The Individual Races Series, a great success

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The Individual Race Series, a competition which follows the regulations of an uphill time trial, had a very successful opening round. This initiative aroused with the aim of making uphill race drivers have a cheap on-track racing experience. The race is contested at the end of the official uphill racing season and offers all those racers who don’t want to garage their car, the opportunity to keep on racing.

39 cars took part in the race, which started with a one-by-one-start. There was a one-minute-break between each start. The race’s winner was Mauro Rampini, who was at the wheel of a very performing Osella-BMW 3.0 car. Rampini is a regular uphill race driver “It’s a very good initiative. You have fun in a safe context and costs are very low. Other races like that will be more than welcome.”

Gian Carlo Minardi was in Magione, too, as the President of the C.S.A.I. Speed sub-committee: “I’m really satisfied with the race. It was an amazing show, which got consent from everywhere. Both teams and drivers were very satisfied with that and they all hope that it will turn into a reality. I want to thank the Magione racetrack’s director Mr. Ezio Sisti for supporting this initiative and arranging the event only within a three weeks’ time”, says Minardi, the event creator, “My intention is to establish a Trofeo for the winter season, during which teams and drivers’ racing activity is usually off. Getting round the “Mario Umberto Borzacchini” circuit, I could observe the participants’ behavior during the race. They made progressions throughout the laps they ran. The mountain’s hidden dangers usually don’t allow drivers neither to express all their potential nor to get the most of their cars’ potential; these two aspects can be well developed on a racetrack. Some problems came up and we have to solve them for the future, however, since it’s a brand new initiative, it is quite normal for it to be like that. The Individual Races Series could be a great opportunity also for those young drivers who have limited financial resources”, ends Minardi.  

Bhai Tech “A wonderful season between the GP2 and the GT Open”

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With the event which took place at the Barcelona circuit, Bhai Tech Racing, the racing division of the Mestrino-based Advanced Vehicle Science Centre, which was inaugurated more than one year ago by Pastor Maldonado, won the first International GT Open Championship’s title with the two McLaren MP4-12C. Along with the teams’ title, the squad’s driver Giorgio Pantano also won the drivers title. The Padua-born driver who made his debut in a GT Championship, kept all his rivals behind: “It’s not bad to win the teams and drivers title the first time you take part in a GT Championship. It was a new experience for us and for our engineers”, comments Bhai Tech’s President Mr. Ferdinando Bada “we made some mistakes, but we were good at improving race by race. The overall win we took in Monza was the peak of our racing season, along with the last few laps at Montmelò. We really deserved to win.”

It was a big success also for the “virtual simulation”. You have a state of the art driving simulator and software inside your headquarter. How much does virtual simulation get close to reality?

Around 95%.This percentage comes from a comparison between all the data we gathered from the GP2 Dallara.

The Driving Simulator allows you to make indoor tests, without having to move to the track, so you save money and time and give drivers the opportunity to practice those tracks they will race on and the staff has the opportunity to undertake some development tests. How much money does a team save?

 We save up to one quarter if we compare an on-track test and a test using the driving simulator. Another advantage is that you can practice whenever you want, refine details such as braking and undertake set-up tests. All that is done on track can be also done using the driving simulator and the modeling software. Some drivers told us that, after a three-four days training session using our simulator, their on-track performances in a very demanding Championship such as GP2, improved significantly.

Talking about GP2, this year you’ve been engaged in this Championship alongside the Racing Engineering Team

 As Bhai Tech, we’ve offered a technical support to the Race Engineering Team. We’ve provided the team with simulation training and on-track assistance by employing our engineers. We’ve been very satisfied with the results, as the team won the GP2 title. That is another big success to be added to the two GT Open titles.

What are your plans for the 2014 racing season?

We have two options at the moment: GT Open and FIA GT. We should have our plan defined in about one month, as we’re waiting for a confirmation from one of our most important sponsors. The FIA GT Championship would be our main choice, as it’s a kind of technical championship, but obviously, we want to pay attention to our sponsors’ needs.

The world economic situation is not that good now. What’s the main problem a racing team or companies like yours have to deal with now?

