baronrojo

Top car secrets to be published

Wednesday, August 20, 2008



This season, as always, the fastest A1GP laps will be watched by millions around the world. But for the first time, the technical secrets behind them will be published.
The 2008/09 sporting regulations were confirmed last week, with the main highlights being a revised points system and the news that the action in the shorter Sprint race will now include a mandatory pit stop. There will also be more pressurised qualifying sessions thanks to less time to set the all important fast times for grid positions, and more time for rookie drivers on a Friday morning.
However, hidden in the regulations, there is another intriguing new rule, which could have an extremely significant affect on the closeness and the quality of this season’s racing – because now, all teams will get some crucial information about the fastest car on the track, and why it is the fastest.
How will this be done? Measurements from sensors placed all around A1GP cars are constantly recording data such as speed, throttle angle and brake pedal pressure. From this season, those measurements taken during the fastest lap recorded in each session will be published for the rest of the pit lane to see. With such information, teams struggling for pace during practice will have a better chance of understanding why they are slower, and hopefully closing that time gap to the front-running car.
The exact wording of the new rule is as follows: “Article 123: After each Practice session and Qualifying, A1GP will make available to all Competitors data showing information relating to the speed, throttle angle, brake application and steering angle of the Fastest Lap achieved overall in each Practice session and in Qualifying.”
All cars are identical, but there are still many different minor adjustments teams can make with that same equipment. A1GP races are decided by driver skill, and how that driver races with the car set-up to his or her liking (a car’s set-up is the way the myriad of different settings are used to maximize its capabilities on a given circuit in given conditions.) This new rule means some basic information on the fastest laps of the weekend will be available to all competitors for the first time – and not just the teams that recorded them. This is new ground for an international motor racing series.
While many spectators and fans are unlikely to be interested in trawling through the various graphs and the numbers themselves, they should be happy if the drivers and engineers of the teams they support do. This could potentially mean they are closer to the pace.
Presently, team fraternisation is one of the most hotly-debated issues in A1GP. Every nation is racing for itself, but some choose to work alongside each other in the pit lane, sharing technical data. By sharing information such as throttle position, downforce levels and the data readings, a driver could potentially learn from another’s telemetry where they could, for example, improve at a particular corner. However, the flipside to that is a team also gives away its own information to a rival nation.
While the data given by A1GP after every session will not be as exhaustive as the telemetry readings from their own cars, it could potentially reveal that piece of crucial information a team needs. The grid for the Feature race in Zhuhai last season was just 1.4 seconds from the front to the back. What price on a grid with an even smaller gap this season?
Ultimately, what it will mean is that the emphasis on driver ability will be more than ever before.

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baronrojo

Faster than ever before

Friday, August 22, 2008


Expect lap records across the A1GP calendar to be broken this season, because it looks like the new A1GP Powered by Ferrari car is going to be rather fast.
Testing this week has indicated that the new racer is already more than two seconds per lap quicker than its predecessor, and there is likely to be more speed to come.
Extensive running was carried out on the first ‘production-specification’ version of the car at Silverstone’s International layout this week, with this final design derived following thousands of laps testing and honing the yellow prototype model. This week was the first time the new race car has run on a circuit extensively lapped by the first generation of A1GP racer. Lap times were roughly two seconds per lap quicker than the best ever produced by the previous generation of car at the same venue, even at this relatively early stage of the car's development.
It is likely to mean that as A1GP travels the world for its fourth season, lap record after lap record will go to a new owner.
That previous best effort at Silverstone, set by A1 Team Germany’s Christian Vietoris, was in the original car’s third year of development, after the teams and drivers had run it in anger at race track across the world for two seasons. Therefore, it is reasonable to expect that even more speed will be found in the new car when teams and drivers start to extract the most out of its potential.
Jonny Kane and Danny Watts, who also extensively tested the first generation of car, were the drivers behind the wheel this week. Watts predicts could be as much as five seconds per lap quicker when the teams run it in anger.
“If it is a two seconds lap quicker now, with the development that the teams will put it under in the heat of battle, I’d say there is another two to three seconds to be found,” Watts told A1GP.com. “So I’d say it could be about four to five seconds per lap quicker – and that’s even being realistic rather than just saying any number.”
The new car is bigger and more powerful, with the new Ferrari V8 engine outputting in more than 600bhp.
“The test was very encouraging and both test drivers gave very useful feedback,” said A1GP’s general manager for technical and operations, John Wickham. “The brakes have much, much better performance, the engine is stronger, and it is more powerful and has more torque. We have obviously moved forward with this car.”

