Author: brfcjordan95

Sibley wins MG Midget affair at a canter

The 2015 Castle Combe car racing season roared back into life yesterday in a perfect Spring day of bright sunshine and small winds which greeted this now traditional bank holiday Howard’s Day Easter Monday meeting. The first race of the day was for the Lackford Engineering Midget and Sprite challenge, a long running MG and Austin Healey series for their iconic Midget car.

After qualifying it was long standing championship front runner Paul Sibley who unsurprisingly sat on pole, although his margin of just over three seconds to the next car was a very surprising and impressive effort from Sibley. James Dunkley shared the front row with him, with Edward Reeve and Andy Southcott completing the second row. At the start of this 20 minute affair it was no surprise to see the class A highly modified Midgets race into the lead, with Dunkley capitalizing on a poor start from Sibley to lead going into Quarry.

Unfortunately for the rest, it didn’t take Sibley long to re-assert himself as he made up for his poor start to go from 3rd to the lead by the end of lap 1. Sibley quickly built a gap to Dunkley, who did the same to third man Stephen Pegram, up from 5th on the grid.

In the early laps the focus switched to the battle for 4th, containing Southcott, Reeve and Sam Healey, with Reeve passing the class B front runner Southcott for 4th on lap 4, with Reeve and Healey immediately closing the gap on third man Pegram whilst Southcott dropped back from them in 6th. On lap 7 Reeve and Healey appeared well clear of Pegram to the tune of five to six seconds, suggesting a possible error by Pegram or possible contact. A lap later and Reeve was clearing away from Healey to the tune of several seconds as he consolidated his 3rd place.

Unfortunately this appeared to the end of the major battles with the top seven all spread out by the final laps, leaving Sibley to take a very comfortable victory by 31 seconds from James Dunkley, who in turn was 27 ahead of the final podium finisher Ed Reeve. Sam Healey came home alone in 4th, with Andy Southcott and Carl Chadwick close to being lapped by Sibley in 5th and 6th.

Afterwards in the post race interviews it became apparent all the front runners had been caught out by the newly resurfaced track, with many commenting on their need to stiffen their suspension before the race as their previously softer set up’s to cope with the bumps proved ineffective now the track is a lot smoother. The series provided a good opening race to the Howard’s Day  meeting, and we hope the series can return to Combe next year.

For more information on this series please visit their website http://www.mgmidgetchallenge.co.uk/

Hamilton takes wet pole from Vettel

Lewis Hamilton mastered the wet but drying conditions in the final Q3 session to claim pole by the narrowest of margins over the resurgent Sebastien Vettel and Ferrari. Nico Rosberg will be slightly disappointed with third although this still leaves him in a good position for the race tomorrow.

Q1 began with increasingly darkening skies as everyone worried as to when the thunderstorm clouds surrounding the circuit would finally envelop it. Everyone was quick to get out on track once the session began, all hoping to get in a banker lap time in case the rain began to fall.

Lewis Hamilton was top of the times after everyone’s first laps, with a 1m39.269 enough to oust Rosberg by 0.105 of a second. From here things began to follow a more regular Q1 pattern, with the front runners returning to the pits whilst the rest fought it out to make it into Q2. Of those eliminated at the end of Q1 it was the two Manor-Marussia entries that ended the session at the back of the field.

Brit Will Stevens wasn’t able to get out on track with an electrical problem, whilst Spanish rookie team mate Roberto Merhi was 19th, with a time just outside the 107% rule. Despite both being outside the cut off time to race, it appears they may well be able to race with the ultimate decision coming from the race stewards. The team will be hoping they can make their 2015 debut this weekend after not being able to run in Australia.

Next up were the two McLaren’s, with Jenson Button out qualifying Fernando Alonso in 17th and 18th. Whilst this wasn’t the positions the team were hoping for, they are encouraged by their step up this weekend, the team seemingly finding 0.8 of a second since the opening Australian GP. The final driver eliminated in Q1 was Australian GP hero Felipe Nasr, who struggled on his final lap and starts 16th.

On to Q2 and once again the grid filed out very early on in the session, with the threat of rain becoming very real now. Everyone was able to set one banker lap before the light rain started at the back edge of the circuit. From here it was all downhill as the downpour started in earnest. It appears across the world that Malaysia has the strongest downpours, with the track instantly soaked by the onslaught of heavy rain. With this the drivers retreated to the pits, bringing an end to the track running in Q2.

Kimi Raikkonen was the highest profile casualty with his Ferrari held up on his hot lap by Marcus Ericsson on his own timed lap, leaving the Finn 11th. Pastor Maldonado was 12th for Lotus, whilst the two Sahara-Force India’s of Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez 13th and 14th respectively. Completing the top 15 is rookie Carlos Sainz in his Scuderia Toro Rosso. He will likely be slightly disappointed with this as he looked confident in the dry Q1 session, and looked likely to make Q3 before the rainfall.

After a 30 minute delay whilst the Safety Car assessed the track conditions, the final twelve minute Q3 shootout for pole got underway, with the majority of the ten remaining cars heading out with intermediate tyres on. The field were all once again out early as they hoped to dry the track for optimal performance later on in the session. As with seemingly the rest of the qualifying session Hamilton was fastest after their first timed runs, with a scintillating 1m49.834 lap time a huge 1.232 seconds quicker than team mate Nico Rosberg in second.

From here they all returned to the pits, preparing themselves for the crucial final run to decide the grid. The end of the session was slightly anti-climatic as both Hamilton nor Rosberg were able to improve their times on their final laps. This opened the door for an inspired Sebastien Vettel to claim second on the grid, only 0.074 from snatching a very unlikely pole for the resurgent Ferrari team.

Rosberg will surely be disappointed with third on the grid, showing the level of dominance the team has enjoyed over the past year or so. Daniel Ricciardo will be pleased with fourth after a difficult opening race for the Red Bull team, with team mate Daniil Kvyat right behind him in fifth. Max Verstappen belied his lack of experience with a very impressive qualifying session, culminating with sixth in tricky conditions. Whilst other more experienced drivers struggled he delivered for the Scuderia Toro Rosso team.

Felipe Massa was seventh for Williams, a disappointing return from qualifying as the team were hampered by their decision to start the session on full wet tyres instead of intermediates. They always looked to be chasing time and will be hoping tomorrow’s race is dry so they can show their full potential in the race. Romain Grosjean will be happy to be eighth as the Lotus team still adjusts to their new Mercedes engine.

The final row of the top ten is completed by Valtteri Bottas, returning after missing the Australian GP with a back injury he aggravated in qualifying. Marcus Ericsson starts in the top ten for the first time with tenth, showing Sauber will be competing for points in tomorrow’s race.

This qualifying session has provided some interesting story lines going into tomorrow’s race in Malaysia, with an earlier starting time reducing the chance of rain returning during the Grand Prix tomorrow. It will be interesting to see if Sebastien Vettel will be able to seriously challenge the AMG Mercedes duo of Hamilton and Rosberg, although if Hamilton carries on his current momentum this weekend he looks almost unstoppable on track. There will be plenty to keep you tuned in tomorrow in the Malaysian GP.

Lotus F1 seats up for sale

The Lotus F1 team is known to have suffered financial problems in the recent past, although the team claimed to be on a much better financial footing going into this 2015 season. Their actions tell a different story however as the team have caused widespread confusion amongst the motorsport community by signing Carmen Jorda and Adderly Fong as development drivers recently.

The F1 community reacted with ridicule to the announcement from the Lotus F1 team several weeks ago that they had signed the Spanish racer Carmen Jorda. On the surface this move seems to make sense, with Jorda racing for the last several years in GP3 and looking to progress up the single seater ladder. Dig deeper however and this move seems extremely bizarre if we believe the team that Jorda was hired based on her previous results.Jorda’s best results in her career so far was a 6th place finish in the 2009 European F3 Open series. Whilst this is a noteworthy result, considering it was her third year of F3 and the relative lack of serious high level junior competition in the European F3 Open series, this is slightly worrying. This result merited her moving up to higher categories however, as she stepped up to the Firestone Indy Lights series in America and then GP3 in Europe.

