The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- Time to Jaze it up
- Malaysian drivers out to give eye-catching show in Europe
- Suppliers to hold talks over Formula One’s controversial fast-wearing rubber
| Posted: 23 Apr 2013 04:47 PM PDT PETALING JAYA: Malaysia's leading international racing ace Jazeman Jaafar is looking forward to another highly competitive round of the Formula Renault 3.5 series (FR3.5) at the Motorland Aragon Circuit in Spain this weekend. Jazeman, a Petronas Talent Programme driver, is in 10th position in the drivers' championship after the first two races and looking for a strong showing to improve his position. "I'm going to Aragon with the confidence of having enjoyed a good start to my Formula Renault 3.5 campaign at Monza earlier this month,"said the 20-year-old. "Although I've not raced at the track, I have tested there this season, so I'm familiar with it. We'll have an extra practice session on Thursday as a replacement for a test day we lost to snow ... so, I'll be well acclimatised for the start of the racing on Saturday. "I'm hoping to continue with the consistency and race pace from Monza and work with my experienced Carlin team to produce the results we're aiming for," added Jazeman, who is looking forward to his first mandatory pitstops. "As well as the first time racing at Aragon, it will also be my first time experiencing mandatory pitstops. But we've been practising these, so I'm feeling quite positive and excited for this extra challenge. "The first races at Monza were everything I had expected. It was very competitive racing throughout the whole race distance, which required a very high level of concentration and focus for a longer period than I've experienced as these races are longer than the previous series I've raced in. "It's great to get more mileage per race and push yourself harder ... it adds to the challenge." Each race on Saturday and Sunday will be 45 minutes long. |
| Malaysian drivers out to give eye-catching show in Europe Posted: 23 Apr 2013 04:40 PM PDT PETALING JAYA: It will be an exciting weekend for Malaysian motorsports with the country's bright talents getting ready for action in Europe. Jazeman Jaafar will be battling it out in the second round of the Formula Renault 3.5 series in Spain while Nabil Jeffri will be looking to make a good debut for Petronas in the German F3 championships in Oschersleben after positive test results. Rahul Raj, however, did not have such luxury but he'll still be hoping to put on an eye-catching show when he makes his European debut in the BDRC Formula 4 championships at the Silverstone Circuit this Saturday. His car was scheduled for seat and pedals fitting on Monday to get the 16-year-old to be ready for his first testing the following day. However, the transporter truck was involved in an accident on the way to pick up the car and the truck driver had to be taken away in an ambulance. The truck has been compounded by police, resulting in all testings being cancelled for the week. "I have to go straight to race this Saturday without doing any testing at all. Twenty-one other drivers have been practising daily for the past two weeks and have a better understanding of their cars and should be more confident of handling ther machine. "It's going to be a tough race for me as they have a huge advantage over me," he said from England. Nevertheless, Rahul, who finished second overall in the Formula Gulf 1000 championships recently, is excited to be given the opportunity to showcase his talent in Europe and acknowledged that it won't be easy racing against some of the top up-and-coming drivers from Europe. "My aim will be to get as much experience as possible in the first race. "I'll take it one race at a time and move my way up the grid. I hope to finish in the top 10, at least," said the optimistic lad. Nabil will be drawing on recent positive results in pre-season testing when he makes his debut in the German F3 series. He adapted well to the Oschersleben track and was consistently in the top five in the timesheets. Nabil, driving for Eurointernational, was just 0.5 seconds off the fastest man Emil Benstoff of the Lotus Motopark team and is confident of setting top five finishes as his primary target in the opening three races. "It was a good outing over the two days and I was able to adapt to the Oschersleben track quickly," said Nabil. "It's a short track with lots of fast turns. "Physically, it is demanding but I'm comfortable with it. "Emil is the benchmark as he has the experience of competing in the F3 Euroseries last year." The 18-car grid sees the last year's JK Racing Asia runners-up competing against a field of some seasoned F3 drivers. |
| Suppliers to hold talks over Formula One’s controversial fast-wearing rubber Posted: 23 Apr 2013 04:38 PM PDT MANAMA: Pirelli are expected to hold talks at their Milan factory to decide what, if any, changes are needed to improve the performance of their controversial Formula One racing tyres. After four races dominated and decided by tyre-wear and the strategy required to cope with this season's fast-wearing rubber, F1's leading teams are keen to see Pirelli switch to producing more conservative tyres that help ensure truer racing for the drivers. Despite seeing his defending triple world champion driver German Sebastian Vettel claim his second win this season to open up a 10-points gap in the title race, Red Bull's chief Christian Horner said he remained critical of the tyres and still wanted changes. "I think the tyres are still too on an edge," he said. "Needing to four-stop in a race is I think a bit too extreme. "There are other teams that look like they have bigger issues than Red Bull with their tyres, but you need to speak to them to ask their opinion. "But I do feel the tyres are on an edge and just need to come back a little bit." Vettel's dominant showing in the Bahrain Grand Prix did nothing to persuade Horner to change his mind. Red Bull still wants Formula 1 tyre supplier Pirelli to change their tyres for the remainder of the season, even though they triumphed at the Bahrain Grand Prix. "These tyres are very complex and we got it just right here," he told reporters. "The strategy worked, the strategy from qualifying worked in the race, and Seb had plenty in hand. "When you're in the window with the balance with these tyres, then you can have a dominant display. "But that window is very, very fine and if you're outside of it then you can be four or five-stopping." Pirelli's motorsport director Paul Hembrey, who spent most of the Bahrain race weekend fending off criticisms and questions about the unpredictable tyres, said the Italian company planned to hold a meeting to evaluate how their tyres performed in the opening four races. He said that the extreme cases of tyre-degradation seen at the Bahrain International Circuit, where several drivers experienced tyres that appeared to throw off their entire tread blocks, were due to the unique combination of heat, dust and a demanding track layout. "We are at extremes, as we were last year, when there were similar comments like, 'oh my god, you have gone too far,'" he said. "If we made products that would just work here, we would find we had major problems when we got to the rest of the season. So, it is a balancing act and that is what we have to look at." While Vettel revelled in the conditions to romp to a surprisingly easy win, German Nico Rosberg, who took pole for Mercedes with a blistering lap on Saturday, found himself facing a struggle to cope with the demands of the race – due to the high wear of his rear tyres. "I think that, in terms of the way, we manage the tyres and the tyre temperatures, we took a step in the wrong direction and didn't get the best out if it. "Altogether, from first to ninth was unreal. I can't believe it. This sport is tough sometimes. "As nice as it was on Saturday with the pole, it was a terrible Sunday. But there we go. The great thing is we have a great car. We just need to sort out these tyre issues, which is easier said than done. "It is a massive mission and it is the same for everyone. Some people are doing a better job so we are pushing hard for that." — AFP |
| You are subscribed to email updates from The Star Online: Sports To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan