Ana Carrasco for International Women’s Day 2018

This is a name you may not be familiar with but Ana Carrasco is a woman who should be celebrated in motorsport. Born in Spain in 1997, Ana started riding motorcycles when she was 3 years old. It was clear there was passion there and it appears Carrasco embraced that. Why wouldn’t she?

The Spaniard raced in Moto3 which is normally used as a route to MotoGP. She raced in the series for three years. Regardless of gender, she was just another signed racer. She proved this at Malaysia in 2013 by becoming the first woman to score points in Moto3 World Championship and the first in any class. She did this all being the tender age of 16.

Sian Williams: How old were you when you started racing?
Ana Carrasco: I started when I was 3 years old becuase my family were always relationship with this world, my father is mechanic and he was working on racing in the past and I did my first race with 4 years old.

SW: What drew you to motorcycles as a child?
AC: When I started riding a motorbike was just like a hobby for weekends and free days, I enjoyed a lot so I never wanted to stop doing this.

SW: Did you feel much pressure entering the Moto3 world championship as a female at the age of 16?
AC: Was difficult becuase everything was new, I had ti addapt myself to every situation and was no easy because I was really young. I feel some preasure becuase everybody were looking yo me and the first races were not easy.

SW:Do you feel you were treated differently by people in the paddock because of your gender?
AC: No, I always feel good and confortable inside the paddock.

Source: motogp.com

SW: How did it feel to win in Portugal last year for the first time in dramatic fashion and making history at the same time?
AC: Was incredible for me, was the present of all the hard work se did in the last few years. The races was really really funny so I enjoyed a lot and finished with a victory was unbelieveble.

SW:You’re only 20, what is the plan for 2018 and beyond?
AC: The plan formativo 2018 is fight for the tittle un World Superbike Championship in Supersport 300 class, this is the goal. And looking yo the future I want to be able to to race in MotoGP in some years.

SW: What more do you think/want to achieve?
AC: I try to look always on the seasson that is is starting. When it finish I focus on the next one. Step by step.

SW: Did anyone ever say you couldn’t race because of your gender? And if they did, do you use those comments as extra motivation?
AC: I think some people think is possible and others not but I don’t care so much about this. I’m focus to work with the people I have around and achive our goals.

SW: What advice would you give young girls dreaming or racing motorcycles?
AC: The advice is that is important to enjoy and do what we love so if they like motorbikes just try to do the best they and enjoy always.

Sophie Ogg for International Women’s Day 2018

In her role as Head of Communications at Williams Martini Racing, Sophie Ogg is a familiar face in the F1 paddock. In this interview she talks about working her way up through the motorsport ladder and what life is like in one of the fastest paced jobs in the world.

Georgia Beith: How did you get involved with working for Williams F1?
Sophie Ogg: Motorsport was always a passion and something I just wanted to be around. My first experience was a British Touring Car Championship race at Oulton park that my dad took me along to when I was about 12 years-old and I immediately caught the motorsport bug! I gained some work experience with a local race team, and then built contacts from there. I worked up through a number of race series including Formula BMW, Formula Ford, British GT, A1GP and WTCC before stepping into Formula One with Williams back in 2010.

GB: What does your role as Head of Communications entail?
SO: As Head of F1 Communications, I am responsible for creating and implementing a communications and digital strategy for our Formula One and Heritage operations to support the business aims of the Williams Group. I oversee a two press officers but also work with all the divisions across the company regarding F1 looking after internal and external F1 communications, social media platforms, our CSR programme, announcements, launch events and fan engagement. In a nutshell I take all the information from inside the team, and work out what and how best to communicate it to the fans and media. The role is extremely diverse and a 24-hour a day job, so the challenge is to remain proactive as well as being versatile enough to react to the changing climate both at track and away from it.

GB: What would your typical working day during a race weekend look like?
SO: At the track, race weekends are quite formulaic up to a point. We have a schedule which constantly evolves, social media to manage, news to monitor, media interviews to oversee and content to create and then during sessions I’ll be based in the garage. Whatever happens, it’s up to me to decide how we handle it from a communications point of view, whether it’s a good result or a bad one. It’s also great being able to work with the engineering team as well as the senior management to construct any statements. The main thing people notice in this role is the fast pace at which you need to operate, things change so fast from an accident or failure on track, to a last-minute driver change before qualifying, and all need to be managed accordingly in the moment.

GB: What is the most challenging aspect of your job?
SO: There are the obvious things like it being a 24/7 job, dealing with difficult situations or leaks in the media, but the toughest challenges are being reminded that it is a dangerous sport. Everyone involved knows the risks, but it doesn’t stop it being emotionally tough when things do go wrong. I’ve lost a number of friends over the years, Dan Wheldon and Henry Surtees to name a couple, and Suzuka 2014, having to inform our drivers about Jules’ crash following the race, and then us subsequently losing him, is something that stays with you. The support everyone gives each other in the paddock is like a family but times like that are really tough.

GB: What has been the highlight of your time working in Formula 1/motorsport?
SO: One of my favourite memories would be Pastors’ win in 2012, I had to ask someone where to go after the race as I had never recced what do when you win – it highlights the thing I love about racing – the fact that anything can happen! But I’m also really proud of the 40th anniversary fan event we put together at Silverstone last year. Putting together the whole plan for the 40th was fun, but hard work, and that event was the culmination of a crazy idea one day the year before, and a lot of work to pull it all together! It was also incredible to see the fan reaction, and to also be reminded of the goodwill and support Williams had from everyone both inside the paddock and outside. The number of well-known personalities and ex-F1 drivers and champions that turned up is testament to that!

GB: Have you always been a fan of motorsport? Was it always a goal of yours to work within motorsport?
SO: Motorsport was a passion and something I just wanted to be around. Ever since my dad took me to Oulton Park when I was 12. No one in my family was involved, but my nan knew someone who was involved in a local single-seater race team and so passed on a telephone number. I made the call and from that, I started washing wheels and helping out on events, basically doing anything just to be involved and learn more about the sport and make as many contacts as possible in the industry. From then it was never a question, motorsport was where I would always want to be.