Jorda really struggled in Indy Lights and GP3, with her best finishing position in GP3 coming in her first year in 2012, where she finished 28th in the final standings. What’s slightly embarrassing for her is that late in her third year in GP3 last year, a car she spent all year at the back of the pack racing was taken by young Brit Dean Stoneman took to two wins and another podium in the final four races. This shows that it was most definitely not the car that caused her struggles in GP3, and shows the likely difference between a genunine young hotshot hoping for F1 in Dean Stoneman and another average GP3 driver such as Carmen Jorda’s results suggest she was.

Despite these three disappointing years in GP3, in late February this year the Lotus F1 team announced they had signed Jorda as a development driver for the team this year. In the team’s statement they stated Jorda would work closely in the simulator for the team, with both sides stating this move is a big step in Jorda’s dream to drive a Formula One car. Whilst it’s unlikely the team will give her any Free Practice drives this year, she may well drive for the team some tests and appears to become an integral part of the team this year.


Carmen Jorda racing in GP3 last year in another disappointing year for her. Photo credit goes to GP3/LAT.

The move led to widespread scepticism and criticism of both the Lotus team and Jorda herself as many saw through the press release and came to the conclusion she was hired to provide extra press attention for the Lotus team and the sponsorship money she can bring to the team. Her former team mate in GP3 Rob Cregan responded vocally on Twitter to the news, stating “Carmen jorda couldn’t develop a roll of film let alone a hybrid f1 car, f1 is about talent not money and nagging up fake positions.” Jorda herself responded to the news by declaring that “Formula one is full of jealousy,There are few cockpits, so only a few can make it. Rob is obviously jealous that I’m here and he is not.I wish him all the best, that’s all I can say.”

Just as this news died down the motorsport community reacted with another dose of scpeticism as Lotus announced Chinese-Canadian driver Adderly Fong as their latest development driver. Fong has risen slowly through the ranks of the junior racing categories, although like Jorda struggled once he reached GP3. His best year was his first in 2013, where he finished 21st in the final standings with two points. He didn’t score again in his second year of the series, and has signed with Koiranen for his third year in the category this year.


Fong in action for Sauber in Free Practice in abU Dhabi last year. Photo credit goes to Motorsport.com

Fong has branched into sportscars over the past few years, before making his F1 debut late last year with a Free Practice run for the financially struggling Sauber team at the Abu Dhabi GP late last year. It appears Fong will have a similar role in the team to Jorda, with Fong also likely to bring funding to the team to support them throughout the year. The move also gives the team fresh press exposure in a rapidly expanding Chinese market, something the team will be looking to exploit. This move again seems strange when considering if the team hired Fong based on his results. It seems more plausible when considering that the team likely hired Fong to help his development, with Fong giving the team access to a huge new F1 market and some likely sponsorship money also.

For Lotus they have left themselves open to ridicule amongst the F1 community by claiming the hiring of Carmen Jorda and Adderly Fong is based on their previous results in junior categories, when it seems much more likely the team hired these two young drivers because of the press exposure it gives them alongside the potential sponsorship money they can bring to the team. With reserve driver and GP2 champion Jolyon Palmer signed it seems unlikely both will see significant track time this year, making their signing a potential future problem for the team as both are looking for Lotus to help with their development of driver as both attempt to reach F1.

The biggest plus for both drivers are the sponsorship money and press exposure they can bring to teams in F1, despite results in junior categories that suggest they should be nowhere near F1 based purely on apparent driving ability and previous results. This is systematic of a much wider problem of pay drivers and many F1 teams which are struggling financially. This situation means F1 could be diluted in terms of ultimate driving ability by paying drivers who have bought their place in F1 not purely earned it based it on results. This would be a huge shame for Formula One in my opinion, which is often lauded as the premier motorsport category in the world. Any thoughts on this article? Please feel free to comment any will be appreciated.

2015 Sebring 12 Hours GTLM Preview

The latest installment of my series previewing this weekend’s iconic Sebring 12 Hours, the second round of the Tudor United Sportscar Championship, previews the highly competitive GT Le Mans class for GTE Le Mans spec race cars. This class is swarming with big budget factory teams and all star casts of drivers, something which makes this class arguably the most competitive on the TUSC grid. Predicting a winner is almost impossible but here’s my best shot at it!

#3 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C7.R: Jan Magnussen/Antonio Garcia/Ryan Briscoe

This Corvette Racing entry are coming into Sebring full of confidence after an impressive class win at the opening Rolex 24 Hour race at Daytona. The Corvette crew won out against a plethora of fellow factory entries, eventually finishing an outstanding 4th overall, which just shows how high the quality is in this GTLM class.

Corvette Racing have been a powerhouse in American GT  racing for over a decade now and what their Pratt & Miller team doesn’t know about long distance sportscar racing, frankly isn’t worth knowing. This combination of experience and high quality is reflected in their driver line-up too.

Jan Magnussen and Antonio Garcia are the full season drivers, both highly experienced and very fast Corvette drivers. Indycar star Ryan Briscoe completes the line up, bringing again both speed and experience with the Corvette C7.R race car. Corvette racing can never be discounted in GT racing, and this time out the team and this #3 entry will be hoping for yet another class win for Corvette Racing this weekend.

#4 Corvette Racing Chevrolet Corvette C7.R: Oliver Gavin/Tommy Milner/Simon Pagenaud

The Corvette Racing team started the year meaning business with an impressive run to first and third on the GTLM podium at the opening Rolex 24 at Daytona, unfortunately for the #4 crew it was their Corvette C7.R that had to complete the podium in third. Whilst this is still an amazing result, for a team used to winning third just won’t quite cut it for them. Therefore watch out for this #4 entry this weekend as the team look to reclaim the top step on the GTLM class podium come the end of the 12 Hours.

The Sebring 12 Hours is renowned for being a very difficult race to master, with some calling it the toughest sportscar race in the world. The #4 crew will be feeling up for the challenge however with the might of Corvette Racing behind them and a stellar driving cast.

Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner are both seriously quick and experienced GT drivers for Corvette Racing, whilst the hiring of Indycar rising star Simon Pagenaud for the long distance races was an inspired move by the team. Whilst he lacks GT experience, Pagenaud is seriously quick and could spring a surprise this weekend. Whilst the team will be looking for a good result to collect a haul of points for the championship, they will also be sniffing for victory should they have a clean run in the race.

#17 Team Falken Tires Porsche 911 991 RSR: Bryan Sellers/Wolf Henzler/Patrick Long

This Falken Tires outfit suffered at the Rolex 24, with a cruel engine blowup on Sunday morning forcing them out of the battle for the class lead with only a few hours remaining. Whilst it was desperately cruel luck for this team, they can take solace from their strong showing until the blowup.

This team will therefore be looking to avenge their late retirement and get back into the title fight with a strong showing this weekend. The team have spent several seasons now gaining experience and developing their unique Falken Tires, which could prove to either be an advantage or disadvantage on the rest of their competitiors depending on how they set up their car and the quality of their tyre allocation.

The team has a very strong driver line up with Bryan Sellers and Wolf Henzler being joined by Porsche factory GT driver Patrick Long for the long distance events. Long adds crucial speed and experience with in-depth knowledge of the 911 GT race car, which alongside Sellers and Henzler make this entry one to watch out. Whilst this class is full of factory GT outfits, don’t be at all surprised if this independent Falken Tire team spoil the party and claim class honors for themselves come the end of 12 hours of frantic GT action.