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baronrojo

PICTURES: Silverstone test

Friday, August 22, 2008

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baronrojo

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baronrojo

ercera victoria de la temporada para Bleekemolen
10ª cita Porsche Mobil1 Supercup: GP de Europa - Carrera
26/08/08 17:07


La Porsche Mobil1 Supercup
Jeroen Bleekemolen (Países Bajos) se hizo con la primera victoria para Porsche en el puerto de Valencia. En la décima prueba de la Porsche Mobil1 Supercup en el nuevo circuito urbano de Valencia, el actual líder por puntos controló la carrera desde el principio y dejó a sus adversarios sin posibilidades.

Con su tercera victoria de la temporada, el piloto del Jetstream Motorsport PZ Essen ha aumentado su liderato en el campeonato.

Comenzando la carrera en la pole, el holandés de 26 años se deshizo de sus perseguidores desde el inicio de la carrera y ganó el sprint en la primera curva. Tras una carrera impecable de 14 vueltas, Bleekemolen cruzó la línea de meta como vencedor después de 30:52,469 minutos.

El antiguo piloto de DTM había clasificado su 911 GT3 Cup para la segunda posición, pero consiguió la pole cuando, en el escrutinio técnico posterior a la ronda de clasificación, se descubrió que el Porsche de Sean Edwards (Gran Bretaña) se había quedado con muy poco combustible en el depósito. Las regulaciones estipulan que debe quedar un mínimo de dos litros de combustible después de la clasificación, esto no fue el caso del piloto de Konrad Motorsport. Asimismo, su resultado fue anulado y comenzó la carrera desde la última posición de la parrilla. Edwards terminó la carrera en la duodécima posición.

Ocupando las posiciones de podio con Jeroen Bleekemolen fueron Jörg Hardt (Alemania, Schnabl Engineering-LKM-KplusK Motorsport) y Damien Faulkner (Irlanda, SAS Lechner Racing).


El piloto de 27 años Hardt había comenzado sexto en la parrilla, llegando quinto a la primera curva. Stefan Rosina (Eslovaquia, Lechner Racing Bahrain), Faulkner y Chris Mamerow (Alemania, Damac Kadach Racing Team) se colocaron en la segunda y cuarta posición respectivamente.

En la octava vuelta, Faulkner, de 31 años de edad, finalmente adelantó a Rosina, quien tuvo que ceder a Jörg Hardt una vuelta más tarde. En el último tercio de carrera Hardt presionó enormemente y dos vueltas más tarde Damien Faulkner llegaba segundo a la bandera. La ventaja que le sacaba el líder de carrera era de aproximadamente seis segundos. Faulkner vio la bandera de cuadros tercero, más de diez segundos detrás de Bleekemolen.

Stefan Rosina llegó a meta el cuarto, seguido de Chris Mamerow y René Rast, quinto y sexto respectivamente. La séptima posición la ocuparía el cuádruple campeón de la Supercup Patrick Huisman (Países Bajos, Irwin Racing), la octava la reclamó Pedro Petiz (Portugal, Racing Team Jetstream PZ Essen) – su mejor resultado de la temporada. El piloto local Lucas Guerrero (España) llego a la línea de meta noveno, con Norbert Siedler de Austria redondeando el top ten.
Jeroen Bleekemolen (ganador): “Tuve una gran salida hoy, lo que me permitió abrir hueco desde el principio. Mi equipo ha construido hoy un gran coche para mí y ha ido muy bien desde el principio hasta el final. Ya nos dimos cuenta ayer de que sería una carrera rápida aquí en Valencia. Conseguimos un set-up muy bueno. Hoy no he ganado el título de la temporada por un solo punto. Es una pena, pero creo que tendremos razones para celebrar en Spa.”

