lap 21.

    Vettel, too, was making progress after his poor stop. By lap 20 he was chasing down Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz and within two laps he had effortlessly dismissed the power-limited Toro Rossos to rise to P1. And as those around him pitted he was soon into the top 10 and harrying Maldonado, who had pitted for soft tyres.

    At the front Hamilton pitted from the lead on lap 28 and in 2.8s had taken on soft tyres. Behind him on track, Rosberg pushed to make up ground during the stop but made a mistake and went wide at the hairpin. The German then made his stop on lap 29 stop for soft tyres and behind him Hamilton too outbraked himself as he tried to maintain the gap to his team-mate. When the pair crossed the line again Rosberg now found himself 2.3s adrift of his team-mate.

    Behind them Bottas had risen to third place ahead of Räikkönen after the Ferrari man spun badly at the hairpin on cold tyres after his first pit stop. Massa, who had on lap 32 yet to stop, was now fifth ahead of Grosjean and the hard-charging Vettel.

    After the Mercedes drivers’ stops, Rosberg immediately looked more comfortably on the soft tyres and closed the gap to 1.1s. Hamilton responded, however, and pulled out four tenths of a second on lap 34 to make his advantage more comfortable. Rosberg was then told that his brakes wear was “critical” and that he needed to fall back for 10 laps before attacking his team-mate.

    Vettel made his second and final stop on lap 35,taking on more soft tyres. The visit to the pit lane dropped him to P9, from where he began his next assault.

    Massa meanwhile made his sole visit to the pit lane, for supersoft tyres on lap 38 and rejoined behind Vettel.

    On his way to seventh place, Vettel then clashed with Hulkenberg. The Ferrari man pulled alongside the Force India into the final chicane and Hulkenberg spun. Vettel was quickly on the radio insisting that there had been no contact and following investigation the race stewards ruled that no further action was necessary.

    A more visible collision occurred moments later when Grosjean sustained a puncture when he closed the door to sharply on Will Stevens after passing the Manor backmarker. Grosjean was quickly handed a five-second penalty for his transgression.

    Vettel’s charge continued and on lap 55 he passed Maldonado under braking into the final chicane. The German was now in fifth place and 12.8s behind team-mate Räikkönen, with the Finn now almost 10s adrift of Bottas was comfortable in third. At the front Hamilton had stabilised his advantage over his team-mate at 1.5s.

    Further back, Massa passed Maldonado on lap 62, while Grosjean was told that he would have his time penalty added after the flag and that he needed to pass Kvyat for P9 and then gap the Russian sufficiently to claim the two points on offer.

    The Frenchman could find no way past the young Red Bull driver, however, with the Russian having an excellent afternoon despite the power deficiency his Renault engine had at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

    The order elsewhere also remained static and despite Rosberg’s best attempts Hamilton took his fourth Canadian Grand Prix win comfortably. Rosberg crossed the line just over three seconds afterwards and Bottas took his seventh career podium finish.

    Räikkönen claimed fourth ahead of Vettel, with Massa sixth and Maldonado scored his first points of the year in seventh. He was followed to the flag by Hulkenberg, while Kvyat held off Grosjean who took the final point on offer.

    2015 Canadian Grand Prix – Race
    1 L Hamilton Mercedes 1:31’53.145  25
    2 N Rosberg Mercedes +2.285  18
    3 V Bottas Williams +40.666  15
    4 K Räikkönen Ferrari +45.625  12
    5 S Vettel Ferrari +49.903  10
    6 F Massa Williams +56.381  8
    7 P Maldonado Lotus +1:06.664  6
    8 N Hülkenberg Force India +1 Lap  4
    9 D Kvyat Red Bull +1 Lap  2
    10 R Grosjean Lotus +1 Lap  1
    |11 S Pérez Force India +1 Lap
    12 C Sainz Toro Rosso +1 Lap
    13 D Ricciardo Red Bull +1 Lap
    14 M Ericsson Sauber +1 Lap
    15 M Verstappen Toro Rosso +1 Lap
    16 F Nasr Sauber +2 Laps
    17 W Stevens Manor +4 Laps
    18 R Merhi Manor
    19 J Button McLaren
    20 F Alonso McLaren

    eom/

    Hamilton file photo by Mercedes AMG Petronas
    Hamilton file photo by Mercedes AMG Petronas

  • Hamilton on pole for Canadian GP

    Lewis Hamilton claimed his sixth pole position of 2015 in Montreal beating out Nico Rosberg by three tenths of a second in qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix.

    Kimi Räikkönen will start third for Ferrari after team-mate Sebastian Vettel was dumped out early in the session due to power unit issues with his car. Fourth place went to Williams’ Valtteri Bottas.

    Q1 began with Ferrari encountering problems as Sebastian Vettel radioed through that he was having power difficulties. The team told him there was an issue with his car’s MGU-H and asked him to return to the pit lane.

    As expected the Mercedes drivers set the pace, with Rosberg heading Hamilton but only by the tiny margin of 0.002s.

    As the first qualifying segment drew to a close it was Vettel and Massa who were in most trouble.

    Vettel still had to set a time and seemed to be struggling. His first lap netted him P16 and he scraped across the line just in time for another last-ditch charge. However, without the power to perform he was also chasing a distant target and in the end the best lap of his single run of two hot laps netted him a time of 1:17.344, some 1.5s adrift off the segment’s best lap.

    Massa also suffered power problems and like Vettel he could find no way to bridge the gap to the P15 time of 1:17.012 set by Fernando Alonso. Massa’s best time of 1:17.886 was only good enough for P17 ahead of the Manors of Roberto Mehri and Will Stevens and the McLaren of Jenson Button who did not take part in the session owing to power unit problems encountered in final practice.

    Q1’s best lap came from Lotus’ Romain Grosjean, who late in the segment popped up with a time of 1:15.833 to finish ahead of Rosberg and Hamilton.

