[F1] Lotus F1 Racing

MALAYSIA GRAND Prix FRIDAY PRACTICE
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 2nd April 2010

Friday began with Mike Gascoyne's birthday being celebrated in the garage bfore the action on track began in what is fast becoming Lotus Racing’s signature style, with Fairuz Fauzy in chassis T127-01 first out on track trying out a shark fin engine cover in the morning session.

Whilst replacing Heikki Kovalainen for the session he completed 19 laps with a best time of 1.40.721 in a good run in the morning heat. Jarno Trulli completed 21 laps and finished ahead of the other new teams on 1.39.460.

Before Fairuz saw the green light Tony lent into the cockpit to tell Fairuz how proud both he and the whole country was of this landmark moment. After the session was completed Tony said “It’s just unbelievable! I woke up at 6am today as I couldn’t sleep I was so excited. I’m just really pleased to see Fairuz out there with Jarno and the rest of the household names that make up the grid.

“It’s great that F1 gives the chance for developing teams and developing countries to come to the fore and grab this sort of opportunity. It shows that the combination of British and Malaysian skills can dare to dream of competing on a global level, and can do so in an innovative, fresh way. Fairuz is a lad who has climbed the motorsport ladder - from his local roots at the kart circuit his Father built in Kuala Lumpur, to being on track in F1 in a car built in the UK and competing all around the world. For me that’s a very clear sign of how well our Anglo-Malaysian collaboration is working, and long may that continue.”

Fairuz himself said “I feel very good, very motivated and this is really a special day for me as it’s our home run. It’s great to be back again. The last time I was in Barcelona, which is a long time ago! I’ve always said that I’ll be ready and fit, but it’s still great that I was on the pace immediately. I’m happy and I hope we can do well this weekend – the car feels great, and I think it’s faster than it was in Melbourne. It’s going to be an exciting weekend – in Malaysia, anything can happen! If it rains and we can get an advantage out of it, then that’s good.

Jarno Trulli: “It started off as a difficult day but I managed to do some good setup work and it was a positive two sessions. It seems we are competitive when compared to the other new teams but as we are ultimately aiming to fight with the top teams we are looking to get ourselves into a position where we can work on detailed setups, and that will start from Barcelona. I am pleased that today’s sessions, when compared to the previous two races, both went faultlessly and I’m very glad about that. I like the heat – I like racing in the heat as it tests fitness and I’ve always performed well here, so I’m looking forward to tomorrow and the race on Sunday.”

Heikki Kovalainen: “I’m really pleased with the car – obviously I didn’t get much time to practice today, but it felt good and I’m feeling very confident with it. I’m looking forward to the race ahead – I think we’re in really good shape. We tried a different set up with my car, and it took a few laps to get into it, but really I was very pleased and happy and looking forward to getting in the car again tomorrow. Weather wise, it is very hot and humid, and it’s difficult conditions here, but I’m feeling good and am very fit for the race.”

Mike Gascoyne: “All round a very successful day. It was good to have Fairuz in the car this morning and he was able to complete his entire program. Heikki took over the car in the afternoon and was also able to finish his planned program - evaluating the tyres and the race pace of the car. We had no mechanical issues on either car and in general I’m very pleased with the progress we’re making, so well done to the whole team.”

Rounding off the day in Malaysia was Tony Fernandes who said “Great day – we did everything we wanted to do and I’m extremely pleased. We’re getting better and better so let’s hope we continue this tomorrow in qualifying. We are being realistic though – points aren’t in my mind. I just want to finish the race, get both cars home and keep our feet on the ground. Of course I’m still dreaming – I put Colin Chapman’s cap on the pit wall to remind everyone of what we’re aspiring to, but we’ll get there in the right way, and the dream continues.”

Ends

vino_93 a écrit:1ère Q2 pour Lotus

Lotus va de l’avant
“Nous ne regardons pas en arrière”

L’équipe Lotus n’a pas obtenu tout à fait le résultat escompté, ce week-end, en Malaisie, mais refuse de se laisser abattre par ce contretemps.