GB: Was there ever a time in your motorsport career when you faced challenges or obstacles because of your gender?
SO: To be honest, the only real challenge I had was outside of motorsport. My friends and some of my teachers couldn’t understand my passion for motorsport and so didn’t understand that this was a serious thing I wanted to do. Careers advisers told me to get a more realistic career goal and friends would mock me for not wanting to go out on a Friday night because I was heading to a race track at 6am Saturday morning! Within the industry though, I have never faced any real issues. I think because I worked my way up from the bottom, and had a genuine interest and passion for engineering and racing, everyone I have come across has accepted me, trusted me, and treated me as an equal. When I first meet anyone new, many of them do appear to look at me like I am just another PR person who will be a pain and make their life difficult, but as soon as I’ve had just one conversation and told them what I am about, and why I am there, their opinions seem to change. I do think this is the case for men or women though, people will always find it easier to have more respect for people who have worked from the bottom and travelled the same path as them through motorsport ranks. I would like to think that I have earned my place.

GB: Do you feel life has changed for women in motorsport in recent years? How do you see it changing in the future?
SO: I think it is much easier for women now. When I started there were pretty much no women in the paddock, but I always felt at home in a man’s world because most of my best friends were male – mainly due to me having more in common with them as my favourite things were football and racing cars! But I can see it could be intimidating. These days there are a lot more women though and things are changing to encourage women to follow their passion whatever that may be. Programmes like Dare 2 Be Different are helping highlight all the various career paths as well. I think this will only continue in future. But I do believe that everyone should be encouraged to follow their passion, both men and women. Nothing should stop anyone following their dreams.

GB: As a female role model within motorsport, what advice would you give young girls apprehensive about pursuing a career in such a male dominated industry?
SO: Don’t let anyone tell you that you that you can’t do something. Don’t be intimidated and don’t try to be something you are not. Get experience, make contacts and be prepared to work from the bottom up. Motorsport is more than just a job, it’s a way of life, and so you need to love it to be prepared to work that hard for something I think. All the women I know who are successful in motorsport, from mechanics and engineers, to press officers and lawyers do it because they love their jobs and they don’t see themselves as being ‘different’ or doing something out of the ordinary in any way.

F1 testing: Ricciardo breaks lap record; Renault nears 200 laps

Daniel Ricciardo lowered the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya’s unofficial lap record during Wednesday’s testing session, setting a time of 1:18.047s on the new hypersoft tyre.

The Australian’s lap was more than three tenths faster than the previous record set by Felipe Massa during testing in 2008, and nearly six tenths below last year’s fastest testing time, set by Kimi Räikkönen.

Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas were close behind the Red Bull. Their best flying laps, both set on the ultrasoft tyre, were four and five tenths adrift of Ricciardo respectively, but still comfortably within the 1:18s.

These times came as teams focused on performance runs during the morning session, the result being that many of Wednesday’s laps were among the quickest of 2018 testing so far.

Steve Etherington/Mercedes AMG F1

Fourth fastest was Sebastian Vettel. The German was given an unexpected extra session on Wednesday morning as teammate Kimi Räikkönen was unwell, but opted to concentrate on long runs rather than challenge Red Bull and Mercedes on the hypersoft—however, he did manage to lap within a second of third-placed Bottas despite running on the soft compound tyre at the time.

Three tenths behind Vettel came Brendon Hartley and Fernando Alonso, both setting closely-matched 1:19.8s on the ultrasofts. Alonso had looked set to enjoy McLaren’s first trouble-free day of testing so far when he ran among the pacesetters during the morning and notched up 47 laps early on.

However, an oil leak before midday resulted in an engine change that cost Alonso over six hours of track time—the Spaniard was only able to fit in another 15 minutes of running at the end of the day, bringing his Wednesday lap count up to 57.

Steven Tee/LAT Images/Pirelli Media

Carlos Sainz was seventh fastest, being the first driver above 1:20s and the only one of the day to set his time on the medium tyre.

Although Sainz’s best lap was ultimately two seconds off Ricciardo’s benchmark, he did contribute to Renault leading the way in terms of mileage on Wednesday. The Spaniard logged 88 rounds of the Barcelona track during his morning in the RS18, before teammate Nico Hülkenberg added a further 102 after lunch.

Their combined 190 laps puts Renault second so far in the number of testing laps completed per team, with 602 to Mercedes’s 658.

Renault Sport F1 Team

Romain Grosjean was eighth-fastest on a 1:20.237s. Haas ended the session with the second-lowest lap total when an oil leak on Grosjean’s car limited him to 78 laps across the day.

Räikkönen, who recovered to run in the afternoon, and Hülkenberg, were the lowest-placed manufacturer drivers in ninth and eleventh respectively, split by the Williams of Lance Stroll.

Force India, Sauber and Williams occupied the bottom spaces on the leaderboard with Esteban Ocon, Charles Leclerc and Sergey Sirotkin.

But although the three midfield teams were an average of three seconds off Red Bull’s pace, they were all much higher on the day’s lap charts. Leclerc’s 160 and Ocon’s 130 were beaten only by Ricciardo in terms of laps done by an individual driver, while Stroll and Sirotkin recorded 143 for Williams between them.

Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team

Rally Mexico 2018 Preview- Who will conquer the gravel?

FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP 2017 -WRC Mexico(MEX) – WRC 08/03/2017 to 12/03/2017 – PHOTO : @World

 

The WRC heads for much warmer climes in Mexico after the snow and ice of Monte and Sweden! Thierry Neuville leads the championship after a brilliant drive last month. Seb will want to fight back on the classic stages that make this incredible event. Its held at over 2,200 metres, and this has a very big effect on engine performance, with every 1000 metres leading to a 10% loss of engine power.

 

Big news is that a certain nine-time World Champion will be making his return with Citroen in Mexico, but this does mean that Craig Breen will not be competing, and that is a shame considering his drive to second in Sweden. Last year, Kris Meeke won this rally and he’ll be hoping he can do the same again to get his season going. Certainly, the car will go a lot better this year with the handling problems sorted.