    Grosjean’s time, like those of most of his rivals, was set on the supersoft tyre. The only drivers to make it through to Q2 on the soft tyre were the Mercedes of Rosberg and Hamilton, the Ferrari of Kimi Räikkonen in P6 and Williams’ Valtteri Bottas in P10.

    Q2 saw Hamilton take control of P1, the defending champion recovering from a difficult final practice session in which he failed to a get a clean run to register a time of 1:14.661, ahead of Rosberg, while this time out Grosjean was pushed back to third place, four tenths of a second back from Rosberg.

    Just a hundredth of a second separated Hamilton from his team-mate and the margins were similarly tight in the battle to make it through to Q3.

    Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo was the man to claim the final place in the last segment, his time of 1:16.006 beating out Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz by a mere three hundredths of a second.

    Sainz was eliminated ahead of team-mate Max Verstappen, who will drop down the grid thanks to a five-place penalty imposed after his Monaco crash and a 10-place sanction for an overnight engine change in Montreal. Thirteenth place in qualifying went to Marcus Ericsson, which will translate to 12th on the grid as Verstappen moves back. Fernando Alonso qualified 14th, while Sauber’s Felipe Nasr was eliminated in P15.

    In the opening runs of Q3 Hamilton drew first blood, setting a first-run time of 1:14.393. That was just over three tenths ahead of Rosberg, whose opening effort was a lap of 1:14.702. The German was quickly on the radio complaining that he had no rear grip. His team responded that the tyres were likely to be his worst set and that he could expect better on his final run.

    Räikkönen was third, eight tenths of a second down on Hamilton, while fourth place went to Grosjean, who was seven hundredths of a second off the back of the Finn. They were followed by Maldonado, Bottas, Nico Hulkenberg, Daniil Kvyat, Sergio Perez and Ricciardo, with the Australian Red Bull driver opting to stay in his garage during the first runs.

    There was no improvement for Rosberg on his final run, however. Despite personal bests in the final two sectors a scrappy opening third left him in P2. Hamilton too failed to improve but his opening lap was enough to secure his sixth pole position from seven attempts this season.

    Räikkönen held third with a marginal improvement but Grosjean was pipped for fourth by Bottas whose final run was good enough to beat the Lotus man by eight hundredths of a second.

    Maldonado will line up at the back of row three ahead of Hulkenberg, Kvyat, Ricciardo and Perez.

    Vettel’s woes were compounded following the session when he was summoned to the stewards’ room, suspected of passing under red flags in FP3. Vettel admitted to overtaking Manor’s Roberto Mehri between Turns 12 and 13 while the flags were out. He was handed a five-place grid penalty and three penalty points on his superlicence.

    2015 Canadian Grand Prix – Qualifying
    1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:14.393s –
    2 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:14.702s 0.309s
    3 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1:15.014s 0.621s
    4 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:15.102s 0.709s
    5 Romain Grosjean Lotus 1:15.194s 0.801s
    6 Pastor Maldonado Lotus 1:15.329s 0.936s
    7 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:15.614s 1.221s
    8 Daniil Kvyat Red Bull 1:16.079s 1.686s
    9 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull 1:16.114s 1.721s
    10 Sergio Perez Force India 1:16.338s 1.945s
    11 Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso 1:16.042s –
    12 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 1:16.262s –
    13 Fernando Alonso McLaren 1:16.276s –
    14 Felipe Nasr Sauber 1:16.620s –
    15 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:17.344s –
    16 Felipe Massa Williams 1:17.886s –
    17 Roberto Merhi Marussia 1:19.133s –
    18 Will Stevens Marussia 1:19.157s –
    19 Max Verstappen Toro Rosso 1:16.245s –
    20 Jenson Button McLaren – –

    eom/FIA press release

    Hamilton takes P1. A Mercedes AMG Petronas image
    Hamilton takes P1. A Mercedes AMG Petronas image

  • Arvind KP emerges overall winner in Nashik: MRF MoGrip 2w nationals

    Nashik, 1 June 2015:

    Yashraj Rathod. Image courtesy FMSCI media office
    Yashraj Rathod. Image courtesy FMSCI media office

    Arvind KP emerged overall winner in the first round of the MRF MOGRIP FMSCI National Rally Championship (2W) – 2015 that was conducted here on Sunday. NareshVS finished overall second, while Abdul Wahid emerged third overall.

    Arvind and Naresh won in their respective categories as well.

    A total of 48 riders entered the event, while 38 finished. The total distance of the rally was 170 Km with four competitive stages. The stages were mostly broken tarmac with some dirt sections thrown in.

    This was the first of the five-round championship and the other rounds will be conducted in Coimbatore, Chikkamagaluru, Hyderabad and Bengaluru. This championship has been revived after a gap of eight years.

    Results:
    Overall winners: 1. Arvind KP (43 min, 36 sec penalty); 2. Naresh VS (45 min, 56 sec); 3.Abdul Wahid (45 min, 56 sec).

    Class 1: Motorcycles Group A: 1. Arvind KP (43min, 36sec); 2. Dhaval Toke (56min, 36sec); 3.Ashish Raorane (57min, 52sec).

    Class 2: Motorcycles Group B, upto 130cc (M1): 1. Rohit Gowda (1 hr, 14mins, 48 sec).

    Class 3: Motorcycles Group B, 131cc to 165cc (M2): 1. Suhail Ahmed (47min, 49sec); 2. Sachin D(51min, 37sec); 3.NishitJhaveri (51min, 40sec).

    Class 4: Motorcycles Group B, 166cc to 260cc (M3+M4): 1. Naresh VS (45min, 56sec); 2. Abdul Wahid (45min, 56sec); 3.Yuva Kumar (47min, 42sec).