« Nous sommes toujours dixièmes du championnat constructeurs et à l’arrivée des courses, mais c’est décevant parce que nous pensons avoir fait un pas en avant, ici, mais nous ne l’avons pas montré en course », commentait Mike Gascoyne à l’arrivée de la course.

Le rendez-vous de Sepang était particulièrement important pour le team, mais disputer cette course seulement une semaine après le GP d’Australie, à ce stade de la saison, s’annonçait comme un sacré défi pour une équipe aussi jeune.

Bien commencé, le week-end de Lotus s’est terminé sur une note moins positive.

« Jarno a eu le même problème qu’à Melbourne, avec l’hydraulique, et, pour être honnête, nous avons testé deux solutions vendredi et décidé de conserver celle qui avait le kilométrage le plus important. Ce fut probablement une erreur, avec le recul ! Ce n’est pas comme si nous n’avions pas trouvé la solution », poursuivait Gascoyne.

« Heikki a porté une attaque mais a échoué, il voulait passer rapidement parce qu’il se sentait beaucoup plus rapide. Nous avons ensuite eu ce que nous avons pris pour un problème hydraulique mais qui s’est avéré être une panne de capteur », continuait-il. « Nous l’avons arrêté alors que ce n’était peut-être pas utile. Quand nous l’avons renvoyé en piste, son rythme était très bon. Ce fut un peu décevant parce qu’il aurait pu faire une bonne course. »

Le regard fermement braqué vers l’avant, l’équipe est prête à poursuivre sa progression lors des prochains Grand Prix.

« Nous ne regardons pas en arrière, nous allons de l’avant », indiquait Gascoyne. « Nous aurons quelques petites évolutions en Chine – l’équivalent d’un un ou deux dixièmes. Le plus gros est prévu pour Barcelone – et ce n’est pas simple de tout recevoir à temps. Nous pensons gagner une à deux secondes en Espagne. »

La petite amie de Rosberg, designer chez Lotus

La petite amie de Nico Rosberg (en photo), Vivan Sibold, a été choisie pour dessiner l’intérieur du nouveau motor home de l’équipe Lotus, qui fera sa première apparition au Grand Prix de F1 d’Espagne à Barcelone. "J’ai vu les plans et ils sont vraiment très cool. Ce sera un nouvel endroit pour faire la fête en F1" explique Nico Rosberg. Red Bull va donc avoir de la concurrence !

Vivian Sibold a étudié le design intérieur à New York et à Milan, avant de créer récemment sa propre société. Le couple vit ensemble à Monaco depuis de longues années et Vivian, qui va rarement sur les Grands Prix, était présente en Malaisie puisqu’elle s’occupe d’un projet d’aménagement sur un chantier à Kuala Lumpur.

Chief Technical Officer Mike Gascoyne’s thoughts turned to the challenges Shanghai will present, saying; “It’s just a couple of weeks since Malaysia and the last of the early season fly-away races so we’re focusing on getting both cars across the finish line here before we turn our attention to the upgrade package we have planned for Barcelona. The guys back at the factory have worked very hard on the parts we sent back, and have done a great job to turn around everything in time and get it sent back out here. Our car’s race pace has been good so far, and I think we’ll see that again in Shanghai – it’s a technical circuit that will bring out the best in both our drivers, and I think their experience will see us build on the solid start we’ve had so far.”

CHINESE GRAND PRIX FRIDAY PRACTICE

Shanghai, China 16th April 2010

Bright sunshine greeted Lotus Racing in Shanghai as Friday’s practice sessions went according to plan for the team, enjoying its debut in China. The track was very dirty and grip levels were low for the morning session, but improved throughout the day and, despite a small problem for Heikki with a couple of minutes left in the afternoon session, all programs were completed and both cars were again ahead of the other new teams at the close of FP2.