 

Toyota suffered last year as well, but with a whole event completed and a year to work on their car will almost certainly feature near the front with the combined talents of Jari-Matti, Ott and Esapekka.

 

Here’s the details then of the stages that await them!

Stagelocal time (mexico)gmt
Thursday 8th March
shakedown (Llano Grande)9:0015:00
Start day 1 (Leon)18:150:15
SS 1 – Monster Street Stage GTO (2,53 km20:082:08
End of day 121:383:38
Friday 9th March
Start day 2 and Service A (Leon – 15 min)9:3015:30
SS 2 – Duarte – Derramadero 1 (26,05 km)10:3316:33
SS 3 – El Chocolate 1 (31,44 km)11:2117:21
SS 4 – Ortega 1 (17,23 km)12:4118:41
SS 5 – Street Stage Leon 1 (1,11 km)14:0220:02
Service B (Leon – 30 min)14:4220:42
SS 6 – Duarte – Derramadero 2 (26,05 km)16:0022:00
SS 7 – El Chocolate 2 (31,44 km)16:4822:48
SS 8 – Ortega 2 (17,23 km)17:4123:41
SS 9 – Autodromo de Leon 1 (2,30 km)20:062:06
SS 10 - Autodromo de Leon 2 (2,30 km)20:112:11
Flexi Service C (Leon – 45 min)21:263:26
Saturday 10th March
Start day 3 and Service D (Leon – 15 min)7:3013:30
SS 11 – Guanajuatito 1 (30,97 km)8:3314:33
SS 12 – Otates 1 (26,37 km)10:1116:11
SS 13 – El Brinco 1 (9,98 km)11:0817:08
Service E (Leon – 30 min)12:4818:48
SS 14 – Guanajuatito 2 (30,97 km)14:2120:21
SS 15 – Otates 2 (26,37 km)15:3421:34
SS 16 – El Brinco 2 (9,98 km)16:4822:48
SS 17 – Autodromo de Leon 3 (2,30 km)17:3823:38
SS 18 – Autodromo de Leon 4 (2,30 km)17:4323:43
Flexi Service F (Leon – 45 min)18:330:33
SS 19 – Street Stage Leon 2 (1,11 km)20:262:26
Sunday 11th March
Start day 3 and Service D (Leon – 15 min)7:3013:30
SS 11 – Guanajuatito 1 (30,97 km)8:3314:33
SS 12 – Otates 1 (26,37 km)10:1116:11
SS 13 – El Brinco 1 (9,98 km)11:0817:08
Service E (Leon – 30 min)12:4818:48
SS 14 – Guanajuatito 2 (30,97 km)14:2120:21
SS 15 – Otates 2 (26,37 km)15:5421:54
SS 16 – El Brinco 2 (9,98 km)16:3822:38
SS 17 – Autodromo de Leon 3 (2,30 km)17:3823:38
SS 18 – Autodromo de Leon 4 (2,30 km)17:4323:43
Flexi Service F (Leon – 45 min)18:270:27
SS 19 – Street Stage Leon 2 (1,11 km)20:262:26

Let’s hear from the drivers then!

Hyundai Motorsport

2017 FIA World Rally Championship
Round 03, Rally Mexico
08-12 March 2017
Dani Sordo, Marc Marti, Hyundai i20 Coupe WRC
Photographer: Sarah Vessely
Worldwide copyright: Hyundai Motorsport GmbH

Thierry Neuville

“We head to Mexico on the back of our fantastic win in Sweden, so our motivation and morale could not be higher. Mexico is a nice event and one that brings back good memories. I got my first podium there in 2013, and then scored Hyundai Motorsport’s first ever podium just one year later. The rally has a more relaxed atmosphere, and it’s generally a lot calmer for the drivers. We arrive a bit earlier than normal in order to acclimatise and adjust to the time difference. It is the first event of the year with higher temperatures – and altitude – making it a unique and enjoyable challenge.”

Andreas Mikkelsen

“Rally Mexico is an event I’ve done three times in the past. It’s a beautiful rally with stages that are similar from one season to the next, so we know them well. It is always a warm event, so we have to take extra care of the brakes. It is also quite a rough rally, which means it very easy to make a mistake. There is typically a lot of road cleaning, and with stages being held at altitude the engine is down on power, so it requires a slight change of driving style. After finishing on the podium in Sweden, our first one with Hyundai Motorsport, I’m ready to fight for another strong result.”

Dani Sordo

“I was pleased to see the team score its first win of the season in Sweden, and I am happy to be returning to the line-up for Rally Mexico. I have always enjoyed driving on the Mexican stages, which are lined with many passionate rally fans, who cheer and support us throughout the weekend. Road cleaning in Mexico can create a big difference between those first on the road and those behind. I hope we can benefit a bit from our position and compete near the front to help the team defend our manufacturers’ championship lead.”

 

Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT

Jari-Matti Latvala

“I always like going to Mexico and enjoying the warmth and the sun for the first time after the winter. The stages have sections that are very fast and sections that are very slow, and there are a lot of loose rocks off the line so you have to be precise with your driving. If we can finish on the podium that would be really good for the championship. It’s clear that the performance is there in the car. We had a good gravel test in Spain last week: of course, in Mexico it is going to be warmer but it is the best you can do in Europe at this time of the year. We had some updates to the suspension and I could feel that the traction and the grip under braking are better than what we had at the end of last year.”

FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP 2017 -WRC Mexico(MEX) – WRC 08/03/2017 to 12/03/2017 – PHOTO : @World

Ott Tänak

“Rally Mexico will be my first event on gravel in the Yaris WRC. I have many new things to learn, but we had two days of testing in Spain last week which were very useful. We tried as many different things as possible, just to understand how the car reacted. The early feeling with the car on gravel is quite good: there are still some things to get used to and some things that we can develop. In Mexico we will have a better road position, starting fifth. The road sweeping has a big effect there, so this should help us. I have quite a bit of experience in Mexico now, so I feel comfortable going there and I think we have a good chance to fight for the top positions.”