    Class 5: Motorcycles Group B, 261cc to 500cc (M5): 1. YashrajRathod (51min, 58sec); 2. Vishwas SD (54min, 39 sec).

    Star of Nashik: 1.AdityaThakkar (50min, 20sec); 2. Parvinder Singh Hunjan (52min, 26sec); 3.AmitSuryawanshi (54min, 15sec).

    Scooters: 1.Shamim Khan (53min, 13sec); 2. HitenThakkar (56min, 18 sec); 3. Syed Asaf Ali (56min, 22sec).

     

    Ends

     

  • Movistar Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo tops in Mugello for 3rd win in a row; Rossi takes 3rd, Marquez crashes out

    Lorenzo wins at Mugello 31may2015 Rossi 3rd Movistar Yamaha picBarberino del Mugello (Italy), 31 May 2015:  Thousands of home fans of the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP team gathered at the Autodromo del Mugello to see their dreams come true today. Not only did Jorge Lorenzo claim a flawless victory for the Gran Premio d’Italia,Yamaha‘s fifth of the season, but their local hero Valentino Rossi also battled his way onto podium. He secured third in a hard fought race, making it his sixth consecutive podium.

    After a flying start from second on the grid, Lorenzo tucked in behind Andrea Iannone and Andrea Dovizioso to quickly make his intentions clear. He moved up from third to lead the way when he crossed the line for the first time. With a clear track ahead of him, the race went exactly as he planned. As his pit board signaled rival Marc Marquez‘s approach, he put the hammer down, setting a 1‘47.700, the fastest lap of race.

    He gradually built a gap and remained untouchable for the rest of the race. Riding consistent laps in the low 1‘48s the Spaniard finished his perfect performance at the team‘s home GP with a 5.563s advantage. This win is Lorenzo‘s third win at the Mugello circuit in four years‘ time.

    Starting from eighth on the grid, teammate Rossi lost time when he got caught up in the pack and finished the first lap in ninth. He quickly made his way through the field, hunting for Cal Crutchlow riding in sixth and overtaking him on lap eight. It took The Doctor four laps to close down a 2.5s gap to the group battling for second place. He immediately passed Dovizioso for fifth and went on chasing Dani Pedrosa, Marquez and Iannone.

    Rossi had his mind set on the podium and, having watched Marquez crash out, he was quick to make a move on Pedrosa for third. He pushed hard to close in on Iannone, setting a personal best of 1.48.173, but was unable to catch his compatriot and secured the last podium place, 6.661s from his teammate, accomplishing a third consecutive double podium for Yamaha.

    Lorenzo‘s 25 point score adds to his total of 112 points, keeping him in second position in the standings. He is six points behind teammate and championship leader Rossi, whose 16 points put him on 118 points.

    Jorge Lorenzo said: “I‘m very happy, because I did not expect to escape with such a big margin, but sometimes it happens that you feel great on the bike. Today the track was not so quick so everyone has been a bit slower than we expected. I was the only rider to ride multiple 1‘47s, so luckily for me I was gaining six or seven-tenths per lap, this was key to the win of the race. If someone would have told me before Jerez that I would win three races in a row I wouldn‘t have believed it, but this is what happened. We are in a great shape; Valentino is getting podiums in every race so that means he is strong and also the bike is working really well. It seems that this year could be our year, so we have to take advantage of it. It was a different situation when I was twenty-nine points behind than now when it‘s down to six, but even like that it‘s difficult to close in on Valentino in points because he is always on the podium. Today Iannone stayed in front of him so it‘s four points more and as I said six points difference is much better than twenty-nine, but we can‘t relax and neither can Yamaha. Our competitors are working really hard to fix the problems they seem to have with the stability of their bikes and they will arrive at a point that they will win races, but until then we need to make the most of our potential to improve the bike little by little.”

    Valentino Rossi said: ``Mugello was very busy, because I am very competitive and all the Italian fans expected a great race from me. It‘s a bit of a shame that it wasn‘t a fantastic race. I wasn‘t strong enough but at the end of the race I arrived on the podium after a great recovery and a hard race. To be on the podium with whole the crowd is always magical with the track being full of people. I‘ve been suffering the whole weekend, I was never strong and didn‘t achieve a good level of speed. In the race I also suffered a lot, especially on the first lap. I think we have to improve, especially with Jorge being very strong, he is in a great shape and to match his level we need to be more competitive.” This concludes the Movistar Yamaha press release.

    Battle for second:

    As Lorenzo disappeared off into the distance, the real battle would be for second place. This fight was originally between the Factory Ducati’s of Andrea Dovizioso and Andrea Iannone, and the Repsol Honda’s of Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa, although Valentino Rossi would join in the fun before the end of the race.

    Marquez had enjoyed an amazing start, moving up from 13th on the grid into sixth at the very first corner. In contrast, Valentino Rossi suffered a disastrous opening lap that would see him down drop down to tenth, before mounting an incredible charge through the field to join the podium fight with eight laps to go.

    There was even more drama to come though, as Dovizioso was forced to retire with a damaged rear sprocket and then Marc Marquez, who was once more involved in an excellent scrap with Iannone for second, crashed out of the race leaving the Italian to claim second ahead of the inspired Rossi in third to send the partisan crowd into raptures.

    Dani Pedrosa rode a solid race to claim fourth as the only Honda inside the top ten, just over three seconds behind Rossi.  Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Bradley Smith was the leading Satellite rider in fifth as he benefitted from Cal Crutchlow crashing out of the race with just three laps remaining while the CWM LCR Honda rider was ahead of him on track. Crutchlow went to the Medical Centre for X-rays, but luckily, although he had no broken bones the British rider will need a medical inspection before being declared fit to race in Catalunya. Smith’s teammate Pol Espargaro was next across the line in sixth, while Maverick Viñales (Team Suzuki Ecstar), wild card Michele Pirro (Ducati Team), Danilo Petrucci (Octo Pramac Racing) and his teammate Yonny Hernandez completed the top ten.

    Scott Redding again struggled on his Factory spec Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Honda, finishing down in eleventh. Athina Forward Racing’s Loris Baz took his first Open class victory as he crossed the line in 12th ahead of Hector Barbera, Alvaro Bautista and Eugene Laverty, who claimed the last championship point on offer.

    There were DNF’s for Stefan Bradl, Nicky Hayden, Aleix Espargaro, Jack Miller and Alex De Angelis, while Karel Abraham was guilty of a jump-start off the line and had to serve a ride through penalty before finishing in 17th.

    ends/

  • Mapfre Mahindra’s Pecco Bagnaia qualifies 8th, ready to fight at home race: Moto3

    Mugello, 30 May 2014: The dominance of Italian riders in Moto3 was diluted slightly on Saturday, as a Frenchman led the way in the last free practice session and an Englishman took pole position at Mugello. In the morning the Moto3 times continued to drop. In qualifying the 1.56.999 fastest ever Moto3 lap at Mugello was eclipsed within 5 minutes. Kent, Antonelli, Oliveira and Fenati all exchanged places at the top of the timesheet, until the overall leader of the Moto3 class established an advantage of 7 tenths to clinch pole. Kent established a new fas

    Pecco Bagnaia qualifies P8 at Mugello after third sector problems. An AsperTeam image
    Pecco Bagnaia qualifies P8 at Mugello after third sector problems. An AsperTeam image

    test lap of the Italian track with a 1:56.615 time.

    The MAPFRE Team Mahindra riders could well feature in the leading group on Sunday. Pecco Bagnaia took a step back with his setup today after some unsatisfactory tests on Day 1, and regained a good feeling with his bike. The Italian concluded qualifying in eighth, nine tenths off the fastest time. The Italian feels he has the right setup to fight in the leading group during the twenty laps of his home race.

    Teammate Juanfran Guevara will start from fourteenth, having set a time nearly three tenths slower. He is confident that his hard work and strong pace will bring a good result tomorrow.

    The youngest rider for MAPFRE Team Mahindra, Jorge Martín, ended the final practice session in fifth place, just two tenths off the best time, but lost feeling in qualifying and placed twentieth. He hopes that a comeback is possible on raceday.

    8th Pecco Bagnaia 1.57.529 (15 laps): “We are 9 tenths off the best time, but it’s just a shame that on the last lap we lost time in the third sector. In any case we cannot complain, because we set a good time and have enough pace to have a good race tomorrow and be in the lead group. It is going to be a tough race, because many riders are riding quickly and the leading group will be large. We’ll have to be clever on the straight in order to benefit from the slipstream and not be penalised compared to other riders. The only way will be to attack and attack in order to try to get as high up as possible, and try to avoid problems. I hope it will be a lot of fun. Yesterday we tried something we didn’t like, but this morning we took a step back and now my feeling is magnificent. The aim is to fight and try to get the best possible result; we are at home, in Italy, so I hope to get a good result for my family, the team and the fans.”

    eom/Mapfre Mahindra team release

  • Nashik to kick start MRF MOGRIP 2-Wheeler Nationals with Round 1 today

    Nashik, 30 May 2015: Pit Stop Motorsports Club, Nashik will host ‘MRF MOGRIP FMSCI National Rally Championship (2-W) – 2015’ in Nashik on Sunday, 31/May/2015. The rally, to be flagged off fromHotel Express Inn (Nashik), will cover a total distance of 170 kms and will run on the Ghoti – Vaitarana route upto Dharnoli – Valvihir and back to Hotel Express Inn.

    The first leg of the competition will begin from the flag-off point to Dharnoli (37 kms) and is expected to be covered in an ideal time of 50 minutes. The competitive section has been demarcated from Dharnoli to Valvihir (15 kms) and the riders’ skills & experience will be tested in the four laps of this competitive section (total 60 kms).

    Spectators will be treated to spectacular speeds, thrilling turns, bumps & riding acrobatics at close quarters in this section. Last year’s record timing of 12 minutes for covering one lap (15 kms) over this route is expected to be broken in this year’s competition. The judges’ panel consisting of Shrikant Karani (Mumbai), Ravi Shamdasani (Nashik) & Prashant Gadkari (Nashik) has been appointed by the Federation of Motor Sports’ Club of India (FMSCI) while Sarvesh Chitko’s ‘Crazy Coders’ team will take care of individual competitor timings and also complete & comprehensive results for the event. Amod Mhaskar will coordinate the overall event. Pradeep Mhaskar, Clerk-Of-the-Course for the event, briefed the reporters at a specially organized press conference.

    FMSCI had discontinued organizing 2-wheeler rallies for the past five years. Despite this, Pit Stop Motorsports Club had continued hosting this annual 2-wheeler event to encourage rally enthusiasts in the region. In 2014, the event was renamed in memory of Late Anjali Mhaskar, the driving force behind Pit Stop. Encouraged by the consistent response to Pit Stop events since 2010, FMSCI has revived the 2-Wheeler Rally Championship and has designated Nashik event as one of the five legs in the series. Coimbatore, Bengaluru, Hyderabad & Chennai will host remaining four legs of the championship and the overall national winner will be declared on points won by the competitors in all these five events. The first three podium-finishers at each round will earn 20, 18 & 15 points, respectively.

    The organizers have secured valuable sponsorship support for this event from MRF Ltd., the tyre-manufacturer giant in the country, through the good offices of Shyam Kothari, former national champion in 2-wheeler category. Apache RTR-180has also extended valuable support in organizing this rally.Hotel Express Inn has graciously agreed to host the rally event (including the flag-off & prize distribution) and extend inclusive hospitality to the rally officials.

