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  • British GT – Mowle: I don’t know how we won!

    British GT – Mowle: I don’t know how we won!

    ERC Sport’s Lee Mowle admitted that he was surprised to see teammate Yelmer Buurman cross the line first after a topsy-turvy two-hour race at Rockingham.

    The weekend started badly when Mowle tagged the wall at the final corner during GT3 Am qualifying on Saturday, to leave the #116 Mercedes starting at the back of the class.

    However, a sensible drive from Mowle during the first hour of the race on Sunday meant Buurman was fourth when he took over in the pit stops, before he completed the turnaround as others toiled.

    Speaking to the official British GT website, Mowle could not hide his shock at the #116’s unlikely win.

    “I genuinely have no idea how we won that race. I picked up a few places when the McLaren and Optimum Aston went off, plus I think I passed Ian Loggie’s Bentley, but then I also gave a few away with a moment at Tarzan.”

    Mowle was quick to praise his Dutch counterpart, who was bold early on through the stint before penalties dropped those around him.

    “Yelmer put a fab move on Phil [Keen], as well as a brilliant one around the outside of Darren [Turner], so there were two there plus some more from drive-through penalties!”

    The win was made sweeter given Mowle’s own previous struggles in Northamptonshire and a challenging weeked at the opening rounds of the season at Outlon Park.

    “I’ve never gone particularly well around here, and Oulton wasn’t the best circuit for the Mercedes, so to come away with two podiums in three races and the championship lead is remarkable, really!”

     

  • Driver Ratings: Baku Does it Again!

    Driver Ratings: Baku Does it Again!

    Azerbaijan never ceases to amaze, I am unsure whether this beats 2017’s race which was amazing to watch. Lady luck was on a few driver’s side today, we’ll look in deeper detail at who had it in the rating review. As per always the rating will be done in results order.

    Lewis Hamilton – 7

    Lady luck was most definitely on his side today, he took longer to turn the tyres on unlike Vettel who led early on. He made some uncharacteristic mistakes especially at the first corner flat spotting both tyres he told pit wall the tyres were finished so had no choice but to change strategy and pit. The pace on the fresher yellow softs was slow but then the safety car came into play. He was gifted the win with misfortune of others.

    Kimi Raikkonen – 7

    Kimi being Kimi, you wouldn’t really remember he is a World Champion from 2007. He’s being used to a certain extent as a clear number two driver to Vettel. It all went wrong on Saturday with Ferrari only bringing one set of super softs he had to make one lap count, he didn’t do so. This forced him onto another strategy for Sunday. A silly collision on the first lap when he could of let off the throttle easily damaged his car, no penalty surprisingly, as others fell by the way side he took an unexpected second.

    Sergio Perez – 9

    Ever the opportunist, now the most successful Mexican driver in Formula 1 history and most successful at Baku in terms of podium finishes. Force India looked strong all weekend with their Mercedes grunt. Great pass on wounded Vettel along the straight. The catalyst the fourth placed team from 2017 need to push on this year?

    Sebastian Vettel – 8

    Go big or go home from the German, he took advantage of the safety car in Australia but this race it hindered him as we look at in a moment. A great flying lap for pole and early race from the quadruple champion. He pulled a clear lead out after the first safety car. He got a lacklustre restart from the second safety car and went for it on the brakes but with such a long straight they went cold, locked up and ran wide. He lost places rather than gaining, and dropped to P4, with then Perez getting him in the later laps due to his massive flat spot. The Ferrari was strongest all weekend, did he really have to go for it at the first attempt he had?

    Carlos Sainz – 8

    Flying the flag for Renault today for the first half of the race had they had the third best package. He got by the Red Bulls well and then pulled clear. When they got up to speed he kept up with them. He pitted early as started on the ultra softs and continued well to finish solidly in the points. Pretty much the reason why Renault ‘loaned’ the Spaniard from Red Bull this season.

    Charles Leclerc – 9

    The reason why Ferrari rate this driver highly was shown today as he scores his first World Championship points in P6. He did better than most turning on the super softs and had great pace from his impressive qualifying managing to keep Raikkonen at bay after the first restart. He would of still scored points even if others finished, he just got a few more as result. Great for the Sauber team to have points but more importantly a talent like Leclerc behind the wheel of one of their cars.

