INDIA in F1

Tag: Narain Karthikeyan

  • Narain Karthikeyan unveils new Jaguar F-Type coupe

    New Delhi, 5 Feb 2014 – Jaguar Land Rover’s latest award-winning products made their Indian debut at the 12th 

    Narain with Jaguar F-Type coupe at the Delhi motorshow on Wednesday. A TVC photo
    Narain with Jaguar F-Type coupe at the Delhi motorshow on Wednesday. A TVC photo

    Delhi Auto Expo Motor Show today. Amongst the star attractions, the Jaguar F-TYPE Coupe was unveiled by India’s racing driver, Narain Karthikeyan and the Range Rover long wheelbase by leading Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra.

    The celebrities appeared alongside Jaguar Land Rover’s new Indian product range, including the latest Land Rover Discovery and the Range Rover Evoque with 9-speed transmission. Also making their much anticipated Indian debut were the Jaguar C-X17 crossover concept and the D-Type inspired Project 7 concept car.

    Jaguar Land Rover CEO, Dr. Ralf Speth said: 

    “We are here in India to showcase the very latest offerings from our two great British brands. India continues to be an important and dynamic market for Jaguar Land Rover with year on year sales growth. This demonstrates that we are delivering our promise to create exciting products and unrivalled customer experiences. We aim to enhance the potential of the Indian market by growing our dealer network by 25 per cent this year and will now manufacture our flagship model, the Jaguar XJ, in Pune”.

    Today, the company confirmed that Jaguar’s flagship model, the XJ, would become the third model to be made at the firm’s local manufacturing facility in Pune, following the introduction of the Land Rover Freelander 2 in 2011 and Jaguar XF in 2013.

    This positive trend is reflected in India where the Jaguar and Land Rover brands have gained significant prominence and popularity since entering the market in 2009. Retail sales were up by 21 per cent in 2013 and Jaguar was one of the fastest growing luxury car brands in the country.

    ends

  • Triple ROC ‘Champion of Champions’ Mattias Ekström returns

    • Three-time ROC ‘Champion of Champions’ Mattias Ekström will return to the Race Of Champions at Bangkok in December
    • The Swedish DTM driver has twice defeated F1 great Michael Schumacher in the ROC Grand Final (see picture)
    • Ekström joins a 2013 line-up that includes Schumacher, Le Mans legend Tom Kristensen, four-time V8 Supercar champion Jamie Whincup and new World Rally Champion Sébastien Ogier
    • Tickets are now available from the website www.raceofchampions.com

    Triple ROC ‘Champion of Champions’ Mattias Ekström will make a return to the Race Of Champions at Bangkok’s Rajamangala Stadium on December 14-15.

    The Swede has won two DTM championships for Audi in 2004 and 2007 and he still competes in the German touring car series. But he has also appeared in eight WRC rallies and raced in Nascar. This year Ekström has spread his wings yet further with a successful appearance in the legendary V8 Supercar race at Bathurst, even leading the field at one point. He also raced strongly in the X-Games in Munich and took second place on his European Rallycross debut in his home country.

    Such a rare mix of driving skill makes Ekström a maestro at the Race Of Champions, where he has won the overall ‘Champion of Champions’ title no less than three times, all in different stadia. In 2006 Ekström beat home hero Sébastien Loeb in his own rally car at the Stade de France in Paris before twice defeating Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher in the Grand Final – first at London’s Wembley Stadium in 2007 then at Beijing’s ‘Bird’s Nest’ Olympic Stadium in 2009. If he can repeat the feat in Bangkok he will equal Didier Auriol’s all-time record of four ROC triumphs. Ekström has also partnered Le Mans legend Tom Kristensen to ROC Nations Cup glory for Team Scandinavia in 2005 and the duo will now be reunited in Bangkok.

    Ekström said: “I have many happy memories from the Race Of Champions and I’m delighted to be back this year – and to be teaming up with Tom again. It’s always a pleasure to race against the world’s best drivers and I’ve had some strong results down the years. What helps me is that I’ve been lucky to race many good touring cars, sportscars and rally cars but everyone knows it is a unique event. You have two minutes to show what you can do – and if you do it spotlessly you go further. I once won a race by a thousandth of a second: with margins like that you also need luck.”

    Race organiser Fredrik Johnsson said: “Mattias is one of the most successful drivers in the history of the Race Of Champions. So it is great for us to have him back in the field – and he will again start as one of the favourites for success as he bids to equal ROC’s all-time record. He and Tom will make up a formidable partnership in the ROC Nations Cup too and we hope to see a big crowd cheering them all on in Bangkok.”

    Held every year since 1988, the Race Of Champions brings together the world’s greatest drivers from motor sport’s main disciplines – including Formula 1, World Rally, Le Mans, MotoGP, Nascar, IndyCar, Touring Cars and the X-Games – and sets them free to battle head-to-head in identical machinery.