Jörg Hardt (segundo): “Mi equipo ha hecho un trabajo fantástico. Mi coche tenía uno de los mejores set-ups que he probado desde que comencé a correr. En el tercio final recuperé mucho. Fue un sueño. El único problema ha sido el calor. Estoy encantado con la segunda posición. Se lo agradezco enormemente a mi equipo.”

Damien Faulkner (tercero): “La carrera de hoy ha sido extremadamente dura. Las condiciones aquí son brutales, sobre todo el calor. Además de eso, tuve que trabajar realmente duro para adelantar a Stefan. Una vez que lo conseguí, Jeroen ya había abierto un hueco enorme. No tenía ninguna posibilidad de alcanzarle. Entonces simplemente tuve que dejar que Jörg me adelantara. Fue demasiado rápido para mí. De cualquier forma, otro podio es un gran resultado. Sería magnífico llevarme otro a casa en Spa.”

Resultados de carrera:
1. Jeroen Bleekemolen (NL), Jetstream Motorsport PZ Essen, 30:52.469 min. (147.434 km/h)
2. Jörg Hardt (D), Schnabl Enigneering-LKM-KplusK, + 5.912 segundos
3. Damien Faulkner (IR), SAS Lechner Racing, + 10.494
4. Stefan Rosina (SK), Lechner Racing Bahrain, + 12.884
5. Chris Mamerow (D), Damac Kadach Racing Team, + 13.667
6. René Rast (D), VELTINS MRS Racing, + 14.115
7. Patrick Huisman (NL), Irwin Racing, + 16.271
8. Petro Petiz (PT), Racing Team Jetstream PZ Essen, + 20.786
9. Lucas Guerrero (ES), Jetstream Motorsport PZ Essen, + 21.175
10. Norbert Siedler (AT), VELTINS MRS Racing, + 25.134

L.S.
Prensa Porsche

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baronrojo

Watts the new car like?

Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Racing driver and former A1 Team Great Britain rookie Danny Watts put thousands of miles on the first generation of A1GP car.

He was recently called back to help test the new A1GP Powered by Ferrari car, and is therefore perfectly placed to compare the two. In an exclusive feature column for A1GP.com, Watts describes what it feels like driving the new 600bhp+ A1GP Powered by Ferrari car. And he says it’s rather good…


A1GP is going to take a massive step forward this season. The A1GP Powered by Ferrari car is bold and striking. But from what I’ve experienced, everyone has put a massive amount of effort in and it is an excellent car.
And I’m not just saying that because A1GP asked me back to test the new car. I really mean it – and I’ll tell everyone who asks me too. The new car is such a pleasure to drive and it should race well.
I had several good runs in it, in both wet and dry conditions, and I must say, it is a step up in every department.
There is noticeably more power, and it feels very smooth all the way through the torque curve. From a driver’s point of view this makes the car really drivable, in every gear and in every rev range. That was a real positive for me. The gear shift is still a paddle shift operated on the steering wheel, and it’s very easy to use and very quick.

In terms of aerodynamics, it’s another move up. It just has so much more grip in the high speed corners. I remember how the old car handled at one particular corner at Silverstone – Copse. I would have to change down a gear to fifth, but in the new car I was taking it in sixth gear with just a tiny bit of brake. But with more tuning and a bit of set-up work it would only need just a slight lift of the throttle. It has that much grip.


