Super Trofeo | Karol Basz and Vito Postiglione at Nurburgring to consolidate the leadership

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With the end of the summer break the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europa will this weekend switch on the motors once more for the fifth round and Karol Basz, together with team mate Vito Postiglione, will step up to the starting line at Nurburgring at the top of the ladder, a place earned on Spa-Francorchamps’ selective circuit.

The Polish driver followed by Minardi Management will take to the wheel of the Imperiale Racing “Lambo” Huracan number 44 to go on the prowl for this season’s fourth win on a very technical track on which qualifying will have a very important role since overtaking will not be so easy due to the many curves at low and medium speed and the lack of significant straights.

“Nurbugring will be another new track for me, but I hope that after intensive preparation on the simulator I will be able to find it quickly. We are at the forefront of the table, despite the fact that a lot has happened during the previous races, so I hope that in Germany we will strengthen our lead” commented Karol Basz

“After the summer break Karol will go back on to the trail of the Super Trofeo in the lead together with Vito. At Nurburgring we will again try to achieve the best results in order to confirm our place at the top and we also hope for a touch of luck that has certainly been missing in the previous rounds. In the week of the break Karol continued his athletic training and studied the circuit on the simulator with his usual doggedness. We want to thank the Imperiale Racing team that continues to support us by giving us the chance to fight it out for the title,” commented managers Giovanni Minardi and Alberto Tonti.

This weekend will begin with the two free practice sessions programmed for Friday 14th at 11.30am and 4.20pm in preparation for the qualifying rounds on Saturday at 10.35am that will decide the starting grid for Race-1 (Saturday at 3.40pm) and Race-2 (Sunday at 1.00pm). Both the rounds will be streamed live the Official Facebook Lamborghini Squadra Corse Page https://www.facebook.com/LamborghiniSquadraCorse/

After Germany Karol will fly to Sweden, destination Kristianstad, to participate at the Karting World Championship to defend the colours of Kosmic Racing to try and repeat his 2015 success on the Muro Leccese circuit.

F1 | Gp Italy THE POINT by Gian Carlo Minardi “Hamilton extraordinary. Ferrari, how many mistakes”

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In the light of the results in free practice and especially in qualifying the result of the race clearly disadvantages Ferrari that leaves Monza only with second place.

Unfortunately we saw the Festival of mistakes: Sebastian Vettel stumbled with the fifth mistake in the season barely thirty seconds after the green light, the people on the wall called Raikonnen into the pits too early and gave Hamilton the chance to run eight more laps, but I believe something was not working perfectly in the Finn’s car and he paid for this with excessive blistering of the right rear wheel, possibly due to an imperfect mix of the set or by a set up that was not the best.

We are witnessing an exciting struggle between two great constructors that is very tight even in the verbal exchanges and the strategies. Bottas’ message was clear when he slowed Raikonnen to favour Hamilton’s come back. Games are part of F1 and they show how important it is to have two drivers in play. This must give Ferrari something to think about for the near future.

Monza gave us a tight grand prix run on the edge of hundredths of a second where Hamilton did not make the slightest mistake. He came close bringing home the maximum result. He was perfect in every circumstance: at the start, when he overtook Vettel and in the final charge on the Finn. We waited an instant before lunging on Raikonnen which was backed up by his team’s strategy as well. Faced with such a driver it will be very hard for Vettel to close the gap with only seven grands prix still to be run.

The Grand Prix’s best driver? Surely Hamilton. He did not make the slightest mistake and always raced on the attack, keeping his rival under pressure. Bottas’ small assist is something that happens.

I must congratulate all the public because it answered in the best way possible and by filling the terraces showed how important this round is for Italians. These were three exciting days. We will now wait and see what will happen in Singapore.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | Gp Italy, The heart is ready to beat once more

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Ferrari’s test of strength at Spa-Francorchamps can be a good omen on a fast track such as that at Monza that this weekend will host the 89th edition of the Italian Grand Prix. We predict another exciting duel between the two pretenders to the throne, Ferrari and Mercedes but especially between Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton.

As we already saw last weekend in Belgium the weather will play an important role and probably shuffle the cards: with a dry track the Ferrari-Vettel duo has shown it is more competitive than its direct rivals, while under the rain Hamilton and Mercedes have shown they are superior. Storms are forecast for Friday as they are for Saturday as well, even if qualifying should be dry. On the other hand the race should be overcast.

We come to a track characterized by very long straights with only eleven bends where the engines run at full speed for 75% of the lap. It will be a great effort for the power-unit. After what happened at the start last week (the penalty inflicted on Hulkenberg seems correct even if the marshals continue not to use the same yardstick with all the drivers) care must be taken at the first chicane at about 700m from the starting line. They will come to it at speeds much higher than those at Spa.