    ROC 2013 will take place on a specially constructed tarmac track with two parallel lanes winding their way round Bangkok’s Rajamangala Stadium. Drivers pair up for the ROC Nations Cup, this year scheduled forSaturday 14 December, ahead of the individual Race Of Champions on Sunday 15 December.

    ROC features stars from all over the world: along with Schumacher and Kristensen, four-time V8 Supercar champion Jamie Whincup and 2013 World Rally Champion Sébastien Ogier have already signed up and the rest of the field will be announced in the run-up to December’s event.

    Tickets are now available from www.raceofchampions.com where you can also find further information. Sign up for all the latest updates at www.raceofchampions.com, Race Of Champions on Facebook or @raceofchampions and the hashtag #BangROC on Twitter.

    Drivers already announced for the 2013 Race Of Champions:

    • Michael SCHUMACHER, seven-time Formula 1 World Champion
    • Tom KRISTENSEN, nine-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner, World Endurance Champion 2013
    • Sébastien OGIER, World Rally Champion 2013
    • Jamie WHINCUP, V8 Supercar Champion 2012, 2011, 2009, 2008
    • Narain KARTHIKEYAN, Formula 1 driver and ROC Asia Champion 2012
    • Karun CHANDHOK, Formula 1 driver and ROC Asia Champion 2012
    • David COULTHARD, 13-time Formula 1 grand prix winner
    • Susie WOLFF, development driver for the Williams F1 team
    • Mattias EKSTRÖM, DTM ace and triple ROC Champion of Champions
      Mattias Ekstrom and Micheal Schumacher at an earlier RoC. Photo by RoC media
      Mattias Ekstrom and Micheal Schumacher at an earlier RoC. Photo by RoC media

    ends

  • The FMSCI President, Vicky Chandhok speaks!

    Vickey Chandhok (left), Karun Chandhok (2nd from left) and Vijay Mallya (right) at the British GP. File photo by Adrenna Communications.
    Vickey Chandhok (left), Karun Chandhok (2nd from left) and Vijay Mallya (right) at the British GP. File photo by Adrenna Communications.

    Letter from the President

    Chennai, 18 October 2013:

    We are in the midst of one of the busiest months in the year for motorsport in the country and it is great to see everything moving in the right direction. The entire motorsports industry is buzzing with excitement as we are less than a week away from India’s biggest sporting event. As I write this the team cargo is just arriving at the Buddh International Circuit. So let the games begin!!

    FIA

    Attending the World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) in Dubrovnik provided a great insight in to all the great work that is being done by the FIA across the world. This might get repetitive but I never get tired of saying how proud the entire Federation is of the Indian representations on the world bodies. It is fantastic to see how far we have come in the world of motorsport with so much presence in the various commissions. Shivu Shivappa represents the FMSCI on the FIA Rally Commission, Farhan Vohra on the Circuits Commission, Prabha Shankar on the Volunteers & Officials commission, B Vijayakumar, Balakrishnan & Anand Jayachandran on the Single Seater commission, Manjeev Bhalla on the Cross Country rally commission, Karun Chandhok on the Drivers commission, J Balamurugan on the Drag Racing commission, Anand Sashidharan on the FIM Legal commission, Roop Kumar on the FIM tech commission, Shyam Kothari the FIM representative and of course Vijay Mallya on the world council.

    With unconditional support from the FMSCI members and governing council the team is doing India proud! Personally, it’s a wonderful feeling. FIA also gives special focus to developing ASNs across the globe. It is structured around four key building blocks for the establishment and running of a successful ASN, highlighting the need for competent structure and event organization, solid licensing, training and sport development. The FMSCI will also work closely with the FIA in growing grassroots motorsports and making it more affordable for young driver.

    We were fortunate to have an informal international observer at the AVT South India Rally earlier this year. Based on this, the Head of our Rallying Commission Ashwin Pandit, at the Rallycom meeting in Johor Bahru, discussed the possibility of having an official observer for one of our rallies this year. I am glad to say that due to the efforts of the Rallycom, the Chikmagalur Rally will be officially observed so that our Indian events will now have the opportunity to be part of the FIA Asia Cup next year.

    The Technical commission led by K Krishnamurthy and Kamlesh Patel has been exceedingly busy in drafting and monitoring the technical regulations. Your FMSCI has now invested over Rs. 15 lakhs on the import and local purchase of equipment that will aid the technical delegates and scrutineers.

    It is with great pleasure that I announce 17 year old Akhil Rabindra as the Indian driver being chosen as the candidate for the FIA Institute Academy. Drivers from 11 countries across the Asia-Pacific region are set to take part in their regional selection event for the 2013/14 Young Driver Excellence Academy. Each FIA National Sporting Authority (ASN) in the region was asked to put forward their nomination, which was then assessed by the FIA Institute. To qualify, drivers had to meet a set of minimum criteria, as well as having demonstrated strong performance in competition so far. On the final shortlist are some of the top young drivers in motor racing and rallying across the Asia-Pacific region, including competitors from Australian Formula Ford, the Sri Lankan Supercross Championship, JK Tyre Racing Championship and the V8 Challenge Cup Championship.