    Fernando Alonso – 8

    The character and grit that Alonso showed today was the reason why everyone rates him so highly. To begin with he got the McLaren round a near 2 minute lap with 2 wheels shod car into the pits with minimal damage. There was some to the floor of the car as a result but still managed to score decent points for the team. Good battle with fellow countryman Sainz today. Worth every penny to Mclaren once again.

    Lance Stroll – 8

    A happy hunting ground for the Canadian, after taking advantage of the 2017 race and scoring an unlikely podium, he scored his and the team’s first points this season. Great confidence booster for him and the team. He had the pace with the Mercedes power and good racecraft to finish in the points.

    Stoffel Vandoorne – 6

    Stoffel was off colour this weekend, but took advantage of others to finish in the low end of the points but also once again Alonso was on average a few tenths quicker than him all weekend. He continues to pile pressure on himself regardless of a points finish today, Lando Norris is looking pretty nifty in Formula 2.

    Brendan Hartley – 6

    The Kiwi has scored his first point in Formula 1. He had a very unorthodox way of entering the sport last year and has taken him a while to adjust, some say he still is and was the fortunate today. Bad driving on Saturday as he didn’t set a lap and his team mate nearly went flying over the top of him. He drove better on Sunday.

    Marcus Ericcson – 6

    Marcus was in the shadow of his team mate today, a collision on the first lap turn 2 restricted his performance. He received a penalty for the collision and was clearly at fault, no excuses. He flat spotted tyres which also ruined the strategy he was on halfway through the race. The car was good over the weekend which should give him confidence Bahrain can happen again.

    Pierre Gasly – 7

    He showed great racecraft on Sunday, and reactions on Saturday. He thought that he was going into the wall after coming across his team mate but managed to keep it away with lightning reactions. With yellows like his team mate he didn’t set a representitve lap time. The race was different all be it he has nothing to show from it, he managed to get up as high as P7 in the race after carving through the field’s destruction on lap 1. An out and out racer, battled with former rival Leclerc which was good to see. He was involved in a collision with Magnussen which prevented the attack for points as he had the pace.

    Kevin Magnussen – 6

    K-Mag was in the wars on Sunday after a tough qualifying. A short run to the 90 degree corners and being in the middle of the pack increases chances of collisions. He collided with Ericcson at turn 2 which ended his chance of a good finish at that stage. A further collision with Gasly after the second restart then ended his chance of points. Later reprimanded with 2 penalty points, 12 is the amount before a ban, at this current time he is on 8 in the 12 month period. Most dangerous driver Gasly has ever raced according to the Frenchman. An off colour performance to such a great start to the season.

    Valterri Bottas – 8

    He was on for a win with Mercedes but you could say poor marshalling and debris still scattered over the track resulted in his dramatic retirement. It was through no fault of his own. He managed the gap all race and was consistent, and midway was fastest driver. He made no mistakes throughout. Due to staying out longest he used the safety car to continue to lead. He then restarted well and pulled away but ran over debris which caused a dramatic puncture at around 180mph, forcing him to retire with only a handful of laps remaining. Great weekend but nothing to show for it, joy for one of the Silver Arrows but despair for the other.

    Romain Grosjean – 5

    Grosjean seemed to be in 2017 mood, very emotional and spins aplenty with one really silly. He was hindered by a gearbox problem in qualifying which resulted him starting last. He kept his nose clean driving through the mess and was on for good points. Every driver was struggling for tyre temperature. He tried to warm the tyres up behind the second safety car by weaving and too much the Frenchman hit the wall at slow speed, throwing away first points of the season ironically at the time putting Magnussen into the points. Bad day at the office.

    Max Verstappen – 5

    His fault or not but Max has now collided with other drivers 3 times in 4 races, beginning to remind me of the great Pastor Maldonado. He was playing with fire all race long with his team mate, great spacial awareness but sometimes a bit too aggressive with squeezes and double direction changes defending. He couldn’t get the red walled super soft tyre switched on early in the race resulting in both Renault passing him. Battery issues may of slowed his pace but the issue between team mates was brewing all race long. Once more a retirement and hefty bill for Red Bull to pay.