    Additionally, Thane Janata Sahakari Bank Ltd. has also chipped in with sponsorship support.

    The rally event will be held in the following eight categories –

    I. 2-Wheelers upto 130 cc engine capacity

    II. 2-Wheelers from 131 – 165 cc engine capacity

    III. 2-Wheelers from 166 – 260 cc engine capacity

    IV. 2-Wheelers from 261 – 500 cc engine capacity

    V. Scooters

    VI. Royal Enfield Bullet

    VII. ‘Star of Nashik’ – Special group for amateur 2-stroke motorcycles

    VIII. Imported Foreign Made Motorcycles

    The first three winners in the rally will be awarded with a trophy & a cash award of Rs 10,000/-, Rs 7,500/- & Rs 5,000/-, respectively. Besides these awards, the best amongst first-time participants in the rally (Novice) will also be felicitated with Late Anjali Mhaskar Trophy.

    Explaining the regulations & modalities for the event, Ravindra Waghchaure, Member Technical Coordination Committee, further elaborated that, it is mandatory for all competitors to wear rally-specified helmets, safety-dress, and hand gloves. Alongwith R Natarajan (current national champion), KP Aravind, R Venugopal, the star 2-wheeler riders nationally, Nashik’s own Shamim Khan, Nilesh Thakre, Hiten Thakker have confirmed their participation in the rally and approx.

    40 riders have already entered their names. The competitors & their vehicles were subjected to documentation & technical scrutiny on 30/May/2015 at Hotel Express Inn and then were taken through city’s main roads in a ceremonial procession.

    All requisite safety precautions have been arranged for this exciting event and four ‘Trauma Ambulances’ will be deployed on the rally route, added Sudheer Joshi, the chief safety officer for the event and a former rally participant himself.

    A special contest for press photographers has also been announced on the sidelines of this event. The four best photographs published in the newspapers will earn a cash award of Rs 2,100/-, Rs 1,500/-, Rs 1,000/- & Rs 500/-, respectively. The original photograph in size 8”x12” alongwith the cutting of the published newspaper needs to be submitted to the organizers latest by 04/June/2015 for being eligible to participate in the contest.

    MRF MOGRIP FMSCI National Rally Championship (2-W) – 2015 will be flagged off from Hotel Express Inn on 31/May/2015 at 9.00 am at the hands of Mr. Murali, Mr. Muralidharan, Mr. Prashant (all from MRF Ltd.) & Mr. Darryl Blenkley (Gen. Manager, Hotel Express Inn, Nashik). Mr. Pranit Perumal, Chairman, 2-Wheeler Rally Committee, FMSCI, will also bepresent on this occasion as a special observer.

    eom/FMSCI press release

  • Iannone’s incredible lap secures pole position for Ducati, a Bridgestone view

    Mugello, 30 May 2015: On his penultimate lap in Qualifying Practice 2, Ducati Team’s Andrea Iannone set a new Mugello Circuit Best Lap record of 1’46.489 to secure his first ever MotoGP™ pole position, and a first for Ducati at their home race since 2007.
    Iannone’s lap smashed the existing outright lap record at Mugello by almost seven-tenths of a second and saw him narrowly clinch the top spot from Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Jorge Lorenzo, who set a personal best time of 1’46.584. Qualifying in third position was Iannone’s Ducati Team stablemate Andrea Dovizioso who managed to clock a 1’46.610 to give the Italian marque double reason to celebrate today. Both Iannone and Dovizioso set their best times using the combination of the soft compound rear slick and medium compound front slick, while Lorenzo used medium compound slicks front and rear on his way to second place in qualifying.
    It just wasn’t the riders on the front row that set an incredible pace in qualifying today, the top eleven riders in QP2 set times quicker than the existing lap record time of 1’47.157 set by Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa in 2013.
    All of today’s sessions experienced fine and sunny conditions, although ambient and track temperatures were cooler than yesterday. The peak track temperature recorded today was 41°C during qualifying, seven degrees less than yesterday’s highest reading. With similar weather and track conditions to yesterday, the riders used the Free Practice sessions to assess different tyre combinations, with the major focus being evaluating which front slick compound to use for the race. The medium compound front slick has emerged as the favourite option for most riders given the many high-speed sections at Mugello. However, the extra braking stability of the hard compound front slick means it will also be utilised in tomorrow’s race by some riders.
    Track temperatures this weekend haven’t been as high as experienced at Mugello in recent years and as a result, the hard compound rear slick – although providing excellent consistency and drive grip – will probably not figure in tomorrow’s race unless a pronounced increase in track temperatures tomorrow. The soft compound rear slick will be used by some Open class riders, however the medium compound rear slick will be the most widely used option for tomorrow’s Italian Grand Prix.
    Ambient temperatures are forecast to increase slightly tomorrow, when the next MotoGP session is the twenty-minute Warm Up session at 0940 local time (GMT +2). The twenty-three lap Italian Grand Prix starts at 1400.
    Masao Azuma – Manager, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development Department
    “What a fantastic day we witnessed at Mugello today. In all of today’s sessions the pace was very quick and also very close between the riders – at times in FP3 the top ten riders were split by less than two-tenths of a second. Tyre performance over a single lap and during race simulations was quick and consistent, with almost every rider in QP2 setting times quicker than the old Mugello Circuit Best Lap record, and some riders were able to consistently lap under race record pace in their race simulations. Another good point for us is that the riders have been very positive about our tyre allocation this weekend, at a circuit which demands maximum confidence from the tyres. It now seems that the medium compound front and rear slicks are the favourite options amongst the riders, but the soft rear slick and hard front slick will also be used during tomorrow’s race. Unless track temperatures increase significantly tomorrow, I don’t expect the hard rear slick to be used by any riders for the race.”
    Italian MotoGP QP 2 times – Riders that qualified from QP1 shaded in gray
    Pos Rider Team QP2 Time Gap
    1
    		 Andrea IANNONE Ducati Team 1’46.489
    2
    		 Jorge LORENZO Movistar Yamaha MotoGP 1’46.584 0.095
    3
    		 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati Team 1’46.610 0.121
    4
    		 Cal CRUTCHLOW CWM LCR Honda 1’46.657 0.168
    5
    		 Aleix ESPARGARO Team SUZUKI ECSTAR 1’46.854 0.365
    6
    		 Michele PIRRO Ducati Team 1’46.870 0.381
    7
    		 Dani PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team 1’46.875 0.386
    8
    		 Valentino ROSSI Movistar Yamaha MotoGP 1’46.923 0.434
    9
    		 Maverick VIÑALES Team SUZUKI ECSTAR 1’46.934 0.445
    10
    		 Pol ESPARGARO Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’47.050 0.561
    11
    		 Bradley SMITH Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1’47.090 0.601
    12
    		 Yonny HERNANDEZ Pramac Racing 1’47.423 0.934
     eom/A Bridgestone press release

