Race Incident

The question is why. Why, oh why?! Why not give Milka Duno a call?

Ferrari admit Badoer likely to stay for Spa.

A spectacular 24-strong parachute drop over Main Beach this morning heralded the official launch of a ‘new era’ for Australia’s premier motorsport event  – the Nitro SuperGP on Queensland’s Gold Coast – which will kick off Season Five of A1GP World Cup of Motorsport later this year.

Now less than 100 days away from the starter’s flag, the Nitro SuperGP will see more than 20 nations battle head-to-head when A1GP joins the Australian V8 Supercars Championship Series on the streets of Surfers Paradise from October 22-25.

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said for the 19th year in a row the world’s motorsport spotlight would shine on the Gold Coast event – making it one of the longest-running and most successful of its kind in the world.

“The Gold Coast has become a permanent fixture on the international motorsport circuit and the festival has been entertaining locals and visitors alike for nearly two decades,” said Ms Bligh. “And this year is expected to be bigger and better with the sleek, Ferrari-powered A1GPs mixing it with the pure muscle and brute force of our home-grown V8 Supercars.”

Joining the launch celebration was Gold Coast resident and Seat Holder for A1 Team Australia, Alan Jones.  For once he was delighted to have his photo taken with one of his arch rivals, as the A1 Team Malaysia car had been flown out from the UK so the locals could view the sort of machinery they can expect to see on their streets in October.

Explaining more about what the event means to the area Ms Bligh said: “Over 300,000 are expected to attend the 2009 Nitro SuperGP, not to mention the 700 international media that will take this great city to the world. And this attention brings big business to the Gold Coast and Queensland.

“Our hotels and hospitality industry will benefit from more than 173,000 visitor nights; locals will benefit from the equivalent of over 550 casual, full-time jobs; and the Queensland economy will get a $60 million shot in the arm.

“Events like this are the lifeblood of Queensland tourism meccas like the Gold Coast and the Government is proud to continue its support of the motorsport festival.”

Nitro SuperGP Chairman Terry Mackenroth echoed the sentiments of the Premier and unveiled details of an enhanced race program for the event.

“The 2009 race program will provide fans with more racing than ever before,” said Mackenroth.

“Thursday for the first time will see open-wheel action, with the first practice session of A1GP, as well as actual open-wheel racing on both the Saturday and Sunday, while the V8 Supercars take to the track for two 200km races after completing practice and the first stage of qualifying on Friday,” said Mackenroth.

“This exciting new race format will provide more on-track action and racing to our spectators than ever before and deliver great value for money for everyone.

“Expanding on the race program developments, 2009 also sees major works to the pit area and, after 18-years, an investment in a completely new hospitality and pit garage facility.”

Also on hand to witness the spectacle along with the invited guests were V8 Supercar drivers Alex Davison, Shane van Gisbergen, Michael Patrizi, Fabian Coulthard, as well as the first of the official Nitro SuperGP ambassadors.

Event organisers are selecting ‘ambassadors’ for each nation from the community to cheer on their team during and in the lead-up to the October 22-25 event.

Serginho van Dijk of the Brisbane Roar and Joey Wright, coach of the Gold Coast Blaze, were in attendance at the event launch as the ambassadors for A1 Team Netherlands and A1 Team USA respectively.

Nitro SuperGP General Manager Greg Hooton said the idea behind the ambassador program was to celebrate the many different nationalities which will be coming to the Gold Coast in October and racing in front of the fans.

Malaysian Club of Queensland president Teng Hee Tan (A1 Team Malaysia) was also in attendance, taking a particular interest in the A1 Team Malaysia race car on display.

The 2009 Nitro SuperGP will host Event 11 of the V8 Supercars Championship Series and the first round of the 2009/10 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport season. The event is produced through a partnership between the Queensland Government and IMG – tickets for this year’s event are on sale now through Ticketek on 1300 303 103.

Finnish racing sensation Valtteri Bottas, ART Grand Prix, took his maiden Formula 3 win at Zandvoort on Sunday in the highly prestigious Masters of Formula 3. Bottas, who is doing his first season of Formula 3, started in pole position and dominated the race. Second was his fellow countryman Mika Mäki, ahead of Stefano Coletti in third.

Valtteri Bottas is only in his third season in cars but has already managed to win no less than 23 races in his 53 race starts. Last year he won both the Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup and the Northen European Cup.

Full race results of the Masters of Formula 3.

British Formula 3 team Litespeed has confirmed that it will lodge its entry for the 2010 Formula 1 season with FIA today. The team will work with the company MGI which is run by F1 designer Mike Gascoyne. Engines for the team will be supplied by Cosworth.

Team principal Nino Judge:
“I can confirm that we will be filing our application to the FIA today for entry to the 2010 F1 championship. This is an extremely exciting time in the history of F1 with the changes in technical and financial requirements. We have lodged our deposit with Cosworth and are extremely serious and excited about this venture. We wish all teams the very best whilst the decision process is taking place and look forward to the potential of being on the grid in 2010 and beyond.”