    Daniel Ricciardo – 5

    The high of Shanghai two weeks ago to the despair of Baku. He struggled to get by his team mate as the over powered DRS with gusty winds helped him dramatically. Various occasions the driver supposedly best on the brakes had his car side by side with his team mate but only pulled it off a few laps prior to the pit stop. He had better pace than Max at a track he did great on last year. Multiple times he was on the outside centimetres from the wall and multiple lock ups. He lost out to the overcut but with the warmer rubber from far back he tried to get by but went straight into the back of his team mate. The worst thing you can do in motorsport! Red Bull blame both drivers which you can understand, but much like Vettel did he have to go for it? Plenty of laps were remaining. There is talk of Ricciardo going to Ferrari with contracts ending for various drivers, not the first time he colliding with his team mate maybe sway his mind to leave the Austrian outfit?

    Nico Hulkenburg – 5

    With how the race played out, Nico could of finally got on the podium! He still waits to taste the champagne after being close on multiple occasions. He lost the car on his own accord after getting by the poor paced Red Bulls. Renault looked like the fourth best car. He needs to keep concentration as with more mental races and no mistakes from the German, he could be that podium soon.

    Esteban Ocon – 7

    A passenger in his crash with Raikkonen, surprised that the Ferrari driver didn’t receive a penalty. Strong qualifying and pace but nothing he could do on his short Sunday afternoon.

    Sergey Sirotkin – 7

    Best weekend for the Russian rookie, albeit the mistake into the wall in third practice. Qualified strongly and was unfortunate to be in the sandwich between drivers on the first lap which ended his race early. Extremely harsh that he has received a 3 place grid penalty for the next race in Spain.

    Summary

    So Hamilton got his win in Baku through some strong luck, whilst Vettel through his decision to go big at the restart lost points. Hamilton now leads the Championship for the first time this year. 

    My driver of the day is a very tough decision, my toughest yet this year, and it’ll go to Sergio Perez for his podium finish. It just shades Charles Leclerc’s impressive points finish. Red Bull really need to look at the current situation, once more through collisions they have cars not finishing. 

    Cars tend to change quite dramatically at Barcelona and that is where the Formula 1 circus is next at. Will Red Bull kiss and make up or will the fire get bigger? Mclaren say big upgrade for Spain, will it work and push them forward? What upgrades will Mercedes have in store to catch up to Ferrari? We have to wait 2 weeks to find out.

    ?image courtesy of Sahara Force India. Fetured image courtesy of RedBull Content pool

  • BRITISH F3 REACTION: Kush Maini and Linus Lundqvist Triumph on Sunday at Rockingham

    BRITISH F3 REACTION: Kush Maini and Linus Lundqvist Triumph on Sunday at Rockingham

    Kush Maini and Linus Lundqvist took the spoils in Rounds five and six of the British F3 Championship at Rockingham Motor Speedway, after Tom Gamble’s victory in Round four on Saturday.

    Maini’s win was dominant after good work in the opening laps after starting from fifth in the reverse grid race, eventually taking the chequered flag ahead of Nicolai Kjaergaard.

    And the young Indian was keen to point out the potential of the car given to him by Lanan Racing.

    “It was a really good race from us, we knew from pre-season running that we were going to be quick in the dry as we were P1 every session. Unfortunately last weekend and the start of this weekend has been very wet.

    From the first lap I knew we could push it and at least get the fastest lap to start from pole. Thanks to the team for giving me a great car.”

    Kush Maini and his Lanan team had been waiting for a dry race after pre-season pace. Image: Jakob Ebery

    After dropping backwards at the start, Maini was keen to stay out of trouble before attacking on the first lap after tight opening three corners.

    “I fell to seventh at turn one trying to keep my nose clean, Jamie (Chadwick) had a slow start and I got boxed in by Maldonado from the right, there were four or five close calls with my front wing on the first lap!

    “ I’m not sure whether they had less confidence or hadn’t prepared as well as we had, but they seemed to lose their braking points, I kept to my braking points and got a couple of them around the outside, from there it was about keeping it on the black stuff.

    The Lanan driver is in his first season in the British F3 championship after a spell in Italy, and says the traditional British weather was a factor in his decision to enter the series, and has high hopes for his debut season.

    “I want to get more experience in the rain and (The climate) is actually one of the reasons I came here, to improve in the rain. To become the best you must practice in all conditions.

    “We’ve shown that we are one of the best in the dry, so we’re aiming to win the Championship.”

    Maini was left to rue a slow start to the final British F3 race of the day from pole position.

    “We must improve and I need to improve at the starts because that was not the best. If you lose out at the start to guys that are on the pace, it’s difficult to get the positions back.

