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Up-to-the-minute news and reports
from F1, WRC and more. Subscribe for
must-read opinion, stats and images January 26 2012 vol 207 no 4
COVER IMAGES:
FERRARO/LOTUS
F1 TEAM
INSETS: LAT,
GILHAM/GETTY
CONTENTS
In tough times
one should find ways
of expressing full
commitment, rather
than pulling out
FIA PRESIDENT JEAN TODT IS
NOT IMPRESSED BY PEUGEOTS
WITHDRAWAL FROM SPORTSCAR
RACING LAST WEEK
SUBSCRIBE...
to AUTOSPORT and
get a free pair of Cebe
Spider sunglasses P58
NEWS REGULARS
SPORTS EXTRA
77 Manor quits Renault UK
Categorys famed team switches
to Formula Renault Eurocup in
new tie-up with Dutch team MP
78 Bimmer for British GT
BMW Z4 enters UK supercar series
as Barwell gets Blancpain
Endurance-winning machine
82 Series focus
WTCC superstar Rob Hu goes
for a Time Attack in a 987bhp
Mitsubishi EVO VI Yikes!
FEATURES & REPORTS
5 From the editor
6 Snapshot
15 Mark Hughes column
58 Subscribe for a free gift
84 Final drive
Letters and Latest Gear
86 On track/on screen
The best action in the next week
89 From the archive
Nigel Mansell in the BTCC, 1998
90 Race of my life
Jason Plato, BTCC Brands, 2009
10
Number of trees Sebastien Ogier
knocked down with his Skoda
Fabia in his Monte Carlo Rally
crash. He counted them!
8 Raikkonen steps back on it
Ex-champion up to speed as he
shakes the rust o at Valencia
10 F1 getting ready
The teams are at-out to be as
last-minute as they possibly can
13 This week in Formula 1
Round-up of the latest stories
16 Toyota may grow LMP1 plan
Japanese manufacturer weighs up
more races as Peugeot pulls out
18 Plato teams up with MG
BTCC star reckons wins are on as
the Octagon returns to racing
21 WTCC SEATs back at base
Tarquinis Leon to be run
from Spanish makes factory
23 Hakkinen: nein to the DTM
He tested a Merc but heres one
Finn whos opted against a return
24 Todt pushes WRC future
FIA boss has North One roadmap
26 Williams without Head
Celebrated team has a new path
without its original tech pioneer
30 Nigel Mansell special
Full 18-page lookback at the
career of Britains 1980s/90s
Formula 1 folk hero
50 Monte Carlo Rally
Back in the WRC, which means
its another win for Loeb
56 Daytona 24 Hours preview
Grand-Am has been in for
plastic surgery and the
future looks much better for it
60 Daytona 50 years on
Its the golden anniversary of
the big enduro, so we look back
at its inaugural running as a
three-hour race in 1962
63 World of Sport
Toyota Racing Series; Brazil F3
C
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C
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Huff scares himself at Snet
Mansell and his
Williams-Honda
Raikkonen steers
back into an F1 life
MONTE-CARLO RALLY 2012.
YOU CANT CONTROL THE ELEMENTS,
BUT YOU CAN WIN THE RACE.
Congratulations to the winners of the 2012 Monte-Carlo Rally.
At the Monte-Carlo Rally more than anywhere else, driving conditions can change several times
during the race. Thats why this year, once again, drivers needed to have confidence in their
tyres ability to adapt. With MICHELIN tyres they got excellent performance, whatever the
weather or terrain.
You could also benefit from the expertise MICHELIN has derived from motorsport with the
MICHELIN Pilot Sport 3 and MICHELIN Pilot Alpin.
Experience the performance at www.michelin.com/experience-the-performance
POLE POSITION
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BAMBERS
WEEK
Nigel Mansell: F1s most
misunderstood man?
NIGEL MANSELL IS MOTORSPORT
Marmite. But love him or hate him,
its impossible to deny that he was a key
player in one of Formula 1s greatest eras.
