Bhai Tech flies to Jerez to take part in GT Open mid-season race

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After dominating in GTS at the Nurburgring, where the team scored a double win, Bhai Tech Racing is ready to race again next weekend at the Spanish circuit of Jerez de la Frontera.

The Spanish track will host the fourth round (out of eight events) of International GT Open and the four drivers of the Advanced Vehicle Science Centre Giorgio Pantano, Rafael Suzuki, Chris Van Der Drift and Luiz Razia are all ready to get into their McLaren MP4 12C to defend the GTS class leadership which was achieved in Germany and continue to get good results.

Last Saturday the team’s staff, directed by the engineer Mr. Costa, tested the Andalusian track by taking part in a three-hour-test session “We’ve carried out a complete car development work, trying to get the most of the engine power. Unfortunately track temperatures weren’t as high as they are expected to be in the upcoming weekend.” Very high temperatures are expected for the racing weekend, which will mark the end of the first half of the season “The track of Jerez is very demanding both for drivers and tyres”, says the technical director Mr. Costa “Track temperature will rise to 50°C and this will contribute to increase tyre degradation. Drivers will have to maintain an even pace throughout the race and make a good use of tyres”, ends Costa.

The racing weekend will start on Friday with a one-hour-private test session which will be followed by two 60-min. free practice sessions. The two 15-min. qualifying sessions are scheduled for Saturday and will take place from 9 am to 11.50am. The two qualifying sessions will determine the starting grid of race 1 and 2. The 70-min. first race will start on Saturday afternoon at 4pm and the 50-min. second race will start on Sunday at noon.

Canadian GP – Up & Down

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After the Canadian GP has taken place at Montreal. Gian Carlo Minardi takes some votes on the drivers

Sebastian Vettel 9 – There is nothing more to say. If he hadn’t made those two little mistakes he would have deserved a 10.

Fernando Alonso 8.5 – He didn’t dishearten after driving a disappointing qualifying race. He drove an aggressive race, setting good lap times.

Lewis Hamilton 8 – He was very performing in qualifying and during the race. Despite he had some tyre issues; he was able to give Fernando a hard time before and after being overtaken by the Spaniard. Three world Champions got a podium finish. They fought against each other to entertain us.

Jean – Eric Vergne 8 – He was so good at leading his Toro Rosso to the Top 6, which I consider a very good position, since in the past it marked the zone points limit. He was very competitive both in qualifying and during the race on every kind of tyre.  He didn’t make any errors.

Paul Di Resta 7 – He deserves a good vote because he was determined. He has to share his success with his team which is 7th, ahead of McLaren.

Felipe Massa 7 – Despite he made a serious fail to be such an experienced driver, he drove an aggressive race, recovering several positions. After the terrible accidents occurred in Monte Carlo, we have to understand him. He scored important points.

Valtteri Bottas 7 – He drove an excellent qualifying race. He’s giving a non-performing Maldonado a hard time.

Nico Rosberg 6.5 – After a fabulous win in Monte Carlo, we were expected him to be more performing. He suffered Pirelli tyre degradation more than his team mate.

Webber, Maldonado and Raikkonen are unsatisfactory. The Finn gets excited when he drives a performing car but he’s non-performing when he has to face hard times.

Giovanni Minardi “Rigon? He’s a sheer talent”

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After the Blancpain Endurance Series’ second racing weekend at Silverstone, the manager from Faenza Giovanni Minardi has talked about Davide Rigon, focusing on the driver’s technical skills, thanks to that he has always driven successful Championships “Davide is a very talented driver, but he’s misunderstood by racing specialists. He’s a very good person and a very skilled driver. Drivers like Alonso, Vettel, Rosberg or Hamilton aren’t any better than him”, says Minardi who celebrates his motorsports management society’s 10th anniversary this year, “ Despite he’s one of those non-paying drivers , he has always won all the Championships he has taken part in, only relying on his skills.”