    Andrea Iannone of Ducati Team takes pole at the Italian MotoGP QP2 on Saturday. A Bridgestone image
    Andrea Iannone of Ducati Team takes pole at the Italian MotoGP QP2 on Saturday. A Bridgestone image

     

  • Rosberg wins Monaco GP; Hamilton displays mature behaviour after team’s blunder costs him dearly

    Monaco, 24 May 2015: After dominating for most of the race, reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton suffered a severe jolt due to a blunder by his Mercedes team which wrongly called him into the pits towards the end, during the Safety Car period, thus handing over the Monaco GP win to teammate and championship rival, Nico Rosberg. Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari squeezed into the second position and Hamilton was stuck in the third place despite a faster pace, at the street circuit notorious for its lack of overtaking possibilities.

    Hamilton was deeply disappointed and was visibly dow

    Nico Rosberg celebrates after winning the Monaco GP on Sunday. A Mercedes AMG Petronas team image
    Nico Rosberg celebrates after winning the Monaco GP on Sunday. A Mercedes AMG Petronas team image

    n but showed a mature behaviour and refused to drag the team into controversy. He repeatedly held his cool and did not criticise the team and said that he would come back with a win. He shook hands with Rosberg and congratulated him on the podium and said “the team have done an amazing job. We win and lose together,” he said. With his cool handling of the situation despite the emotional blow, he won the hearts of thousands of fans, who reserved the best applause for him today.  Mercedes Head Toto Wolff apologised profusely:  “What a crazy day. I don’t think there has ever been a more bittersweet feeling than this one. We have won the Monaco Grand Prix and we have lost the Monaco Grand Prix all at the same time. First of all, we must apologise to Lewis. We win and we lose together and what I am proud of in this team is that we take collective responsibility. But this is a day when we simply have to say sorry to our driver, because our mistake cost him the victory here.”

    Rosberg has won the Monaco Grand Prix for the third successive time joining the elite club of Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost and Graham Hill. He used a one-stop strategy, starting on the P Zero Red supersoft tyre and then switched to the P Zero Yellow soft. The German now becomes only the fourth driver in history to win the Monaco Grand Prix for three consecutive years. He also claimed his second consecutive victory of the 2015 season to close up the fight for the championship to 10 points.

    The race was turned on its head by a safety car period close to the finish, during which Lewis Hamilton lost the lead that he had held from pole position, after making an extra pit stop to change to the supersoft.

    The majority of drivers stopped just once after starting on the supersoft tyre, although Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg, McLaren’s Fernando Alonso, Williams driver Valtteri Bottas and both Manors started on the soft tyre.

    Temperatures were generally cool throughout practice and qualifying but warmed up during race day, peaking at 42 degrees centigrade on track, which improved the grip from both compounds. As usual, wear and degradation was minimal on the least abrasive and slowest circuit of the year. This made maintaining tyre temperature crucial after five laps of the safety car.

    A particularly impressive drive came from the Toro Rosso of Carlos Sainz, which started from last place following a penalty post-qualifying. The Spaniard got up to a points-scoring 10th on his Monaco debut, using a one-stop strategy. Crucial to his strategy was a 66-lap stint on the soft tyre at the end of the race.

    Rosberg set his fastest lap of the race just two laps from the finish, when his final set of soft tyres were already 39 laps old.

    eom/with inputs from Mercedes and Pirelli Motorsports

  • The team has done a good job, we win and we lose together; I will come back to win the next one: Hamilton

    Monaco, 24 May 2015: Nico Rosberg of Mercedes, who took a surprise win, along with Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari (second) and Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) at the FIA Press Conference of the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday. The transcript:

    PODIUM INTERVIEWS (Conducted by Martin Brundle)

    Nico Rosberg (centre) flanked by Vettel (left) and teammate Hamilton at the FIA Sunday press conference after winning the Monaco GP. An FIA image
    Nico Rosberg (centre) flanked by Vettel (left) and teammate Hamilton at the FIA Sunday press conference after winning the Monaco GP. An FIA image

    Nico, congratulations, the first time in your career you’ve won two races on the bounce but more importantly three consecutive races here in Monaco. The last man to do that was the great Ayrton Senna. That was quite a race.

    Nico ROSBERG: Yeah, for sure, very, very happy of course. But I know also that it was just a lot of luck today. Lewis drove brilliantly and he would have also deserved the win for sure. But that’s the way it is in racing and definitely I’m extremely happy and going to make the most of it.

    Yeah, you spent most of your time looking in your rear view mirrors because Sebastian was coming at you and Lewis was down the road. Can you explain to us why your car wasn’t brought in for a pit stop and Lewis’ was under the safety car?