Esapekka Lappi

“This will be the first time that I have competed in Mexico, although I did do the recce last year so I have some idea of what to expect. The surface is similar to the gravel roads in Spain, where everybody has done their pre-event testing, but I think the stages will be much rougher on the second pass. The altitude will also make a big difference: I have never driven those kinds of conditions where the air is really thin. It means there is less power from the engine, so you may have to drive in a slightly different way. I am quite happy with how my season has started and hopefully we can continue that in Mexico. The main target for me though has to be to do every stage and gain that experience for the future.”

 

Citroen Abu Dhabi WRT

Kris Meeke

“Mexico is a bit like Catalonia, one of the gravel rallies where we were pretty competitive last year. Since then, we have made further improvements to the C3 WRC, so I have high hopes that we can get among the frontrunners. Of course, a lot of our rivals had reliability issues related to the altitude last year and are bound to be a lot better prepared this time around. It’s definitely an event that I like: as the full power of the cars is not available, you have to be as clean as possible in your driving. I’m also pretty pleased with our recent tests. We seem to have made more progress, especially on the dampers in conjunction with Öhlins. That was Sébastien’s impression too. In any case, I’m really looking forward to it. We need to make the most of running seventh on the road on day one – that will be key in getting a good result.”

Kris Meeke, Paul Nagle during last years Rally Mexico. Photo credit, Citroen Racing

Sébastien Loeb

“This is a rally that I have always loved, so I have high hopes I will enjoy these stages in the C3 WRC, which is an exciting car to drive. Other than that, I have the same uncertainties as everyone else: although I hope to be more or less on the pace, I have no idea where I stand in relation to the other drivers, so I can’t wait to get started! You have to bear in mind that this is still the world championship! The other drivers haven’t stood still over the last few years… In any case, I’m pleased with the testing we did. I covered almost 500 kilometres in two days. I found the C3 WRC well balanced and I felt that it had improved again since my last test outing at the end of 2017. I have tried to give myself every chance by spending some time in a DS3 WRC beforehand to get the feeling and my reflexes back, and by watching some onboard video footage from previous rallies. 28% of the course is going to be new to me, compared with just 4% for the others, but that’s pretty positive because it is one of the events I still know best. However, my memories of the 72% that I have driven before go back six years, so I’ve done a little bit of work so that I don’t feel completely disorientated. I hope my position in Friday’s running order (11th) will help me to get my bearings because with the current regulations, you really need to have a good first day, otherwise your rally suffers.”

 

M-Sport Ford WRT

Sébastien Ogier

There’s always a special feeling when we return to Rally Mexico – because it’s where everything started for me 10 years ago! It was our first event in the world championship, and the story started with victory in the Junior WRC.

“Since then we added a couple of podiums and victories at the highest level which means that I obviously have Rally Mexico in my heart! We’ll for sure do our best to continue this love story with another strong result and are looking forward to the great Mexican atmosphere!

“This might be the first gravel event of the year, but it has its own unique character which sets it apart from the more traditional gravel rallies. The altitude is higher than anything else we experience throughout the year and the thinner air means a lot less power than we’re used to.

“Those conditions – linked with the pretty high temperatures – are practically impossible to reproduce in Europe which means we are counting even more than usual on the job done by our engineers in the climatic chamber to get the maximum performance.

“The loose gravel can also pose something of a challenge for the early runners and, even though we won’t be the first car on the road next week, there will still be a lot of fast drivers behind us. We need to try and stay as close as we can on Friday morning. Then, we can see where we are and push for the best possible result.”

Seb Ogier, M-Sport Ford. Photo credit MFORN Studio.

Elfyn Evans

“Rally Mexico is an event that I really enjoy. It’s such a colourful rally with a great atmosphere and we’ve done well there in the past. It’s one of those events where a clever run can deliver the results. You need to get the balance between speed and risk just right, and that’s exactly what we’ll be aiming for next week.

“When you think about this event two things come to mind – the heat and the altitude. We’ve got to get quickly acclimatised to the environment – both in terms of our physical fitness and our driving style. The thinner air can see the power reduced by as much as 20 percent so you’ve got to be tidy and keep the momentum through the corners.

“We’ll have a good road position, but that’s not without its challenges as there’s an added risk of rocks being pulled onto the racing line. We’ll need to stay focused and hopefully we can deliver a strong result to kick-start our 2018 campaign.”

Teemu Suninen

“Mexico is one of the special events on the calendar where we face some really extreme conditions. The weather is always warm, and the high altitude means that we feel the lack of oxygen. It has an effect on the drivers, but also on the cars with 20 percent less power than the more traditional gravel events.

“It’s a shame that the winter weather prevented us from testing, but that’s the way it goes sometimes and we will have to make good use of the Shakedown to get accustomed to the feeling of driving here in Mexico.

“It’s difficult to estimate our chances next week. I won the WRC 2 class here a few years ago, but this year will be completely different and I expect the competition to be really tough. I’ll try to concentrate on my own driving and then we will see where we are.”

 

After two rounds and two different winners, who could win this event? Road position will have a big impact on the kind of pace that the drivers will able to produce on the stages. Then there’s the thin air…. All the teams have done a lot of work to minimize the effects of this on these unique stages!

Enjoy!

F1 testing: McLaren troubles continue into second week

McLaren suffered another day of limited mileage on Tuesday as F1 testing resumed in Barcelona, finishing the day bottom of the lap charts and with the second-slowest time.

After minor mechanical faults cost the team valuable track time last week, McLaren was left again on the back foot when Stoffel Vandoorne’s MCL33 broke down twice in the morning with a pair of battery failures shutting down his Renault engine.

And although McLaren seemed to resolve those issues in time for the afternoon, Vandoorne was not out for long before this session was also cut short—this time, owing to a hydraulics problem.

In total, Vandoorne completed just 38 laps across the whole of Tuesday, and finished last-but-one on the timesheets with a best of 1:21.946s.

Ferrari Media

While McLaren struggled, their rivals took advantage of the prime conditions in Barcelona to embark on the long run programmes traditionally seen in the second week.

Sebastian Vettel recorded the most individual mileage of the day with 171 laps, as well as ending the day fastest by two tenths from Valtteri Bottas.

