Archive for category: Championships

In the homeland of the famous poet Dante Alighieri, spotlights were put on the Formula ACI CSAI Abarth Championship again, last week end. Set aside the third round, the Italian championship is now ready to enter the second half of the season and the standing is still far to be defined.

Analyzing the Italian series data, the “perfect number” appears several times: besides the number of races still to be run (Imola, Misano and Monza) and many others which have already been raced, three is also the number of the drivers who finished the race within few points (Michele Beretta, Simone Iaquinta and Lukas Moraes), all behind Alessio Rovera, who is the leader in the overall results. Many other drivers competed for the win in the last race event.

The Tuscan race week end started with Alessio Rovera’s double pole, thanks to which the young driver has taken six out of six pole-starts until now. But Michele Beretta and Simone Iaquinta reversed the situation once again and, in race -2 and race -3 respectively, they kept the race high-spirited with a view to the second half.

“The Formula ACI CSAI Abarth is a high-level Championship. It’s a training series for the youngsters who want to face up to the world of Formulas. We saw interesting races at the Mugello, each of them was won by a different driver”, says Gian Carlo Minardi “Now we’re entering the second half of the season with at least four drivers pretending for the title. The ACI CSAI is already working for the 2014 season, in order to make this Formula more and more attractive to new teams and racers”, explains the ACI CSAI Federation School Supervisor and Ferrari cooperator.

The Formula ACI CSAI Abarth’s next race week end will take place on September 1^st at the Enzo and Dino Ferrari circuit in Imola.

One month after the Spanish round at Jerez de La Frontera, Bhai Tech Racing’s four drivers Pantano/Suzuki and Van Der Drift/Razia gets ready to race again at the wheel of the McLaren MP4 – 12C.

The historic and charming circuit of Silverstone will be the place where the International GT Open Championship’s fifth round will take place. F.1 GP is raced at the English circuit since the ‘50s. On the 5891 m long track located in the Northamptonshire , the Mestrino-based squad directed by Mr. Roberto Costa the engineer, will try to “lay its poker on the table” to continue to get good result and deliver the same stunning performances performed throughout the first half of the Championship. The Italian team will race at Silverstone as the GTS class leader, after taking a double win at the Nurburgring.

The track’s “trade-mark” is represented by the three famous corners named Maggots, Becketts and Chapel, which all lead to the long straight called Hangar Straight “Silverstone is a very fast track, so it doesn’t suit our McLarens so well. In this month we’ve continued to do a complete development work, without focusing on a particular area of the car. We’ve worked side by side with McLaren to help the team to develop, basing our work on all data reported from other Championships”, says Mr. Costa, the engineer.

A great job was done not only at the factory, but also at the cutting edge driving simulator suite which is inside the Advanced Vehicle Science Centre “Our drivers have made several simulator sessions to become more familiar with the English track and get prepared to deal with any situation. We’re talking about a track where a driver can really make the difference. It will be so important to avoid mistakes and make the most of our potential”, comments the technical director.

It will be a domestic race for the Italian team, which is partnered with the McLaren “this is one more cause to do a great job”. When we talk about Silverstone, weather conditions play a very important role “The temperature is very pleasant at Silverstone in these days, it’s about 23-24° C. It would be better for us to race in the dry, but we’ll have to wait for the race week end to come to have more detailed information about that”, ends Mr. Costa.

The race week end will start on Friday with two 60’ free practice sessions in preparation for the two qualifying sessions to define the two races’ starting order (on Saturday at 9.45 am and at 11.40 am). The 70’ race 1 will start at 4.00 pm on Saturday. The 50’ final race will start on Sunday at 12.oo o’clock.

With the Spanish round at Jerez de la Frontera, Bhai Tech Racing has finished the first half of the season as the GTS class leader, having gained 46 points, so 4 points ahead of the first follower. The situation is positive also for the Team’s four racers, who are all rookies in a GT Championship; Giorgio Pantano and Rafael Suzuki are leading by 24 points and are third in the overall standing, 2 points ahead of the classmates Razia/Van Der Drift.

As a rookie in the International GT Championship, the Mestrino-based squad directed by Mr. Roberto Costa the engineer, whose headquarter is located in the advanced centre called “Advanced Vehicle Science Centre”, has demonstrated to keep improving every event, as proved by the first win taken at the Nurburgring in the third event. After the apprenticeship weekend at Le Castellet, points appeared in no time and, on the Portuguese track of Portimao, the McLaren MP4-12C #65 of the Italo-Brazilian pair Pantano/Suzuki finished in the top 10. But the masterpiece weekend came on the Nurburgring historic track, where both pairs scored an exciting double win in both races, hoarding points and making the team so happy. In Race-2 it was the pair Razia/Van Der Drift who crossed the line ahead of the teammates and in the Sunday’s final round Pantano and Suzuki took their own back by winning the race. “At the Paul Ricard everything was new for us and for the team. We’re working so hard to develop the car in every single detail and we’re reaching our goals step by step”, says Giorgio Pantano. His statement is echoed by his teammate “I think we learned a lot and we made good progress, considering we are a rookie (drivers, engineers, and all the team), I’m a bit surprised to see us leading team’s championship and both cars fighting for the championship title in GTS class at this point of the season. It’s gonna be a tough second half because all other teams are improving their pace and the championship is very competitive with a lot of cars in the same second”, ends the Brazilian Rafael Suzuki “ I think the team is doing a great job developing and studying all the details of the car. Bhai Tech is using all its resource, including the driving simulator and I’m sure we will be faster and faster until the end of the season.”