The 26-year-old guy from Vicenza started his career by winning the F.Azzurra open-wheel Championship in 2005. The following year he became F.3 Italia’ s deputy-champion and scored a double win in the Italian and European F.3000 Championship in 2007. In 2008 he also took part in the Spa 24 H race for the first time, as a FIA GT World Cahmpionship’s driver, driving a Ferrari. He won the Belgian famous competition before winning the Superleague Formula in 2010 “The only Championship he has never raced in is the GP2, because of misfortune. In 2009, it was a turn of events that didn’t allow him to hit the big time. In Montecarlo, for example, he finished 9th in race-1, almost getting the pole which was assigned to the driver who finished 8th”, remembers the manager from Faenza  “If he had started from the pole in race – 2, he would have almost certainly won the race. We know that Montecarlo gives you different opportunities. In 2011 he was in a very good shape, as he demonstrated during winter testing. Unfortunately he drove a very unlucky first race, as he broke his fibula and shinbone as a consequence of a terrible accident. Due to that, his racing season was over. Filippi, who is a fast driver, just like Davide, replaced him. The driver from Savigliano dominated the Championship. If the driver from Lugo di Vicenza had raced the whole season, he would have won even this Championship to Grosjean’s detriment. The Frenchman entered F.1 that year and he’s still a top category’s driver. “

Giovanni also focuses on another important issue “Davide’s greatest misfortune is that he’s Italian. If he weren’t Italian, he would have been a F.1 driver for a few seasons. In Italy nobody invests on young drivers and sport in general. Only the Minardi Team did that. Luckily today there is the FDA program that is dedicated to young drivers.  The FDA has two good drivers who are achieving good results. Unfortunately the program started a little bit late, but I think it will soon begin to bear fruit.”

In the Blancpain Endurance Series’ first racing weekend Rigon, alongside his teammates Cesar and Daniel, led the Ferrari 458 to success “It was a great victory and he drove an almost flawless weekend. He was consistently the fastest driver on track and kept an unbeatable pace throughout the race, without making any mistakes. He’s in a very good shape. He fully recovered from that terrible accident. It will be hard for any other driver to get a leg up on him. He really deserves to get the brilliant results he used to get and demonstrate that nobody’s better than him in every Championship”, ends Giovanni Minardi.

 

Minardi “Yes to F.1 tests but with a rookie driver alongside the regular one”

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Finally. It took a scandal like the one involving Pirelli-Mercedes-FIA, to talk about test introduction during F.1 racing season, again. According to rumours, in 2014 4 test sessions to last 2 days each will be conducted on European tracks.

“I am very satisfied with this choice. As I’ve been saying for a long time it would be very important, for every team to deploy a rookie driver, alongside the regular one”, says Gian Carlo Minardi who, after launching several young champions into F.1, continues to focus on the drivers of tomorrow, who represent motorsport’s lifeblood.

“After a fuss has been made, it was inevitable, but paradoxical at the same time, thinking about cutting down costs by eliminating tests and replace them with simulator sessions, indoor practices and wind tunnel tests. I’ve been saying that for many years, now, finally, the matter has been raised again. Certainly F.1 has to try to limit costs instead of forbidding” ends the manager and current supervisor for Ferrari Driver Academy, “let’s see what is going to happen next weeks”.

Rigon keeps the leadership at Silverstone

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After winning the Blancpain Endurance Series’ opening race on the track of Monza, Davide Rigon, along with his teammates Cesar Ramos and Daniel Zampieri, finished in the points again, on a demanding and technical track like the Silverstone circuit.

The talented driver still leads the Championship, even if at Silverstone he didn’t manage to get a podium finish. At the wheel of the Ferrari 458 GT3, the Italian and Brazilian trio almost qualified in the top five, finishing only 4 tenths away form the pole position, after working hard during the two qualifying sessions, in order to get the best set-up.

The English track displayed the 26-year-old driver’s technical skills; in the first stint the young driver managed to recover very quickly, leading the Ferrari #44 to the third place, before giving way to his teammates for the conclusive rush “It was an intense week end, we knew since the beginning it would not have been so easy to emulate Monza’s successful race”, says Rigon “Me, Cesar and Daniel, have done a good team job in free practice and pre-qualifying sessions, in order to find the best set-up for the car. The top five was within our reach, but unfortunately we missed it for a little while.”