However, Mercedes ran the furthest of any team on Tuesday, surpassing Ferrari by six laps by combining Bottas’s 86 laps in the morning with Lewis Hamilton’s afternoon total of 91.

Max Verstappen—who split Bottas and Hamilton to be third fastest—lost running in the final hour of the afternoon when his Red Bull stopped on track, but nevertheless logged 130 laps to be Vettel’s closest challenger.

Sauber, Renault and Williams also broached the 100-lap mark (the latter two teams splitting running between both of their drivers), while Haas and Force India came close with 96 and 93 laps respectively.

Sahara Force India F1 Team

In an unexpected turn, Toro Rosso and Honda endured the first difficult day of their new partnership on Tuesday. After accomplishing a respectable 53 laps in the morning session with Pierre Gasly at the wheel, an unknown issue kept the STR13 confined to the garage for most of the afternoon, with Gasly adding only a single lap to his total after lunch.

But despite those troubles, Gasly still managed to end the day fifth fastest and best of the rest with a 1:20.973s, putting the Frenchman less than six tenths off Vettel’s benchmark.

Kevin Magnussen was sixth and the last of Tuesday’s drivers to be within a second of the pace. He finished ahead of Renault’s Nico Hülkenberg and Carlos Sainz, who were separated by just 0.023s despite setting their laps on different tyre compounds.

Sergey Sirotkin enjoyed more profitable running than his first week of F1 testing, and was the highest-placed Williams in ninth. Two tenths separated the Russian from Sergio Pérez in tenth and Marcus Ericsson—who notched up 120 laps for Sauber—in eleventh.

Lance Stroll was Tuesday’s slowest runner behind McLaren’s Vandoorne, even though his 1:22.937s was set on the hypersoft tyre. However, with the Canadian making it to 86 laps despite sharing his day with Sirotkin, it’s likely Stroll’s programme was focused more on distance than outright pace.

Andy Hone/Williams F1

KTM and Tech3 Confirm New Partnership

Today, Tech3 Racing owner, Herve Poncharal, confirmed that his independent team will enter a partnership with the KTM Factory Racing Team from next season.

Speaking to MotoGP.com’s ‘After the Flag‘ show, following the conclusion to the test in Qatar, Poncharal revealed the details about the new partnership:

HP: “We have a three-year deal, in 2019, 2020 and 2021. Each year, in ‘19 we’ll have ‘19 spec, there will be four bikes on the grid with the same spec – the factory team and the Tech 3 operation. It will be the same in ‘20 and same in ‘21, which is something you always look for and always want…We always tried to be the ‘official’ junior team [for Yamaha] but it was never really the case, but it will be the case where we are going. The manufacturer is involved in Moto2™ and Moto3™, there will be a clear path. Young riders from the first day in the championship will go through Moto3™ and Moto2™, then to MotoGP™ with the junior team – and then, if they’re good enough, they will eventually move to the factory team. This is being part of the family and you know what family means to me. Even though the bike could be under the performance of what we have now, there is room for improvement, development, sharing ideas of how to make the package better – and at least to be part of that project and have people listening to us, trying to grow all together.”

The new manufacturer in question is KTM. For an independent team such as Tech3, a working partnership with full support from a factory outfit is the holy grail in grand prix racing. Not least because it alleviates a considerable amount of financial pressure from the team. Without factory support, any development parts or ‘upgrades’ for the bikes have to be researched and funded by the independent team – at considerable cost. This has been the case throughout Tech3’s association with Yamaha, barring a brief period in late 2010 when the factory offered support to Ben Spies. Under the new deal with KTM, all research and development costs are left with the manufacturer. Additionally, Tech3 have entered this new partnership with the promise that at least one of their riders will be given a factory contract.

This deal also secures the immediate future of Johann Zarco. The Frenchman has been tipped by many to become MotoGP world champion sooner rather than later. Without factory support, it is almost impossible to achieve. Tech3 could not hope to hold onto him without this newly signed deal. As Poncharal stated when he first announced the split with Yamaha: “I have been presented with an offer too good to turn down.”

Announcing the new deal today, Pit Berier (KTM Motorsport Director) made this statement:

PB –  “We are very happy to join forces with Tech3 in MotoGP from 2019. The team has many years of experience and achieved a lot of great results in this championship. Their professional structure will make us even stronger. Having four KTM RC16 on the grid is also another big step for us, both for the development of our MotoGP bike and expanding KTM’s structure in the paddock. From the Red Bull Rookies Cup up to MotoGP there is a clear path to the top. We are looking forward to start a great cooperation and I’m thankful towards Hervé Poncharal for the future trust in KTM.”

The new deal will greatly benefit both parties. KTM might be the newest manufacturer on the grid – having made their full debut at Qatar in 2017 – but they have serious ambitions to become championship contenders in the near future. Acquiring a highly experienced satellite team such as Tech3 can only benefit the Austrian team, especially given that this deal means they will have four factory-spec machines competing from 2019 onwards. In terms of the development war, which can affect the championship almost as much as the riders, having four identical machines in operation provides KTM to close the gap to their rivals far quicker than before due to more data being continuously collected. Four bikes also greatly increases the chance of finishing higher in the manufacturers’ championship – which determines how much prize money each outfit receives.

Billy Whizz – Billy Monger On His Return To Racing, Lewis Hamilton & More | Mobil 1 The Grid

Check out the newest video from Mobil 1 The Grid in which British F4 driver Billy Monger tells the story of his road to recovery, his dream of racing in F1 and the inspirational role both Lewis Hamilton and Alex Zanardi have had on his journey back into racing.

Billy on Lewis: “He’s made a big impact on me. When I was 8 years old, watching Lewis win World Championships, I wanted to be like him… I wanted to be an F1 World Champion. When I went to the British Grand Prix with him, he was everything I’d hoped he’d be. He was really supportive, he gave me as much as time as he could… He just encouraged me to keep going with my dreams.