The whole world is undergoing a serious financial crisis, so there is a lack of resources to support Sport in general, not only Motorsport. Nowadays even nonprofessional sport activities have trouble finding financial support  – small football teams who bring happiness to local communities, don’t even manage to find 10-15000 euros to support the season – let alone Motorsport, whose financial needs are much higher.

To be honest, you would expect institutions to pay more attention to a field which involves many employees; more than 150.000 people are employed in the motorsport field. Some legislative bills introduced by the government when Monti was the prime minister, have further reduced the possibility for companies to support Sport financially, and so the amount of financial resources to be devoted to sport has significantly decreased.

The Bhai Tech Advanced Vehicle Science Centre has celebrated its first anniversary this year. What are your goals for the upcoming years?

Our main goal is to cooperate side by side with car companies. It’s clear that you have to prove who you are and what you’re able to do. We’re still very young, but we’re progressing so much. We’re successfully cooperating with the F.1 McLaren. It’s our most important partner from a technological point of view. Probably next year our “F.1 Family” will further expand. I am confident in that.

In the past you took part in the F.3000 and in the GP2 Championships with your own team.  You scored wins and won titles. Is there a chance that you compete in a Formula Championship again?

We don’t rule out any possibility. We should have our program defined in about one month, and then we’ll be ready to make our announcements. The Formula “chapter” isn’t closed, for sure.

….What drove you to leave Formula and focus on GT Competition?

Nothing in particular, just the will to meet new challenges. After dealing with Formula cars for such a long time, I decided to focus on covered-wheels, as I find them so exciting. Even if we’re not involved in Formula competitions as a team, we continue to work on single-seaters through our driving simulator, which is a very useful device, as it gives a driver the opportunity to progress. In a demanding championship such as the GP2, the time gap is within few thousands of a second. This is the reason why details can really make a difference. Through driving simulation we can analyze a driver’s behavior, understand his mistakes and help him progress.

 

Rigon scored a success in Shanghai

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After taking the second place at Interlagos and the fourth in a rainy Fuji, Davide Rigon sealed his first win in the FIA World Endurance Championship. The talented driver from Vicenza, who is at the Scuderia Ferrari’s disposal, crossed the line first at the wheel of the 8Star Motorsport’s Ferrari 458 GTE he shared with Enzo Potolicchio and Rui Aguas.

It was a strongly desired win, taken at the end of a very successful race week end. During free practice the Ferrari #81 set the best time and set the third best time in qualifying, arriving just a few thousands behind the pole. Rigon set the pace, handling a perfect race. He set the best laptime and scored a great success for the Scuderia.

“It was a perfect week end. We demonstrated our good condition since free practice and we missed the pole just for a few thousands. We did our best during the race and, after taking control of the car in the last stint, I pushed hard and set the best laptime. I closed the gap and won the race”, says Davde Rigon “Even if the Astons hadn’t abandoned, I’m sure we would have won the race all the same. We set excellent times all through the race and I always kept a very good pace. It’s an all team’s success. I established a very good connection with Enzo, Rui and all the team’s staff, so this helped to score important success such the one we scored in Shanghai”, says the Minardi Management’s driver.  Thanks to this success, 8Star Motorsport Team’s gap with the GTE AM-class leader drops down to only 5 points. The last Bahrein round will be the decisive one.

The Far East keeps on winking at Davide, who can add this victory to his career. In 2008 he brought the Beijing Guoan Team to success in the Superleague Formula Championship.

Bhai Tech and Pantano on the roof of Europe

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The International GT Open Championship’s finale couldn’t be better for the Bhai Tech Racing Team, who got the better over rivals at the Barcelona circuit by winning the GTS title, bringing home the first cup.

The Mestrino-based Advanced Vehicle Science Centre’s racing team, who made his debut in the International GT Open Championship and in the GT competitions this year, has constantly improved his performances time after time, delivering excellent races, such as in Monza, where the team took his first win overall, at the Nuerburgring, where the team sealed two wins and at Silverstone, McLaren’s hometown, where Bhai Tech Racing delivered a successful race again. It was a seven months long season, competed through 16 races and hard fought until the last two corners in the Catalan challenge’s second round. It was a heart-taking finale, which made everyone hold his breath. Giorgio Pantano took the drivers’ title and completed a perfect week end for the Italian team. The Padua-born champion, who made his debut in the GT competition this year and paired off with the Portuguese driver Alvaro Parente, launched the crucial attack by making a spectacular manoeuvre in the last few laps, taking the third place overall. Luiz Razia and Chris Van Der Drift, who were at the wheel of the second McLaren MP4-12C, finished fifth, giving the English constructor the second place in the Championship.