At the beginning of the three-hour-race Davide was the first to take control of the Ferrari, finishing third “The race was good, despite heavy traffic and the presence of numerous lapped drivers who didn’t make the race easier, as we had to risk more than ever in order to be in the lead of the race. To be honest, some drivers should be more cautious, especially when they see faster cars coming”, tells Rigon.

“In the first stints our pace was really good and we demonstrated to be able to compete with our main rivals. Before racing at the Paul Ricard we have to analyze what didn’t work in the final part of the race, where our pace was not so good any more.”

“The Aston Martins were on another planet, even if they seemed to have no balance….”, ends Davide “We want to get a podium finish again at the Paul Ricard. We don’t have to be afraid of anyone, because we have only one goal”. Next racing weekend will take place at Le Castellet on June 29th – 30th . 

GTS win for Bhai Tech Racing at the Nürburgring

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Perfect racing weekend for Bhai Tech Racing. The team scored an amazing double win in GTS at Nürburgring. The Italian team based in the advanced factory of Mestrino (Padua) and directed by the engineer Mr. Roberto Costa, drove an almost perfect racing weekend, leading both McLarens MP4 12C driven by Pantano/Suzuki and Van Der Drift/Razia to the first and second place of GTS, in the two races which made up the third event of International GT Open Championship.

Low temperatures and a thick fog welcomed teams and drivers, forcing Championship planners to change the weekend schedule, getting drivers to perform the two 15 minutes qualifying sessions consecutively. Despite difficult weather conditions, Advanced Vehicle Centre McLarens got the GTS first pole of the season with Van Der Drift’s 1’59’’436 (3rd position overall) and Suzuki’s 10th place. In the second session it was the Padua- born ex F.1 driver Giorgio Pantano who set the best chrono (5th overall) ahead of his Brazilian teammate Razia (GTS’ 5th place and 8th overall).

In the two races, which were both run in the dry, the four drivers equally shared out the first and second position, which is the 4th place overall. At the end of the 70’ race on Saturday afternoon, the #66 Brazilian and New Zealander racing crew almost got the podium, finishing 4th overall ahead of the Italian and Brazilian duo, scoring the GTS class double win.

In the Sunday’s event it was the duo Pantano /Suzuki who won the race, followed by teammates who respectively finished 4th and 6th overall.

“It was a fantastic weekend as we achieved good results, but it was also very intense, as we were very tight on time. There was only 1 hour break between the two qualifying sessions and race-1. So I want to pay our staff and drivers many compliments on their performances as they all were fantastic”, says the technical director Mr. Roberto Costa “We had a good race pace in the first two races, even if the track’s low temperature condition didn’t help us. We had to deal with a completely new situation as we got a handicap in race-2. We managed to handle the handicap very well as we know our race pace.”

The development work at the factory is bearing fruits and the team is going to the right direction “The work done at the factory between the Portimao racing weekend and this one was really important. Anyway, we will continue to develop the car as we have to improve in every sector. This is the reason why we’ll go to Jerez on Saturday 8th to drive a 3-hour- testing session, to get ready not only for the next racing event (to be held on the Spanish track) but also for the following racing weekends”, comments the Brazilian engineer “Success like the one achieved in Germany is an incentive to continue to work and progress”, ends Mr. Costa.

Much work on the simulator to Rigon

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Preparations are in full swing for the Canadian Grand Prix, taking place on Montreal’s Ile Notre Dame, at the track named after Gilles Villeneuve. Parallel to the usual and unusual work required on the cars that Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa will use, there is also the activity at the simulator, which over the past few days has involved Andrea Bertolini, Davide Rigon and today, Pedro de la Rosa.

It’s an obscure task that takes place in the simulator building, but a very important one in terms of the development of the car, both in the short and medium term, which mainly involves the official test drivers and others who are available to the Scuderia for this type of work.

Bhai Tech Racing heads to Nurburgring

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Three weeks after the Portuguese racing weekend in Algarve, Bhai Tech Racing team is getting ready to get back on track for the third International GT Open racing weekend to be competed on the mind-blowing track of Nürburgring next weekend.