    “They got better heat into their tyres after the Safety Car, had to defend from behind. Overall I’m satisfied with P3. It’s a lot of points towards the Championship.”

    (L-R) Kjaergaard, Lundqvist and Maini are all smiles after Race three
    Credit: British F3/Jakob Ebrey

    Lundqvist’s victory came under more trying circumstances, as he got ahead of Maini and Kjaergaard at the start of an incident-filled Race three.

    The race saw Saturday victor Gamble, Clement Novolak and Chia Wing Hoong disqualified for causing collisions, while Billy Monger, Jamie Chadwick, Jusuf Owega, Arvin Esmaeli and Pavan Ravishankar all retired due to contact.

    “It was a tough race, I’ll tell you that much but it was also a really enjoyable one too”, Lundqvist began.

    “Maybe the Safety Car helped us out a little, it may have helped me hold them off but we had good pace anyway so I could defend from Nicolai and Kush to the end.”

    The Swede took pride in taking victory under difficult circumstances as Kjaergaard was rarely more than half a second behind throughout the 14 lap distance.

    “I’m very pleased with this one, it makes you feel better about the win if you’ve really had to work for it. It was a bunched up field, Nicolai at one stage had a really good run on me but I held him off, he really put a lot of pressure on me in the last two or three laps.

    Lundqvist was quick to place importance on consistency in a season that has seen plenty of twists and turns already after just two race meetings.

    “As you say it’s been a really strong weekend for us, we had a podium in every race this weekend and I’m very pleased about that. It’s a real confidence boost for me as a driver and us as a team. The target is to do more race weekends like this, this championship is about consistency and making sure the lowest score isn’t that low.

    We want to have every weekend like this one, fighting for podiums and race wins in each race and we’ll be in a really good position come the end of the season.”

    The next three rounds of the British F3 Championship take place at the Snetterton 300 circuit in four weeks’ time.

  • BTCC Round Five – Ingram storms to win from 12th on grid

    BTCC Round Five – Ingram storms to win from 12th on grid

    Speedworks Motorsports’ Tom Ingram became the first double winner of the season, winning after starting 12th on the grid in race two at Donington Park

    He was joined on the podium by Chris Smiley, a first time podium finisher, and Jack Goff of Eurotech.

    Josh Cook started on pole following his first race win in race one. There was drama before the race even started as Colin Turkington and James Nash both ran into mechanical issues on the way to the grid.

    Nash retired and Turkington started from the pits but never recovered, retiring with just a few laps remaining.

    At the start Dan Cammish made the best start from the front row and took the lead from Cook, who was suffering from the maximum success ballast of 75kg in his car. Cammish stormed into the lead with Smiley and Aiden Moffat following.

    Cammish was hunting his first win in only his fifth BTCC start in his Team Dynamics Honda Civic, but he was caught by Smiley who managed to get through and into the lead. Ingram charged through the field and found himself in the top five.

    Ingram’s charge through the field was impressive, but Shredded Wheat’s Tom Chilton made 17 places as he finished tenth in his Ford Focus RS. The veteran made up for lost time after finishing 29th in race one.

    Rory Butcher came home in ninth in his MG following a steady drive, just behind resigning champion Ash Sutton in his Subaru. The champ hasn’t had the greatest start to his title defence but made good ground to finish eighth.

    Cook struggled to the finish with a heavier Vauxhall Astra than usual, he managed seventh place with 75kg of ballast on his car. James Cole in the other Shredded Wheat Focus finished sixth after starting fifth, which is no mean feat in this ever-competitive BTCC field.

    Adam Morgan in the Ciceley Motorsport Mercedes finished in fifth while stalemates Tom Oliphant and Aden Moffat finished 12th and 15th respectively.

    Cammish finished fourth with team mate Matt Neal falling down the grid to finish 16th. Goff made the podium following some excellent racing with Smiley ahead of him taking his maiden podium finish.

    But Ingram managed to pass everyone and storm to the win, his second of the season. The Speedworks racer drove phenomenally to take the win and extend his lead at the top of the early championship standings.