#24 IHG Rewards Club BMW Team RLL BMW Z4 GTE: John Edwards/Lucas Luhr/Jens Klingmann

The BMW Team RLL team were the closest challengers to Corvette Racing in the final hours of the Rolex 24, which was slightly surprising considering the strength of the BMW Z4 GTE has always been it’s higher downforce, nimble agility rather than the out and out straight line speed that is primarily needed to run quickly on the Daytona track. This #24 entry suffered some small issues during the race, although still finished a respectable 4th in class.

For the works BMW team however and this #24 entry 4th won’t be enough to satisfy them, as they will look to improve this weekend at a circuit that should suit the strengths of their Z4 more than Daytona did. On the driving front the team has a very quick line up with two young GT charges John Edwards and Jens Klingmann providing blistering pace for the team whilst the very experienced sportscar racer Lucas Luhr provides the calm experience needed to complete the 12 hours without any major dramas.

This BMW RLL Team will be looking for the couple of tenths they appear to need to beat Corvette Racing in a straight fight, although the twistier nature of the track may be all they need to snatch a class win this weekend, with this #24 crew hoping it’s them and not the sister #25 entry that leads the BMW challenge in GTLM this weekend.

#25 IHG Rewards Club BMW Team RLL BMW Z4 GTE: Bill Auberlen/Dirk Werner/Augusto Farfus

The #25 entry from BMW Team RLL was tantalizingly close to claiming class honors at the Rolex 24, falling just 0.478 of a second behind the victorious #3 Chevrolet Corvette, after 24 hours of high octane racing. It’s impossible in a sportscar race 24 hours in length to get closer to a victory, with the team hoping to make the small improvement needed to claim class victory this weekend.

This BMW Team RLL has become a very professional and well drilled outfit, ran by Bobby Rahal, and their BMW Z4 GTE  should be on form again this weekend at Sebring. The driving talent in this #25 BMW entry is impressive with the vastly experienced and fast Bill Auberlen anchoring the line up, alongside team mate Dirk Werner and BMW factory DTM driver Augusto Farfus to complete the trio. With the team coming so close at Daytona, you can be sure they will be doing everything in their power to finish the job this weekend and claim class honors.

#62 Risi Competizione Ferrari F458 Italia: Pierre Kaffer/Giancarlo Fisichella/Andrea Bertolini

The #62 Risi Ferrari team were running strongly in the opening hours of the Rolex 24, before a serious engine problem ruined their race and forced the team into retirement. This was not the start to the 2015 Tudor United Sportscar Championship season this team was expecting, and they will be looking to bounce back to the rightful spot at the front of the GTLM class battle this weekend.

The Risi team is one of the strongest Ferrari GT teams in the world, with Ferrari factory assistance adding to the highly professional and long standing team. In terms of driving talent the team has three stars with factory Ferrari GT driver Giancarlo Fisichella leading the line up, with Pierre Kaffer and Andrea Bertolini providing a wealth of experience and consistent speed, which will be crucial in their fight for class victory. This team is looking to bounce back after Daytona, and don’t be surprised if they do so in resounding fashion with a class win this weekend at Sebring.

#98 Gulf Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin Vantage V8 GTE: Pedro Lamy/Paul Dalla Lana/Darren Turner/Mathias Lauda

The Aston Martin Racing factory team suffered a difficult start to their return to American GT racing at the Rolex 24, suffering several problems which left the team on the fringes of the top five in GTLM come the finish. The team will therefore be hoping to have unlocked some extra speed from their Vantage GTE car this weekend at Sebring, as it hopes for a much stronger showing this time out.

On the driving front the team also suffered slightly compared to the rest, with long time Aston Martin factory drivers Darren Turner and Pedro Lamy leading the line up, although the car’s overall pace dropped off slightly when new Aston Martin factory driver Mathias Lauda and the only amateur in the GTLM class in Paul Dalla Lana.

Whilst both Lauda and Dalla Lana were still quick, their pace couldn’t quite match the rest of the very fast professional GT drivers in their class, which is to expected considering the experience compared to the rest.This weekend the team will be hoping for an upturn in their fortunes, although they may struggle to fight for class honors a podium is a definite possibility for this very well run Aston Martin Racing team.

#911 Porsche North America Porsche 911 991 RSR: Nick Tandy/Patrick Pilet/Richard Lietz

For the Porsche North America factory racing team it was not a happy return to the Rolex 24 after a class victory on their debut in 2014, this year the race dealt them some cruel luck and the team stumbled through the 24 hours, although the #911 entry did well in it’s recovery drive as they soldiered through the field to an eventual 4th in class. Embarrassingly both cars collided with each other during the late evening at Daytona, something the team will be hoping does not derail their run at Sebring.

Porsche are always professional and highly organised in their running of a team, and they always manage to find a bevy of drivers with both blinding pace and the consistency that make a great sportscar driver. On this front the team has a brilliant line up of their latest recruit Nick Tandy, alongside long standing Porsche factory drivers Patrick Pilet and Richard Lietz.

Whilst the Porsche factory team suffered a difficult opening Rolex 24, the fact this #911 entry still finished 4th in class despite it’s problems shows that when this team has a clean run, they will be right there with the contenders fighting for the victory, something they hope to achieve starting this weekend.

#912 Porsche North America Porsche 911 991 RSR: Jorg Bergmeister/Earl Bamber/Frederic Makowiecki

The #912 Porsche entry suffered even more bad luck than their sister #911 entry at Daytona, with the crew surely hoping that’s their lot in terms of bad luck for the next few races. The team struggled at the Rolex, although when the car was running healthy it showed a lot of pace and could well had challenged for the class win had they not suffered their issues.

The Porsche North America team is highly organised and they would have rectified any mistakes made at Daytona, with an all star driver line up adding to their professionalism.  Jorg Bergmeister is the experienced hand in this entry, although still has a wicked turn of pace in a Porsche 911, with the highly rated duo of Frederic Makowiecki and Earl Bamber alongside him. Both have established themselves as seriously quick GT drivers and this car has a great chance of class victory at Sebring if they can get the car dialed in with the tricky airfield circuit.

That wraps up my preview of the highly competitive GT Le Mans class of the Tudor United Sportscar Championship, as for predicting a winner that is simply too hard to predict. I will be tuning in this weekend for sure to see who comes out on top in this titanic GTLM class battle. A final word of thanks has to go to the amazing Motorsport.com for their high quality photos which one again feature in this article. Please go and visit their website http://www.Motorsport.com for all the latest motorsport news and high quality photos from across the motorsport globe. Thank you and any comments would be appreciated both good and bad. Enjoy!

Giedo van der Garde affair leaves bitter taste

Today the news finally became official, the ongoing and high profile dispute between the Sauber team and Dutch driver Giedo van der Garde came to a close with a statement from van der Garde announcing a settlement had been reached with the team. If you don’t follow F1 and don’t know the backstory to this dispute let me give you the key details.

Giedo van der Garde was the Sauber teams reserve driver last year, and in the middle of last year the team signed him to a race deal for this year. Van der Garde confirmed the rumors in his statement today, that his personal sponsors paid their fees for this year up front on the signing of his deal last year, in an effort to help the financially struggling team through the season.

van der Garde in action for the Sauber team in a free practice session for the Spanish Grand Prix last year. Photo credit goes to http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk and http://www.Sauberf1team.com

Therefore I expect van der Garde was suitably angry and confused when it was announced late last year in quick succession that the team had also signed Swede Marcus Ericsson and Brazilian rookie Felipe Nasr. It doesn’t take a math expert to know three F1 drivers can’t drive two cars, with van der Garde becoming the fall man for the team. This is where things turned ugly as van der Garde brought his case before the courts, first in Switzerland and then in Australia last week.