The last car had steel brakes, but the carbon fibre brakes used in the new car are a big difference. Not only because the braking distances are much, much shorter and they, by their very nature, perform better, but also because the aerodynamics mean that you can brake later and deeper into the corner than before. That is especially true going from a high speed straight into a low speed, second gear corner.
I also got to try out the PowerBoost button – and let me tell you – it is going to be fantastic to watch. It’s probably going to be a difference of about 60bhp and it really could be crucial in a passing move. It handles pretty much the same as the last system and it makes a big difference.
If you get a good exit out of a corner, then it will definitely be worth pressing the PowerBoost button and you should be able to pull up alongside another car, if not get by them.
People will worry that the carbon brakes will mean shorter braking distances and that it could be harder to overtake, but because you have more power in general, it will mean it is far easier to make a mistake exiting a corner, simply because you have that grunt to control. This will give drivers the chance to come up alongside and overtake into the next corner.
I was told my lap times were about two seconds per lap quicker than they were in the multi-car test session last year. But I wasn’t working on performance. That previous best was done by the teams having had two years development time on the first generation car. If it is a lap two seconds quicker now, with the development that the teams will put it under in the heat of battle, I’d say there is another two to three seconds to be found. It could be about four to five seconds per lap quicker – and that’s even being realistic rather than just saying any number. The potential to go quicker than the old car is immense.
I also got a good run in the wet and I couldn’t believe the amount of grip the Michelin tyres produced. I did a run where it was damp in places but drying, and normally in conditions like these I would expect those sort of tyres to get chewed up, however, they still had a huge amount of grip, which was particularly noticeable in the high speed corners.
Overall, the car was very, close to where it should be in terms of set-up – the basic balance of the car is very, very good.
For those drivers that had experience of the old car, I’d say they would have to treat it like its older brother. They will need to give him respect and learn what they can from him. You can brake later, you can go faster in the high speed corners because of the greater aerodynamic downforce, and faster in the slow speed corners because of the improved mechanical grip. But the power hike is such that you have to be careful coming out of slow speed corners and applying the throttle.
In terms of general driving pleasure it was just excellent. I can’t say that enough. Roll on season 2008/09.

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baronrojo

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baronrojo

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kaiser

ey baron, podrias subtitular algunas fotos, porke no caben en la pantalla

salu2

baronrojo

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baronrojo

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kaiser

Peugeot 908 HY



El futuro del automóvil es verde. Y el de la competición también. Verde ecológico, verde del respeto y cuidado medio ambiental. Los fabricantes se muestran cada día más implicados, y también obligados por la legislación, en la producción de coches poco contaminantes y la tendencia está ya en las puertas de los circuitos. La próxima temporada el sistema KERS de regeneración de energía llegará a la Fórmula 1, pero Peugeot se ha adelantado presentado su primer prototipo de carreras con un motor híbrido. Se trata del Peugeot 908 HY, con el que la marca francesa podría llegar a competir en las míticas 24 Horas de Le Mans si la reglamentación así lo propicia, incluso ya en su próxima edición.




Aprovechar la energía de las frenadas
Audi fue la primera marca capaz de ganar en Le Mans con un propulsor diésel. Peugeot ha querido seguir sus pasos aunque hasta el momento sin éxito y quizá por eso se lanza ahora al desafío de los motores híbridos. El prototipo HY se basa en la misma tecnología del KERS que se utilizará en los grandes premios a partir de 2009: recuperar y aprovechar parte de la energía cinética liberada en las fortísimas frenadas de una competición y que en un coche convencional se disipa en forma de calor. Las ventajas del sistema son que permite aumentar las prestaciones añadiendo esa energía a la propia del motor térmico y también reduce significativamente el consumo, un aspecto clave en una carrera de resistencia.