Chief Technical Officer Mike Gascoyne: “It was a satisfying day today and we achieved everything we wanted to on both cars, despite the fact grip levels were very low in the first session and both Jarno and Heikki were struggling slightly with rear grip. Jarno lost a front strake on his first run of the day and we replaced that quickly for his second run. Over lunch we changed the gear ratios on both cars and sent them out for the beginning of the afternoon session on hard tyres. Heikki pulled over after 30 laps as he had a low oil pressure warning and he stopped the car, but it’s not a problem and we’re looking forward to getting out again tomorrow.”

Jarno Trulli – FP1 22 laps, 1.41.531, 18th / FP2 35 laps, 1.39.624: “A trouble free day today which is good, and hopefully the whole weekend will go without any issues. I’m still struggling a bit with the setup, finding a balance that really lets me get the best out of the car, but we tested different tyres today and focused mainly on our setup for the race, so I’m reasonably happy. Grip levels improved throughout the day and our lap times showed that by the end of the day the circuit was really bedding in.”

Heikki Kovalainen – FP1 23 laps, 19th, 1.41.779 / FP2 30 laps, 19th, 1.39.947: “It was good today, apart from the small problem we had at the end of the day which was nothing major. The engine switched itself off because we had an oil pressure warning but we got through the whole program today and I think we’re in good shape for tomorrow and for the race.”
Ends

vino_93 a écrit:Mohamed ne roulera plus le vendredi ?

CHINESE GRAND PRIX QUALIFYING

Shanghai, China 17th April 2010

Lotus Racing Team Principal Tony Fernandes was one of the last people to make it out of Europe before most of the airspace was shut down, leaving Paris after being given the prestigious Officier of the Legion d’Honneur award in a ceremony on Wednesday, and arrived in China to see Jarno Trulli qualify 20th on 1.39.399 and Heikki Kovalainen 21st on 1.39.520 after a busy session at the Shanghai International Circuit.

Both Lotus Racing drivers were out early in the session and despite an early spin for Heikki, settled down well, staying best of the new teams until the dying seconds of the session. After a strong showing in all three practice sessions the team looks in good shape for tomorrow’s race and will be looking to put on a good show for the growing numbers of their local Chinese fans, and the fast expanding Lotus Racing army across Asia and around the world.

Jarno Trulli (T127-03): “It was a shame because I think I could have gone quicker, but the strong wind played a part and it wasn’t easy out there. It was a very gusty and I struggled a bit with that but having had three good practice sessions I’m expecting a better race tomorrow.”

Heikki Kovalainen (T127-01): “It was ok today but I couldn’t quite get the perfect lap. The first two sectors were ok but just before the back straight I couldn’t quite get the exit right and I think I lost about three tenths there. The wind has played its part today – in some braking zones at the back of the track there’s a tailwind which unbalances the car, but the second to last corner is into a headwind and it felt really good under braking into there but it’s no big deal – it’s just one of those things! The race tomorrow will be better for sure. The car has felt good all weekend on heavy fuel so let’s see what happens then.”

Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer: “It was the classic mixed bag today. We’ve been strong in practice and if it wasn’t for Heikki’s final sector we would have finished best of the new teams, but sometimes it doesn’t go according to plan. We were satisfied with the setups on both cars and while it’s been a bit disappointing I’m confident the work we put in throughout practice, on long runs with heavy fuel, will pay off for us tomorrow.”

Tony Fernandes, Team Principal: “First of all I’m just really pleased to be here in China! It was a very close shave - I think I was about an hour ahead of the airspace shut down and this is one of the races I’ve been really looking forward to coming to with the team. The spectacular growth of China over recent years is an inspiration to me and the whole Lotus Racing team - it shows how high we should be setting our sights and how we can reach the top by working hard to achieve your dreams. Seeing the fans’ banners for us in the stands makes me very proud, and shows that Lotus Racing has a real significance for Chinese motorsport fans, who know a good thing when they see it!”

Ends