His total commitment behind the wheel
enabled him to take the ght to Ayrton
Senna on track in a way that Alain Prost
or Nelson Piquet seldom did. Many of
Mansells overtaking moves are the
stuff of legend, and theres a compelling
argument to be made that hes the nest passer ever seen.
But with every stunning move, or every battle against the
odds, came the post-race moan, histrionics or announcement
of his retirement (again). It was pure theatre and the British
(and Italian) fans lapped it up.
The two sides of Our Nige are perfectly encapsulated by the
memories of those who worked with him in this special issue.
But the common theme is of a driver who was determined to
succeed, no matter what the circumstance.
Lotus hopes Kimi Raikkonen shows the same bulldog spirit.
The 2007 world champ made his F1 comeback at Valencia this
week. His return could make the current generation even
stronger than the one Mansell graced.
Andrew van de Burgt, editor-in-chief
THE AUTOSPORT APP
NOW ON ANDROID/iPHONE
SNAPSHOT
PIT & PADDOCK
WRC
Delecour back at his brilliant best
Monte Carlo Rally hero Francois Delecour he won the
event back in 1994 in a Ford Escort RS Cosworth was
on scintillating form in last weeks WRC opener, the
49-year-old running well up throughout. He and co-driver
Dominique Savignoni eventually nished sixth aboard their
M-Sport-run Ford Fiesta WRC. Rally report page 50.
Pic: McKlein
Two-day test kicked off Raikkonen return
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STORY
Lotus: Kimi is ready for F1
Former world champion impresses his new team after rst run. By EDD STRAW
because its an old car on Pirellis
demonstration tyres.
Ill give you an example: he was
running around with a lowish fuel
load in the car and we put an awful
lot more fuel in. We calculated what
the difference should have been and
his rst lap was absolutely on it
to the tenth. That was impressive.
I wouldnt have known that he
hadnt been driving last season.
Regulations prevent Lotus from
tting any new parts, such as a DRS,
to the 2010 car but the two days of
track time will be key to Raikkonen
hitting the ground running at the
rst ofcial test at Jerez on February
7. Although he was not able to
work with his race crew, who
remained at the factory to work
on the new car, his test runs with
the demo team allowed him to get
back up to speed.
Lotus created a run plan designed
to ease Raikkonen back into F1 on
the rst day. On the second day, it
was able to focus on some more
procedural aspects to further
K
imi Raikkonen will be
100 per cent ready for the
start of pre-season testing
after returning to the cockpit of a
Formula 1 car at Jerez this week.
The Finn drove a 2010-spec
Renault at Valencia on Monday
and Tuesday to re-acclimatise
to F1 machinery after over two
years out of the cockpit. Lotus
track operations director Alan
Permane, who has also worked
with Fernando Alonso, Robert
Kubica and Michael
Schumacher, told
AUTOSPORT he was
impressed with his new
drivers performance.
Im sure that he will
be 100 per cent ready
for the rst [pre-season]
test, said Permane. He
stepped into the car and
was consistent and what
we believe to be on the
pace although its
difcult to know exactly
what that pace should be
integrate him into the team, as well
as giving him more track time.
The idea of the running was to
give Kimi a head start when he gets
into the new car, said Permane.
Theres not a great deal he can
learn because its an old car but it
was about getting him into the
team, getting him sitting where he
wants to sit and making sure that
the pedals are in the right position
and give the right feel. That can
take a day or two to sort out and
we can hopefully short-cut that
when he jumps into the new car.
Raikkonen reported no big
issues with his tness on his
return to the car, completing just
over 300km on his rst day.