“It’s a win to be shared with the staff and the drivers. A particular thanks to the owners who made all the needed resources available to us and McLaren. We’re proud to have paid them off with this important result”, says the Engineer Mr. Costa, “It was a very intense week end, rich in emotions. It was also a very intense season which ended only in the last corners. We’ve always been aware of our potential and we’ve never let misfortune get us down. Races and championships end only after the chequeredflag is deployed on Sunday. Even after Saturday’s race we continued to work only relying on our resources, we never looked to anyone else. We were constantly among the fastest on track. Giorgio did a good job; during his stint he bridged the gap to get the title, making excellent manoeuvres. Alvaro Parente completed the puzzle. He knows the car very well, so he gave his precious contribution. Luiz and Chris helped the team to reach this important goal”, says the technical director.

“I’m really happy. It was an excellent result achieved at the end of a very intense week end. Taking the title at the last two corners is something indescribable, especially because it was my first season in a GT competition. Congrats to the team on an excellent job!” comments Giorgio Pantano.

Bhai Tech’s victory means also a great success for the virtual race simulation. In addition to on-track testing, the team also worked hard inside the Bhai Tech headquarter’s simulation suite which hosts the driving simulator facility. It’s a full-motion 6-DOF facility, which is fully immersive with a 8 m 210° diameter curved screen, five off-board projectors, two rear view visuals and a modeling software. This is a clear proof of how much this technology is important not only for Formula 1. See you in the 2014!

Rigon to Shanghai for the FIA WEC thinking about the 2014 season

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Davide’s adventure in the FIA WEC Championship goes on. The Italian driver will race alongside the 8Star Team, at the wheel of a Ferrari 458 GT2. After taking part in the races at Interlagos and Fuji, the talented driver, who is at the Scuderia Ferrari’s disposal, will fly to China this week end to take part in the 6 Hours of Shanghai, which is the world championship’s last but one event.

Davide will put all his talent to the 8Star Motorsport Team’s disposal, to help the Italian squad win the class title, trying to replicate the results achieved in the International GT Open Championship alongside Andrea Montermini and the Villorba Corse racing team. “Competing in a world championship is always so exciting; having the opportunity to drive a Ferrari is even more exciting. Unfortunately the event at Fuji was cancelled because of bad weather, so I hope in China everything will work out for the best. It will be the third event I’m taking part in and I hope to help the team win the title”, says Davide Rigon “Me and the staff get along so well, so this makes everything easier. It won’t be an easy week end, as I’m not familiar with the Chinese racetrack, but I’ll do my best, as usual, to try to reach our goal. It’s an important challenge and all participants are high-level drivers. Competing against them it’s a great opportunity to grow.”

Davide will make his return to China, the country where he won the Superleague Formula Championship in 2008 alongside the Beijing Guoan team: “It’s a pleasure for me to remember the 4 days I spent in Beijing. On that occasion a great party was arranged and Chinese people welcomed us in a warm way. They really made me feel at home, so it’s always a pleasure for me to go there. I hope to see many fans attending the event.”

Bhai Tech ready for the Barcelona final round

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A little more than one month after taking the first and historic double win overall at the very fast and historic circuit of Monza, Bhai Tech Racing is ready to compete in the International GT Open’s  final race to take place at Barcelona this week end.

The Mestrino based Bhai Tech Advanced Vehicle Science Centre’s racing team, whose director is Mr. Roberto Costa the engineer, will contest the Championship’s last round on the 4.655 m-long-Catalan racetrack as the GTS and drivers Championships’ leader, position achieved after taking a win at Nuerburgring, Silverstone, Monza and getting some good placing. Considering the slight point gap which separates all teams, the last round at Montmelò will be a 120 min.-final-challenge, divided into 2 races which are scheduled for Saturday (at 4 p.m.) and one race which is scheduled for Sunday (at midday).