    Rallying

    The K-1000 rally had to be postponed due to operational reasons but am glad to see everything is shaping up well for one of India’s oldest rallies. At the Rallycom meeting earlier this month we announced changes to the 2014 championship. There will be only 3 categories next year and most importantly we encourage the participation of foreign entrants. We hope to expand the grid and manufacturer list in the upcoming years. The 15th Raid de Himalaya was a success yet again and congratulations to Suresh Rana for emerging victorious for a record 9th time along with his co-driver Ashwin Naik. It is one of the most popular rallies in India and people have nothing but great things to say about the unique event. We were glad to finally kick off the 2013 Indian National TSD Rally Championship with the first round being held in Nashik. TSD rallying is picking up and next year looks good for the championship with ten rounds already being confirmed.

    4W Racing

    The BIC has been bustling with activity over the last month as the Indian GP approaches. The turnout for the 17th MMSC-FMSCI National Racing Championship & JK Tyre Racing Championship I must admit surprised me and is a clear sign that Indian motorsport is doing just fine. Both championships witnessed record numbers with over 20000 fans, which featured the top talent from the country.

    This year there will only be one support race for the Indian GP with the MRF Formula 2000 kicking off its championship at the BIC. All these cars have been made in India by an Indian team and is probably one of the fastest in the region. The grid will include top drivers from all across the globe.

    This weekend will also witness the final round of the JK Tyre-FMSCI National Karting Championship in New Delhi with titles on the line in the Micro Max, Junior Max and Senior Max categories. This year we have had more than 10 young drivers moving up from Karting to Single-Seaters action and more importantly they have all made the transition with ease. This definitely means that our karting program is on the right track.

    2W Racing

    Round 3 of the FMSCI-MMSC took place at the BIC and created history of sorts as it was the first time that motorcycles had raced around the grand prix circuit. It was good to see full manufacturer support in the form of TVS, Honda and Yamaha blasting around the BIC.

    FMSCI team India rider K.Jagan was invited to particpate in the Asia Cup and did the country proud with a 3rd placed podium finish in Round 1. I am also personally thankful to Nasser at the QMMF for agreeing so spontaneously to a request to upgrade Rajni from the 600cc to a 1000cc bike at Losail for the weekend of the 5th October.

    International Drivers

    Gaurav Gill’s brilliant win in the Rally of Japan in his MRF Skoda Fabia means he is the favourite to win the APRC title with one more round to go. It was a fantastic effort in the Rally of Hokkaido by Gaurav Gill to take a comfortable win. Behind him Sanjay Takale won the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship (APRC) Production Cup title.

    Narain Karthikeyan continued his great form in the final round of Auto GP Championship to take his fifth win of the season. Karun Chandhok and Armaan Ebrahim did not have the best outing at the FIA GT Series with both drivers having to retire their cars. Another great achievement for Narain and Karun is that they have both been invited to represent India at the season ending Race of Champions. This is an invite only event for top drivers including Michael Schumacher, Sebastian Ogier, Sebastian Vettel, Jamie Whincup etc and it is a proud moment for Indian talent to be recognized with these great names.

    Aditya Patel had yet another top ten finish in the Audi R8 in the ADAC GT Masters. Young Indian racer Parth Ghorpade continues to be a top 10 finisher in the Formula Renault 2.0 Alps championship with a 6th place finish in Imola. Lastly and quite importantly a big congratulations to Jehan Daruvala as he became the first ever Indian to win the British Karting Championship albeit on a MSA licence. The young Indian driver, backed by Sahara Force India, had two podium finishes in the final round to seal the title.

    Motorsport has always been an unforgiving sport and I would like to take this opportunity to express my deepest sympathies to the families of Maria De Villota and Sean Edwards, who both passed away over the last week. Maria was doing a lot of work for women in motorsport with the FIA and will be sorely missed. Sean was close to wrapping up the Porsche Supercup Championship and is a great loss to the motorsport world.

    All members of the FMSCI have been working on overtime in order to try to better the sport in India and I would like to thank them all for making my task easier. Hope everyone has a great time at the Indian GP!

    Yours sincerely,

    Vicky Chandhok

     

  • Narain, Karun re-unite as Team India for Race of Champions 2013

    Chennai, 14 Oct 2013: India will be represented in the Race Of Champions for the second time after Karun Chandhok and Narain Karthikeyan signed up for ROC 2013, to be held at Bangkok’s Rajamangala Stadium on the weekend of December 14-15. 2012 marked the first year that Team India made an appearance at the ROC and this was backed by a solid performance by both drivers which saw India being crowned ROC Asia Champions, an Adrenna release said.