Billy on the future: “The dream’s always been the same… the ultimate goal’s to become an F1 World Champion. Whether that’s possible now or not, I won’t know unless I try, so I’m gonna give it my best shot. If I make a difference to one person’s life who’s in a similar position to me, for them to go out and try a sport that they loved doing before but don’t think they can do now… If I just make that difference to one person, then everything I’m doing here is worthwhile.”

Make sure that you follow Mobil 1 The Grid:
Website: mobil1thegrid.com
Twitter: twitter.com/mobil1thegrid
Instagram: instagram.com/mobil1thegrid
Google+: google.com/+Mobil1TheGrid

Qatar Test Report: Honda And Ducati Turn Up The Heat

Preseason testing was concluded this week at the Losail International Circuit, Qatar. From the previous two tests in Malaysia and Thailand we knew that the expected protagonists for 2018 – Honda, Ducati and Yamaha – were all strong over a single lap and low fuel runs. This week, all attention was focused on fine tuning performance over high fuel run, race simulations. With so much activity going on across the competition, here’s a breakdown of the performances from each manufacturer.

HONDA

Marc Marquez (Respol Honda): Best Lap Time – 1″54.591

Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda): Best Lap Time – 1″54.774

Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol): Best Lap Time – 1″54.457

Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu): Best Lap Time – 1″55.539

Franco Morbidelli (MarcVDS Honda): Best Lap Time – 1″56.074

Thomas Luthi (MarcVDS Honda): Best Lap Time – 1″56.295

In the immediate aftermath of February’s test at the Chang International circuit in Thailand, Marc Marquez declared that the RC213V needed to improve the engine performance under acceleration – or risk losing significant ground to the factory Ducati machines. After three days’ testing under the lights, a positively beaming world champion suggests that the team have duly delivered. Although never setting the outright fastest time at any point this week, the real evidence of progress lay in the metronomic consistency in Marquez’ race simulation runs on Friday afternoon. The reigning world champion turned in a longest run consisting of 17 laps with averaging lap times around the 1’55.4-6 mark. Whilst a handful of riders did record the occasional faster lap during their race simulations, nobody has the relentless consistency of Marquez. A clear signal of intent from the Spaniard, and an ominous warning shot to the rest of the competition.

There was an equally impressive display on show this week from LCR Honda’s Cal Crutchlow. The British rider was one of a select group who took to the track during the middle of the day. Officially just to help clear the racing line of dust and sand that had been blown in from the desert, but he wasn’t averse to setting a serious benchmark time either for the rest of the class. Following the conclusion of the test, Crutchlow jested that the Honda now has too much power and were having to “try and tame” the engine through the corners. His team mate, rookie Takaaki Nakagami continued to adapt and improve to life on board a MotoGP bike. Although he was never going to feature with the more experienced HRC trio at the top of the standings, the Japanese rider has been rightly praised for his work ethic. His team manager, Lucio Cecchinello, keen to emphasise that the data the Moto2 graduate has collected for the team (and the wider HRC operation) has been invaluable.        

DUCATI

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati): Best Lap Time – 1”54.331

Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati): Best Lap Time – 1”54.692

Danilo Petrucci (Alma Pramac Ducati): Best Lap Time – 1”54.659

Jack Miller (Alma Pramac Ducati): Best Lap Time – 1”54.749

Alvaro Bautista (Angel Nieto Team Ducati): Best Lap Time – 1”55.347

Karel Abraham (Angel Nieto Team Ducati): Best Lap Time – 1”55.300

Tito Rabat (Avintia Ducati): Best Lap Time – 1”55.465

Xavier Simeon (Avintia Ducati): Best Lap Time – 1”55.943

Hot on the heels of the race pace of Honda, and narrowly leading over a single lap, Ducati once again had a solid test.

Andrea Dovizioso will have every reason, going into the first round, to expect he can go one better than last year and be the 2018 MotoGP world champion. Of course, so will his team-mate Jorge Lorenzo. The Spaniard has looked much more like his old self this winter (aside from a difficult test in Thailand), being consistently closer to his teammate – both in outright lap times and average long runs. Both riders have expressed their satisfaction with the bike and the efforts the team have made. Dovizioso going further by declaring that: “We’re a title contender from the beginning, for sure”.

The Desmosedici GP18 looks to be the rarest of Ducati creations – it does not seem to have any particular weakness. It is still a missile in a straight line, highlighted this week by the 1 kilometre long main straight at the Losail circuit. In past seasons, the clear weakness of the machine has been unresponsive handling through long, medium speed corners and an often volatile throttle pick up upon acceleration. By all accounts, the latter has been completely resolved. There is still some work to do regarding the cornering performance of the Ducati, which explains why the team sent their riders out on more fairing comparison tests – one bike would be in ‘standard’ fairing mode, whilst the other would be equipped with the latest version of the ‘wing fairing’. Dovizioso openly prefers the standard fairing at most venues, Lorenzo prefers the aerodynamic wings. Both ran almost identical race simulation pace on the final day of testing. Over a single lap, Dovizioso’s best time of the week suggests that they might be the team to beat during qualifying. Race pace simulations suggest that they are on average around 0.2 seconds adrift of the Honda riders.      

The development of the Ducati has undoubtedly been helped by incorporating the satellite team (Alma Pramac) into the factory effort. With both riders, Danilo Petrucci and Jack Miller working under Ducati Corse contracts (rather than just Pramac Ducati) the Italian manufacturer’s pool for data gathering has doubled. Both Petrucci and Miller are also on GP18 machinery this year, and have consistently backed up the factory riders’ times across the board in testing. Nowhere was that more in evidence than in Qatar this week during the race simulations. All four GP18 bikes consistently lapped around the 3.34 mile circuit, averaging lap times between 1”55.5-1”55.8.    

YAMAHA

Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha): Best Lap – 1″54.276

Maverick Vinales (Movistar Yamaha): Best Lap – 1″54.471

Johann Zarco (Tech3 Yamaha): Best Lap – 1″54.029

Hafiz Syahrin (Tech3 Yamaha): Best Lap – 1″55.273

In complete contrast to the fortunes of Honda and Ducati, Yamaha – specifically the factory Movistar Yamaha team – appear to have endured a torrid three days in the desert. Over a stint on low fuel, the YZF-M1 looks like it potentially has the beating of all of its rivals. This has been demonstrated throughout the winter with Maverick Vinales romping away with headline times at Malaysia, and Johann Zarco reaping a similar result in Qatar this week. The Frenchman’s best time was comfortably quicker than what anyone else managed all week.