Ferrari will start the real post Marchionne era and behind the curtains there will be many meetings that could open up a number of moves. Kimi Raikonnen’s future is still to be decided after an unlucky weekend at Spa that was conditioned by the contact at the start of the race that forced his retirement.

We predict that the weekend will not be easy for Red Bull due to the handicap of the Renault engine (Ricciardo will start in last place but will be equipped with the latest version of the PU). The duel between Renault and Haas for fourth place in the constructor’s ladder is to be followed, as well as the chase by Racing Point Force India that in Belgium was the team that achieved the third highest number of points (18) after Ferrari and Mercedes. The entry of the new consortium led by Lawrence Stroll will have given confidence back to the team (as well as new life).

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | Spa-Francorchamps, Ferrari wins with Vettel. THE POINT by Gian Carlo Minardi “Now everybody at Monza”

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A perfect Ferrari won at Spa-Francorchamps. At this time the car is achieving positive results and has shown that in dry conditions it is superior compared to Mercedes as we saw right from the start when Vettel masterfully overtook Hamilton. The situation is reversed on a wet track when car and driver are inferior to pairing of Hamilton-Mercedes.

It was without a shadow of doubt a great, very tight grand prix run at heart pounding pace on the edge of tenths of seconds, as we saw above all between the 15th and 20th laps between the two pretenders to the throne.

It was a pity about Kimi Raikonnen who was cut off by a contact at the first curve. He too would probably have fought for a place on the podium. The result was a morale boost for all the team and brings a breath of fresh air in view of the last part of the season and the arrival of the Circus at Monza. Vettel nibbled away seven precious points from Hamilton. After the gifts in the previous grands prix (see Germany) he must continuously finish in front of his British rival.

It was an excellent race by Max Verstappen which excited the public and many of his fans came to support him. I would like to see this scenario at Monza as well. All the fans are needed to help Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel in this pursuit. Sadly the lack of an Italian driver on the starting grid is felt but at this time the market has been unleashed and the next few days will be crucial. There are still many unknown factors, above all in the second division teams, where I hope Mercedes will find a place for Ocon after the arrival of the new owner who gave life back to Racing Point Force India. We still need to understand what will happen in Williams to Stroll and McLaren (Vandoorne) and Sauber. In short there are still many pieces to be placed, as well as deciding Raikonnen’s future. Sincerely in Ferrari I would choose a younger line to place to support Vettel. We will wait and see.

Meanwhile I am very happy for Racing Point Force India that began its adventure with fifth and sixth place with Perez and Ocon behind Bottas. On the other hand there was an important mistake by Nico Hulkenberg who set off the pile-up at the start. He came decidedly long into the first chicane (he had two gears more than the other drivers who were ahead of him). Luckily the new safety systems avoided the worst but we must stop and think for a minute that at Monza the first chicane is after a kilometre from the start and they get there at very much higher speeds.

I look forward to seeing many of you at Monza.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | Spa-Francorchamps, we finally start again!

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With the end of the three weeks of summer break, this weekend the Formula 1 world championship is ready to start the engines again with teams and drives committed to a double commitment on two tough tracks as Spa-Francorchamps and Monza which will lead the way to a fiery end of season.

Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel will have the toughest task since they will not be able to make the slightest mistake. They are called to make nine perfect grands prix if they want to wipe out the 24 point gap that separates the German from Lewis Hamilton. The mistake at Hockenheim weighs very heavy.

We start with the track in the Ardennes, it is a circuit that is as historic as it is difficult in which the weather and safety car will practically do the honours. After having tested it on Sauber and Hass, the Ferraris will be equipped with the latest version of the Power Unit as Mercedes should also do.

On the tyre front Pirelli will bring to both Belgium and Italy the Medium, Soft and SuperSoft mixes. We come to this round with some unknown factors on the drivers’ market in which above all Kimi Raikonnen’s future is still up in the air. We experienced a very hot August (not only due to the high temperatures) that will redraw the 2019 starting grid. Daniel Ricciardo will say goodbye to Red Bull to wear Renault’s colours together with Hulkenberg and with Sainz taking the seat left free by Fernando Alonso who announced his retirement from F1 after 17 seasons. Red Bull will promote Gasly alongside Verstappen, while the places in Toro Rosso are still vacant. Force India, which has been placed under administration, was saved by a group of entrepreneurs led by Laurence Stroll whose son will free a place in Williams.