    NR: I have no idea, sorry. As always, we’re in the car and it’s very difficult to judge what decisions are being made and things like that. Of course it was extremely difficult to do the restart with those hard tyres and them being very cold but it worked out and I’m ecstatic.

    Sebastian, well, suddenly you were looking for and fighting for a victory when you had been struggling with Nico for the whole race. You must be pretty satisfied; it was a strong race for you.

    Sebastian VETTEL: Yeah, obviously a bit of a turnaround in the end, which was a bit of a surprise, but we were there in the moment when it mattered obviously we were able just to pip Lewis when we he came out of the pits. I think it was pretty close but I was pretty confident I was ahead. Yeah, I think we tried all race to put pressure on Nico but I think, first of all, he had the speed to respond and second, when we decided to pit we were probably a little bit too far back and the undercut didn’t really work. Nevertheless, P2 is a great result for the team, thanks for the hard work. It’s good to be always there and I think we were a lot closer in the race than in qualifying so hopefully we can keep up this trend.

    And you were saying on the radio ‘look, this is like swimming with weights on my legs and feet’. You were expecting a lot of trouble on the restart with cold tyres?

    SV: It was, it was. The thing is these tyres are not made for cooling down and then going again. I think Nico and myself we both kind of saved the tyre; we knew that it was difficult to catch Lewis and difficult to really attack each other. So I think we didn’t get it all out of the tyre before, which helped at the restart but it was incredibly difficult to warm the tyres up and obviously Lewis behind with a fresh set of supersoft was in much better shape. But I think for all of us it was, you know, like being handicapped for two or three laps. After it was starting to be OK, but Nico drove very well after the restart. No chance for me to stay close, so I had to make sure that I keep the guys behind.

    And the man you had to keep behind was Lewis Hamilton. I’m sure I speak for millions of people when I say I’m sorry for you Lewis, that didn’t work out today.

    Lewis HAMILTON: Yeah, it was not the easiest of races. But, you know, the team has done amazing all year long and we win and we lose together, so I’m just grateful for the job that I did and congratulations to Nico and Sebastian.

    Can you tell us why your car was brought in? You had quite a big gap didn’t you and then the safety car picked you up. Your car was pitted and your team-mate’s wasn’t.

    LH: I’m sure we’ll sit down afterwards and try and think of ways we can improve.

    How bad is it? How bad do you feel now? You’ve lost the Monaco Grand Prix, it has been taken away from you. What’s going through your mind?

    LH: Come back to win the next one.

    Some positive thoughts there from Lewis Hamilton. Finally, back to the man who won the race. You must love safety cars now and that’s helped you in the world championship and very much game on.

    NR: Yeah, but at the same time, you know, I know that I got lucky today. I’ll just enjoy the moment now but I need to work hard because Lewis was a little bit stronger this weekend, so I need to work hard for the next race for sure.

    PRESS CONFERENCE

    Q: Nico, many congratulations, your third consecutive Monaco Grand Prix victory, a feat equalled before by Prost, Senna and Graham Hill, so you join a very elite group in having done that. I guess you take them how they come – but did you discuss a late pitstop behind the Virtual Safety Car that became then, obviously, a Safety Car? And how do you feel for Lewis now?

    NR: For sure that’s the best words to describe it: take it as it comes, y’know? So, just very, very happy to have won the race. On the other side though, of course, Lewis was stronger this weekend. He deserved it for sure and I got lucky in the end there. I don’t even know what happened. But, yeah, ecstatic about that anyways. No, we didn’t discuss pitting in the end. It was quite treacherous out there with those hard tyres because they were really stone cold. They were telling me the temperatures, we’ve never ever had those temperatures before I think in those tyres – but did the best I could and managed to bring them back up and push, so that worked out well in the end.

    Q: Sebastian, a couple of talking points for you really. Obviously you tried the undercut on Nico, it didn’t quite work out. Maybe you could tell us a bit about that. And also, behind the Safety Car you were on the radio saying that, exactly what Nico’s just said, that you were really concerned about how low the tyre temperatures were getting.

    SV: First of all, for the undercut, it was a shame. I had to lap a Manor, I think, and I lost about one second, otherwise I think we would have been closer to Nico. Whether it would have been enough, I don’t know. Probably not. Obviously we were trying everything to jump him but they reacted straight away. My approach to the pitbox, as well, was not spot on, so I lost a bit of time there as well. So, not perfect in terms of lining everything up. And then at the end there, it was quite clear on the radio it was… I mean the rules are the rules but it was ridiculous how slow we were going. Trying to let the lapped cars go. In the end they are, I don’t know, racing nowhere when we restart because they’re just 30 seconds down the road but nowhere near the back of the field. So, I don’t know what’s the point. And then obviously we go so slow the tyres cool down a lot. And for Nico, myself, we were on the harder compound. Extremely difficult to get them up to temperature and it’s just… yeah, you need to understand the tyres are not made for that. That’s why its extremely slippery and obviously I was under huge pressure at the restart. I think Nico was a bit more comfortable with the warm-up but for us it took two, three laps just to bring them up again. It was very much on the limit I would say.

    Q: Lewis, coming to you, obviously we all understand how difficult this must be for you. The crowd clearly sympathised with you, you got a huge cheer when you collected your trophy. Can you just tell us what part, if any, you played in the decision to make that late pitstop and how that unfolded.

    LH: To be honest it happened so fast I don’t really remember but it was a good race up until then and, still, we got good points there.

    Q: Did you think you had it won, obviously, at that point? Did you come into the pits full of confidence that you were doing the right thing at that time?

    LH: As I said, we will probably analyse and try to figure out what we did wrong – but we’ll collectively – together as a team – try to rectify it in the future.

    QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

    Q: (Ian Parkes – Autosport) Question for Lewis. First of all, can you gives us just some idea as to how you’re feeling right now. Obviously we see you’re very low, very down but just express in your own words how you’re feeling. And, secondly, when that Safety Car situation unfolded, did you not at all question whether to come in or not? Bearing in mind, regardless of the situation with the tyres, track position is ultimately king in Monaco.