    The two drivers joined forces for Team India at last year’s inaugural ROC Asia. They duly topped the group stages with four wins out of six against their competitors from China, Japan and host nation Thailand before defeating the Japanese duo in the final to take the title. That performance has now earned Chandhok and Karthikeyan an invitation to return to the scene of their triumph in Bangkok for ROC 2013.

    Narain Karthikeyan was excited at the prospect of going head-to-head with elite list of world champions that compete in the ROC. He added: “It will be a great privilege to represent India again at the Race Of Champions. We had a great time at our first attempt when we won ROC Asia but it is always a challenge to jump into different cars and adapt quickly. However, with the experience of the 2012 event behind us, we feel more confident and better prepared this time. As always, going head to head with world champions like Michael Schumacher and Sébastian Ogier is something we’re looking forward to.”

    Karun Chandhok was excited to return to the ROC and his happy to be back with more experience in hand. He said: “I’m very excited to be going back to Bangkok for the Race Of Champions. Narain and I had a great time together last year and it was fantastic to be the first ROC Asia winners. ROC is a unique event from a competitive and social perspective and it’s something that every driver looks forward to. It was really nice to drive such a variety of cars and we both have more experience this year and know a bit more about how it all works. The chance to spend time with such a great mix of drivers from a huge variety of championships around the world is a lot of fun and I hope we once again get a good crowd at the stadium.”

    Chandhok and Karthikeyan are the only Indian drivers ever to have competed in F1 and both have extensive racing pedigrees elsewhere too. Chandhok is a race-winner in GP2 and has since turned his hand to endurance racing with strong finishes in the last two Le Mans 24-Hour races. Karthikeyan has taken victories in everything from British F3 to A1GP and Superleague Formula before enjoying considerable success this year in AutoGP including a haul of five wins.

    Held every year since 1988, the Race Of Champions brings together the world’s greatest drivers from motor sport’s main disciplines – including Formula 1, world rally, Le Mans, MotoGP, Nascar, IndyCar, touring cars and the X-Games – and sets them free to battle head-to-head in identical machinery.

    ROC 2013 will take place on a specially constructed tarmac track with two parallel lanes winding their way round Bangkok’s Rajamangala Stadium. Drivers pair up for the ROC Nations Cup, this year scheduled for Saturday 14 December, ahead of the individual Race Of Champions on Sunday 15 December.

    ROC features stars from all over the world: seven-time F1 world champion Michael Schumacher, nine-time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen and newly-crowned World Rally Champion Sébastien Ogier have already signed up and the rest of the 2013 field will be announced in the run-up to December’s event.

    Race organiser Fredrik Johnsson said: “We’re really happy to have Karun and Narain back at the Race Of Champions again. They raced very well last year on their way to victory in ROC Asia and their performance generated plenty of headlines among the burgeoning ranks of motor sport fans in India. So we hope to see many of their fellow countrymen making the short trip to Bangkok this time to cheer them on.”

    Ticket details will be released shortly. For further information, media accreditation and access to high-resolution imagery please visit www.raceofchampions.com. Sign up for all the latest updates at www.raceofchampions.com, via Race Of Champions on Facebook or @raceofchampions and the hashtag #BangROC on Twitter.

    endsROC Narain and Karun to form Team India 2013

  • Narain wins Race 1 at Nurburgring for Super Nova International

    Nurburgring, 17 Aug 2013: Narain Karthikeyan (Super Nova International) cruised to his third win of the 2013 Auto GP season in Race 1 at the Nürburgring on Saturday.

    The Indian former Formula 1 racer took-off from the pole and managed to end up in front of Kevin Giovesi (Ghinzani Motorsport) who threw a good challenge to the front. The Italian racer, who lined-up in third place, successfully passed Super Nova International’s Vittorio Ghirelli at the start and managed to finish in a highly-positive second position.

    Ghirelli paid the price of starting on the dirtier part of the track and missed the beat at takeoff, although he brought home a valuable podium position as well as the fastest lap of the race. The drivers received their awards on the podium from Emanuele Pirro. The former F.1 driver, who also starred in the Audi Le Mans squad for a decade, has recently covered the role of driver steward in Formula 1. 

    In fourth place Euronova Racing’s Kimiya Sato sailed to a solitary lead in standings after a tough on-track duel with his main rival Sergio Campana, driving for Ibiza Racing Team. The Modena-based man, who eventually rounded out the top-5, and his Japanese colleague even touched each other before their respective pit-stops, although none of them damaged their cars or infringed any rule. It’s been an exciting challenge for the DTM fans sitting at the Mercedes Arena. The top-6 was rounded out by Tamas Pal Kiss, making his debut with Ibiza Racing Team. He was followed by Robert Visoiu (Ghinzani Motorsport) but the real surprise came from rookie Roberto La Rocca (Comtec by Virtuosi) who ended up in 8th and secured the pole spot for Race 2. 