We expect very intense weeks. This weekend we start with Spa where the weather promises rain but then I expect many of you at Monza.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | Gp Hungary, THE POINT by Gian Carlo Minardi “Ferrari must regret two mistakes”

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Lewis Hamilton closed the tour-de-force of 4 grands prix in five weeks with another very important win that brings his advantage over his direct rival Sebastian Vettel to 24 points. Hamilton is the driver in the best shape at the wheel of the best car supported also by the most valid squire, Valtteri Bottas who was certainly the protagonist of a great race when he thrashed Vettel, even if he then ruined everything in the final laps when he touched the Ferrari driver and then also Ricciardo. Bottas clearly had problems with his tyres and now we will wait and see what the marshals decide.

Ferrari says goodbye to Budapest with second and third place and more points than expected, even if they must regret the two mistakes in the pit stops that cost Vettel and Raikonnen precious seconds that would surely have allowed them to come back onto the track in front of Mercedes’ Finn driver.

It was a great race by Ricciardo. On this occasion Red Bull did not live up to expectations and also suffered problems of reliability that forces Verstappen to retire. The Australian was very good as he managed in any case to finish at the foot of the podium after the order to Bottas gave him back the position.

It was a very good result also for Toro Rosso reaching sixth place with Gasly and for McLaren that finished in eighth place with Fernando Alonso. I am sorry to see Force India in difficulty as the team had achieved incredible results in the last two years.

Now we have to wait three weeks for the world championship to start once more at Spa-Francorchamps and Monza. However, this Mercedes is now scary, especially in view of two such very fast tracks.

Gian Carlo Minardi

Super Trofeo | Podium and leadership for Karol Basz and Vito Postiglione at Spa-Francorchamps

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At the fascinating circuit of Spa-Francorchamps, the stage for the fourth round of the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europa, Karol Basz paired with Vito Postiglione at the wheel of Imperiale Racing’s “Lambo” Huracan number 44 won the Championship’s leadership thanks to the third  places achieved in the two races on Friday and Saturday. Race-2 was interrupted for a few minutes by the chequered flag due to a terrible accident between the front two drivers,

Due to the conjunction with the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps the whole programme was brought forward by one day and in Thursday’s free practice Minardi Management’s driver set the best position subsequently closing his qualifying round with the sixth time without committing any errors and gaining confidence with the Eau Rouge and the many pitfalls of the Ardennes track.

In race-1 Vito Postiglione started in pole position but at the first curve collided and fell back to 23rd position. Luckily the car had no major damage from the impact which allowed Postiglione to recover a number of positions before handing over the wheel to Basz who, at the end of the pit stop re-entered the track in ninth place. The Polish driver took advantage of the restart after the exit of the safety car and became the protagonist of an incredible last lap overtaking four cars before finishing the race in fifth place. After the penalty inflicted on Altoè/Zampieri, Karol climbed up to fourth place (third in the class).

A few minutes after the start of the race-2 it began to rain on the circuit and the race director decided for a start behind the safety car which exited after 8’, in his 50 minutes of the race Karol Basz was able to retain his position holding back the charges by his rivals without making any mistakes before handing the car over to his team-mate who went on to the finish line in third place, confirming the excellent feeling for the track. The race was interrupted a few minutes from the chequered flag because of a terrible accident that involved the front two drivers with the race director freezing the ladder at the previous lap.

“We say goodbye to Spa-Francorchamps, as incredible track, with a lot of points and the championship lead. Today’s was a crazy race. We decided to keep the slicks despite the wet track because we knew that ot would have dried quickly. Then Vito was very fast. It was a pity about the accident at the end that took away the chance to battle it out for the win. It was not an easy weekend but it was very positive. Now we go to Nurburgring as leaders” commented Karol Basz.

“Karol was the protagonist was a positive weekend run on a very demanding track that ended with solid and important results that delivered the championship lead. In the three days he worked hard to constantly improve since it his debut at Spa, one of the most selective tracks in international Motorsport. Sadly race-1 was conditioned by a touch at the first curve which took away the win, while in race-2 both drivers were perfect despite the tricky asphalt that continued to change. “We are very happy with Karol’s path that, on his debut and after only four rounds, went to the top of the championship. With the help of our sponsors and the Imperiale team we hope to reach the end of the season,” commented managers Giovanni Minardi and Alberto Tonti.

Super Trofeo | Karol Basz is on the prowl for the fourth win at the kingdom of Spa-Francorchamps

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This weekend Karol Basz will make his debut at Spa-Francorchamps for the fourth round of the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europa. The 26 year old driver from Krakow, together with Vito Postiglione, at the wheel of Imperiale Racing’s “Lambo” Huracan number 44 will be on the prowl for the fourth win in just as many appointments to continue the climb up the ladder where he now in second place.