  • BRITISH GT: Yelmer Buurman and Lee Mowle win from the back in GT3, Callum Pointon and Patrik Matthiesen take GT4 spoils

    BRITISH GT: Yelmer Buurman and Lee Mowle win from the back in GT3, Callum Pointon and Patrik Matthiesen take GT4 spoils

    Yelmer Buurman’s stunning recovery earned the #116 ERC Sport team victory in Round Three of the British GT Championship ahead of the #17 Aston Martin team piloted by Derek Johnston and Marco Sorensen and the #7 Bentley duo of Callum Macleod and Ian Loggie, although #17 team would later receive a 30s penalty to drop them back to seventh. Darren Turner and Andrew Howard in the #99 Beechdean Aston Martin  inherited the podium.

    Callum Pointon and Patrik Matthiesen were top of the GT4 class in the #55 Ginetta with Jesse Anttila and Stephen Johansen second in the #54 Nissan 370Z and Will Moore and Matt Nicoll-Jones’ Aston Martin Vantage #62.

    John Minshaw had initially looked like building up the 20s gap that the #33 Barwell Motorsport needed, the gap as high as five seconds ahead of Flick Haigh’s #75 Aston Martin, who eventually lost out to Sam De Haan’s  #69 Lamborghini before the race’s first Safety Car, triggered by Shaun Balfe’s McLaren GT3 entry hitting the wall after contact with an Invictus Jaguar in GT4.

    Copyright © Spacesuit Media Ltd 2018. All rights reserved.
    The #33 of Phil Keen and Jon Minshaw was impeded by Safety Cars in the early stages of the race

    Minshaw again stretched his lead and was again pegged back through no fault of his own as he lost a 9.5 second advantage to a second Safety Car, and was reeled in by Graham Davidson in the #47 Jetstream Aston Martin, who had quietly worked his way up as others hit strife.

    Once the handovers were complete during the pit stop window, Phil Keen in the #33 was 15s behind Maxime Martin in #47 after serving the 20s success penalty, but this deficit was closed after a third Safety Car thrown to recover the stricken #22 Invictus Racing Jaguar driven by Ben Norfolk at the Deene Hairpin.

    Martin was then penalised for exceeding track limits but Keen was passed by the charging Buurman before himself receiving a penalty, after the #75 Optimum  Aston Martin hit gremlins in the pits while the #69 Barwell Lamborghini failed to leave the pits altogether.

    Copyright © Spacesuit Media Ltd 2018. All rights reserved.
    After Lee Mowle had kept ERC in the hint, Yelmer Buurman’s charge handed the team an unlikely GT3 victory

    Buurman had a clear run to the flag after that with Macleod and Turner quietly guiding their Bentley and Aston Martin to the GT3 podium. Adam in the #75 Aston was classified fourth, Keen recovered to sixth behind Davidson and Martin, while Rick Parfitt Jnr and Ryan Ratcliffe endured an awful race after strong early pace was hampered when Johnston spun Parfitt Jnr’s Bentley.

    In GT4, Callum Pointon was able to cruise home in his #55 HHC Ginetta after teammate Patrik Matthiesen had hounded the #4 Tolman McLaren of Charlie Fagg throughout the first hour of the race.

    Copyright © Spacesuit Media Ltd 2018. All rights reserved. The #55 Ginetta (Right) of Patrik Matthiesen and Callum Pointon took GT4 spoils

    While Fagg pitted early in the window, Matthiesen stayed out an extra ten minutes and the Ginetta leapfrogged the McLaren now driven by Michael O’Brien, who quickly fell behind.

    O’Brien was to prove a mobile roadblock for much of the second hour, before succumbing to the advances of a fast charging Jesse Anttila in the #54 UltraTek Nissan – Anttila and Stephen Johansen winning the GT4 Pro-Am class in the process.

    Matt Nicoll-Jones took third in the #62 Academy Motorsport Aston Martin also piloted by Will Moore after passing O’Brien and the #10 Equipe Verschuur McLaren driven by Dan McKay and Finlay Hutchison, with the #53 UltraTek Nissan of Kelvin Fletcher and Martin Plowman was fourth in GT4.

     

    Images Courtesy of Spacesuit Media (Nic Redhead & Jamie Sheldrick)

  • BTCC Round Four – Josh Cook takes lights to flag maiden win at Donington

    BTCC Round Four – Josh Cook takes lights to flag maiden win at Donington

    ccPower Maxed Racing’s Josh Cook became the fourth different winner of the season with a win in round four of the British Touring Car Championship at Donington Park.