“According to our first results, we would have never expected to race in Spain as the Championship leaders, fighting for the title. We’ve developed so much over the last few months and made use of all our energies. We’ll try to get the last pieces to complete the puzzle”, says Roberto Costa “In the year of our debut in the Championship, it’s great to be fighting for the title in the drivers and teams championship. I like the Montmelò racetrack very much. I drove many successful races there. It’s ten years since I took the first pole position along with Giorgio Pantano in the F.3000 Championship. I hope we’ll manage to keep on pursuing this direction and finish this season successfully”, comments the technical director.

It’s a special event also for the drivers fighting for the title and the top three “Our main goal is to win the teams’ championship, but of course, we’ll do our best to help Giorgio winning the drivers’ championship and help Luiz and Chris finishing in the top three. It will be our first racing experience at Montmelò behind the wheel of this car, so we’ll be well concentrated on the race. We’ve worked hard over these weeks in order to get ready to compete.”

The two 60’-free-practice sessions will take place on Friday. The two qualifying sessions to set the starting grid order will take place on Saturday at 9 a.m. and 11.55 a.m. The 70’ first race will start at 4 p.m. on Saturday, while the 50’ final race is scheduled for Sunday at midday.

Minardi "Italy is going back to the splendors of the ‘80s and ‘90"

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The Monza race was the final event of the Speed Italian Championship. About 7000 race enthusiasts attended the Italian race, which marked the end of a very satisfying season, whose results were uncertain until the very last round. The Prototype Championship and the GT Championship’s winners, were uncertain until the last race. The first one was won by Faccioni, the second one was won by the two Porsche drivers Lucchini and Postiglione.

The Formula ACI CSAI Abarth Championship was won by Alessio Rovera (born in 1995) who got the better over Michele Beretta (born in 1994), who tried to be hot on the heels of his colleague in the Championship’s finals. Thanks to the result achieved, Rovera and Beretta are entitled to attend the Super Corso organized by the Federation School (November 4th to 7th) and take part in the Auto GP testing session offered by Scuderia Coloni as a prize.

The season was not free from difficulties: the lack of people attending the Championship’s events was compensated by the competence of drivers and teams who gave us an engaging and high-level show. Despite the worldwide financial crisis, this was an ever-growing season and the maximum number of participants was reached at the Brianza-based circuit. The “Open Doors” initiative launched by ACI-Sport met a positive audience response. A large number of race enthusiasts coming from Lombardia crowded the paddock and the gallery. It was a very good experience which paves the way to new options and initiatives with regards to the 2014 racing season.

The Italian flag proudly waves also on other racetracks, even abroad. The successes achieved by Antonio Fuoco in the Formula Renault 2.0 Alps and by Raffaele Marciello in the F.3 Euroseries are a clear demonstration of Italian drivers’ talent. We don’t have to forget Antonio Ghirelli’s success in the Auto GP Championship and Antonio Giovinazzi’s second place in the British F.3. All these results are a clear proof that everybody’s work is leading Italian motorsport up to the ’80s-’90s level and I do believe all these achievements will contribute to restore the reputation our drivers enjoyed in the past.

I’d like to praise also the ACI CSAI, the Federation School and the FDA whose 4-year-old project starts bearing fruits at an International level. The project started with Raffaele Marciello, the first promising youngster and went ahead with Antonio Fuoco. This season we arranged some evaluative testing sessions with promising go-kart racers. We know that, because of the crisis we’re undergoing, drivers are lacking the “gas” to take off, anyway the results achieved are of a good omen and great efforts will be made to try to support them. Unfortunately, after Fisichella, Trulli, Liuzzi left F.1, no other Italian driver has taken part in the top Championship anymore, so a generation gap was created and it’s so difficult to close it immediately. All the work done aimed to make the most of young drivers’ talent and to draw attention on them.