This at least should give Yamaha some hope in their 2018 bike as the potential of the machine is clearly visible under low fuel loads. A clear move by the the manufacturer to ensure their bikes are capable of starting from the front row more regularly this year. In fairness, it was a problem which needed addressing. Grand Prix victories are hard enough to achieve when qualifying at the front – next to impossible when having to start from the third row. However, there is now a serious concern that their endeavours to improve the bike over a single lap has cost them dearly over a race distance.

Handling appears to be a problem, with particular emphasis on a lack of stability at the front end. In the official review show ‘After The Flag’ which is produced by MotoGP each night following the sessions, Vinales’ interviews regularly bemoaned a ‘lack of grip and feel’ upon the bike’s entry into corners. Not being able to feel how the front tyre is behaving forces the rider to guess the grip level he will have through the corner – essentially he has to push blindly and trust the bike won’t fold beneath him. At the very least it seriously hinders a rider’s ability to deliver to true lap time. Rossi tried – his longest stint of the test being 11 laps, but lap times fluctuated considerably between 1″55.9 and 1″56.6 across the stint. Maverick Vinales did not attempt a race simulation on Friday. His longest run consisting of only 7 laps.  

SUZUKI

Andrea Iannone: Best lap time – 1″54.586

Alex Rins: Best lap time – 1″54.650

One team who will be undoubtedly pleased with how testing went in Qatar – and indeed throughout the winter – will be Suzuki.

Iannone has been fast throughout the week, regularly visiting the top of the time sheets and exploring the ample run areas at turn 1. The latter can be explained by the team testing out different brake settings on Thursday. Friday was spent chasing the headline lap times, as both riders completed numerous short runs between 3 and 5 laps at a time. Iannone set his best time of Friday’s session, ensuring he finished the day with the fastest time of the field.

Rins was not far off his team-mate on low fuel pace. However he came into his own on the final day, setting his best time in the early afternoon before embarking on two lengthy race simulations. As expected, the Suzuki bike is looking to be a little way behind the performance of Honda and Ducati.  At best, Rins’ average pace hovered around the 1″55.8 marker. Nevertheless it was consistent and, crucially, Rins did not drop the bike in any of the numerous gravel traps. No time lost repairing the bike, maximum time spent gathering precious data for the engineers. Compared to where they were this time last year, Suzuki can head into the 2018 season confident of being competitive from the start.

KTM

Bradley Smith (KTM Factory Racing Team): Best Lap Time – 1”55.179

Pol Espargaro (KTM Factory Racing Team): Best Lap Time – 1”55.489

Mika Kallio (KTM Factory Test Team): Best Lap Time – 1”57.218

The newest manufacturer in MotoGP have continued to defy all expectations, and continue developing their machine at a pace which more than matches several of their rivals. In Qatar this progress was once again very much in evidence.

Bradley Smith shouldered the majority of the workload for the Austrian factory team this week after Pol Espargaro was forced to sit out Friday’s session due to injuries sustained earlier in the winter. The British rider completed 160 laps (534.4 miles) over the three days for the team. With such a heavy workload however, any plans for qualifying simulations were promptly consigned to oblivion – especially after Espargaro’s withdrawal and bad weather scuppering the first half of Friday. The revised program saw Smith concentrate solely on race setup and completing numerous long fuel runs, whilst test rider Mika Kallio was called up to experiment with various new settings on Friday.  

As such, the raw pace potential of the KTM was never truly revealed. However, the improvement of the bike – and the sheer consistency of Smith’s riding – was clear. Even though they did not trouble the headline pace setters, the fact that the team ended the test only 1 second behind the fastest time – and within a few tenths on projected race pace – indicates just how competitive this team have become in such a short space of time.

APRILIA

Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Team Gresini): Best Lap Time – 1”55.232

Scott Redding (Aprilia Team Gresini): Best Lap Time – 1”55.595

Quietly going about their business, the Aprilia Gresini team turned in an impressive 373 laps across the test’s three day duration. That equates to a staggering 1245.82 miles of data collected for the Italian outfit. If nothing else we know for certain that the 2018 Aprilia machine is far more reliable than its predecessors, with both riders having completed multiple race simulations this week. With the new found confidence in reliability, the team could focus their attention on other performance improvements. A lack of power through low gear corners is one such problem which the team spent much time working on this week.

Although the fastest laps of both riders pale when compared to the other factory teams, it is worth remembering that Aprilia operate on a fraction of the budgets their rivals have at their disposal. As such, the development rate of the RS-GP will always struggle against the RC213V or the M1. A fact which was not lost on either of Aprilia’s riders this week. As Scott Redding summed up: “We are constantly working on several fronts because we are developing the new bike. We could have been a few tenths faster on our time attack but, to be honest, I think that we have other priorities at the moment.”    

The 2018 FIM MotoGP World Championship begins with the Grand Prix of Qatar, March 16th-18th.

Hamilton fastest on busy end to first F1 test

Lewis Hamilton set 2018’s fastest testing time yet on Thursday, as the first week in Barcelona ended with its busiest day so far.

In total, 15 of this year’s 20 race drivers enjoyed track time at the Circuit de Catalunya on Thursday, with most teams opting to run both their drivers to make up for time lost during the week’s weather disruptions.

Only Ferrari, Haas, Force India, Red Bull and Toro Rosso chose not to split their day’s running.

Renault Sport F1 Team

The final day of testing began with yet another damp track, but higher temperatures compared with previous days meant meaningful running was not an impossibility.

When the track dried enough for slicks around midday, Valtteri Bottas and Nico Hülkenberg took the opportunity to trade times at the top of the leaderboard, until McLaren’s Stoffel Vandoorne beat them both with a 1:19.854s on the pink hypersoft tyre.