On the strength of the first points scored in the first Portuguese round, thanks to the team’s four drivers Pantano/Suzuki and Van Der Drift/Razia, the Mestrino-based team which is directed by the engineer Mr. Roberto Costa, has painstakingly worked at the Advanced Vehicle Science Centre, the team’s cutting-edge headquarter (2.800 square metres over three floors), to develop the two McLaren MP4-12C racing cars. The staff has carried out the car development work, analyzing data coming from the first two racing events, which were both run in different weather conditions “We’re carrying out a complete development; we haven’t focused only on next race. We’ve planned a long term programme, to be extended to following races”, says the Brazilian engineer.

Low temperatures and rain are once again forecasted for the next racing weekend; such weather conditions are far from being ideal for car-tyres duo “Unfortunately weather conditions won’t be on our side again, as rain tyres don’t interact with our car in a correct way. At Paul Ricard we demonstrated to be able to keep a good race pace in the dry, but we had hard times in the wet. So, we’ll have to try to find the best set-up for the race. With the support of our drivers, we’ll continue to carry out our development programme.”

Drivers have taken several driving sessions at the advanced 6-DOF full- motion driving simulator, which is the technological centre’s flagship. It is fully immersive with five off-board projectors and a 210 ° 8 m diameter curved screen and rear view visuals “ Drivers have continued to work at the simulator to study and analyze the German track, running about 850 laps. We’re also developing a GT car configuration platform to join the already existing Formula car configuration platform”, ends Mr. Costa.

The racing weekend will start on Friday with two sessions of free practice lasting 60 minutes each, to go on with the two qualifying sessions and race-1 scheduled for Saturday morning. Race-1 will start at 4pm and last 70 minutes. Race-2 will take place on Sunday, starting at 12pm and finishing at 12.50pm.

Monaco GP – Up & Down

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Nico Rosberg – 10. He never put a wheel wrong. His race pace was unbeatable; he set a stunning qualifying time. He’s standing comparison with his teammate who is considered as the Championship’s best driver. He deserved victory.

Lewis Hamilton – 8. He drove an excellent race, but he took an imperfect start.

Mercedes – 10.  Besides tyres testing, the German team demonstrated to be capable to strive for the win. The team has the best driving duo in terms of performance, race speed and points.

Vettel –Webber – Red Bull – 8. They accomplished their job; they handled Friday issues at best. If they manage to finish 2nd and third even when they’re not at the top of their potential, rivals have something to be worried about.

Adrian Sutil – Paul Di Resta – Force India -8. The Indian team is one of the most dangerous outsiders; once again both drivers finished in the top 10, nibbling away important points to Alonso. They do a very good job and deserve the position they hold now.

Jenson Button – 7. The Englishman is fighting tooth and nail; he’s experiencing a difficult moment. He got an unexpected position at the beginning of the weekend.

Sergio Perez – 6. If, on the one hand, he deserves some penalties because of his impetuousness, on the other hand he made good passes and shoot-outs. He doesn’t want to be a second class driver, but he still has to gain so much experience.

McLaren – 7. Despite the English team is facing a difficult moment, they managed to take home important points. If Perez hadn’t been so impetuous, both drivers would have finished in the top 10.

Fernando Alonso – 5. When Button, Sutil and Perez overtook him, he was too compliant. After driving many brilliant races, it happens to drive a less good race; the Monaco weekend was not so exciting for the whole team. Anyway the team scored 6 points which are so important with regards to the standing.

Ferrari – 5. The team is regretfully because it didn’t manage to get some extra points. It happens to have a difficult weekend, but it will be so important to analyse the whole weekend.

Jean – Eric Vergne – Toro Rosso – 8. Vergne qualified in the top 10; during the race he kept a top 10 position. The Italian team handled a good strategy. Their car has been finishing in the top 10 since a few races; the team still keeps the seventh position to the standing.

Lotus – Kimi Raikkonen – 7. Thanks to a very performing car, the team continues to drive good races. The Finnish drove a too defensive race, obstructing Perez too much.

Romain Grosjean – 4. The team cannot make so many mistakes in a single racing week end. The team has to think over it. I hope Valsecchi will have the chance to draw attention on himself.