The 2014 season’s news will be the introduction of Formula 4, which is a preparatory formula for young drivers coming straight out from kart racing. The President Sticchi Damiani has adhered to the FIA-conceived project since the beginning and now we’re proud to be the first Federation to carry out this project. 15-year-old young drivers will have the chance to drive cars duly designed to direct them towards a career as professional drivers and to compete in more demanding Championship in the future. It’s a challenge, but a great opportunity for us to continue to act as tutors and make the most of new talented drivers.

Davide Rigon to Fuji with 8Star Motorsport to compete in the FIA WEC

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Davide Rigon will write a new chapter of his racing career in the world of GT, by taking part in the 6 hours of Fuji, which is the FIA World Endurance Championship’s sixth event to take place in the week end of October 20th.

After a fabulous win scored in the International GT Open Championship’s penultimate event at Monza circuit, the Veneto-born driver, who contributed to Villorba Corse and Andrea Montermini’s title achievement on the Italian track and is at the Scuderia Ferrari’s disposal for sports and technical development activities, will take part in the GT competition at the wheel of the 8Star Team’s Ferrari 458 GT2 again. It will be Rigon’s second participation in the WEC Championship, after finishing second at Interlagos on his debut event.

It will be the first time for Davide to race at the 4563-m-long-Japanese circuit which is located on the slopes of Mount Fuji. The Italian driver will race alongside the team managed by AF Corse and will share the driving with Enzo Potolicchio and Rui Aguas, again. The goal is to achieve another important result: “I’ll fly to Japan next Wednesday and it will be my first race on the Fuji track. I’m really happy to race alongside 8Star Motorsport Team and share the driving with Enzo and Rui with whom I get along very well”, said the Minardi Management’s driver.

“It will be my second participation in the FIA WEC and I hope to manage to achieve the same good result I achieved in Brazil. The Ferrari 458 is really a great car and I’ve felt comfortable with it since the first few miles. It will be so important to drive as many km as possible to discover the track’s secrets. I’m really happy with this chance. The Championship I’m going to take part in is one of the most important Championships in the GT Endurance scene and competing at the wheel of a Ferrari makes it even more special”, ended Davide Rigon.

Davide Rigon scored a win and finished third at Monza

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Davide Rigon confirmed to be in a very good shape by taking a Super GT class win in the first race of the International GT Open Championship’s seventh event, which took place at Monza circuit last week end.  The Italian driver also finished third in the Sunday’s race.

The talented Davide Rigon was at the wheel of the Villorba Corse’s Ferrari 458 GT2 and shared the driving with Andrea Montermini. Thanks to a perfect synchrony with the Sassuolo-born driver, Davide contributed to Andrea’s overall win one race in advance.

After Montermini qualified second in Q1, Davide Rigon took control of the car for the second round and he nearly got the pole. At the end of the qualifying session, he didn’t manage to get the pole only for six thousands of a second. In race-1 Montermini set the pace and pitted before leaving the control of the 458 to Rigon.  After paying a 45’ handicap, Davide jumped up from the 13th to the 5th place overall, giving the team the class win and setting the fastest laptime.

After qualifying second in Q2 and a great recovery in race-1, Davide took part in the GT Open’s last but one event. The race started with the safety-car under the rain, but, despite that, the Italian Champion soon got in the lead of the race, finishing his stint at the first place, before giving the car’s control to his teammate. After paying a 45’ penalty, the former F.1 driver finished 12th overall (3rd in the Super GTT class).

“I want to congratulate Andrea and the team on their fabulous win. I’m very happy I contributed to get that excellent result”, said Davide Rigon “It’s always exciting to win in Monza, even if we didn’t manage to get the overall win because of that 45 sec handicap in both races. We kept a good pace throughout the week end and, despite all the dangers due to a slippery track, we were able not to make any mistake. I still don’t know if I’ll go to Barcelona for the final round.”

First overall win for Bhai Tech, who becomes the Championship's leader

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Mission accomplished for Bhai Tech Racing. On the Monza track, where the seventh and last but one International GT Open Championship’s event took place last week end, the Italian team reached the goal it reserved before. In fact, the team’s four drivers Giorgio Pantano, Rafael Suzuki, Van Der Drift and Luiz Razia took revenge of the Spa-Francorchamps’s grim racing week end by becoming the Championship’s leaders again.