kaiser

La A1GP atraviesa su primera crisis

Ausencia de cinco equipos en la primera cita

Pilotos de la A1GP

La crisis llega también a la A1GP. La categoría alternativa a la Fórmula 1 inicia su temporada este fin de semana en Zandvoort, Holanda, pero cinco equipos representados por cinco respectivos países no tomarán la salida: Gran Bretaña, La India, Alemania, México y Canadá.
Según la prensa alemana, otros cinco países más (Brasil, China, Francia, Portugal y Suiza) podrían abandonar la competición a lo largo de la temporada.
Después de tres años desde su creación, la A1GP parece que arrastra algunos contratiempos; ya el inicio de la presente temporada 2008-2009 llega con retraso: debió comenzar en Mugello (Italia) el pasado fin de semana, pero la entrega de los monoplazas se demoró y no pudieron ponerlos a punto. Por eso la ausencia de tantos equipos en la primera cita.
Pero los competidores no están contentos. Un portavoz aseguró a la Asociación de la Prensa: "Siempre estábamos en contra de diseñar, construir y probar veintitrés coches en sólo once meses". El equipo de Alemania, por ejemplo, capitaneado por Willi Weber (otrora representante de Michael Schumacher), denuncia que el campeón de la pasada temporada aún no ha cobrado su premio: "Nico Hulkenberg todavía está esperando su premio monetario. He escrito diez cartas recordatorias", asegura al periódico Express.
A pesar de todo, un portavoz de esta categoría automovilística le quieta hierro al asunto y niega que este sea el fin de la A1GP: "En lo que a nosotros se refiere, no prevemos otra cosa que una parrilla llena para la próxima carrera. Nos habría gustado que fueran veintitrés coches en la parrilla este fin de semana, pero a pesar de eso, todavía podemos ofrecer un gran espectáculo, como en los próximos años".

baronrojo

Joer que ruines son se acerca el fin de las a1?

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baronrojo

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baronrojo

Zandvoort, libere 1: il team Olanda fa gli onori di casa

Dodici macchine in pista questa mattina per la prima sessione di prove libere divisa in due parti. La pioggia ha reso problematica la disputa del turno che ha visto il team Olanda segnare con Jeroen Bleekemolen il primo tempo in 1'26"892 quando la pista era asciutta. Con l'asfalto bagnato è stato il team Italia con Fabio Onidi a conquistare il miglior crono. Non hanno girato il Brasile (Felipe Guimaraes), la Cina (Ho Pin Tung), la Francia (Loic Duval), il Portogallo (Filipe Albuquerque) e il team Stati Uniti di Michael Andretti.

Per questo suo debutto personale nella A1 Grand Prix non si avvarrà di piloti di spicco, si parlava di Danica Patrick, ma utilizzerà Charlie Kimball. Finché la pista è rimasta veloce, Bleekemolen in sei giri ha tracciato la via ai suoi colleghi, comunque rimasti distanti da lui. Adam Carroll del team Irlanda, secondo, ha rimediato 1"591 di distacco. Terzo posto per la Nuova Zelanda con Earl Bamber. Sesto assoluto Fabio Onidi in 1'32"514. Hanno debuttato il team Monaco con Clivio Piccione e il team Corea con Jin Woo Hwang.

Nella foto, Fabio Onidi firma autografi

I tempi del 1° turno libero, sabato 4 ottobre 2008

1 - Olanda - Jeroen Bleekemolen - 1'26"892 - 16
2 - Irlanda - Adam Carroll - 1'28"483 - 20
3 - Nuova Zelanda - Earl Bamber - 1'29"884 - 13
4 - Malesia - Fairuz Fauzy - 1'31"440 - 16
5 - Australia - John Martin - 1'32"162 - 7
6 - Italia - Fabio Onidi - 1'32"514 - 20
7 - Monaco - Clivio Piccione - 1'38"450 - 9
8 - Svizzera - Neel Jani - 1'42"528 - 18
9 - Libano - Daniel Morad - 1'43"082 - 10
10 - Corea - Jin Woo Hwang - 1'44"532 - 7
11 - Sud Africa - Adrian Zaugg - 1'47"646 - 8
12 - Indonesia - Satrio Hermanto - 1'48"422 - 11