Source:
Litespeed lodges F1 entry ahead of deadline

The second World Touring Car Championship race at Pau turned out to be eventful. The pre-race bickering about turbo pressures, rev-limits and disqualifications got overshadowed by total carnage on the lovely streets of Pau.

After a couple of wrecks on the first lap the safety car turned out of the pitlane to race leader Franz Engstler’s big surprise who were storming down the long straight and into the quick right-hander only to have a safety-car right in the middle of the street.

The incident is under investigation. According to Dutch TV Channel RTL the safety car had never been given the green light to come out on track and was only in stand-by-mode. (Touring Car Times)

The mayhem of the first laps can be viewed here:

It’s not easy being a Ferrari fan this year (thankfully I’m not one). It’s even probably not easier being Felipe Massa. Felipe’s frustration over the radio when told he had to slow down right in the middle of his battle with Vettel in order to make it to the finish and not run out of fuel is one of the highlights of the 2009 Spanish Grand Prix.

- Fuel consumption is too high on the last lap. We won’t get to the end, we need to do another stop. So you need to keep saving. You need to keep saving.
- Well what can I do?! I need to fight for the position. What can I do?

Here it in the following YouTube clip (with Japanese commentators chatting away between the radio communications).

The Formula 2 drivers got their first taste of their new car yesterday and today when pre-season testing started at Snetterton. During the sessions on Tuesday there was no official time keeping, but today we could get our first glimpse on what to expect from the inaugural FIA Formula Two season.

Morning times:
1. Andy SOUCEK ESP 59.817s
2. Philipp ENG AUT 59.963s
3. Milos PAVLOVIC SRB 59.970s
4. Mirko BORTOLOTTI ITA Red Bull 1m00.032s
5. Alex BRUNDLE GBR Sen, GAC, Nasstar 1m00.077s
6. Robert WICKENS CAN Red Bull, Lukoil 1m00.149s
7. Carlos IACONELLI BRA 1m00.187s
8. Sebastian HOHENTHAL SWE Mafi 1m00.220s
9. Julien JOUSSE FRA E. Leclerc 1m00.327s
10. Armaan EBRAHIM IND JK Racing 1m00.341s

Afternoon times:
1.    Robert WICKENS  CAN  Red Bull, Lukoil  59.433s
2.    Mirko BORTOLOTTI  ITA  Red Bull  59.601s  +0.168
3.    Alex BRUNDLE  GBR  SEN, GAC, Nasstar  59.655s  + 0.222
4.    Andy SOUCEK  ESP  FK-Automotive  59.763s  +0.330
5.    Philipp ENG  Aut  59.963s  +0.530
6.    Milos PAVLOVIC  SRB  59.970s  +0.537
7.    Julien JOUSSE  FRA  E.Leclerc  59.974s  +0.541
8.    Sebastian HOHENTHAL  SWE  Mafi  1:00.070s  +0.637
9.    Mikhail ALESHIN  RUS  Red Bull, Lukoil  1:00.147s  +0.714
10.  Tobias HEGEWALD  GER  Hegewald  1:00.164s  +0.731

Team Ireland came into the last event of the 2008-09 A1GP event at Brands Hatch with only a two point lead in front of last year’s champions Team Switzerland. Everything was set up for an epic battle between Adam Carroll and Neel Jani. But with two strong wins from Carroll the World Cup went to Ireland 17 point margin. Portugal ended up in third, only three points behind Switzerland.

Ireland’s Adam Carroll said: “It was a perfect weekend for us, it’s what we needed to come here to do, it was the plan so it really did come through. We knew by the pace we set in Portugal that if we came here and everything worked out ok we would be really hard to beat, and that was the way it worked out so it couldn’t have been better.”

“I didn’t get a great start again, it’s really hard to start from pole, but I knew if I stayed where I was there wouldn’t be any bumping in to each other.”

“In the second pit stop the team were nothing to do with why we were slow, the guys did their job but had to hold me because Switzerland was coming in and if they had let me go it would have been very dangerous so we lost some time.”

“The team are just unbelievable, they are the best team on the face of this earth in motorsport and I believe that fully. Their commitment is second to none and we are the best in this pit lane. These guys left on Friday night after 29 hours in the pit lane, that says it all.”

The final weekend of 2008/09 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport began at Brands Hatch in Kent today with A1 Team Netherlands’ Jeroen Bleekemolen setting the pace with a 1m 12.700s, over  two seconds faster than the official A1GP lap record. Earlier in the day France’s Nicolas Prost topped the rookie session.

This weekend is set to be the fastest A1GP Brands Hatch ever, following a blistering pace set today around the 2.3-mile Grand Prix circuit with Bleekemolen heading the field after practice.

USA’s John Hildebrand Jr set the early pace before the session was halted by a red flag after Mexico’s Salvador Duran was stranded out on track after going off at Sheen curve. For the first time in his A1GP career Hildebrand’s weekend doesn’t end after the rookie session, with the 21-year-old being promoted to the team’s lead race driver this weekend.