Up to now the path has been impeccable by Minardi Management’s flag bearer event if there is still the regret for some unfortunate episodes that denied the deserved double win at Misano (due to a puncture) and at Silverstone due to a problem with the door handle during race-2’s pit stop. These episodes do not affect the value of a driver who has become part of the Lamborghini Programme and who experienced the first session at Vallelunga with an intense programme of athletic preparation and lessons in classroom.

Given the concurrence with the 24 Hours also in programme on the same track in the Ardennes, the whole programme has been brought forward by a day with two rounds of free practice on Thursday 26 at 10.35am and 2.55pm in preparation for the qualifying session on Friday 27 at 9.50am and Race-1 at 1.50pm. The fourth Racing Weekend will draw to a close on Saturday 28 with race-2 at 10.25am. Both heats will be transmitted live on the Lamborghini Racing Team Official Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/LamborghiniSquadraCorse/

“Spa will be another new track for me, but I am looking forward to this weekend. It will be interesting to see how level differences will affect driving sensations and whether they will coincide with the simulator. Last year my team was really strong here, so I hope that this season we will maintain this trend and we will fight Vito for a set of points” – said Karol.

“We are sure that at Spa-Francorchamps Karol will once again be able to fight it out for the top positions. In the previous editions Team Imperiale and Vito Postiglione were always very quick and this gives us hope. At this time Karol is more determined than ever, thanks also to the excellent and intense work of athletic preparation that intensified during the Lamborghini Academy session at the Vallelunga track,” commented managers Giovanni Minardi and Alberto Tonti.

Memories of the Hungarian Gp ’94, Michele Alboreto just misses out on the Top-six

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Michele Alboreto had the best result for the Minardi Team on the track in Budapest which this weekend will host the 12th round of the World Championship.

At the wheel of the M194 Minardi with the Ford HBC7/8 engine with team mate Pierluigi Martini, he was the protagonist of an important comeback. Taking off from twentieth place the driver from Milan cut the finish line in seventh place behind Ligier-Renault’s Olivier Panis and just missing out on the points zone. In those years only the first six drivers at the finish line were assigned points (from 10 to 1). The grand prix was won by Michael Schumacher driving the Benetton in front of Damon Hill in the Williams and Jos Verstappen (Benetton). The German went on to become World Champion with just a one point lead over the Englishman. In the constructors’’ championship the team from Faenza closed the season with five points and tenth place overall.

The following year the team founded by Gian Carlo Minardi finished once more in the top ten with Luca Badoer eighth (behind Jordan’s Rubens Barrichello) and Pedro Lamy ninth at the wheel of the M195, again with the Ford engine. Of the 24 starters only ten managed to reach the finish line with the Williams of Damon Hill and David Coulthard achieving a double in front of Ferrari driver Gerhard Berger with leader Michael Schumacher forced to retire with a breakdown of his Renault engine.

The biggest regret is tied to the 1993 edition with Pierluigi Minardi in the M193 (the first Minardi racing car equipped with active suspension and the first sequential gearbox with powered by a Ford engine that enjoyed low fuel consumption) who, as he was overtaking another car, ended up spinning neutralizing an important result.

F1 | Minardi “F1 has lost the certainty of penalties”

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Lewis Hamilton’s action in the final phases of the German Grand Prix when he came back onto the track after cutting through the grass after having taken the entrance to pit lane caused a lot of discussion after the race. Some hours after the chequered flag the Mercedes’ driver’s win was confirmed after having received only received a reprimand from the marshals. For Race director Charlie Whiting there was no correlation with the 5” penalty given to Kimi Raikonnen during the 2016 Baku Grand Prix.

We asked Gian Carlo Minardi, who gave us his point of view. “At this time in F1 there is no certainty in the penalties which are the basis for the regularity of world championship. In order to justify FIA’s position Charlie Whiting climbed up walls, hid behind very soft mitigating factors such as the presence of the Safety-car and not having created a risk situation due to the lack of other cars present,” commented the manager from Faenza.

“This championship will be won by who makes the least mistakes compared to his rival and seven points can make the difference at the end (with a 5” second penalty the Englishman would have finished in second place behind Bottas). In my opinion the regulation was distorted. Unfortunately these episodes also have consequences on the other introductory categories since very often F1 makes the law and is taken as an example by young drivers as well. It becomes very difficult teaching them,” continued.