The Mestrino-based team, which is managed by the engineer Mr. Roberto Costa, sealed its first win overall, thanks to Pantano/Suzuki’s win in race-1, ahead of their teammates Razia/Van Der Drift. After scoring a win in the GTS class at the Nurburgring and Silverstone, the Bhai Tech Advanced Vehicle Science Centre’s racing team scored another win on the domestic track, bringing the number of wins to four in the year of the debut in the International Championship.

Despite the track’s layout and the weather conditions were not so much compatible with the two McLarens MP4-12C’s technical features, the Bhai Tech’s four drivers fought to recover several positions, driving brightly and avoiding all dangers caused by wet soil.

During the Saturday afternoon’s race Giorgio Pantano, after taking an excellent start from the second row, soon managed to take the lead, giving way to a more performing Ferrari GTS and to the Esta Motorsport’s Ferrari 458 GT3 only when he had to pit. After a perfect pit-stop, Suzuki took control of the car and soon jumped up to the top of the standing. Van Der Drift’s recovery was fabulous, too. The New Zealander driver got the top 5 before passing the baton to Luiz Razia who finished first. The Italian team got the two most important steps of the podium at Monza.

Race-2 was run under the rain, which caused problems for the English car, so, 24 hours after driving a successful race, the car #65 finished seventh in the overall standing. A tyre’s puncture forced Luiz Razia to withdraw. The Brazilian driver started from the second row and set the second best chrono in the GTS class “It was an exciting week end. Our goal in Monza was to score as many points as possible to take the lead of the standing again and so it was. All guys were fabulous, both the drivers and the mechanics made perfect pit-stops. They scored the first win in the overall standing”, said the technical director Mr. Costa, “Unfortunately rain caused some problems for us. We’re working to improve our performances on wet soil. Our strategy was perfect and we developed our entire program. Unfortunately a tyre’s puncture caused by a collision, forced Razia to withdraw and stop the car on the Lesmo corner.  I’d like to compliment the Monza circuit’s commissioners as they proved to be the best once again, unlike it happened at Spa”, commented Roberto Costa, “the strategy chosen for Rafael and Giorgio was a good one and it allowed us to recover several positions even in race-2. Rafael was very good at avoiding problems caused by heavy rain and Giorgio, once tyres were brought to temperature, brought the recovery to completion by finishing seventh. We don’t have anything to complain about. We leave Monza as GTS standing’s leaders. We also took the first and seventh place in the drivers’ standing. We’ll play everything at Barcelona.”

Let’s listen to the four drivers’ statements: ““In Saturday race, we achieved the first goal of the week end, which was scoring as many points as possible. It was an important race for the championship, we had a very good pace and we were able to open a good gap. It was also a special victory because it is the home race for us”, said Rafael Suzuki, “It was a tough day because of the rain that started exactly at the time of the race. Our car doesn’t have the best performance in these conditions, and we had to pay an extra handicap of 15 seconds in the pit stop, it was harder to get in the points. But we go to the final round in Barcelona depending only of our efforts, and we will work hard to achieve our goal.” His teammate Giorgio Pantano has the same opinion: “It’s exciting to win at Monza, everything was perfect. We regained the standing’s top position which we share with Bontempelli, this was our main goal. Unfortunately we know our limits on wet soil, but we’re already focused on the Barcelona race for the final challenge. We’ll test the car’s last upgrades during the collective test session to take place before the racing week end”, ends Giorgio.

“In race – 1 Chris took a good start and the pit stop was also very important for this result. We count a bit on luck because others had problems, but it was good to complete a well done job and be on the podium at Monza is always special”, said Luiz Razia, “Unfortunately we had to abandon the race because of a flat tire. It was a shame, because I believe that even having to pay extra 10 seconds in the pits, we could have scored points, but let’s think forward, because we still have two races”, said Van Der Drift and Razia.

 

Bhai Tech Racing to Monza to take revenge

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The International GT Open Championship’s final stage is getting closer and closer. The Championship’s seventh and penultimate round will take place this week end on the long straights of the very fast and legendary Monza track.  Bhai Tech Racing’s mission at Monza will be to try to take revenge.