I wouldnt have known he
hadnt been driving last
season. Hes very to the
point in what he wants
Lotuss Alan Permane
F
1
2012
Kimi completed 300km on first day alone
Eyes will soon turn
to the timing screen
NEWS
PIT & PADDOCK
January 26 2012 autosport.com 9
I
ts easy to be sceptical about Kimi
Raikkonens comeback. And its right to be,
too. His supporters will cite unfair treatment
in the media, but the question marks that
hung over Raikkonens approach during
the latter years of his rst F1 career were
well-deserved. After all, Ferrari paid him a
great deal of money for doing a great deal of
nothing in 2010. Were he operating at the
level of a world champion, Ferrari would not
have done that under any circumstances.
Raikkonen returns to F1 as damaged goods.
But hardly irreparably so. His two-year
rallying career has given little reason to
change the view that hes a supremely
talented driver lacking the Herculean work
ethic needed to evolve into a topline
performer. The question is, has his exile
from F1 given him the renewed vigour
needed to deliver on his ability?
His rst days on track with Lotus went
well. He was willing to grab the car by the
scruff of the neck and wring a laptime out of
it. But it will be the work he does unseen, the
countless hours that
the likes of Sebastian
Vettel put in, that
decide how well
Raikkonen does. That,
and his willingness to
persevere with a car
that is unlikely to give
him instant race wins.
Raikkonen can
succeed on his comeback, no question. If hes
willing to go that extra mile or 10, the days
when he was regarded as the fastest man in
F1 can be recaptured.
Over to you Kimi.
Kimi gets up to speed
AUTOSPORT SAYS
EDD STRAW
F1 EDITOR
edd.straw
@haymarket.com
KIMI RAIKKONENS F1 TEST
comeback evokes memories
of compatriot Mika
Hakkinens brief return to F1
action in November 2006.
The Finn had held
tentative talks with McLaren
about a comeback, but by
the time of his test at
Barcelona on November
30, the team had already
decided to promote GP2
champion Lewis Hamilton
to a race seat for 2007.
The 38-year-old, then
racing in the DTM for
Mercedes, completed 79
laps, in a test which he
described as not only fun.
But he struggled after so
long away, lapping 3.016s
o the pace (set by Ferraris
Luca Badoer), and 2.260s
o the best McLaren time
of the day, set by Hamilton.
Any aspirations Hakkinen
had of returning to F1 were
extinguished, despite his
hope for further outings.
If the timesheet was
upside down I would be
happier, said Hakkinen.
It would be unfair to expect
that after ve years I could
go maximum attack and
bang in a time. I got answers
to the questions I had but
now I have more questions.
Hakkinen: Off the
pace in 2006 test
AUTOSPORT understands that he
has stepped up his training regime
in recent months, and on Monday
he described his routine as the
same as I used to do before. So far
its OK and thats a good sign.
Although it will inevitably take
more track time for Raikkonen to
regain full race sharpness physically,
Permane saw no signs that he was
suffering from a lack of motivation
or any of the other question marks
that are frequently raised over the
2007 world champions approach.
F1 cars are reasonably intense
to drive and although hes a t guy,
I suspect his neck muscles wont
have been used in a rally car to the
extent they are in an F1 car, said
Permane. But he did 50 laps on
the rst morning and didnt have
to stop for any tness breaks or
anything like that.
Its clear he has a reputation that
hes a guy who doesnt talk at all and
gives one-word answers but Ive not
seen any of that. I see a very normal,
very experienced driver whos willing
to talk to his engineers as long as
is needed. Hes very articulate,
knowledgeable and to the point in
what he wants from the car.
Hes a world champion, isnt he?
Hes not done that by accident.
REMEMBER WHEN
Michael Schumacher got up to speed? The
last ex-world champion to return to Formula 1
warmed up for his rst proper test with
three days of running in a GP2 car at Jerez
JANUARY 12-14 2010
W
hen Hakkinen
didnt com
e back
First F1 running since Abu Dhabi 2009
New helmet design displays #9
10 autosport.com January 26 2012
F
ormula 1 teams are in the
nal stages of assembling
their cars ahead of the rst
test at Jerez on February 7.