When the session restarted, Bleekemolen jumped to the top of the timing page and beat his own time to remain quickest at the end of the day, over two seconds faster than the official A1GP lap record set two years ago by Great Britain’s Robbie Kerr.

The session continued with further casualties, including Italy’s Vitantonio Liuzzi ending his session in the barrier at Stirlings bend and Brazil’s Felipe Guimarães going off at Surtees.

Ireland’s Adam Carroll kept his title hopes on track to end the day second fastest with a time of 1m 13.201s, while championship rivals Switzerland ended the day tenth with Neel Jani 1.291-seconds adrift of the Netherlands.

“We tried a lot of options and in the end we found our direction,” said Jani. “We had to change more than we have done before. There was so much traffic that when I was on a quick lap I often had to lift off. I was really unlucky today with the yellow flags, and I think is one of our more difficult sessions this season.

“It took us a long time to get to where we wanted today,” said Carroll. “At the start we had traffic, traffic, traffic. I couldn’t get a clear lap in so I fell behind on what we wanted to do. I then had to fight to sort out a few problems with the balance, but we were able to make the right changes and improve all the way.

“It is a pretty difficult track and the last thing I wanted to do today was damage the car. It’s a good start and we’re going in the right direction, I just want to keep it that way.”

A1 Team Portugal, the final team still with a hope of clinching the title this weekend, was sixth quickest but after the chequered flag came out Filipe Albuquerque ran wide stopping just short of the barrier at Sheen curve.

Prost, competing in what was his final rookie session, set a time of 1:13.683 in the morning, which was 0.149 seconds quicker than the Swiss driver Alexandre Imperatori.

Hildebrand was impressive for the USA, with the third fastest time. The Netherlands’ Dennis Retera was fourth, ahead of title chasing Ireland, with Niall Quinn behind the wheel.

The session was largely trouble free, however Monaco’s Hubertus Bahlsen brought out a brief red flag after spinning the Monaco car at the exit of Druids Hairpin.

Only 11 teams competed in the session, with the rest out in the afternoon’s free practice, when the lead drivers were allowed to join the action.

“This morning was good,” said Prost, who was quickest this morning. “This afternoon was ok but there is quite a big gap so we have to work on it.”

“We need to be out in front as it’s going to be tough in the middle of the pack but we will see tomorrow.”

Bleekemolen, who was quickest overall today for the Netherlands said: “We went out and straight away we were on the pace. We made some small changes and improved the car. I had some traffic on my quickest lap so it was an amazing result.

“A1GP is really popular in Holland so quite a few fans will be coming, already you can see orange flags and people dressed in orange.

“It’s great to see; there are going to be a lot of people here cheering for Great Britain and Ireland but we are going to be strong in that area too.

Great Britain’s’ rookie driver Aaron Steele commented: “I got the call up very late last Friday, so it didn’t give me much time to prepare for what’s turned out to be quite an eye opener. I just had to do the best job I could with the limited time I’ve had to prepare.

“I found the car very physical but surprisingly driveable and more forgiving than I thought it would be. It inspires your confidence, is quick and I really enjoyed it.”

Great Britain’s Dan Clarke said: “It got pretty busy out there with different flags and you have to slow down and respect the fact that there are marshals out on the track. Quite early on I attacked the circuit. There are a lot of fast corners and the aerodynamics on this car are really good so it feels awesome to be driving around here.

“We were running in the top ten for most the session which felt good as it is a big improvement on the other two race weekends I have done.

“It’s the Brands Hatch weekend, however, and it’s time for the British boys to run at the front. The fans have been used to that in previous years, but I am not letting myself get carried away. Reality is that this is only my third time in the A1GP car. I’ve been able to learn a lot this week, but Sunday is when the fans will want to see the results and that’s what we are working towards.”

A1 Team Brazil has also announced an official charity for the team– the Jaguar Conservation Fund.

The partnership, which will continue into the 2009/10 season, aims at promoting awareness of the jaguar and its plight as an endangered species in Brazil.

The JCF’s mission is “to promote the conservation of the jaguar, its natural prey and habitat throughout the species geographical range, as well as its peaceful coexistence with man.”

The Formula 1 cars at the Shanghai circuit yesterday had a lot in common with boats. And like with boats Formula 1 cars need a nice female name for good luck. Sebastian Vettel’s first Red Bull car was called Kate. Unfortunately for Vettel and Kate she was crashed in Melbourne. The replacement got called Kate’s Dirty Little Sister, because she was faster and more aggressive, according to Vettel.

And Kate’s Dirty Little Sister sure excelled in the slippery conditions at the Chinese Grand Prix giving Red Bull its first win and Sebastian Vettel his second Formula 1 win.

Further reading:
China GP: Vettel and car nicknamed Kate’s Dirty Little Sister rule waves in Shanghai