After the Spa-Francorchamps difficult racing week end, the Italian staff, directed by the engineer Roberto Costa, won the first challenge by completing the rebuild of the car which was damaged in Belgium and worked hard on the two McLaren MP4-12’s development. In preparation for the next round, the Veneto-based team moved to Adria and Monza with its driver Rafael Suzuki, for a two-day-shakedown-session on the car #66: “It was an intense and useful two-day-shakedown-session, as we carried out several checks on Van Der Drift and Razia’s car. Now we’re ready for the Monza week end”, says the technical director Costa.

Bhai Tech and his four drivers Giorgio Pantano, Rafael Suzuki, Van Der Drift and Luiz Razia are all ready to regain the ground they lost in Belgium. The Belgian race didn’t display the Italian team’s real merit, so the squad is now ready to fight to regain the standing’s peak in the GTS class “Because of some unlucky coincidences we didn’t manage to drive a successful race at Spa, but we want to be protagonists in the Championship again. We worked hard at the driving simulator in the past weeks. Weather will play a key role as rain is expected on Saturday, so it won’t be an ideal situation for us.”

The layout of the Lombardy-based track represents a further challenge for the Bhai Tech Advanced Vehicle Science Centre’s racing team “Unlike the naturally aspirated engine, the turbo engine usually has some troubles in the chicane, so we will probably have some problems after the first chicane and the Roggia, however I’m sure that our drivers will be able to overcome this problem. Next race will be hard-fought and we’ll try to do our best to get as many points as possible.”

It was on the Italian track that Bhai Tech’s driver Van Der Drift took his first pole in the Italian GT Championship “The two Championships are very different from each other, especially for what concerning tyres, but it will be a good starting point”, ends Roberto Costa.

The Monza week end will start on Friday with two 60’ free practice sessions in preparation for the two qualifying sessions to set the starting grid order of the two races. Race-1 will start on Saturday at 04.15 p.m. (70 min.) and the final race will take place on Sunday at 12.15 p.

Face to face with Davide Rigon: "At Monza to race in the GT Open Championship alongside the Villorba Corse Team"

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After the unlucky race at the Nurburgring, which was the Blancpain Endurance Series’ last event, Davide Rigon’s season is almost coming to an end. Together with his demanding work on the Ferrari Simulator and his engagement in the Endurance Championship at the wheel of the Kessel Team’s Ferrari 458 GT3, the Minardi Management’s driver made his debut in the WEC World Championship and in the international GT Open Championship at the wheel of the Ferrari 458 GT2. He finished second at Interlagos and scored a double win at Spa-Francorchamps. “It was an end to the Championship to be forgotten about. Because of some accidents, penalties and mistakes we didn’t manage to score a win which could have been within our reach. Once again our pace was good, but it was not enough unfortunately. I want to praise all the team on a job well done. All the guys did a great job on the car, they did miracles!”

After scoring a win in the Championship’s opening race at Monza and contesting the Championship’s final race as leaders, we all know how your season ended. What do you think about the racing season?

It was a positive season as we delivered good performances as drivers. Along with Daniel and Ramos, we were among the fastest on track, but luck was not at our side. At the 24H of Spa we had to withdraw just 1 hour before the end of the race. It was a crucial abandon.

An intense season is coming to an end. Besides your engagement with Ferrari as a test driver and your participation in the Blancpain Endurance Championship, you made also your debut in the WEC and in the GT Open.

It’s always exciting to put oneself to the test in different challenges and live new experiences. I made my debut in the WEC World Championship and in the GT Open and I got excellent results in both challenges. I hope to have further chances to draw attention on myself in similar challenges.

 

What are the differences between the Ferrari 458 GT3 and the Ferrari 458 GT2?

The Ferrari 458 GT3’s competition level is very high; the 458 GT2 is very close to a formula car. It’s a very reactive car, aerodynamics plays a very important role with regards to that and the car doesn’t have any ABS system. I like that car very much.

Will you get back on track before the season ends?