Minardi “Monte Carlo should set a trend”

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With the free practice sessions, the racing weekend in Monte Carlo has officially started. This GP is rich in history and well known all over the world, as it offer a stunning scenario due to its breathtaking geographical location. You can love or hate Monte Carlo’s street circuit, in any case it is not an ordinary track and qualifying is so important, since overtaking is almost impossible despite KERS, DRS and Pirelli tyres.

Monte Carlo has one more feature that makes its circuit even more unique: racing enthusiasts have the chance to get close to their racing idols and see cars running among buildings and almost touching side walls “It’s not an ordinary track. We race here to entertain the audience who has the chance to see racing cars zipping through the narrow streets of the circuit at 250 km per hour” says Fernando Alonso “The track is a very particular one, as much as the race. We drive a lonely race, since it’s very difficult to overtake. The real battle is the one against time on Saturday and against on-track mistakes on Sunday. During the race drivers have to take car’s mechanical parts under control and avoid crashing against guard rail”. Alonso’s thoughts are echoed by Gian Carlo Minardi, the man who helped the Spaniard to enter F.1 “The atmosphere you have the chance to experience in Monte Carlo is never experienced in any other circuit all around the world. Despite all the barriers which make you feel like being inside a cage, you feel you can touch cars with your own hands. You just tremble to the rhythm of engines. People have the chance to pass by Motorhomes and be so close to their idols. It’s really incredible!!”

The GP in Monaco should be taken as an example to try to bring racing enthusiasts and sponsors closer to F.1. A great amount of money is involved in the world of F.1, but despite that, even F.1 has been affected by the crisis. Many teams won’t be able to stand comparison with top teams to bring the development process of the cars to the end and develop the 2014 racing season’s plan. At the same time, they’ll have to “sell” their seats to the best offerer who is preferably supported by nations. “From this point of view F.1 has to rejuvenate. Between ‘90s and 2000 it was almost impossible to get a pass paddock. It was an honour for sponsor companies to attend F.1 racing events and they were very interested in the world of Circus. Now everything is changed and I think F.1 has to open itself outwards. A race enthusiast wants to have the chance to get close to his idols and cars. Monte Carlo should set a trend”, says Minardi “In Spain on Thursday afternoon, you had the chance to visit paddocks by adding an extra pay. Paddocks were so crowded. TVs have always been privileged from this point of view, as they pay rights. I think that it would be interesting if enthusiasts could have the chance to experience a F.1 day, as far as possible, without disturbing teams’ work. This would facilitate the entry of new sponsors into F.1. Today you see always the same people inside paddocks, along with professionals. F.1 should have been taken to a more human level”, ends the manager from Faenza.

Monaco GP – Preview

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I’ve experienced so many races in Monaco in my whole life, but unfortunately I’ve never experienced Montecarlo’s night life. I spent my days and nights at the box, as we used to have dinner with friends and sponsors in our Motorhome on the harbour.

The F1 GP in Monaco has always been an exciting racing week end both for specialists and for enthusiasts, who have the chance to be so close to cars. The atmosphere you have the chance to experience in Monaco is never experienced anywhere else. Despite the crush barriers that make you feel like being inside a cage, you feel you can touch cars with your own hands. You just tremble with the engines. People have the chance to get so close to teams’ Motorhomes and see their idles. It’s really incredible.

This racing weekend has many unknown matters, which are mostly linked to soft and super soft tyres and to the absence of a leader. Many drivers will make us live an interesting racing weekend. Ferrari showed to keep a faster pace during the race, but the team will have hard times if it doesn’t have a good qualifying race, where it’s so easy to make some mistakes. On the other side we have a Mercedes which is so good in qualifying on soft tyres. If they manage to get the pole, they’ll drive a good race at least until the first pit-stop. I’ve heard they almost solved long run issues. Then we have a very competitive Lotus and a Raikkonen who could be a dangerous threaten for rivals. We don’t have to forget Red Bull even if it complained about Pirelli tyres so much. I don’t agree with Pirelli’s decision to change rubber just in the middle of the racing season. I do agree with Lotus and Ferrari. Common consent would be needed to change technical regulations.