    Female racer Michela Cerruti, fielded by MLR71, also enjoyed a good debut race by topping Yoshitaka Kuroda (Euronova Racing) for 9th. On the other hand Daniel De Jong, driving for MP Motorsport, was forced to retire after a contact with Michele La Rosa (MLR71), who was penalized with a drive-through. A penalty was also assessed to De Jong’s team-mate Meindert Van Buuren for having cut the chicane and gained an advantage, while Andrea Roda (Virtuosi UK) lost valuable time in the opening part of the day due to a contact and a damaged front wing.

    Narain Karthikeyan said: “I’m very happy to have scored my third win this season, which is also the second straight one and a great boost to our championship chances. I had a good start from the pole, and then I managed to pass Giovesi at the end of the pit-stops. I’m proud to have provided my team with another well-deserved satisfaction”.

    Kevin Giovesi: “I made up one spot at the start by passing Ghirelli and then stayed in Karthikeyan’s slipstream. As I couldn’t edge him on-track, we tried with the strategy in the pits and we had almost made it. Unfortunately, due to the cold tires I overshot the braking for the first corner and had to surrender the lead”.

    Vittorio Ghirelli: “The fastest lap of the race shows how quick our car was today. Unfortunately, I was forced to start on the dirty side of the track and that cost me one position on Giovesi”.

    ends

  • 15-year Tarun is youngest winner of MRF 1600 race

    Irungattukottai, (Chennai) 28 July 2013: The 15-year-old Tarun Reddy won in only his third racing round ahead of Japanese driver Yudai Jinkawa and Ashwin Sundar in Race 2 of the MRF 1600 race at Round 3 of the National Racing Championship in Chennai on Sunday.

    Ashwin Sundar finished first in Race 3 ahead of Shinya Michimi and Yudai Jinkawa to further extend his championship lead. Indian rallying champion Gaurav Gill continued his impressive comeback to the Indian Touring Car championship with convincing victories in both races, according to a Press Release from Adrenna Communications for the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI)Ashwin Sundar, Tarun Reddy, Yudai Jinkawa with Narain Karthikeyan.

    Prashanth K and S Narendran continued their perfect weekend in the LGB Formula Swift and F4 categories respectively with yet another win. Diljith won Race 3 of the the Toyota Etios Motor Racing (EMR) Trophy while Feroze Khan continued his unbeaten run with yet another victory in the Indian Junior Touring Cars.

    In the first race of the day Prashanth K won comfortably ahead of Deepak Chinappa and Suhail Sabharwal to win in the Formula Swift category. S Narendran put on yet another flawless display to win by over 27 seconds ahead of C Rajaram and Sudanand DR.

    Race 2 saw the MRF 1600 take to track with Jinkawa starting on pole ahead of Tarun Reddy and Ashwin Sundar. Tarun had a great start and went around the outside of Jinkawa in the first corner to take the lead with  Ashwin in third. Ashwin then went off track and dropped back to sixth place at the end of the second lap. Tarun pulled away from Jinkawa at an impressive pace at over a half a second a lap. Ashwin meanwhile made up 3 positions to get back into 3rd position. Tarun crossed the line in first position to become the youngest winner at the MMRT with Jinkawa in 2nd and Ashwin in 3rd place.

    Diljith won Race 3 of the Toyota EMR Trophy ahead of Abhinay Bikkani and karting graduate Akhil Rabindra. Diljith started on pole position and led from start to finish comfortably. The battle behind him was very close with four cars fighting for the remaining two podium spots. In the Abhinay and Akhil managed to hold off the challenge from Keith D’Souza and Arjun Narendran to finish on the podium.

    Gaurav Gill won Race 1 of the Indian Touring Cars while championship leader Arjun Balu struggled in his new Volkswagen Vento and was forced to retire. His title rival N Leelakrishnan finished in second place ahead of Ashish Ramaswamy. Gill led comfortably and was not matched all race long.

    Feroze Khan finished a perfect weekend when he led from start to finish in Race 3 of the Indian Junior Touring Cars. Behind him R Rajan finished in second place ahead of Vidyuth Iyer. There was a great battle for 4th position with 5 cars involved in a close battle. Fahad Kutty finally won that battle to finish in 4th place.

    Ashwin Sundar got back to the top step of the podium with a win in the MRF 1600 category. Ashwin had a good start and battled with Jinkawa for the top spot in the first three laps before pulling away. Jinkawa and Race 2 winner Tarun Reddy were battling for second position before the both went off and lost places. Japanese driver Shinya Michimi took advantage of the situation to finish in second place. Jinkawa and Tarun recovered to finish in third and fourth places respectively.

    In the last race of the weekend Gaurav made it two out of two with another commanding win on a damp track. Title contenders Arjun Balu and N Leelakrishnan could not match Gill’s pace and had to settle for second and third position.

    ends 

  • RIP Allan Simonsen

    23 June 2013: Danish race driver Allan Simonsen died after crashing his Austin Martin in the opening stages of Le Mans 24 hrs classic race at La Sarthe circuit on Saturday. We at INDIA in F1 deeply mourn the death of a talented driver who began as a mechanic but became one of the best drivers being on the podium in many parts of the world.

