 Older Article | Newer Article |
[NEWS] Yesterday in motorsport #3
by 321Ignition Magazine
Yesterday in motorsport
4 February, 2010
Bright reveals 2010 ride
Jason Bright has revealed his colours for the 2010 season, with the launch of his Brad Jones Racing VE Commodore, the former Bathurst winner unveiling the colours of new sponsor Trading Post.
Bright’s return to Holden brings him back to the manufacturer with which he had so much success in 2001-2004 (HRT/Team Brock). His ride for 2010 will be the WOW car which Cameron McConville used so successfully last season, with power from Noonan Race Engineering.
Bright along with team-mates Jason Richards and Karl Reindler will be on track for the first official Winton test of the year next Monday.
V8 Supercars launch ‘Supercarnival’
With the loss of Champcar to the Surfers Paradise Indy circuit last year, the Queensland Government replaced the popular American open-wheel series with the fledgling A1GP for what was to be the opening round of that season; it never happened, leaving the promoter and the Queensland Government very red-faced.
Whilst all were despairing, Tony Cochrane rode into town and again saved the day (as he did at Adelaide with the development of the Clipsal 500) to offer V8 Supercars as the saviours of both the event and the Government.
Yesterday, the Gold Coast Bulletin revealed news of a 600km ‘enduro’ around the Gold Coast streets for 2010, with an event that would see an ‘international’ driver join the regular driver as co-pilot. It is a novel approach and needs ratification from CAMS, however it appears that the ball is already rolling with former F1 driver Mark Blundell and 1997 Gold Coast winner Scott Pruett already locked in to compete.
Alonso cautious about testing pace
New Ferrari recruit Fernando Alonso topped the first official Formula 1 practice session of the year at the completion of three days testing at Valencia, toppling team-mate Felipe Massa who had dominated the timesheets for the opening two days.
Whilst it was a positive sign for the Maranello based team, dual world champion Alonso (who contested just the final day of the test) was quick to address the result as being any clear indication of how the season will pan out, suggesting it was far too early to tell.
He may have been cautious but commentators have suggested that Alonso’s pace was indicative of Ferrari’s return to the pointy end of the field after a dismal 2009, Alonso setting the time very early in the session then almost matching the time at various stages during the day on different fuel loads.
Of the rest, Ross Brawn is already suggesting they have an issue with the Mercedes, and that they are aware of what they need to do prior to the next scheduled session.
Virgin launches, well almost...
Richard Branson is renowned for his inventive approach to marketing, so when it was announced last year that he’d joined former Simtek boss Nick Wirth to establish Virgin Racing, it was always likely that there would be plenty of fanfare when the car was launched. Typically, just weeks out from the event it was revealed that the team would be launched online, mirroring the car’s design using entirely computational fluid dynamics as opposed to the traditional wind-tunnel development.
Sadly, despite the grand plan, technical issues delayed the proposed launch, the team finally revealing their stunning new livery some time later through their website.
Virgin are the first of the new teams for the 2010 season to build and test a car, with a planned shakedown for the VR-01 scheduled for Thursday and Friday before the second official test of the season at Jerez later in the month.
Combined times from Valencia test - Day 3
Valencia, Day 3 (3/2/10)
1. Fernando Alonso, Ferrari (127 laps) - 1:11.470
2. Felipe Massa, Ferrari (124 laps) - 1:11.722
3. Kamui Kobayashi, Sauber (96) - 1:12.056
4. Pedro de la Rosa, Sauber (154) - 1:12.094
5. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren-Mercedes (108) - 1:12.256
6. Robert Kubica, Renault (188) - 1:12.426
7. Michael Schumacher, Mercedes (122) - 1:12.438
8. Jamie Alguersuari, Torro-Ross-Ferrari (97) - 1:12.576
9. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes (158) - 1:12.899
10. Jenson Button, McLaren-Mercedes (82) - 1:12.951
11. Vitaly Petrov, Renault (75) - 1:13.097
12. Rubens Barrichello, Williams-Cosworth (177) - 1:13.337
13. Nico Hulkenberg, Williams-Cosworth (126) - 1:13.669
14. Sebastien Buemi, Torro-Ross-Ferrari (125) - 1:13.823
15. Gary Paffett, McLaren-Mercedes (86) - 1:13.846
Yamaha tops first day of testing at Sepang
1. Valentino Rossi, Yamaha - 2:01.411
2. Casey Stoner, Ducati - 2:01.902
3. Colin Edwards, Tech 3 Yamaha - 2:01.932
4. Loris Capirossi, Suzuki - 2:02.102
5. Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha - 2:02.165
6. Andrea Dovizioso, Honda - 2:02.630
7. Nicky Hayden, Ducati - 2:02.792
8. Dani Pedrosa, Honda - 2:02.866
9. Mika Kallio, Pramac Ducati - 2:02.987
10. Hector Barbera, Aspar Ducati - 2:03.030
11. Aleix Espargaro, Pramac Ducati - 2:03.133
12. Ben Spies, Tech 3 Yamaha - 2:03.142
13. Randy de Puniet, LCR Honda - 2:03.456
14. Alvaro Bautista, Suzuki - 2:03.558
15. Marco Simoncelli, Gresini Honda - 2:03.609
16. Marco Melandri, Gresini Honda - 2:03.609
17. Hiroshi Aoyama, Interwetten Honda - 2:03.651
| Older Article | Newer Article |
| Browse 'NEWS' | |