In both courts he won the case, with both courts ordering Sauber to give him a race seat for this season. When understandably Sauber began to baulk at this order in the build up to last weekend’s opening Australian Grand Prix, van der Garde went back to court to get a contempt of court order, effectively forcing Sauber to give him a drive or the teams assets would be seized by bailiffs and key team members could be arrested.

This sorry saga was fast becoming a soap opera, although thankfully before qualifying last Saturday common sense prevailed, with van der Garde announcing that both he and the team entered talks on a settlement, with van der Garde giving up his right to drive last weekend. Talks between the two parties quickly developed to the stage were at today, with van der Garde announcing that a settlement had been reached.

Whilst he did not disclose the specific details today, it’s believed he has been paid 15 million Euro’s to cancel his contract and allow the team to continue with Ericsson and Nasr. For the cash strapped team this is a huge sum to pay out, although is only fair considering the sponsor money paid to the team last year and compensation for canceling his contract.

The tone of van der Garde’s statement this morning was understandably downcast, as he stated “As a passionate race driver, I feel sad and am very disappointed. I have worked very hard my entire career, ever since starting with go-karts at the age of eight, to live my dream and become a successful Formula 1 driver. I had hoped at last to be able to show what I am capable of, driving a car for a respected midfield team in the 2015 season. This dream has been taken away from me and I know that my future in Formula 1 is probably over.”

It was remarkably refreshing this morning to read his statement, where for once in modern day Formula One a driver was honest about the situation to the media, a far cry from many modern drivers PR driven stance which would have yielded a statement with plenty “no comment” mantra’s, and frankly would have been more useful to the specialist media as toilet paper.

Van der Garde went on to add “There has been a lot of speculation in the media over the past week, so I want to set out clearly that my sponsors paid the sponsorship fee related to the 2015 season in its entirety to Sauber in the first half of 2014.This was simply in good faith and to help the team deal with its cash problems at the time. Effectively, it was my sponsor’s advanced payments that helped the team survive in 2014.”

He also added his thoughts on Sauber’s decision making on the matter “Sauber’s financial decision-making in this case is bizarre and makes no sense to me.I am not at liberty to discuss details, but Sauber paid significant compensation to avoid honouring the contract they had with me. Only in that respect can I be satisfied that my rights have finally been recognised and that at least some justice has been done.”

Whilst the move clearly rankles with van der Garde, it appears a part of him is glad this ordeal is over. Van der Garde suggests his chances of rebuilding an F1 career is over for him, a shame if true considering he impressed during his rookie season with Caterham in 2013. Despite van der Garde appearing not to pursue any F1 opportunities now, he also named some series he would like to compete in the future.”I would love to take part in the WEC and the Le Mans 24 Hours in an LMP1 car. Former Formula 1 drivers do very well in this series, We also have our eye on other series such as the DTM in 2016 and beyond.”

Whilst the future remains unclear for van der Garde in motorsport, he can at least take solace that he has gained a lot of respect amongst the motorsport community for his class and dignity throughout this whole sorry saga with Sauber. Van der Garde can hold his head high that he did nothing wrong in this matter, it’s Sauber who have come out of this matter with their reputation severely diminished. This also is a shame for what was previously one of F1’s highest teams in terms of class and dignity amongst the F1 paddock.

What are your thoughts on this matter? Please feel free to comment below all comments will be appreciated both good and bad.

2015 Sebring 12 Hours Prototype Challenge Preview

Next up in my series previewing next weekend’s Sebring 12 Hours is the Prototype Challenge class. Whilst the class consists of spec Oreca FLM09-Chevrolet cars, the class provides great racing with the spec Oreca meaning the teams and drivers are very closely matched. Let’s take a look at the runners and riders for next weekend’s Sebring 12 Hour enduro.

#8 Martini Starworks Oreca FLM09-Chevrolet: Renger Van Der Zande/Mike Hedlund/Mirco Schultis

The Starworks motorsport teams Prototype Challenge class entry virtually mirrored their Daytona Prototype entry in that both cars showed impressive pace when running cleanly, although a series of issues hampered the team and ultimately led to the retirement of both cars. In the case of this #8 PC entry an alternator faliure forced the team out during the night.

For this weekend’s next round at Sebring the team will be hoping for a more comfortable run for the #8 entry as they look to recover from their first round retirement during the gruelling 12 Hours of Sebring. The team has retained the majority of it’s stellar driving line up from the Rolex 24 with the very fast Dutch driver Renger Van Der Zande leading the line up alongside the added pace from Mike Hedland, with the trio being completed by the very experienced German Mirco Schultis.

If this teams #8 Martini entry can remain reliable throughout the 12 Hours and avoid an on track drama’s, expect this team to be right at the front of the highly competitive Prototype Challenge class with Van Der Zande leading the charge for class honors.

#11 AutoMaxUSA RSR Racing Oreca FLM09-Chevrolet: Bruno Junqueira/Chris Cumming/Gustavo Menezes/TBA

The #11 RSR Racing entry was another Prototype Challenge car to face difficulty in the opening Rolex 24, the team forced to retire on the Sunday with an engine faliure. The team will therefore be hoping for much better this weekend at Sebring, although the 12 Hour race on the airfield circuit is another stern test for the Tudor United Sportscar Championship grid.

The RSR Racing has a wealth of American sportscar racing experience to count on, something even more important in a class where the car and engine package are the same for everyone, as is with the Prototype Challenge grid. On the driving front the team has former F3000 champion and Champ Car title contender Bruno Junqueira, a stunning signing for the RSR team.

Partnering him will be the young American driver Gustavo Menezes. He is climbing the single seater ladder in Europe and will be another fast driver for this team. The final piece of their line up is the amateur driver Chris Cumming, another fast Canadian who is a former PC class champion in the old American Le Mans Series. With the experience of the RSR Racing team and the very fast driver line up they have the team will be certain to challenge for class victory if they can have a clean run during the 12 Hours.

#16 Spongebob Movie BAR1 Motorsport Oreca FLM09-Chevrolet: Johnny Mowlem/Martin Plowman/Tom Papadopoulos

The BAR1 Motorsport team were another team to show their pace during the Rolex 24, and will be hoping to continue this good start to the season this weekend at Sebring. Whilst things went well for the team on the track at Daytona, unfortunately the team were disqualified after the race for a drive time violation. Whilst this is rightly a huge blow for the promising young team, they can at least take solace from their strong run to pole position and a close second in class.

The team will be hoping to show similar pace this weekend, whilst keeping in line with the rules so they can keep their finishing position points. The team’s line up of very fast British drivers Johnny Mowlem and Martin Plowman are joined by the amateur driver Tom Papadopoulos, who is a good addition for the team. This line up is one of the best in the class and the team will be disappointed if they have a clean run during the 12 Hours and don’t come away with at least a podium place. Watch out for this team this weekend.

#38 Performance Tech Motorsports Oreca FLM09-Chevrolet: Jerome Mee/James French/Conor Daly

The Performance Tech Motorsport team suffered a difficult Rolex 24 at Daytona, an accident eliminating them early on in the race. The team will therefore be looking for a smoother run in this weekend’s Sebring 12 Hours, although this race is another punishing event for everyone on the grid. The team will hope for a clean run throughout the race, something which should land the team a respectable result if they can achieve this.

On the driving front the team has the relatively experience James French to lead the line up alongside Jerome Mee, someone stepping up to the Prototype Challenge class of the Tudor United Sportscar Championship after competing for the last few years in the feeder IMSA Prototype Lights category. The team created a stir amongst the TUSC grid by announcing this week that the very fast young American Conor Daly will complete their line up for this weekend. Daly is inexperienced with sportscar racing although should impress at his first attempt. With this line up the team can definitely challenge for a class podium.