    His death brings into focus once again the importance of safety in motorsports. At this time our prayers are with his one-year old son and his partner Corina.

    FIA condolence Statement: By Jean Todt, FIA President and Pierre Fillon, ACO President

    We wish to express our profound sadness regarding the death of Allan Simonsen at today’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. We would like to convey our deepest and heartfelt sympathies to Allan`s family and friends. Our thoughts are also with his Aston Martin teammates at this difficult time.

    Allan was an extremely talented and experienced sportscar driver who had raced in every corner of the world and was highly respected by his peers and his team.  For many in endurance racing, Allan was above all a good friend who displayed his passion for racing on and off the track.
    His loss will be felt by the FIA, the ACO and the greater motorsport family.
    Jean Todt, FIA President and Pierre Fillon, ACO President

    Here are a few tributes by the racing fraternity.

    Narain Karthikeyan ‏@narainracing1h : We all think racing is too safe nowadays until something like this shakes us back to reality.. #RIP Allan Simonsen #LM24

    @KarunChandhok: Morning ! First of all, my sincere condolences to Allan Simonsen’s family and everyone at Aston Martin Racing… Terrible to see that happen

    Paul Di Resta: “Sad news at Le Mans, RIP Allan Simonsen. Thoughts are with his family and friends.”

    Force India: Our thoughts and prayers are with the family, friends and team of Allan Simonsen. Really sad news from Le Mans earlier today.

    Jenson Button tweeted: “Allan Simonsen R.I.P. such a tragic loss. A true fighter abd a true racer. Safety is something we need to improve on in motorsport.”

    Kimi Raikkonen: “R.I.P. Allan Simonsen. Sad news.”

    Sergio Perez: “Thoughts & prayers with Allan Simonsen’ family and @AMR_Official team.”Que lastima!! La dura vida de piloto , Murio haciendo lo que quería.”

    Felipe Massa: “Such a tragic news on the passing of @AllanSimonsen . Sad day in motorsport. Thoughts and prayers are with his family.”

    Jaime Alguersuari: “Rest in peace Allan Simonsen.”

     

    ends

  • Di Resta does 82 laps for Tyre work and Aero programme

    Circuit de Catalunya, 19 Feb 2013: Sahara Force India began its Barcelona test session on Tuesday  as Paul Di Resta spent the day in the VJM06 and clocked up 82 laps of the Circuit de Catalunya getting a mileage of 382 kilometres and notched up his fastest lap at 1:24.144. He was classified 8th of the 12 drivers that took to testing on the first day at Barcelona as F1 world moved from Jerez testing to Barcelona.
    However, there is no word on the second driver.  Reliable sources rubbished the news of Narain Karthikeyan having any chance of getting into Sahara Force India team.  Sources also said that Karthikeyan has complained to the Editors of the newspaper in Chennai (India) that the report about him, suggesting a move to Sahara Force India, was in bad taste as he was not contacted at all. International Media reports  put Adrian Sutil and Jules Bianchi in contention for the lone seat available for the 2013 season.
    Paul Di Resta: “The first day of running was mainly about tyre work and making some comparisons with Jerez. I was running on the hard and the mediums and we got a good feel for them once again. We also did an aero programme this morning, which is part of the correlation work as we evaluate some of the new parts going on the car. The plan is for more of the same tomorrow.”
    Jakob Andreasen, Chief Race Engineer
    “It has been a solid first day of work in Barcelona with Paul. We’ve put into effect what we learned in Jerez and made some useful comparisons, especially in terms of tyre evaluation. After the aero programme this morning, we did some shorts runs with new aero components and then moved to longer runs later on. The track conditions were not at their best this morning, but from midday onwards things started to improve and the cloud cover kept the track temperatures relatively low. With Melbourne less than a month away the team is gelling nicely and the new personnel and structures we have put in place are working well.”
    Paul di Resta in the VJM06 on Day One of the F1 testing at Barcelona on Tuesday. A Sahara Force India photo

    ends

  • Grosjean crowned 2012 Champion of Champions

    • France’s Romain Grosjean lifts the Race Of Champions trophy after a Grand Final victory over Le Mans legend Tom Kristensen
    • Grand prix veterans Michael Schumacher and David Coulthard make it as far as the semi-finals
    • 2012 F1 world champion Sebastian Vettel knocked out in the quarter-finals for the second year in a row

    Bangkok, 16 Dec 2012:French Formula 1 star Romain Grosjean put in a stunning performance to eclipse 15 fellow superstars of motorsport and win the Race Of Champions on an evening of thrills at Bangkok’s Rajamangala Stadium. However, the Frenchman is yet to secure a seat for the Formula One drive in 2013.

    Romain Grosjean (France) wins Champion of Champions in the Race of Champions 2012 at Bangkok on 16 Dec. Photo RoC

    India’s Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok won the Asia crown on Friday but lost in the Nations Cup on Saturday to Germany’s Schumacher and Vettel.