“I do not want to take anything away from Hamilton who was the author of an extraordinary race, while Vettel make a very serious mistake that could cost him very dearly but there is a need for clear regulations that must be respected”.

F1 | Gp Germany, THE POINT by Gian Carlo Minardi “A very serious mistake by Vettel”

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A few laps from the finishing line Sebastian Vettel threw away a win and a very important result in light of the world championship. In 11 grands prix this is already the fourth mistake made by the German and this must give Ferrari something to think about. They must be proud of the work in the factory but they have to ponder on how their drivers work. Compared to Mercedes Ferrari came out defeated.
The race confirmed that this is a season in which mistakes will play a crucial role and, once again, the the leadership changed with Hamilton taking the lead with a gap of 17 points from Vettel. He took off from fourteenth place and played the leading role with a sensational comeback that ended with a win in front of his team mate and also after setting the fastest lap time during the final stage. It was an impressive show of force by Mercedes with Toto Wolff taking back the reins of the team.
All weekend Ferrari showed that it has a truly great car but it was not enough. In seven days we will be back on the track in Budapest which will conclude the tour-de-force and usher in the summer break. It will be a good opportunity for Vettel to be on the prowl for redemption and we hope that this episode will not have repercussions on the rest of the season. On this occasion I wish Sergio Marchionne all the best for a quick recovery and to the new president John Elkann.
It was certainly a race that became exciting only with the arrival of the rain with some teams that tried to make a master stroke with strategies that did not pay off such as Red Bull and Sauber. It was choice that cost important points, especially for Sauber’s Leclerc. We anxiously await the race in Hungary.
Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | Gp Germany, PRESENTATION by Gian Carlo Minardi “Keep an eye on Red Bull”

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After a year the German Grand Prix will come back to the Hockenheim circuit where Pirelli’s stronger tyres will make their debuts. The Milanese tyre maker will bring its Medium, Soft and UltraSoft mixes. Hamilton and Vettel have “marked” each other man to man with the same number of sets of each mix, whereas Bottas and Raikonnen have mixed their choices.

We have reached the halfway point of a very long championship with Ferrari that will take to the start with its morale high and at the top of both ladders and Mercedes that cannot make any more mistakes. However, we must not underestimate the two Red Bulls that could come out by exploiting its excellent chassis, especially in the mixed/slow part of the track. As happened two weeks ago at Silverstone, we will have a highly fought qualifying on the edge of thousandths of a second and a race that will be decided by strategies and weather that could give the cars in red an advantage since the prediction for Sunday is for a sunny day.

I am pleased to see Antonio Giovinazzi in action once more with the Alfa Romeo Sauber. I hope that this is a good sign for his future. It will not be easy coming to conclusions since the teams’ plans for Friday usually involve a mix of work with their drivers in order to collect the greatest number of indicators for qualifying and the race.

There has been much talk in recent days about Liberty Media’s new proposal of changing the system of points. Fernando had said that he is opposed to the move as it opens the points to twenty drivers which would reduce his worth and he used as an example the uproar that was raised by Jules Bianchi’s ninth place with Marussia that was the result of a masterpiece of race at Monte Carlo. For many years I found myself fighting with my cars to enter into the top six, therefore the chance to widen the ladder could also be positive. It would help to increase the spectacle in the back lots with more tussles.

I have the impression that they want to draw attention away from much more important problems since this would require giving the Technical Regulations instead of the Sporting Regulations that do not change F1’s image. We need resolve the issue of the future engines, even if the four constructors seem oriented to continuing with the Power Units.

Gian Carlo Minardi

F1 | Minardi M191B-Lamborghini, Bortolotti “An unforgettable moment”

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26 years after Christian Fittipaldi and Gianni Morbidelli the steering wheel of the Minardi M191B, the protagonist of seven F1 grands prix in 1992 (before giving way to the M192) powered by the LE3512 Lamborghini engine designed by Mauro Forghieri, was passed onto Lamborghini Factory Driver Mirko Bortolotti who had the task of shaking down the seven months of restoration work carried out by the Polo Storico (historic programme) of the carmaker from Sant’Agata Bolognese.

Lamborghini’s official driver completed the twenty planned laps without encountering any problems.

“Seeing the technicians working on the original plans and become excited the first time the motor of the V12 Lamborghini engine was switched on was an unforgettable moment,” commented the driver from Trento, “These ‘old school’ cars are truly fantastic and unique. Congratulations to all the members of the Polo Storico Lamborghini for having made all this possible after a restoration that lasted seven months”

The M191B is now ready to go back to the racing and competing in the championships dedicated to historic F1 races.

This link will take you to the film made by the Lamborghini Racing Team