    The Vauxhall Astra driver led from lights to flag as Dan Cammish of Team Dynamics came second and Laser Tools’ Aden Moffat rounding off the podium.

    Cook led from the start with Chris Smiley of BTC Norlin and Grad-x’s Sam Tordoff in tow. Into Redgate Cook held his nerve and kept ahead of the pack. Cammish flew past Smiley and Tordoff into the Craner Curves to take second place and hunt down Cook.

    Meanwhile further back there were tussles throughout the field, Colin Turkington was sent sideways after a coming together with Brands race winner Senna Proctor. The BMW man recovered well to finish tenth.

    Proctor managed to finish eighth ahead of Ciceley Motorsports’ Tom Oliphant, but couldn’t keep up with the power of the Honda’s ahead of him. Smiley slowly fell down the order and was overtaken by the resurgent Matt Neal in the Team Dynamics Honda to finish sixth with Smiley seventh.

    James Cole kept his nose clean to bring his Shredded Wheat Ford Focus RS home in fifth, picking up the only points for his team. Team mate Tom Chilton was in the wars and finished low down the order, with Tordoff unable to maintain his push as an electrical fault saw him retire.

    Rookie Brett Smith came home fourth after fighting with team mate Jack Goff Smiley to take fourth place and finish just off the podium.

    The Laser Tools Mercedes of Aiden Moffat came third after a great repair effort from the Laser Tools team following his crash in qualifying yesterday.

    Dan Cammish kept on Cook’s tail throughout the race, and was on a charge during the middle phases, but couldn’t find his way past Matt Simpson, who tucked in between the top two.

    But the first race belonged to Cook, who masterfully led from start to finish, with the Power Maxed Racing team having won two of the four races so far this season.

  • “We will be on tracks where we could be performing better” – Robert Kubica

    “We will be on tracks where we could be performing better” – Robert Kubica

    Click here to read polish version

    Robert Kubica – many fans were waiting for his comeback to F1. The winner of 2008 Canadian Grand Prix is the reserve & development driver for Williams. After qualifications of Azerbejian GP, the polish driver answered some questions asked by Julia Paradowska.

    Julia Paradowska: The Chinese GP was much better for Williams than Bahrain and Australia. Do you think it’s possible to get their first points of the season for the team in the upcoming races?
    Robert Kubica: Well, Formula 1 is a fantastic sport because it is changing very quickly. Of course we are beginning the season not where we expected. In the initial races we did face more issues than we had hoped so generally we are working on trying to improve areas where we face issues. We will be on tracks where we could be performing better. As I think all of the cars in the paddock have better tracks and worse tracks so there is time for our car. But this doesn’t exclude that generally we have to keep working and keep focusing on as we think we have an issue.

    JP: How does a non-race week look for you as the reserve & development driver?
    RK: For sure it is completely different to a race driver’s weekend. Nonetheless it’s still very exciting for me to be back in the paddock. Ok, it is a different role than I have been used to but still this gives me an opportunity to stay close in the team, stay close to the sport to which I have a lot of passion. It gives me the opportunity to see a Grand Prix weekend from a different perspective and a different point of view so it is a good opportunity for me. It isn’t easy to see and hear what I was racing but still as I said I am enjoying it and I am trying to help the team as much as I can.

    World Copyright: Mark Sutton/Williams F1

    JP: What’s your part in solving team problems?
    RK: My part as a driver is to try to give the best feel as it is possible when I get to drive a car. As a part of my role I am doing a lot of simulation work so we are trying to improve our simulator, to improve our correlation between the simulator and reality. As part of our development, I am doing a part of our development programme which is involving me doing some internal technical meetings so as you can see I am a bit more than just a reserve driver and this is very nice from the team. I am really keen to play a part and also trying to help the team but also to learn from other people.

    JP: Before the 2018 season there was much speculation about your comeback to F1. Did these rumours sometimes get you tired?
    RK: Well, it is a part of the game and I think the media got very excited about the possibility for me to comeback as a race driver. I think everybody was trying to get their opinion around. I think this was the normal approach from the media. It looks like during November-December my name appeared and was quite popular and I think media had some speculations to talk so they used it.