    Following Team Germany’s victory over Team France in last night’s ROC Nations Cup, the Race Of Champions pitted many of the biggest names in motorsport against each other in head-to-head combat in a variety of different cars.

    In the end Grosjean overcame Le Mans legend Tom Kristensen in the best-of-three Grand Final to become Champion of Champions for the first time. Kristensen, who also reached the final last year, was chasing his own first individual Race Of Champions title at the 12th attempt. But he was thwarted by the young Frenchman, who won both heats to seal glory.

    Grosjean said: “That’s what I’d call a crazy day! It got a bit tough in the group stages but I managed to make it through. Then I had to face Sebastian Vettel in the quarter-final before Michael Schumacher in the semi-final – the two Germans who beat us in yesterday’s ROC Nations Cup final. Then I had the final with Tom. We’ve had a good history at this event and I’ve raced him before so it was good to face him in the final. I got a bit of extra luck to be in the right car at the right time but it felt good.

    “It’s been a tough end to the F1 season but I finally got back on the podium yesterday, and now this! It’s great to get this win before I head off for a holiday. Thanks to everyone in Thailand because the welcome has been fantastic.”

    Beaten finalist Kristensen has competed in 12 Race Of Champions events, more than anyone else in the field. The 45-year-old Dane nonetheless hopes to be back for more.

    “This was the 25th year of the race and Romain is a deserving winner,” said Kristensen. “He had a very good Sunday – and I’m getting closer every year! It was a small gap between us in each of the heats and I made small mistakes but that’s the challenge of the Race Of Champions: to jump into different cars. Earlier I had a pretty fun run in the Audi against Ogier. I believe that was the fastest lap of the weekend so that’s what I’ll take away. Even though I’m a bit more than 25 years old like Romain, it shows I’m still pretty fast if I’m in a good car. This has been the warmest Race Of Champions I have competed in – both literally and thanks to the people who welcomed us and enjoyed having us here. I’m still young so maybe one day I’ll get the chance to win it!”

    Michael Schumacher seemed to be continuing where he left off last night as he went undefeated until the semi-final stage. There he came up against an inspired Grosjean and his quest for the individual ROC title faltered again. Schumacher’s fellow F1 old-timer David Coulthard was beaten by Kristensen in the other semi-final.

    After sharing in Schumacher’s success last night, 2012 F1 world champion Sebastian Vettel was eliminated in the individual quarter-finals for the second year in a row, also by Grosjean. Facing a tight battle, Vettel made a mistake and hit the barrier hard.

    Another big scalp at the quarter-final stage was last year’s Champion of Champions Sébastien Ogier, beaten by Kristensen in a reverse of the result of last year’s Grand Final. Coulthard defeated China’s Ho-Pin Tung while Schumacher overcame 500cc MotoGP legend Mick Doohan in the other quarter-finals.

    To start the evening the drivers were split into four groups of four, battling for the right to line up in the knockout stages.

    Reigning champion Ogier began in dominant fashion, taking three wins out of three in Group A. Coulthard also progressed thanks to his two wins against V8 Supercar king Jamie Whincup and Production World Rally Champion Benito Guerra. Whincup beat Guerra but neither driver made it any further.

    Tung was the surprise package of Group B. After falling to an initial defeat against touring car great Andy Priaulx, the Chinese driver recovered to top the group, beating Kristensen and home favourite Nattavude Charoensukawattana. The Thai prompted one of the night’s biggest cheers when he defeated Priaulx, meaning the last quarter-final berth was decided by a shootout between Kristensen and Priaulx. That went to the Dane when a mechanical problem sent Priaulx into the barriers.

    Vettel made a predictably strong start, romping to three wins out of three including a victory over 2012 MotoGP world champion Jorge Lorenzo. Group C also included another legend of two wheels in Doohan, who defeated Lorenzo in their heat. The Thai crowd went wild as Tin Sritrai beat Lorenzo and crossed the line ahead of Doohan, only to miss out on qualification due to a time penalty.

    Schumacher and Grosjean both progressed comfortably from Group D – but it was the German who came out on top this time to keep his undefeated record intact with three wins to Grosjean’s two. 2012 IndyCar Series champion Ryan Hunter-Reay took a single victory against Kazuya Ohshima, Japan’s qualifier from ROC Asia, but it wasn’t enough to keep the American in the competition.

    Grosjean’s triumph marks the end of the 2012 Race Of Champions. We hope you’ve enjoyed it and we look forward to seeing you next year for ROC 2013. Keep up with the news by signing up for all the latest updates at www.raceofchampions.com, @raceofchampions on Twitter or Race Of Champions on Facebook.

