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.

Davide Rigon stands out even in the GT Open

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From Interlagos to Spa, from the WEC to the GT Open. Championships and circuits change, but the result is always the same. After making a successful debut in the WEC Championship one week ago, Davide Rigon and his team mate Andrea Montermini sealed a win at Spa-Francorchamps, where the International GT Championship’s sixth round was run last week end.

Despite the talented driver from Thiene competed in the GT Open Championship for the first time, he immediately became familiar with the challenge and managed to lead the Villorba Corse’s Ferrari 458 GT2 to the highest step of the podium, along with the Championship’s leader Andrea Montermini.

In a week end full of pitfalls, where the weather played a key role as it usually happens in Belgium, Davide weighed up the situation during free practice, set the second best chrono in Q2 and scored a fabulous win in the official race on Sunday. “It was a glorious week end; I want to congratulate Andrea and the team on a successful race.  Spa is always an amazing circuit to race at. In race – 2 I took the option to start on slicks, even if the track was wet. I tried to be as cautious as possible in the first laps to avoid making mistakes”, said Rigon “then I began to push hard and I recovered a bit before passing the wheel to Andrea, who completed the masterpiece in the final stint by sealing a stunning win”, commented Davide “however, we regret for race -1 final result.”

In fact, a lively Saturday was ruined by a penalty imposed to the Villorba Corse pair for shifting driver while the safety car was still on track. After taking the pole in qualifying – 1, Montermini set the best chrono before passing the wheel to his team mate Rigon. The new-entry continued to drive a glorious race and, thanks to several amazing passes under the rain, he successfully managed to lead the car to the third position “Unfortunately the race was ruined by a one-lap-penalty which dropped us to the 14th place. Unfortunately, only few minutes before the window closed, the safety car got on track.”

After Spa, it’s time to focus on next event to be scheduled for September 21/22 at the Nurburgring, where the Blancpain Endurance Series’s final round will be raced. On that occasion Davide will be back at the wheel of the Kessel Racing team’s Ferrari 458 GT3.

A grim race at Spa-Francorchamps for Bhai Tech

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Unlucky return to competition for Bhai Tech Racing. The Italian team, who contested the International GT Open’s sixth round on the track of Spa-Francorchamps, experienced the season’s most difficult race week end, which ended with zero points scored after four consecutive good results and three successful races at Nurburgring, Jerez and Silverstone.

The Italian team’s race week end at the Ardennes-based legendary circuit began in a good way, with the team’s four drivers Gorgio Pantano, Rafael Suzuki, Chris Van Der Drift and Luiz Razia able to lead the two McLaren MP4 – 12C to the standing’s top positions. The two qualifying turns proved the team, directed by Mr. Roberto Costa the engineer, was in a very good shape and gave evidence of its technical skills. In fact the team scored the second and third place in the GTS class (fifth and seventh in the overall standing) in qualifying – 1 with Pantano and Razia and the pole (third place in the overall standing) with Van Der Drift in qualifying – 2. “We were so fast since free practice, which is a clear proof we did a great job over the past few months. Our potential was demonstrated by scoring the second and third place in the GTS class in Q1 and the pole in Q2”, says the technical director Mr. Costa.

The Spa-Francorchamps race event is a typical example of how the final standing doesn’t reflect a team’s real value. After getting the top positions, this time Bhai Tech had to make an empty-handed return to the Advanced Vehicle Science Centre. After leading the GTS class, the Italian-Brazilian pair was imposed an one-lap-penalty in race – 1 because of a driver shift when the safety car was still on track, while the #66 car’s race ended on the 16th lap, as Van Der Drift was a victim of a terrible accident occurred at the Raidillon (luckily the accident had no bad consequences for the driver). The car was damaged in an irreparable way “It was an awful week end. We regret we lost the chance to score two possible wins, although we demonstrated to have a good potential. In race – 1 Pantano took a very good start, setting good times and taking the lead before giving way to Rafael.”, continues Costa, “Unfortunately, in the race confusion, we called Giorgio to pit, while the safety car was still on track (that is forbidden according to law 42.5) and we were penalized. Van Der Drift went off track because of the failure of a steering wheel tie-rod’s support piece, which was damaged as a consequence of collisions. Luckily Chris was unharmed, but the car was seriously damaged, so we couldn’t get the most of the pole we scored in race-2.”

In the Sunday’s final race, a great Pantano was author of a great recovery, after taking control of the car, which was passed to him by his Brazilian team mate, who was competing on the Belgian track for the very first time. “We made Rafael run a lot during free practice, which was to give him the chance to become more familiar with the track. Spa is a very demanding and technical track, where every mistake is heavily paid. Giorgio was very good at recovering and managed to finish seventh in the GTS class.”