New rules dictate that the
mandatory FIA crash tests
which previously only needed to be
passed before a cars race debut
must now be cleared before
it tests for the rst time.
Combined with a reduced 71-day
gap between the nal race of 2011
and the rst of the three pre-
season tests, this has created
perhaps the most intense off-
season in grand prix history.
Most teams have already
completed work on at least one
chassis, and many have produced
multiple monocoques. The
assembly of the teams rst cars
has only started in the past few
weeks and could be completed
as late as the morning of the rst
test, with aerodynamic parts
often the last to arrive.
Teams build schedules are
governed by the date of the rst
test, not the launch, as often the
cars shown are not to nal
specication. For example, Ferrari
is set to launch next week with old
front and rear wings, while last
year McLaren launched with a
dummy exhaust installation.
Caterham (formerly Team Lotus)
started build work on its rst car
on January 14, as technical director
Mark Smith explained last week.
Chassis number one went
into the build shop on Saturday
morning and then two things were
done, said Smith. First, the fuel
cell was tted into the car, pressure
tested and capacity checked.
Second, we tted the front
suspension to the car we dont
have all the parts yet but weve
tted what we can, as well as
a number of smaller items
around the car.
McLaren was at a similar stage
with its MP4-27 around a week
earlier. As Smith alludes, the pace
of the car build will be dictated by
the manufacturing of parts. While
elements such as suspension
and wings can be bolted on with
relative ease, the priority is to
ensure that components that take
longer to install, such as wiring,
are completed as soon as possible
to avoid any last-minute rushes.
Most teams work on a second car
alongside the rst, although priority
is given to the rst test machine.
Even for smaller F1 teams such
as Caterham, this is a massive
operation. But for a bigger entity
such as Red Bull, which is
effectively a multi-department
technology group, it requires
very close management to ensure
that the parts are delivered
in sufcient time.
Team principal Christian Horner
is in charge of ensuring the various
departments work together. While
chief technical ofcer Adrian
Newey who is famous for
pushing back deadlines as far as
possible to maximise research and
development time heads up the
design group, team principals such
as Horner have to ensure that all
departments deliver on time.
Its like a huge jigsaw puzzle
that all has to come together in a
timely fashion and within budget,
explained Horner. Its a time when
COUNTDOWN
TO A NEW CAR
Just 12 days until the rst F1 test, but are any
new cars complete? Of course not! By EDD STRAW
NEW-CAR TIMETABLE
Every team works at a
dierent pace when it comes
to its new car. Here is a rough
schedule of the process, which
starts when the previous
car hits the track.
FEBRUARY 1 2011
First test of preceding car.
Quickly understanding the
strengths and weaknesses
of this car will have been
key to developing the
new one for 2012.
MID-MAY
First major in-season upgrade
package added to 2011 cars. By
this point, the intense R&D into
the performance of that car, and
therefore its eect on the new
machine, should be largely complete.
JULY
New-car concept
begins to take
shape with more
windtunnel time
allocated to the
new chassis.
SEPTEMBER
For most teams, design
work on 2011 cars
upgrades is complete
and the majority of
resources, if not all, are
switched to new car.
OCTOBER
Work begins
on 2012
chassis
patterns.
F1 LAUNCH DIARY
Nine of the 12 new F1 cars for 2012
are scheduled to run in the rst test
at Jerez on February 7. Here are the
key dates when we will get the rst
view of the cars themselves.
McLaren February 1
Ferrari February 3
Force India February 3
Lotus February 5
Red Bull February 6
Sauber February 6
Toro Rosso February 7
Williams February 7
Caterham February 7
Mercedes February 21
Virgin TBC (rst test Feb 21)
HRT TBC
RB8: Feb 6
F
1
2012
NEWS
PIT & PADDOCK
January 26 2012 autosport.com 11
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Wraps will come off Mercedes late
The inuence on a new car concept
If youve been part of the team for several
years, you can have an inuence in terms of
the internal lay-ups. But thats the limit. I
dont believe any drivers have had inuence
over, say, suspension pick-up points. People
set their desks up a certain way and if you can,
you inuence having the brake balance in
a certain position, and knobs and buttons
in positions that feel good to you. Well-
established drivers will do that if it
psychologically makes them feel better
the younger drivers will adapt to whatever.