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  • Team Germany win 6th RoC Nations Cup

    • Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel stormed to their sixth consecutive ROC Nations Cup title for Team Germany in Bangkok
    • The German duo defeated Team France’s Romain Grosjean and Sébastien Ogier by two heats to nil in the Grand Final
    • Team All Stars (Jorge Lorenzo and Tom Kristensen) and Team Australia (Jamie Whincup and Mick Doohan) reached the semi-finals

    Bangkok, 15 Dec 2012: Team Germany’s Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel added to their incredible run of success by winning their sixth consecutive ROC Nations Cup title in Bangkok.

    On another hot evening in the Thai capital, legends from many of the world’s biggest motor sport series teamed up in pairs to battle for national pride. They raced a mix of cars – including the Audi R8 LMS, VW Scirocco, Lamborghini Gallardo Super Trofeo and the Toyota GT86 – on a purpose-built parallel track at the Rajamangala Stadium.

    Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher (2nd and 3rd from left) won the Nations Cup at the Race of Champions in Bangkok on Saturday 15 Dec 2012. Photo RoC

    To cap off a busy night of action, Schumacher and Vettel prevailed in the Grand Final against Team France’s Sébastien Ogier and Romain Grosjean. First Schumacher defeated Grosjean then Vettel beat rally ace Ogier in the ‘battle of the Sebs’.

    The result meant that the German duo took an incredible ten wins out of ten on the night, matching their combined total of F1 world championships. They have now extended their record of ROC Nations Cup titles to six in a row too.

    Schumacher said: “This is a historic day. It was already very special to win five times in a row but this new record just feels great. The Race Of Champions is a nice event with a nice set-up, there are great guys here and tough competition. We were pretty scared of the guys on Team France but in the end they lost time in the final heats so we were lucky to be consistent the whole way through.”

    Vettel added: “Even Michael hasn’t managed six titles in a row before so this is something special. Six years is a long time and now we can look back and know we’ve won for the last six years. We all love coming here as it’s a special event. It’s a privilege and an honour to race with these guys. There’s one thing that connects us all, which is racing. Now I can look forward to tomorrow and hopefully stay in the competition as long as possible. I’ve tried that for the last five years and haven’t succeeded yet so it would be nice to put my name on that trophy too.”

    Beaten finalists Team France also had a fine evening, topping their group before defeating Team All Stars (Le Mans legend Tom Kristensen and MotoGP world champion Jorge Lorenzo) by two heats to nil in the semi-final.

    Grosjean admitted: “We knew going up against Team Germany was the toughest moment of the evening. But we fought as well as we could with what we had in our hands. Last year we reached the semi-final, this year the final. Now the next step is to be on the top of the podium. They want to go for seven next year but we want to go for our first one in the future. For now it’s great to have brought the blue, white and red flag to the final.”

    Reigning individual Champion of Champions Ogier said: “First I want to congratulate Team Germany because six victories in a row is a great result. We tried our best but they were very strong. We will try to do better next time. First I will do my best to retain the individual Race Of Champions title tomorrow but I know it will be tough.”

    In the semi-finals Team Germany beat Team Australia’s Jamie Whincup and Mick Doohan by two heats to nil. They had earlier sailed through their Group B with six wins out of six to kick off their perfect night. Team Australia joined them in the semi-finals with three victories: two for Whincup, one for Doohan.

    Following their triumph in yesterday’s ROC Asia, Team India’s Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok failed to make it beyond the group stages this time. They took a win apiece but it wasn’t enough against the might of Germany and Australia.

    Host nation Team Thailand (Nattavude Charoensukawattana and Tin Sritrai) fought hard but they were unable to progress beyond the group stages. Sritrai nonetheless gave the home fans something to cheer with victory over Doohan.

    Earlier in the evening, Team France (four wins) and Team All Stars (three wins) both progressed through the round-robin Group A to line up a best-of-three semi-final. Lorenzo memorably proved his two-wheeled skill extends to four wheels by defeating touring car great Andy Priaulx in one of the heats.

    Team Americas were unlucky to miss out on qualification on countback of fastest times as they also ended up with three wins courtesy of Benito Guerra (2) and Ryan Hunter-Reay (1). Team Great Britain (Priaulx and David Coulthard) missed a semi-final spot after both fell foul of penalties for touching the barriers – though they still took one win each.

    There is plenty more action to come in Bangkok on Sunday as the drivers will put their friendships aside and go it alone in the individual Race Of Champions.

    Coverage of tomorrow’s finale will be available on television all over the world. Stations showing ROC live include SAT1 in Germany, Motors TV around Europe, Al Jazeera in the Middle East, Fox in Latin America and Brazil, Speed TV in Australia, the Sony Entertainment Network in India, PPTV and Euro Soccer channel in China, Super Sport in Africa plus many more. Please check local listings for exact details of broadcast times.

    Tickets are still available for this weekend’s action. For a live results feed and access to high-resolution imagery please visit www.raceofchampions.com. Sign up for all the latest updates atwww.raceofchampions.com, @raceofchampions on Twitter or Race Of Champions on Facebook.

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