I’ll take part in the GT Open Championship’s last event at Monza behind the wheel of the Villorba Corse team’s Ferrari 458 GT3, along Montermini. It’s a pleasure for me to have the chance to continue to race alongside the Raimondo Amadio’s team and have Andrea as my teammate. We got excellent results at Spa-Francorchamps. Two Italian drivers will race at Monza behind the wheel of the Ferrari GT2. It’ll be fabulous. Both Andrea and the team are fighting for the title, so we have an important goal to reach. Let’s meet in Monza on October 5th.

 
 
 

Bhai Tech Driving Simulator Challenge: the Day

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Unforgettable day at the Bhai Tech Advanced Vehicle Science Centre. The Mestrino-based technological centre opened its doors to 12 guys on Saturday. The 12 guys, coming from all over Italy, had in common the passion for car racing and for competing on the quick and long straights of the Monza circuit. In fact, they were “racer for one day” and challenged each other on the track where Vettel sealed a win only one week ago.

The guys put themselves to the test by driving the cutting edge full-motion 6-DOF driving simulator, which is situated in the Bhai Tech suite. They had a chance to experience all the difficulties professional drives usually have to face during a race week end.

Under the watchful eye of Gian Carlo Minardi, the Imola circuit’s director Pietro Benvenuto, Giorgio Pantano and Rafael Suzuki (Bhai Tech Racing’s official drivers), the day began with a training session in the gym. The Forlì-based Driver Program Center’s founder Stefano Elia and the physiotherapist José H. Poletti explained the guys the importance of physical and mental training through some physical tests and the use of e-health, which avail itself of a portable physical performance dial which allows trainers to make a real-time detection of the main body activities such as heartbeats, sweating, breathing. The Driver Program Center is equipped with that dial.

After the physical training session, the 12 guys challenged each other at the wheel of the “Bhai Tech driving simulator”, following the engineer and technical director Roberto Costa’s meticulous technical instructions. The technical director taught each guy how to handle a driving simulator from a technical point of view, before and during the simulation session, “It was a very interesting day. It was very interesting to see people who are not used to doing this kind of activity and being under such a physical and mental stress, challenging each other. They had the opportunity to test a real simulator for the first time, a simulator which is conceived for professional drivers. William Zerbini really deserved to win, as he was fast, steadfast and confident. He made a very interesting progression for what concerning lap timing. He also confirmed his skills during the wonderful race on the Singapore’s demanding track. He drove a very fast race, without making any mistakes.” The Monza challenge’s winner put himself to the test also on the Singapore’s demanding track, where the F.1 World Championship’s 13th GP will take place on September 21-22. After the Bhai Tech Racing’s official driver Rafael Suzuki, who competes in the International GT Open Championship at the wheel of the McLaren MP12-4C along with his team mates Pantano, Van Der Drift and Razia, drove some laps, William Zerbini took over the race and delivered good performances in the Singaporean night “Second place for Zerbinati, who amazed us. He was very cautious at the beginning, but, after working on telemetry, he made the grade”, said Roberto Costa at the end of the simulation day, “Corrado Ciriello delivered very good performances and drove a very fast race. He was very aggressive at the beginning, and then he became confident. He could have further improved and he took an interesting path. He’s the typical virtual driver who has never driven a car”, ends the Brazilian engineer, “Besides the lap times set by them, I was also pleased to see their progression lap after lap, as they were at their first experience and they didn’t have so much time at their disposal.”

Gian Carlo Minardi was one of the special observers: “It was a very positive day, spent with car racing enthusiasts, who proved to be very skilled in living car racing competition through cutting edge simulation facilities such as the Bhai Tech’s driving simulator. Besides lap times, it was interesting to see the guys’ driving behavior after the engineer’s technical instructions and their progression lap after lap. I want to pay everyone my compliments on their driving performances. We don’t have to forget that they drove a professional simulator, which is usually driven by professional teams and drivers. It was a challenge, but also a funny day”, says the manager from Faenza “We’re working on the possibility to establish a Championship, as it would be great that young drivers would enter the world of motorsport through virtual simulation. F.1 uses driving simulation to decrease costs, so it is right that also young drivers would have given a chance to put themselves in the test through this kind of technology.” The Bhai Tech day’s emotions can be re-experienced on RaiSport2, inside the “Numero 1” sport program presented by the journalist Franco Bortuzzo.