The Championship will move to Italy in one month, to the Monza’s “cathedral of speed”, where the seventh and second to last round will be raced. The Italian staff has to fix the car #66 “We’ve already got in touch with McLaren to order the parts we need to rebuild the car. Once we’ll be at the headquarter, we’ll immediately get to work to rebuild the car. We’ll plan to shake-down the car before the Monza race. The Championship is still open and the final part to the season will be so challenging”, ends the Brazilian engineer. The best reward after a difficult week end is to chase for release.

  

Bhai Tech at Spa-Francorchamps to keep the leadership

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At the end of summer holidays and almost two months after the Silverstone successful race, Bhai Tech Racing’s four drivers Pantano/Suzuki and Van Der Drift/Razia are ready to get back to race behind the wheel of the two McLaren MP4-12C, to contest one of the most awaited race events of the year to take place at Spa-Francorchamps circuit.

On the 7004 m long legendary Belgian track to host the International GT Open Championship’s sixth round, the Advanced Vehicle Science Centre’s team directed by Mr. Roberto Costa the Engineer, gets ready to keep the leadership in the teams’ GTS class, throwing down a top challenge among constructors. For what concerning drivers, the Italo-Brazilian pair Giorgio Pantano/Rafael Suzuki will be on the lookout for the first place, which is only one point ahead of them, as a consequence of the success achieved at Silverstone, while their team mates Luiz Razia and Chris Van Der Drift will try to revenge the injustice they suffered in England.

The Eau Rouge-Raidillon, to be taken at full speed, is Spa circuit’s landmark. Racing at Spa it’s like graduating at the “Motosport University” “It’s a very technical track, where a driver can really make a difference”, says the technical director Costa “It’s a very long track, where the weather has a great influence, historically speaking. So, due to its characteristics, it can happen that some parts of the track are dry and some are wet at the same time.”

The team worked hard in the factory and at the advanced simulator located inside the centre’s simulation suite “We made several simulation sessions to train our drivers. We tried to simulate different situations. We especially focused on Suzuki to make his debut on the Belgian track. We made several race simulation sessions” continues Costa “We also carried on with the two cars’ development and overhaul work. The summer break has also been an occasion to take stock of the Championship, where we are the class’ leaders.”

Bhai Tech is not only ready to contest the Belgian race , the team is also ready to compete in the 2013 season’s last three race events, which are supposed to be red-hot. After Spa, the circus will move to the Monza’s “Speed Temple”, before contesting the final event at Barcelona’s circuit “At this point of the season, we have to put together all the experience we’ve gained until now to consolidate our position and score points in view of the final part of the Championship. At Spa it will be so important not to make mistakes and take the most of our potential”, ends the Brazilian engineer.

The green lights will switch on on Friday with two 60’ free practice sessions. The two qualifying sessions to assign the starting grid’s order of the two races, will take place on Saturday (at 9 am and 11.05 am). The 70’-first- race of the week end will start on Saturday at 4 pm. The 50’-final-challenge is scheduled for Sunday at 12.10 pm.

Davide Rigon on the podium in the WEC World Championship

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At his debut in the FIA WEC Championship (World Endurance Championship), Davide Rigon scored an exciting second place in his class’ standing. The racing week end couldn’t finish in a better way for the talented Italian driver, who contested the 6 hours of Sao Paulo alongside the 8Star Motorsport Team, at the wheel of the Ferrari 458 GT2 #81. It was an all-round debut for Davide (track-Championship-car), so that makes the final result even more amazing.

Davide has become familiar with the Brazilian track and the Ferrari racecar since free practice. The Italian driver, teamed up with Potolicchio-Aguas, gave evidence of all his talent, leading the orange-colored racecar to the top positions and qualified 3rd in the class’ standing. As a consequence of the GTE Am’s poleman disqualification (underweighted car), the 8Star team’s three drivers were leveled up to the second position.

The Italian driver ran a precise race, taking control of the 458 GT2 racecar in the race’s first two hours and got back behind the wheel of the car for the final run, mounting on the second step of the GTE Am’s podium “It was an amazing week end not only for the final result, but also for me. It was very important to prove that I can be a competitive driver even in a World Championship’s event”, says Davide Rigon “Racing at an unknown track, driving a car I had never driven before on the occasion of a World Championship’s event and finishing on the podium, it’s an amazing result. We kept a good pace since free practice. Unfortunately we missed the pole by a nose. Our car didn’t have any issues throughout the 6 hours; I pushed hard during the race’s last hour. Congrats to the 8Star team’s staff”, ends the driver from Vicenza.

Thanks to this important result, the 8Star Motorsport Team keeps the second position, reducing its disadvantage with the first position.

Brought the curtain down over the 6 hours of Sao Paulo, it’s now time for Davide Rigon to think about next event to take place this week end at Spa-Francorchamps circuit, the International GT Open’s sixth round. Davide will be back behind the wheel of the Villorba Corse team’s Ferrari 458 GT2.