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kaiser

jajja, que maquina bleekemolen, 1.6 segundos le ha metido al segundo, como se nota que es de los equipos que primero recibieron el coche

baronrojo

Zandvoort, libere 2: l'Olanda si conferma al primo posto

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baronrojo

Zandvoort - Qualifica
Brilla l'arancione olandese

Jeroen Bleekemolen e il team Olanda hanno conquistato la pole nella prima prova del campionato A1 Grand Prix 2008/2009 della nuova era, targata Ferrari. Un avvio certo difficile, ma intanto si è partiti. La qualifica di Zandvoort ha subito mostrato le squadre che hanno già intuito come lavorare al meglio sulla monoposto. Bleekemolen è stato sempre in testa, fin dalle libere, e l'ha spuntata sul sorprendente Earl Bamber della Nuova Zelanda. Il rookie 18enne, che abbiamo apprezzato due settimane fa a Imola nella F.Master dove ha vinto al debutto, ha tolto la prima fila ad un marpione come Adam Carroll del team Irlanda.

Bamber ha concluso a 0"316 dalla pole, Carroll a 0"338. Buona qualifica per Fairuz Fauzy del team Malesia, quarto davanti alla nuova squadra di Monaco, con un Clivio Piccione che ha messo in campo tutta la sua esperienza per conquistare il quinto tempo. I campioni in carica della Svizzera sono sesti, ma a 1"311 e precedono il Sud Africa di Adrian Zaugg e l'Italia di Fabio Onidi.

Il milanese, al debutto in A1 GP ha dichiarato: "Ho fatto il primo tempo sul bagnato, purtroppo non sono riuscito ad andare altrettanto bene durante la qualifica. Ho corso quasi sempre fra la terza e la quarta posizione, ma al momento decisivo ho trovato traffico e una bandiera gialla che mi hanno impedito di usare il boost e di sfruttare il fatto di aver montato le gomme nuove. Dispiace partire dalla quarta fila nella Sprint Race, si poteva fare meglio". Non hanno girato Cina e Brasile e non si sa se correranno. In ritardo di preparazione Francia e Portogallo.

Massimo Costa

Nella foto, Jeroen Bleekemolen

Lo schieramento di partenza di gara 1

1. fila
Olanda - Jeroen Bleekemolen - 1'24"213
Nuova Zelanda - Earl Bamber - 1'24"529
2. fila
Irlanda - Adam Carroll - 1'24"551
Malesia - Fairuz Fauzy - 1'24"720
3. fila
Monaco - Clivio Piccione - 1'25"118
Svizzera - Neel Jani - 1'25"524
4. fila
Sud Africa - Adrian Zaugg - 1'25"928
Italia - Fabio Onidi - 1'25"982
5. fila
Stati Uniti - Charlie Kimball - 1'26"039
Libano - Daniel Morad - 1'26"061
6. fila
Francia - Loic Duval - 1'26"443
Australia - John Martin - 1'26"560
7. fila
Portogallo - Filipe Albuquerque - 1'31"582
Indonesia - Satrio Hermanto - 1'31"781
8. fila
Corea - Jin Woo Hwang - 1'33"020

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baronrojo

a1gp r1

1. Malaysia Fairuz Fauzy 19mins 44.533secs
2. New Zealand Earl Bamber +3.474secs
3. France Loic Duval +6.270secs
4. Netherlands Jeroen Bleekemolen +13.433secs
5. Switzerland Neel Jani +16.896secs
6. South Africa Adrian Zaugg +20.925secs
7. Italy Fabio Onidi +22.214secs
8. USA Charlie Kimball +24.150secs
9. Portugal Filipe Albuquerque +29.427secs
10. Lebanon Daniel Morad +38.929secs
11. Australia John Martin +1min 27.471secs
12. China Ho Pin Tung +1 lap
13. Brazil Felipe Guimaraes +1 lap

Did not finish:

14. Korea Jin Woo Hwang +7 laps
15. Indonesia Satrio Hermanto +8 laps
16. Ireland Adam Carroll +8 laps
17. Monaco Clivio Piccione +9 laps

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