#52 Cuttwood PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports Oreca FLM09-Chevrolet: Tom Kimber-Smith/Mike Guasch/Andrew Palmer

For the PR1/Mathiasen team started the year in the perfect manner with class victory in the opening Rolex 24 at Daytona, a result the team will hope to repeat at this weekend’s Sebring 12 Hours. The team got lucky in some cases during the race at Daytona, a key ingredient to all long distance sportscar victories. Whilst every team hopes before the start of a faultless run during the race, for this team this applies even more as they know if they can stay reliable they will be fighting to class victory come the end of the 12 Hours.

The team have retained their Daytona driver line up, with the very experienced and fast Brit Tom Kimber-Smith now partnering team mate Mike Guasch full time after Andrew Novich stepped down from the team after Daytona to focus on his college studies. Guasch is a very experienced a solid amateur driver to anchor the line up and will provide consistent stints whilst staying out of trouble, vital to any sportscar victory. Completing the teams line up is the fast young American Andrew Palmer, who steps up to the PC class of the Tudor series for the Tequila Patron North American Endurance Cup races. Palmer impressed in the competitive Pirelli World Challenge series last year,finishing 5th overall, and will look to continue his upward career momentum with PR1/Mathiasen Motorsport. Coming off a Rolex 24 class victory, this team goes into Sebring as one of the favourites for class honours.

#54 FlexBox CORE Autosport Oreca FLM09-Chevrolet: Jon Bennett/Colin Braun/James Gue

This CORE Autosport team have quickly established themselves as the leading team in the competitive Prototype Challenge class, as they dominated last year to taking the class title with numerous wins including at the Rolex 24. The team looked set for another class victory at Daytona this year, until a late accident in the final hour forced the team to settle for second in class. This team is used to winning in PC and will look to return to winning ways this weekend at Sebring. The team is highly professional and will surely go into the race as the favourite for PC class honours come the end of the 12 Hours.

The team’s driver line up looks solid on paper, although this underestimates the speed of Colin Braun or the steady and reliable team owner Jon Bennett and James Gue. Both can provide stints with a high average speed across their stint, whilst also remaining consistent and keeping out of any on track trouble that is inevitable with grids of over 40 cars. This team will go into the race as favourites for PC class honours and will surely be disappointed with anything but a class win.

#85 La Moderna JDC/Miller Motorsport Oreca FLM09-Chevrolet: Mikhail Goikhberg/Chris Miller/Rusty Mitchell/Gerry Kraut

The JDC/Miller Motorsport team will go into Sebring this weekend hoping to build on their class podium in Januaries Rolex 24 at Daytona. The team will have been happy to complete the podium in third although this was tinged slightly with the news that it only came about because of the exclusion of the #16 BAR1 Motorsport car.

The team have lost some of their star name drivers from the Rolex 24, although the line up they have retained is a very respectable one and can compete for competitive class honours in the race if they can avoid any major dramas. Mikhail Goikhberg has stepped up to the Tudor United Sportscar Championship this year after winning the feeder IMSA Prototype Lights series last year. This shows his pace and he will likely lead the teams line up throughout the race. Rusty Mitchell is another fast driver from this line up, and with plenty of sportscar racing experience he will help the team massively during the race. Chris Miller and Gerry Kraut will both be a safe pair of hands during the race and will hopefully keep the team out of trouble so that Mitchell and Goikhberg can push the team towards a top placing. If this team can stay out of trouble, they could very well spring a surprise come the end of the race. Watch out for this JDC/Miler entry and discount them at your peril.

That concludes my preview of the Prototype Challenge class ahead of this weekend’s Sebring 12 Hours. If I had to chose one car to put money on it would be the #54 CORE Autosport entry, although the likes of the #16 BAR1 Motorsport, #52 PR1/Mathiasen Motorsport and #85 JDC/Miller Motorsport cars will all be fighting at the front for class victory. As with every class in the highly competitive Tudor United Sportscar Championship, it’s impossible to predict a clear favourite for victory, which only means the action on track will be even more exciting come Saturday. A final comment I have to make is a huge thank you to Motorsport.com for their amazing high quality images in this preview. Please go and visit their website http://www.Motorsport.com for the latest news and photos from across the motorsport world. Also feel free to comment any will be appreciated both good and bad. Enjoy!

2015 Sebring 12 Hours Prototype Preview Part 2

Here is part 2 of my preview of the Prototype class for the upcoming Sebring 12 Hours, the second round of the Tudor United Sportscar Championship. Without further ado, here’s a look at the second half of the Prototype entry list.

#50 Fifty Plus Racing Riley-BMW Daytona Prototype: Jim Pace/Byron DeFoor/David Hinton/Dorsey Schroeder

This Fifty Plus Racing team runs on a slightly different objective to the rest of the field. Whilst the rest are obsessed with winning this team has a secondary purpose of raising money for their HighwayToHelp charity. The charity is linked with the Alzheimer’s association and aims to raise money through donations. As the name suggests the team is made up of drivers over fifty years old. The team will be led by firstly formerly retired ex-pro and American sportscar racing analyst Dorsey Schroeder. Whilst he was retired for a while before returning to the track, expect him to be seriously fast in the car. Leading the team alongside him will be former overall Daytona 24 Hours winner Jim Pace. He has a wealth of experience and will match or even beat the times of Schroeder.

Partnering these two are the amateur drivers Byron DeFoor and David Hinton, both of whom will do a respectable job in the car and bring it home safely for the team. Whilst this team are unlikely to be contending for victory at Sebring, this car will post some fast times with Schroeder and Pace at the wheel. A quiet, reliable run for this team may well bring them into the top eight overall by the end of the 12 Hours.

#57 Krohn Racing Ligier JS P2-Judd: Tracy Krohn/Nic Jonsson/Olivier Pla

Krohn Racing is one of the few teams in the Prototype class fielding an LMP2 class of car, a last remnant from the previous American Le Mans Series. The team ran well in their new Ligier coupe last time out at the Rolex 24 Hours,although an engine problem sidelined the team within the first eight hours of the race. Despite this disappointing run at Daytona the team will be looking to bounce back at Sebring next weekend.

Although the team is only contesting the Tequila Patron North American Endurance Cup events alongside a full season in the European Le Mans Series, it will look for a good result at Sebring before it ships their Ligier to Europe for the majority of the season. On the driving front the team once again has a front running line up made up of the very quick LMP2 expert and new Nissan LMP1 factory driver Olivier Pla, alongside the very experienced sportscar and former Indycar racer Nic Jonsson to partner team owner Tracy Krohn. This team is very well experienced and will look to put miles on their Ligier coupe to expand their knowledge of the car before the European season. If this car runs reliably throughout the 12 Hours expect this team to challenge for the podium, such is the quality of their driver line up and the pace of their Ligier JS P2.

#60 Tyre Kingdom Michael Shank Racing/Curb/Agajanian Ligier JS P2-Honda HPD: John Pew/Ozz Negri/Justin Wilson

Michael Shank Racing surprised last time out at the Rolex 24 with their overall pace, although reliability troubles limited the team’s overall competitiveness throughout the race. This is not surprising considering their first race with their Ligier JS P2 was the Rolex 24 Hours. The team still finished 9th overall and 5th in class still which shows the pace the team has to build on going into the Sebring 12 Hours.

The team will be hoping for a more reliable run this time out, although Sebring is renowned as a car breaker of a circuit.For this time they have retained their impressive driver line up from Daytona, with the only change being the teenager Matt McMurry has been replaced with Indycar racer Justin Wilson for this race. John Pew only started racing in his early 40’s yet has quickly developed into one of the fastest amateur Prototype drivers in the Tudor United Sportscar Championship. Ozz Negri is a very rapid driver with over thirty years worth of racing experience, and teamed with the rapid Brit Justin Wilson this team will be a contender for victory if the car stays reliable. Whilst this is a big if for the team at this stage it’s not beyond the realms of possibility.