    LH: I can’t really express the way I feel at the moment. So I won’t even attempt to. You rely on the team. I saw a screen, it looked like the team was out and I thought that Nico had pitted. Obviously I couldn’t see the guys behind so I thought the guys behind were pitting. The team said to stay out, I said “these tyres are going to drop in temperature,” and what I was assuming was that these guys would be on Options and I was on the harder tyre. So, they said to pit. Without thinking I came in with full confidence that the others had done the same.

    Q: (Barna Zsoldos – Nemzeti Sport) Lewis, after what happened today, will you have 100 per cent confidence in the team’s strategy decisions in the future?

    LH: Yes.

    Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto, Motor und Sport) Lewis, can you imagine that maybe the strange situation of first having a virtual safety car and then all of a sudden a safety car could have added or contributed to the confusion?

    LH: I’ve no idea. I was just driving.

    Q: (Dan Knutson – Auto Action and Speedsport Magazines) Nico and Seb, this has probably happened to you in your past careers as well. Can you remember a time when you had the race won and it all went bad?

    NR: Not now, immediately, no but for sure it is an awful feeling, definitely, but that’s for sure, yeah.

    SV: Well, I think it’s normal that you have ups and downs. Probably the lowest low was in 2010 in Korea when I was in the lead and the engine blew up. Fernando, at the time, the biggest rival, three races to the end of the championship, won the race. That was pretty bad. We didn’t finish at all. I would have been happy at that time to finish third but I think today the circumstances for Lewis were totally different.

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – Globosport.com) Lewis, did you know the gap between you and Nico at that moment?

    LH: Before the safety car came out I knew the gap. It didn’t worry me when we got behind the safety car. I didn’t know once we got behind the safety car.

    Q: (Livio Oricchio – Globosport.com) Sebastian, what did you think when you were climbing up to the Casino and you had Lewis side-by-side with you?

    SV: Well, it was very close. I had something very similar back in 2008 here also, coming out of the pits with Jarno Trulli at the time. I was pretty confident that I was just ahead  – thanks for the design office for the long nose, it helped today. And obviously…  you’re quite emotional, I gestured to Lewis straight away to say I was ahead, you go back, but that’s the heat of the moment. I think we both waited for confirmation who ultimately was ahead. I think at the time we probably both thought we were in front.

    Q: Lewis, do you want to share your side of that story, coming out of the pits side-by-side with Seb after the pit stop?

    LH: I was behind.

    Q: (Ottavio Daviddi – Tuttosport) Sebastian, your race pace today was good, I think. Do you think that the Barcelona problem has been solved or it was due to the particularities of the track here in Monte Carlo?

    SV: Well, I think it’s natural that the gaps are smaller on this track. It’s a shorter track so that’s normal. I think in the race we were a lot closer than yesterday. Obviously there’s a lot of things that we still need to learn and understand. Taking the restart is similar more or less to what caught us out yesterday, so that’s something we need to work on quickly to try and understand, but in the race itself I think for the majority of the race we were on a very good pace. Obviously I knew that it was pointless really to put Nico under pressure too much, because I would just burn my tyres. You don’t know what might be coming at the end, a safety car etc, and at the end there was a safety car. There was a point when I was driving around thinking ‘we can’t be at Monaco without a safety car’ and then I think four or five laps later there was a safety car. Yuh, you obviously have to prepare a bit for the unknown, but I think the pace was good today. I was happy.

    Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto, Motor und Sport) Sebastian, did you discuss with your engineers to go on supersoft for the last few laps when the safety car was out?

    SV: Not for the safety car. Obviously depending on the gaps behind to the car behind, we spoke about some things, some options, should the safety car come at various times but at that time it was clear that we stay out.

    Q: (Ian Parkes – Autosport) Lewis, you’ve suffered loads before, I can think of Monaco and Belgium last year, obviously, to name but two. When you’re involved in situations like this, when you walk away at the end of the Grand Prix, do you still think ‘well, I’ve got a ten point lead, I’ve still got the best car in the field?’ Are they the kind of positives that you have to cling to?

    LH: Sure, yeah. At the moment I can’t really think of anything else at the moment. Yeah, this is a race that has been very special… close to my heart for many years and so it was very important, it was a great feeling leading the race. I had so much pace as I have for many many years, including last year. I could have easily had that gap last year as well. Today, I didn’t really have to push too much, I could have doubled the lead if I needed it so on the one hand it’s a good thing that I had that pace and I’m grateful for that. You live to fight another day.

    Q: (Heikki Kulta- Turun Sanomat) Nico, how does it feel to win two races in a row for the first time in your career?

    NR: It’s not something I think about at all. I’m just thinking about today. I told you the emotions from today and that’s it, sorry, so I don’t think about two races in a row or three times here in Monaco. It’s not something that’s at the top of my mind.

    Q: (Luigi Perna – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Seb, there is a big difference in the performance of the car between qualifying and race; have you had some problems with tyre temperatures and the performance of the tyres in qualifying? In your opinion, is that due to the particular nature of your car or do you just have to adjust something in your set-up to try to improve in the next races?

    SV: Well, first of all, you are making a good point. If I had the answer than I would go down straight away and tell everyone what to do, so obviously it’s something we need to try and understand, whether there is something we can change with the approach we are taking with the set-up or there’s something we need to change with the approach of how the car is made. As I said, obviously there’s a key to understanding it, because some part of the race is decided on Saturday and if we struggle in cooler conditions it can happen once, twice but we need to make sure we get on top of it, so if it keeps happening it’s not an excuse, it’s a mistake and it’s bad for us so we need to work hard and make sure we fix it.

    eom/FIA transcript of the Press Conference