    World Copyright: Glenn Dunbar/Williams F1

    JP: F1 is a sport that is constantly evolving, changing. What do you miss the most when compared to the beginning of your career?
    RK: Driving, very simple and being younger. But on the other side I have much more experience so actually experience is helping a lot.
    Generally, I think the sound was making F1 races very exciting which we are missing. It is easier for media commitments – in the past it wasn’t as easy, you were travelling to do interviews as well. The Season was running and we can do it (the interview) so there is always pros and negatives.

  • “We will be on tracks where we could be performing better” – Robert Kubica (Polish Version)

    “We will be on tracks where we could be performing better” – Robert Kubica (Polish Version)

    Robert Kubica – na jego powrót czekało wielu fanów. Zwycięzca GP Kanady teraz jest kierowcą testowym i rozwojowym dla zespołu Williams. Po kwalifikacjach przed GP Azerbejdżanu, polski kierowca odpowiedział na kilka pytań zadanych przez Julię Paradowską.

    Julia Paradowska: GP Chin było znacznie lepsze dla Williamsa niż GP Bahrajnu i GP Australii. Czy uważasz, że możliwe jest zdobycie pierwszych punktów w sezonie dla zespołu w nadchodzących wyścigach?
    Robert Kubica: Formuła 1 to cudowny sport, bo zmiany zachodzą bardzo szybko. Oczywiście na początku sezonu nie spodziewaliśmy się, że znajdziemy się w takiej sytuacji. W pierwszych wyścigach musieliśmy zmierzyć się z problemami, których wcześniej nie przewidzieliśmy. Nasza praca obecnie skupia się na polepszeniu obszarów, z którymi mieliśmy kłopoty. Niedługo starty na torach, gdzie nasz samochód powinien prezentować się lepiej. Jak mniemam, każdy z samochodów w paddocku ma tory, na których sprawują się lepiej, więc teraz nasza kolej. Oczywiście nie zmienia to faktu, że wciąż musimy pracować nad ulepszeniami naszego samochodu, ponieważ zauważamy problem.

    JP: Jak wygląda tydzień poza wyścigiem dla ciebie jako kierowcy rezerwowego i rozwojowego?
    RK: Na pewno inaczej, niż tydzień kierowców wyścigowych. Mimo tego powrót na paddock jest dla mnie bardzo ekscytujący. Ok, jest to inna rola niż ta, do której byłem przyzwyczajony, ale wciąż pozwala mi na bycie blisko z zespołem i sportem, do którego mam tak wiele pasji. Ponadto daje mi szansę zobaczenia weekendu wyścigowego, weekendu Grand Prix z innej perspektywy i innego punktu widzenia, więc jest to dla mnie dobra okazja. Nie jest łatwo zauważyć i usłyszeć, że ścigałem się, ale wciąż tak, jak powiedziałem, cieszę i staram się pomóc zespołowi tak bardzo, jak tylko potrafię.

    World Copyright: Mark Sutton/Williams F1

    JP: Jaka jest Twoja rola w rozwiązywaniu problemów zespołu?
    RK: Moją rolą jest bycie kierowcą, który stara się zrobić jak najlepszą robotę, gdy prowadzę samochód. W ramach moich zajęć przeprowadzam wiele symulacji. Staramy się poprawić przełożenie symulatora na rzeczywistość. Jako cześć zespołu biorę udział w programie rozwojowym, który angażuje mnie w wewnętrzne spotkania techniczne, ponieważ jestem kimś więcej, niż tylko klasycznym kierowcą rezerwowym. Jest to bardzo miłe, że zespół zaoferował mi taką możliwość. Naprawdę bardzo się cieszę z bycia częścią tego zespołu oraz okazji do pracy nad samochodem. Co ważne, mam również szansę nauczyć się kilku rzeczy od innych.

    JP: Przed sezonem 2018 było wiele spekulacji o powrocie do F1. Czy te pogłoski czasami cię męczyły?
    RK:  Cóż, jest to część gry i myślę, że media bardzo się ucieszyły z możliwości mojego powrotu do roli kierowcy wyścigowego. Myślę, że każdy próbował mieć swoje zdanie. Sądzę, że to był typowy proces w klasycznym zbliżaniu się do mediów. Wygląda na to, że w okresie od listopada do grudnia moje nazwisko było bardzo popularne, media zaczęły przedstawiać różne spekulacje.