#70 Mazda SpeedSource Lola B12/80-Mazda: Tristan Nunez/Jonathan Bomarito/Sylvain Tremblay

The SpeedSource Mazda team will be hoping to capitalise on the improvements they have made to their Lola chassis and works Mazda engine during the off-season, after a difficult debut campaign in the Prototype class last year. Their Mazda SkyActiv diesel engine proved troublesome all year, and whilst it once again proved problematic, the team did have a chance to show their pace whilst the car was running at least. The team led it’s first lap at the Rolex 24, something the team would like to achieve again at Sebring.

After oil pump problems put this car out at Daytona, the team will be looking for a somewhat reliable run this time out. In terms of driving talent this car has a good line up with the very quick young driver Tristan Nunez complemented by former works SRT Viper GTLM driver Jonathan Bomarito and the quick, solid amateur Sylvain Tremblay. All three drivers have the ability to perform very quick laps consistently over a stint, something the team and drivers will be itching to show during the 12 Hours. If the SpeedSource team can keep the car reliable,expect this team to surprise with it’s pace.

#90 VisitFlorida.com Spirit of Daytona Racing Chevrolet Corvette Daytona Prototype: Richard Westbrook/Michael Valiante/Mike Rockenfeller

After a strong podium last time out at the Rolex 24 Hours, the Spirit of Daytona team will be looking for a repeat podium next weekend in the Sebring 12 Hours. This well run, professional team were not entirely trouble free last time out but were there when it counted to take advantage of the miscalculation at Wayne Taylor Racing, promoting themselves to a distant third overall.

This time out the team will be looking to challenge the leaders throughout the race, and with the driver line up they have this should be no problem. Michael Valiante is a very quick former single seater and sportscar driver, with the sensational former Le Mans 24 Hours winner and DTM champion Mike Rockenfeller alongside him. Completing the trio is factory Chevrolet Corvette driver Richard Wesbrook. This line up is a match for any one else in the Prototype class and with their experience expect this car to stay out of trouble, ensuring the team are in the right place when it comes to the crucial final hour of the race, expect this team to be challenging for the serious positions. A definite car to watch for victory.

#01 Target Chip Ganassi/Felix Sabates Racing Riley-Ford Daytona Prototype: Scott Pruett/Joey Hand/Scott Dixon

The pre-season favourites going into the 2015 season, this entry almost lived up to expectations at the opening Rolex 24 Hours in late January. Whilst the car ran at the front for most of the race, heartbreakingly, in the last few hours on the race the car was forced into retirement with a severe clutch problem. The fact the other Chip Ganassi Prototype entry ended up winning the race shows the pace of the Chip Ganassi Riley-Ford package, something the team will want to prove at Sebring.

The team’s driver line up is of the highest quality with the prodigious experience of Scott Pruett teamed with the blinding pace of Joey Hand and Indycar front runner Scott Dixon. This line combines the ultimate of countless years of sportscar experience along prodigious pace from all three drivers. Whilst it’s hard to predict favourites in a class as competitive as the Prototype class in the TUSC, this Chip Ganassi entry is one of the leading trio of contenders. Never discount or underestimate a powerhouse team like Chip Ganassi Racing, this car will be right at the front for the entire 12 Hours barring mechanical or other issues for the team.

#07 SpeedSource Lola B12/80-Mazda: Tom Long/Joel Miller/Ben Devlin/Sylvain Tremblay

The second of the SpeedSource Lola-Mazda entries is this #07 car, which will be hoping to build on a character building Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona. The car was once again plagued with similar issues which hampered the car throughout the 2014 season, eventually the car being forced to retire with overheating problems. Whilst the works Skyactiv diesel engine is revolutionary for an LMP2 Prototype car, the continual problems will be a source of major frustration to both the SpeedSource and Mazda teams.

The team will therefore be looking for a reliable run at Sebring, hoping to run trouble free throughout the 12 Hours and push themselves up the Prototype order. The car has shown pace when running reliably which is a bonus for the team, and shows the progress the team has made over the winter off-season. The driver line up is a solid one, with plenty of experience amongst the line up of Sylvain Tremblay,and Ben Devlin complementing the youthful speed of Joel Miller and Tom Long. Much like the other SpeedSource entry, if this car can remain reliable throughout the 12 Hours, this car can be a contender for a top six finish come the end of the race.

That wraps up part 2 of my Prototype preview for the upcoming Sebring 12 Hours, the second round of the Tudor United Sportscar Championship. In terms of overall predictions, I would predict that the overall winner will come from either the #01 Chip Ganassi car,#10 Wayne Taylor entry or the #5 Action Express car. On the other hand, the unpredictability of the Tudor series means any number of six to eight cars are realistic contenders for victory, ensuring making a firm prediction of the winner almost impossible. As a final note I just wanted to add a huge thank you to Motorsport.com for their superb photos which accompany this article. Please go and visit their website http://www.Motorsport.com , which provides the latest motorsport news and an absurd amount of high quality photos. Please feel free to read and comment on this article, all comments both good and bad are appreciated!

2015 Sebring 12 Hours Prototype class Preview Part 1

After a thrilling opening Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona at the end of January, next weekend see’s the next round of the 2015 Tudor United Sportscar Championship, the Sebring 12 Hours. This iconic race will be just as tough as the Rolex 24 despite being only half the distance, such is the bumpy nature of this airfield circuit. Sebring is renowned worldwide as a severe test of sportscars, which means that combined with the unpredictable nature of the Tudor United Sportscar Championship, a brilliantly thrilling 12 Hours of racing is almost guaranteed next Saturday.

In the first of my previews of every class racing at Sebring, this first article focuses on the first half of the prototype class which will be fighting to victory for 12 hours straight. Here’s a look at the contenders. Part 2 will be posted shortly.

#0 Claro/ TracFone Delta Wing Racing DeltaWing DWC13-Elan: Memo Rojas/Katherine Legge/Andy Meyrick

The DeltaWing team will be hoping to bounce back from a very disappointing Rolex 24 at Daytona, where gearbox issues hampered the team throughout the weekend and led to an early retirement in the opening hours of the race. A source of comfort for the team will be their competitiveness this year, which is carrying over from the progress they made towards the end of last season.

The car is now genuinely competitive, and if the team can run without major problems during the race expect the unconventional DeltaWing to be challenging for at least the podium. This will be a big ask however for everyone given the brutal nature of the bumps on the former airfield circuit. On the driving front the team has improved their line up this year with the addition of four time Grand-Am champion Memo Rojas to partner the experienced and very quick English duo of Andy Meyrick and Katherine Legge. With their driver line up and the competitiveness of this car a podium or even victory would not be a surprise for this team.

#1 Tequila Patron Extreme Speed Motorsport Honda HPD ARX 04B: Scott Sharp/Ryan Dalziel/David Heinemeier Hansson

The #1 Extreme Speed Motorsport is another car that suffered a difficult start to the season at the Rolex 24. The Extreme Speed team were not expecting a great start to the year as their new HPD ARX 04B car arrived late, leaving the team unprepared for the opening Rolex 24. Their difficult weekend started with the team missing the Prototype qualifying on Thursday afternoon with a bell housing issue forcing them to start from the back of the Prototype class.

During the race the car showed it’s tremendous potential with the car easily running in the top 10 throughout the race and into the night, before a gearbox problem forced the team to retire the car at 5am. The team can be heartened however with the pace they showed during the Rolex 24, alongside the large amount of miles they were able to run in Daytona.

The driver line up of the experienced Scott Sharp partnering the rapid Scot Ryan Dalziel is a very impressive one, even more with the addition this year of one of the fastest amateur drivers in the class with the Dane David Heinemeier Hansson. Watch out for this team to contend for the podium if their reliability problems from Daytona are behind them.