The inuence on handling
The driver can always say what they need
to go faster. A team will try and put as much
downforce on the car as possible, and this
can have the knock-on eect that the driver
needs more front wing. Suddenly youre
limiting your set-up working window to do
that. Also, a team will always default to
the direction of the faster driver.
Following progress of the car build
I always liked to be kept up to speed on
this, because you can ag things up that get
missed. Sometimes it takes a driver to point
things out. For example, the driver sits in and
thinks, OK, this is comfortable, but wheres
the gap we normally have to put the FIA sensor
box? So you have to move the seating position
forward. In terms of the high nose, low nose,
undercut sidepods and the like, its good to
see them but you have no inuence. That
is dictated by the aerodynamics, which
are dictated by the rules.
The feeling of sitting in the rst
new completed car
You know what youre going to get, especially
as you get more experienced. Things change
so much over the testing period, though,
because new wings come along and you
have a lot of parts to test.
THE ROLE OF THE DRIVER
David Coulthard explains
the involvement a driver can
have in the development of
a teams new car
Its a time when
you see teamwork
at its best
it aects the
whole factory
Christian Horner
you see teamwork at its absolute
best because it is something that
affects the whole factory.
When difcult decisions have to
be made, then obviously you have to
step up and make them. Adrian and
I work very closely together and its
a matter of being able to see the full
picture of whats going on within
the factory. Theres an awful lot
of planning going on in other
departments as well, such as
commercial activities.
At the moment what you see in
Milton Keynes [home of the Red Bull
team] is the epitome of teamwork
and departments working together.
Such tight timescales mean that
any delay could have disastrous
consequences. Of the top ve teams,
most have conrmed that they have
passed their crash tests. Red Bull has
yet to publicly say that it has done
so, although the team is condent
that it will be at the rst test.
This is something all teams are
desperate to avoid as the ban on free
testing means there are only 12 days
available before the season opener.
If something unexpected
happens and its too severe, then it
could be the rst test that you miss
and it could roll on to the second
and third, said Newey of the
potential consequences of an
unforeseen problem.
DC gives Adrian Newey
and Pat Fry his input
MID-DECEMBER
First chassis
is completed.
LATE JANUARY 2012
Teams will start nal
assembly of their rst test
car at this stage. Some
will not start in earnest
until around a week
before their rst test.
END JANUARY
FIA crash tests ideally
should be passed by
the end of this month.
EARLY FEBRUARY
Ocial pre-season
testing kicks o.
Crash test rules change for 12
THIS WEEK IN F1
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The FIA has ruled that the reactive-ride system
developed by Lotus and Ferrari is illegal because
it oers an aerodynamic advantage.
A technical directive issued on January 20
informed the teams that the system contravenes
Article 3.15 of the technical regulations prohibiting
driver-inuenced aerodynamics, as well as articles
10.2.1 and 10.2.3, which cover suspension geometry.
REACTIVE RIDE
BAN EXPLAINED
PETROV CLOSING
IN ON CATERHAM
Vitaly Petrov was closing on a deal to take Jarno
Trullis Caterham seat as AUTOSPORT closed for
press, although an agreement had yet to be reached.
Trulli remains determined to hold on to his drive
and visited the teams factory on Monday.
January 26 2012 autosport.com 13
Lotus had already run
front suspension trick
Sebastian [Vettel]
has improved and is
stronger than ever.
He has prepared
during the winter
break like hes
never done before
and he will certainly
not let us down
Red Bull
owner Dietrich
Mateschitz warns
that Vettel will
be even stronger
in 2012.