    World Copyright: Glenn Dunbar/Williams F1

    JP: F1 to sport, który ciągle ewoluuje, zmienia się. Czego najbardziej brakuje w porównaniu do początków kariery?
    RK: Bardzo prosta jazda i bycie młodszym. Ale z drugiej strony mam o wiele więcej doświadczenia, tak więc to bardzo pomaga.
    Ogólnie rzecz biorąc, trochę dźwięku. Myślę, że dźwięk sprawiał, że wyścigi F1 były bardzo ekscytujące, czego nam brakuje. Jest to łatwiejsze dla mediów – w przeszłości podróżowałeś, aby udzielać wywiadów. Sesja był w toku i mogliśmy przeprowadzić wywiad, więc zawsze są plusy i minusy.

  • British F3: Tom Gamble Takes Maiden Win at Second Single Seater Meeting

    British F3: Tom Gamble Takes Maiden Win at Second Single Seater Meeting

    Tom Gamble announced himself on the single-seaters circuit with a stunning Saturday in the British F3 championship at Rockingham, with a last-ditch pole position followed by a faultless drive to victory later in the afternoon.

    Gamble was one of the last across the line qualifying as others including series leader Nicolai Kjaergaard toiled in the rain in Northamptonshire.

    The victory takes Gamble to the top of the standings after four races, at only his second single-seaters meeting.

    Having not taken pole last year despite winning the British Ginetta Junior series last year, Gamble was relieved to have broken his qualifying duck early in the F3 season.

    “The car felt mega in qualifying, Fortec have given me a really good car.

    “I’m really happy to have got pole position in British F3 because I didn’t get one in the Ginettas (Juniors) last year which was pretty annoying.

    The 16-year-old from Nottinghamshire isn’t putting any pressure on himself for the rest of the season but is still confident of success.

    “I’m just going to do the best I can this year and as far as the future goes, we’ll go from there. Ideally I’d like to be right up there and I think we can be this year.

    Gamble was delighted to go on to win the race in the afternoon, gapping Linus Lundqvist early in the race after an early Safety Car.

    “To go on and win the race is mega. I’m happy I was able to pull away from him (Lundqvist) It’s a great way to start the weekend. In the race it was a damp track and had stopped raining so it was just greasy.

    “It was great to get a gap on him because we’ve seen that he’s been quick all season. It’s just a shame we haven’t yet seen anyone’s dry pace.

    The grid for tomorrow’s racing is reversed meaning that Gamble, except for a handful of retirees, will be starting well down the order.

    “With the reverse grid tomorrow, I would like to think I could get some overtaking done but it’s difficult to say where we’ll end up.

    It will be a case of damage limitation, taking as many places as possible and trying to get as close to the front as I can.”

     

    Image Credit: Jakob Ebrey

  • British GT: Phil Keen and Jon Minshaw snatch GT3 pole from Flick Haigh and Jonny Adam

    British GT: Phil Keen and Jon Minshaw snatch GT3 pole from Flick Haigh and Jonny Adam

    A late charge from Barwell Motorsport’s Phil Keen ensured that the Optimum Motorsport Aston Martin duo of Flick Haigh and Jonny Adam were forced to settle for second in the British GT series GT3 class.

    Keen was the only man to go below the 1:30s with a 1:29.235 in his Lamborghini Huracan during GT3 Pro qualifying after Haigh had put Aston Martin in top spot with a 1:32.844 in GT3 Am qualifying to go a second clear of Barwell’s John Minshaw.

    Adam could not respond after poor luck with traffic at the end of the session to go only seventh in the Pro section of qualifying.

    Nicki Thiim and Mark Farmer were third in their TF Sport Aston Martin, with experienced Dane Thiim third in pro qualifying while Yelmer Buurman was the only driver within a second of Keen.

    Sadly for Buurman his ERC Sport Mercedes will start from the back of the 12 car GT3 grid after Lee Mowle spun at the final corner before even setting a time during Pro AM qualifying, although they will be encouraged by strong early running in practice.

    Meanwhile in GT4 it was a 1-2 for Tolman Motorsport as the #4 McLaren 570s driven by Michael O’Brien and Charlie Fagg led teammates Lewis Proctor and Jordan Albert in the #5 McLaren, while the other Tolman operated McLaren of Joe Osbourne and David Pattison ended up fifth after losing time early on.

    The Century Motorsport duo of Ben Tuck and Ben Green were the only non-McLaren operation in the top five, ending the GT4 qualifying session in third ahead of the Track Club #72 team of Ben Barnicoat and Adam Balon.