#2 Tequila Patron Extreme Speed Motorsport Honda HPD ARX 04B: Ed Brown/Johannes Van Overbeek/Jon Fogarty

The #2 Extreme Speed Motorsport suffered the worst luck of all the prototype teams at the Rolex 24 in January, with any prolonged running during the Sebring 12 Hours a bonus. The team made quick progress from a lowly starting position, in the opening stint Johannes Van Overbeek rocketed up from 12th to 6th. Going into his next sting Van Overbeek began reporting a drop in the oil pressure, something which forced the car into the garage. From here the team tried to fix the car, however they diagnosed a systems failure that caused a loss of power, forcing the team to retire the car after only 1 hour 45 minutes of the race gone.

Whilst the Rolex 24 was a very difficult race for the team, Sebring will surely be better for the well supported team as they will have a lot greater understanding of their new Honda HPD ARX O4B race car, although the team may still run into trouble with the new car given the reputation Sebring has as being a majorly tough circuit on sportscars.The driver line up is an experienced on with Tequila Patron CEO Ed Brown proving to be a fast amateur driver alongside similarly experienced pro’s Johannes Van Overbeek and Jon Fogarty. If the team can keep this car reliable throughout the 12 Hours, expect this entry to be competing for the top five at the very least.

#5 Mustang Sampling Action Express Racing Corvette Daytona Prototype: Joao Barbosa/Christian Fittipaldi/Sebastien Bourdais

The Action Express Racing team began the 2015 Tudor United Sportscar season in much the same vain in which they completed the 2014 campaign. The team dominated the debut season of the TUSC and once again was a contender for victory at Daytona. The team began the race slowly although they crucially stayed out of major trouble and used the cautions to get their laps back. By Sunday morning it became clear that the race was between the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing entry, the Action Express car and the #02 Chip Ganassi car. With the troubles late on for the #10 car the Action Express entry challenged the #02 car until the chequered flag, finishing a close second only 1.3 seconds behind the winner after 24 Hours of ridiculously close racing.

Going into the Sebring 12 Hours the team will surely go into the race as one of the favourites, based on their form from last year and the opening Rolex 24 Hours. The Sebring track will provide a challenge although the team has a year’s worth of experience with the car, and the team will be looking to win the race as last year this was one of the few major TUSC races the team failed to win.The team has retained it’s mightily impressive line up of professional’s with all three having the holy grail of experience combined with prodigious pace. Look for the team to be contending for victory at the end of the 12 Hours, with anything less a disappointment for this ambitious Action Express Racing team.

#7 Martini Starworks Motorsport Riley-BMW Daytona Prototype: Scott Mayer/Brendon Hartley/TBA

The Starworks Motorsport team will have been disappointed not to finish in the top five at the Rolex 24, with the team forced to retire their Daytona Prototype during the night after 14 hours with an engine failure. Before that the team had struggled through the opening hours with constant understeer issues, although the team was beginning to rectify the problem before the engine failure.

The team will therefore hoping for a much better Sebring 12 Hours, especially after falling behind their competitors who scored highly towards the championship at the Rolex 24. This team has been used to winning in the past few seasons during the Grand-Am era, although struggled in 2014 in the inaugural year of the TUSC. Team owner Peter Barron will be hoping 2015 is the year they return to their usual competitive form, although the team will not be able to call on it’s all star driver line up it had at Daytona.

The team has currently retained it’s quick amateur driver Scott Mayer alongside the ridiculously fast Porsche factory driver Brendon Hartley. At the current moment the team have not confirmed a third driver although it’s unlikely the team will be able to call on the services of the ultimate F1 veteran Rubens Barrichello and former Indycar champion and Indy 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay again as they did at Daytona. Their other driver at Daytona is more likely to remain with the team for Sebring. Tor Graves would bring a wealth of experience and familiarity to the team if he’s given another shot in the Starworks team. Whilst this team won’t be seen as an ultimate favourite going into the Sebring 12 Hours, watch out for this team to spring a surprise in Florida next weekend.

#10 Konica Minolta Wayne Taylor Racing Corvette Chevrolet DP: Jordan Taylor/Ricky Taylor/Max Angelelli

The hard luck story of the Rolex 24 within the Prototype class has to be the #10 Wayne Taylor Racing entry, which came within a whisker of victory before a late drive time infringement ruined their chances of victory. The team was a serious contender for victory and led most of Sunday morning in Daytona, and the battle looked set to go to the flag between the #10 WTR entry and the #02 Chip Ganassi car. In the last hour the race fell apart from the team when victory seemed likely for this plucky Wayne Taylor team.

A maximum drive time violation from Jordan Taylor in the final hour forced the team to haul him out the car in the last thirty minutes to be replaced with his brother Ricky. The team made the move under Caution therefore had to serve a drive through penalty once racing resumed, although the team still completed the overall podium in 3rd. After the race IMSA officials reviewed the data and found that Jordan Taylor had already broken the rule, driving 19 minutes over the four hours maximum drive time in any six hour period.The team was subsequently disqualified and lost their points from the Rolex 24.

Based on this the team will be looking for an emphatic response next weekend as they will no doubt contend for victory at the Sebring 12 Hours. The Wayne Taylor Racing team are a highly professional team and know how to win major races in the Tudor series, something the team will want to prove next weekend. The driver line up of the two Taylor brothers and the vastly experienced Italian Max Angelelli is a very potent combination and arguably one of the best driver line up’s in the highly competitive prototype class. Wayne Taylor and his team have every chance of winning in Sebring as they look to recover ground in the championship to their competitors.

#31 Whelen Engineering Action Express Racing Chevrolet Corvette Daytona Prototype: Eric Curran/Dane Cameron/Max Papis

The second of the Action Express Racing entries is the Whelen sponsored car, which had a herculiuan recovery drive during the Rolex 24 with the team finally coming home a very respectable sixth overall and fourth in the competitive Prototype class. The car was forced into the garage in the opening two hours while the team replaced the steering rack on the #31 entry, returning to the track seventeen laps down and 51st overall. Over the following twenty-two hours the team and all four drivers drove heroically to move up the order to their eventually fourth in class and sixth overall.

The team has retained three of it’s drivers from Daytona in Eric Curran, Dane Cameron and Max Papis. “Mad Max” Papis provides a very quick burst of pace alongside an abundance of experience, complimenting the impressive experience of American racer Eric Curran from a decade’s worth of American sportscar racing. Completing the line up is the recent Prototype convert Dane Cameron, last year’s winner of the GTD class with Turner Motorsport and their BMW Z4 GT3 car. Although Cameron has previous Prototype experience, this year marks only the second time he will complete a full season Prototype programme. This team is not necessarily always seen as a contender for victory in the TUSC, although expect this team to surprise over the 12 Hours with a repeat of their Rolex 24 result possibly on the cards for this well drilled team.

That wraps up part 1 of my preview to the upcoming Sebring 12 Hours, part 2 will be posted very soon. For now feel free to comment on this piece good or bad all comments are appreciated. Finally I want to say a huge thank you to Motorsport.com for their amazing, high quality photos in this article. Please visit their website for the best high quality photos and latest motorsport news. The website is http://www.Motorsport.com .

Radio Production Schedule 06/03/15

This week I have focused on researching a factual radio programme for a presentation we had to complete in pairs for this coming Tuesday. Both my partner and I researched one radio programme, with one being factual and the other a news programme. Our presentation will be focused on comparing both and what similarities and differences they have. This is something I will work on over the coming days before presenting it on Tuesday morning.

The glory years of F3000

With next month being the 30th anniversary of the beginning of Formula 3000, the junior racing category that between the years 1985 and 2004 catapaulted many young drivers into Formula One, now seems to be an appropriate time to look back on the popular final step to F1. I’m going to focus on the late 1990’s period of the series, when the series was as exciting as F1. At it’s peak there were forty full season entries battling for twenty six spots on the grid. Despite have a spec Lola chassis and Zytek engine package, the series provided great racing during the late 1990’s, before rising costs ruined the championship by the early 2000’s.