Vandoorne’s time—one of only four to dip below 1:20s this week—was good enough to hold onto the top spot for most of the afternoon, until Hamilton went half a second quicker on mediums with an hour to go.

Steven Tee/LAT Images/McLaren Media

As well as finishing second-fastest on the strength of his hypersoft time, Vandoorne was also among Thursday’s busiest drivers, with 110 laps to his name.

Only two drivers recorded more mileage than the Belgian. Sebastian Vettel, who was third-fastest behind Vandoorne, made it to 120 laps, while Pierre Gasly signed off a solid week for Toro Rosso and Honda with 147 laps.

Kevin Magnussen also had a profitable day, despite not joining Gasly, Vettel and Vandoorne in triple figures. After finishing bottom of both the time and lap charts with his first taste of the Haas VF-18 on Tuesday, the Dane bounced back on Thursday by logging 96 laps and the fourth-fastest time.

Glenn Dunbar/LAT Images/Haas F1 Media

Fernando Alonso, taking over from Vandoorne for the final few hours of Thursday, added another 51 laps to his week’s total and snatched fifth by just 0.010s from compatriot Carlos Sainz. Lance Stroll was a few tenths slower in seventh.

Sergio Pérez, driving Force India’s VJM11 for the first time, had a slow start to the session but eventually logged 65 laps and was classified eighth.

He was ahead of Max Verstappen, who by contrast had another trying day behind the wheel of the RB14. Having chosen to sit out the wet morning running, the Dutchman lost further track time with a fuel leak and a spin into the gravel later on—as a result, Verstappen recorded the lowest number of laps of the day (35) and ended the day nearly three seconds off Hamilton’s pace.

Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool

Thursday’s longest runner Gasly was tenth-fastest ahead of early pacesetters Hülkenberg and Bottas. The two Saubers were the last of the representative runners, with Charles Leclerc heading Marcus Ericsson by a second thanks to the afternoon’s faster track, although with 59 laps to Ericsson’s 79.

Lastly, Williams’ rookie Sergey Sirotkin spent another day at the bottom of the timesheets. The Russian handed over his FW41 to teammate Stroll in the afternoon and as such didn’t set a time on slicks, explaining his 12.646s gap to Hamilton at the front.

F1 testing resumes at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya next week, running from Tuesday 6th until Friday 9th.

Glenn Dunbar/LAT Images/Pirelli Media

Formula One liveries rated! – A welcome splash of colour

One thing most F1 fans look out for when cars are launched is the livery. There’s been some iconic ones over the years, with Lotus’ JPS, McLaren’s Marlboro backed effort and Jordan’s minimalist green on their 191. Well here we rate the 2018 efforts!

Mercedes – The Silver Arrows lead by example from the front. Their livery has been consistent ever since Mercedes returned as a works team in 2010. Silver with flashes of Petronas blue and green, it’s a tried and tested formula, and they’ll be keen to show that nothing’s changed for the Brackley based team. 7.5/10

Steve Etherington/Mercedes AMG F1

Ferrari – There’s some things you can rely on never changing, water is wet, grass is green, and Ferrari is red. They’ve done away with the white engine cover and gone for a fully scarlet car for this season. It harks back to around 10 years ago when they won their last championship, funny thing is Kimi Raikkonen is still there, never change, Ferrari. 9/10

Ferrari Media

Red Bull – Red Bull have a weird knack of unveiling stunning liveries which really shake things up, and then ditch them for their traditional blue, red and yellow finish. Their testing liveries are always stunning, and while their usual matte effort is a looker, the ‘blue digital camo’ from this season has everyone begging Red Bull to consider using it all season long. Please guys? 7/10

Getty Images/Red Bull Content Pool

Force India – After a few years of silver and black, Force India, or the artist formerly known as Force India, has shirked its India name in recent years in its livery. The striking pink has stayed for this season, with some mixes of white in there too. It looks great, and it adds to the colourful selection on show this season. 8.5/10

Sahara Force India F1 Team

Williams – With the news of Martini pulling out of Formula One next season, it’s making us all appreciate what we have before it’s gone. It’s white with the iconic blue and red stripes, and in my opinion it’s about to join the Mansell Canon years and Rothmans blue in becoming a classic well remembered Williams livery. 7.5/10

The Williams FW41. (Image Credit: Williams F1/LAT Images)

Renault – Renault have always had a vivid livery, whether it’s the blue and yellow from ten years ago, or the vibrant yellow we have today. They join the likes of Force India, McLaren and Ferrari in delivering a dash of colour to the grid. It’s reminiscent of the late 1970’s when Rene Arnoux and Alain Prost were winning races for fun in the old turbo era. 8.5/10

Renault Sport Formula One Team

Toro Rosso – Toro Rosso are finally starting to emerge from Red Bull’s shadow, and are becoming more than just ‘a Red Bull junior team’. This is shown in their livery too, they dumped the red, blue and gold for an amazing red, silver and blue. While Red Bull can use this to promote some of their other range of products, Toro Rosso can really shine, and that they will, what a beauty! 9/10

Haas – Haas have been looking for consistency in their first couple of years in Formula One, and if their liveries are anything to go by, then they’ve well and truly achieved it. The trusted red, black and white finish is stylish, and the subtle changes to the car are welcome. 8/10

Steven Tee/LAT Images/Haas F1 Team

McLaren – McLaren have a long and illustrious history, and their livery this season shows that. They’ve returned to the Papaya orange of the 1960’s and early 70’s. While many are claiming it looks like a Bic pen or a can of Irn Bru, the orange and blue finish looks beautiful, and will hopefully be seen towards the front again this season. 9.5/10

Zak Mauger/LAT Images/Pirelli Media

Alfa Romeo – The Sauber buyout has finally happened, and with it comes a new name, and a new livery. While Sauber remain, Alfa Romeo become the title name, and with it comes a red and white car with black stripes. The only issue is from the front profile it looks a little like the Williams, but that’s not a bad thing, imitation is the best form of flattery after all…the Hinwil team have never looked so good! 8/10

Jerry Andre/LAT Images/Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team
©2014-2024 ThePitCrewOnline