Among outsiders, the most dangerous is Force India. The Indian team could score some important points. McLaren hasn’t displayed its maximum potential, yet. Due to its features, the Montecarlo street circuit requires a high downforce level, while a car’s total weight is less important since the most important thing is to finish the race. Cars will be modified to prevent clashes.

Let’s hope weather won’t affect on track performances. At this point of the season teams are working hard to get ready for the second half. 2-3 pit-stops are expected. It’s a short track and the asphalt is non-abrasive and neat. Pirelli tyres performance has always been so good in these circumstances, even if one of the most important things will be to choose the right moment to pit.

Minardi raises an alarm: “Without a solution, the existence of lower formulas doesn’t make sense”

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Private testing: YES or NOT? This is the great dilemma Formula 1 is focusing on. To cut off costs the Circus decided to ban private testing. Private testing is still a controversial subject for the Circus who has different opinions about it. On the one side some teams like Ferrari want to reintroduce them into F.1, on the other side teams like McLaren don’t stand up for them.

Gian Carlo Minardi is one of the strong supporters of private testing. The former Minardi Team owner competed in the top series for more than 20 years, running 340 GP; he has always dealt with young drivers, helping them to hone their talent and enter the world of F.1 “I’ve always supported private testing, because I think this is the right way to hone drivers’ racing skills. If costs have to be cut off, private testing shouldn’t be involved. The more a young driver has the chance to practice, the more he knows a F.1 car and has the opportunity to draw attention on himself.”

Minardi focuses his attention on another important subject: preparatory formulas. “If we don’t give fast drivers the chance to enter the world of the top series, it won’t make sense for lower formulas to exist. It won’t make sense to compete in an expensive championship such as GP2 if the series’ winner isn’t awarded a prize. This is what happens now in all other racing categories. Serious solutions should be found.”

“The project Ferrari Driver Academy is carrying on is the result of a cooperation work between ACI CSAI and FDA itself. Antonio Fuoco has made his debut into Formula Renault 2.0 and he’s drawing attention on himself and Prema Powerteam’s driver Raffaele Marciello is leading the F.3 Euroseries Championship. All these results are a good omen for the future. This means that all the efforts made over the last few years are bearing fruits. It is important to teach young drivers a working method, but if they don’t have the opportunity to enter the top series, all the work done will turn to be useless!” 

Minardi “Young drivers have to run at least 3-5000 km before they know their car”

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At the Spanish GP, people talked about F.1 testing again and the Ferrari’s chairman Mr. Luca Cordero di Montezemolo said that the Maranello- based team strongly supports the return of testing in F.1. On the opposite, McLaren is contrary to the reintegration of testing into F.1.

Gian Carlo Minardi talked about this subject, expressing his opinion in his website www.minardi.it. He supports Ferrari’s point of view, saying that he has always been interested in testing and young drivers, with whom he’s always worked and shared his long experience in the world of motorsport.

“I’ve always supported the importance of cutting down costs in other fields, without penalizing private testing which play an important role: satisfying young drivers. A driver has to run at least 3-5000 km before knowing his car. According to present regulations, that is almost impossible to do. Moreover, at the beginning of the racing season, most of the circuits young drivers have to race at are almost unknown to the majority of them.” says the manager from Faenza “If we want to ensure a generation change, we’ll have to give these young guys the opportunity to practice. I hope that what Mr. Montezemolo said will be soon supported by facts. That would mean that more and more attention will be focused on young drivers, who will have the chance to express themselves and display their potential through on-track practice. I’ve been supporting the idea of reintroducing Friday free practices for rookie racers, for a long time. We don’t have to forget that racers such as Vettel and Kubica (only to mention a few) caught the attention of racing experts just thanks to free practices.”

In this start to the season, the Sauber Mexican driver Esteban Gutierrez has been criticized and called into question. Just in Spain he set the fastest lap, finishing ahead of his team mate “Before blaming Gutierrez, more time should have been given to him to express himself. Now the team has to make him work quietly. It would be extremely unfair to pan him now, only after 5 GP, he mostly run on unknown tracks. Unfortunately he didn’t have the opportunity to prepare for racing at best”, says Gian Carlo Minardi.