The series seemed to take on a new step during the 1996 season, where a new for 1996 spec Lola chassis and Zytek engine package produced a titanic title battle between the RSM Marko driver Jorg Muller and Super Nova racer Kenny Brack. A contentious collision at the final race of the year at Hockenheim settled the title in Muller’s favor, with the series showing itself to be a series on the up going into 1997.


Kenny Brack in action during the 1996 F3000 season at Silverstone. Photo credit goes to unknown from Flickr.com

1997 once again provided a title battle that went on until the business end of the season. Once again it was RSM Marko and Super Nova drivers who were fighting it out for the title, the only difference being the drivers involved as the Brazilian Ricardo Zonta turned the tables on RSM Marko to claim the title by 1.5 points from the Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya for RSM Marko. The series featured a talented crop of drivers as the likes of Jason Watt,Jamie Davies and Max Wilson established themselves as men to watch in their rookie years. 1997 would see the profile of the championship rise as the series gained mainstream television coverage from ITV,further enhancing the profile of the series for the future.


1997 champion Ricardo Zonta in action during the opening race of the year at Silverstone. Photo credit goes to unknown sourced from Flickr.com

For anyone also interested in this period of F3000 racing, EdwinTV9 has kindly posted the 1997 ITV season review on Youtube. The link is below, feel free to view it.

1998 was a stellar season for F3000, the last year of the Lola T96/50 chassis produced a thrilling title battle between Super Nova driver Juan Pablo Montoya and the young German Nick Heidfeld. The profile of the series continued upwards in 1998 as established F3000 teams such as Super Nova, DAMS and Astromega were joined by the likes of West Competition team and the RTL Team Oreca. These were big for the series as the West Competition team was a McLaren junior team to help Nick Heidfeld progress, with the RTL Team Oreca being a BMW junior team also. This showed the growing manufacture influence with the F3000 series.

On the track Juan Pablo Montoya prevailed over Nick Heidfeld after a final round showdown, with the Williams test driver Montoya taking his talents to the highly competitive CART series in America, a title he duly won in 1999 before winning the prestigious Indy 500 in 2000 and returning to the F1 paddock with Williams in 2001. Of the rest Gonzalo Rodriguez impressed in his second year with two wins in the final three races, with Jason Watt once again showing his talents in 1998 for the Den Bla Avis team.

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Juan Pablo Montoya in action during his title winning year in 1998. Photo credit goes to unknown sourced from Flickr.com

Also individual videos reviewing the 1998 F3000 season can be found on Youtube. The coverage come from ITV highlights and the first round link can be found below. Feel free to watch.

1999 was arguably the most successful year for the F3000 series during it’s existence as the new Lola B99/50 chassis produced grids of close to forty cars fighting over twenty six grid spots. The 45 minute qualifying sessions suddenly became like races themselves as everyone fought to get into the main race. By now the series was supporting the F1 races the entire year with every race supporting a European F1 grand prix weekend.

This link to the F1 paddock was now becoming far more obvious in F3000, with the West Competition team fielding Nick Heidfeld again as his dominated the year to comfortably win the title, with Gonzalo Rodriguez finishing third posthumenously in his Benetton backed Team Astromega entry, whilst Stephane Sarrazin impressed in his second year in the category for the Gauloises Formula Prost junior entry. Other teams dipping from F1 into F3000 included Williams with their all Brazilian Petrobras junior team, Sauber with their Red Bull junior/RSM Marko team and the short lived Portman-Arrows team, which only survived three races despite Arrows F1 support.

1999 would prove to be a year of both tragedy and transition for the category, with firstly the tragic death of paddock favourite Gonzalo Rodriguez whilst qualifying for his second CART race for Team Penske at Laguna Seca. Soon after this second place driver Jason Watt was involved in a motorcycle accident during a magazine photo shoot, leaving him paralyzed and therefore ending his single seater racing ambitions. Along with Nick Heidfeld moving up to F1 for 2000, the series was looking for a new crop of talent to come to the fore in the upcoming 2000 season.


Nick Heidfeld celebrating victory in Hungry during his dominant title victory in 1999. photo credit goes to Formula1.com

2000 was largely similar to 1999, the only major difference being a rule implemented before the start of the season to limit the grid to fifteen teams of two entries, meaning several of the smaller team were forced out of the series after poor 1999 seasons. This made the grid a lot more stable throughout the year, which was another classic season of F3000 as third year drivers Bruno Junqueira for the Williams affiliated Petrobras junior team and Benetton backed D2 Playlife Super Nova drivers Nicolas Minassian. Junqueira was the second half of the Williams shootout for a race drive in 2000, infamously losing out to Jenson Button before claiming the F3000 title. The series struggled to produce a crop of incoming talent to F1, as both Junqueira and Minassian taking their talents to Chip Ganassi Racing in the CART series for 2001.

This seemed strange as the series F1 links grew stronger in 2000 with the European Arrows team being set up as a junior squad for the F1 team, with eight F1 test drivers racing in the category in 2000. Behind Junqueira and Minassian rookie’s Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso impressed, with Alonso joining Minardi for the 2001 F1 season, before Webber replaced him for the 2002 season. In retrospect it appears the 2000 season was a watershed moment for the F3000 series, with sadly the series having it’s final days in the sun in 2000 before the series began to implode as rising costs ruined the series.


Bruno Junqueira on his way to winning the 2000 F3000 title in his brightly coloured Petrobras junior racing entry. Photo credit unknown sourced from Paul11f1.wordpress.com

The series lost more back marker teams with the grid reducing from 30 to 26 cars for the 2001 season. The series incorporated a inaugural fly-away round to open the season, supporting the Brazilian Grand Prix. The F1 only grew even stronger this year with Minardi sponsoring the Coloni team to become European Minardi for 2001, although the grid did lose the McLaren junior team after a difficult 2000 season for the team. Coca-Cola also came on board sponsoring the Nordic racing team, showing the prestige the series held at this time.

The Coca-Cola support of Nordic racing was timely as their driver Justin Wilson dominated the series to claim a comfortable title, beating Benetton backed Super Nova driver Mark Webber, team mate Tomas Enge and DAMS driver Sebastien Bourdais. The standard at the top of the grid was as good as ever, although the overall quality of the grid was slipping slightly from the landmark years of the series in the late 1990’s.


Justin Wilson in action during his F3000 title year in 2001. He went on to impress when he could during a short F1 career after this.
Photo credit goes to LAT.com sourced from AtlasF1.autosport.com .

From here the series dwindled in both popularity and relevance to F1 during the next few years, with the only champion between 2002 and the series end in 2004 to get an F1 drive the following year was Tonio Luizzi, and he shared a half season drive with Red Bull Racing in 2005. 2002 champion Sebastien Bourdais took his talents to America, winning the Champ Car series four years in a row between 2004 and 2007, before impressing in flashes with Scuderia Toro Rosso in one and a half years of F1, before being dropped halfway through the 2009 season. 2003 champion Bjorn Wirdheim has never started a F1 grand prix, becoming a third driver for Jaguar racing in 2004, before switching to Champ Car and subsequently establishing himself in the Japanese Super Formula single seater and Super GT series over the last several years.

F3000 was sadly replaced by GP2 for the 2005 season, something which was a shame but ultimately necessary as the F3000 series had simply run out of steam. The series was fantastic whilst it lasted, with it’s glory years surely making the series the most high profile junior category ever. We will likely never see again a grid full of forty cars competing to even qualify for an F1 supporting event, which simply shows the strength the F3000 series once had. It is a sorely missed final step on the ladder to F1.

Any thoughts on this article feel free to post a comment good or bad on the F3000 series.