In the hot weather of Jerez de la Frontera, where the Championship’s turning point was held, the two McLarens #65 #66 almost finished on the podium, ending the first half as Championship’s leaders, going ahead to get good results “The turbo engine suffers high temperatures and sea level so much, so we had to drive a defensive race. Furthermore we got a 25’’ penalty per car. Despite that we were able to score important points for the Championship”, says Pantano.

Satisfaction also for Luiz Razia and Van Der Drift who almost finished on the podium with only 2 points behind their teammates “My only concern is the Mercedes team, they have a good car and they are competitive, on the other hand me & Chris, we have the challange on our own team with Rafael and Pantano, they are doing also a top job and they are just ahead of us on the championship. Hope we can keep up with them and keep on fighting in a fair way”, says the GP2 deputy champion Razia “I thinks it’s been very good to have already secured our first win, not only for Bhai Tech but for myself. Last year we already took pole position at Monza and we did that again at the Nurburgring but this time making that a victory!”, says Chris Van Der Drift.

The second half of the season will start in two weeks on the English track of Silverstone. 4 events during which the Italian team will try to preserve the leadership thanks to its drivers experience “At Jerez we served all our handicaps, so we’ll be more peaceful at Silverstone. Our car will suit the track very well, so we can make a good job”, says the F.1 ex driver and GP2 winner Giorgio Pantano “It will be nice to race at Silverstone, quite challenging circuit, and will be kind of a “home race” for us because of McLaren. I believe the track suits for our car, but nobody wins a race before the checkered flag, so I hope we can get the best of the setup during the free practice sessions on Thursday and Friday. Also we don’t have the handicaps that we had in Jerez”, says Suzuki.

Luiz Razia will race at Silverstone, strengthened by the win scored in GP2 in the past season. “It’s clear I’m the only driver of the four that have done a race on the new circuit, as I did race last year in GP2 and not only race but I’ve got a win also in 2012, so I’m really confident I can do a very good job at the weekend, I just wish could be dry all weekend, and Bhai Tech will be very strong. I’m sure me and Chris are really keen to be racing in Silverstone as our home is just 25minutes away from the circuit, so no hotels this time.”

“I think Silverstone is a circuit which will suit our McLarens really well, there are some fast corners like maggots and beckets which I’m really looking forward too. We keep improving as a team every event so we will just get stronger and I’m sure at Silverstone we will have a great result!”, says Van Der Drift.

After two wins, two second places and other good positions, Bhai Tech led the McLaren to the GTS constructors Championship second place.

The “Young drivers project”, promoted by the ACI CSAI in cooperation with the Ferrari Driver Academy, has started again on the Italian track of Vallelunga. The project aims at supporting the professional development of young talented drivers.

After last season’s positive experience, during which some selected drivers had the opportunity to make test sessions during Formula ACI CSAI Abarth racing weekends, the programme conceived by the Federation School and the FDA still goes ahead “In the past season we were able to put into practice what I’d like to see again in F.1 on Fridays. In fact, according to the project, some young drivers selected by the Federation School and the FDA have the opportunity to make tests alongside the Italian Formula ACI CSAI Abarth Championship’ official drivers. Through that young drivers not only have the opportunity to keep themselves in training at the wheel of a single-seater, but they also get a better knowledge of the circuits they will race at and draw attention on themselves. It was just during test sessions that a driver like Antonio Fuoco drew attention on himself. The young driver is now a FDA programme’s member and also the F.R. Alps great protagonist”, says Gian Carlo Minardi, the ACI CSAI Federation School’s Supervisor and Ferrari co-operator “Through these tests we’re aiming at giving young drivers the opportunity to draw attention on themselves, keeping themselves in training despite the lack of financial resources.”

This year the programme’s format has been modified and it consists of two training sessions, one of that has already taken place at the circuit of Campagnano, near Rome and the second will take place at Fiorano in mid- September “It’s a very ambitious project, it gives us the possibility to evaluate young drivers by seeing their improvements and professional development, mental and technical growth step by step. Despite the lack of financial resources we want to do a great job in order to make our Italian drivers more and more appealing to the world of motorsport. It’s just to reach this goal that, along with Mr. Raffaele Giammaria, the Director of the Speed and Rally Division of the Federation School, and Mr. Luca Baldisserri, who is in charge of the FDA project, we’re in the process of planning new formats to evaluate young drivers better and better”, says also the manager from Faenza “Along with the ACI CSAI top brass, we’re also in search for sponsor to support the programme’s second stage, as in Italy we’re not lacking talented drivers, what we’re lacking for is just the gasoline to make them run”, points out Minardi.

Francesco Iacovacci, Alessio Piccini, Gabriele Volpato and Christopher Zani, the four drivers who were selected by the Federation after showing their skills throughout their motorsport experience – racing go-karts and driving race cars – , had already made some test sessions at Vallelunga, driving a Formula ACI CSAI Abarth race car for the first stage of the programme “Iacovacci and Zani had already attended the Supercorso last year and they had already experienced the evaluation test. They underwent a psychophysical test again. They’re our go-kart drivers and, although they’re skilled enough to race in Formula car Championships, they’re lacking financial coverage. It’s an interesting experience also for Piccini and Volpato. The 17-year-old driver form Torino has already driven covered-wheel race cars, as he took part in the Italian Championship dedicated to alternative energies, at the wheel of a gas-powered KIA last year. This year he has also taken part in the Euro Nascar Championship. The 15-year-old driver form Montelupo Fiorentino Piccini comes from karting. It was his first experience at the wheel of a Formula car and he was selected by our observers who attend every race of the Italian kart Championship. Doing that, we can monitor young drivers’ improvements. All data enrich our know-how”, ends Minardi “We’re working to move forward the Supercorso project, to be scheduled for the first week of November. We’ll bring to Vallelunga those drivers who are considered to be well prepared to move a step forward.”