AUTOSPORTS TECHNICAL EDITOR GARY ANDERSON:
The front caliper is mounted in such a way that when
the brakes are applied, the caliper rotates slightly
against a piston. This forces hydraulic uid into an
actuator on the end of the pushrod. Increasing the
length of the pushrod raises the front ride height.
Im all for innovation, but the rules state that
anything that changes the aerodynamic specication of
the car while in motion is illegal. Also, changing pushrod
lengths alters suspension geometry. Its a question
of where these ideas will lead the same system on
the rear brake assembly could create more rear toe-in
during braking to help stability, for example.
225m
US GP IS ON
United States Grand Prix organisers have no
doubts that the race will take place in Austin on
November 18. Chief marketing and sales ocer
Geo Moore said last week that the race is on,
adding that the track surface will be completed
in the middle of August.
Total cost of building Austins
Circuit of the Americas
PIRELLI SEEKS NEW
TEST CAR FOR 2012
Pirelli motorsport boss Paul Hembery has urged
teams to come to an agreement as to which car the
tyre company uses as a test hack in 2012. Hembery
has ruled out modifying the 2009 Toyota used
previously and is keen to use a 2011-specication
car to develop its tyres for next year.
MARUSSIAS LATE START
The former Virgin team has conrmed that its new car, created
under the direction of technical consultant Pat Symonds, will not
run until the second pre-season test, which kicks o at Barcelona
on February 21. It will join Mercedes and HRT in launching late.
WEBBER GETS
FIRST RB8 RUN
Red Bull has conrmed
that Mark Webber will
drive the new RB8
during the rst two
days of the opening
pre-season test on
February 7-8. Other
drivers conrmed for
the start of the test
are Jenson Button
(McLaren) and Pastor
Maldonado (Williams).
Test car needs replacing
Webber gets first run in RB8
2011 car will test at Jerez
Petrov wants F1 seat
AUTOSPORT grand prix editor
MPH
Mark Hughes
COMMENT
PIT & PADDOCK
January 26 2012 autosport.com 15
Williams hit rock bottom
last year and may already
be making the rst steps
towards recovery could
the elimination of exhaust
blowing be the key to a
rapid resurgence?
W
ith the opening F1 tests just
a couple of weeks away, and
the new competitive order
beginning to emerge, one of the
more intriguing prospects is that
of Williams, fresh off the back of
the worst season in its history.
There were reasons to be excited
about last years car at this time too,
though that turned out to be totally
misplaced. The FW33, with its tiny
gearbox, was perhaps the most
radically-engineered car on the grid.
But not in an area that made any
difference or which brought a big
enough advantage to overcome its
shortfall in other areas, notably its
exhaust-blowing performance.
But this time around theres a real
feeling from inside of rock bottom
having been reached and the
recovery climb having started.
Even without witnessing the
effects of the process and personnel
changes, there are reasons for
optimism. Exhaust blowing was
the number one performance
differentiator last year and now that
its almost certainly gone (see last
weeks column), one big swathe of
Williams performance decit is
wiped clean. The Cosworth engine
used by the team in 2011 did not
have the facility to use hot blowing
mapping, nor was it congured to
be able to give braking stability and
off-throttle aero grip at the same
time; you could have one or the
other. It was very signicant that
when off-throttle blowing was
limited for everyone by regulation
at Silverstone the Williams gave
by far its best performance of the
year, with Pastor Maldonado
qualifying seventh.
Even though the switch to
Renault engines in 2012 would have
put Williams in a much better
position to take fuller advantage of
off-throttle blowing had it not been
outlawed, the elimination of that
technology can only help its cause.
Williams would have been behind
the curve in understanding it and
now thats irrelevant.
Among the mid-grid bunch of
teams Lotus-Renault, Force India,
Sauber, Toro Rosso, Williams
exhaust-blowing efciency
essentially determined the
competitive order. Although
Renault, with its forward exhaust
car, scraped home ahead of Force
India for fth in the constructors
championship, its points advantage
came from the early season. Into
the second half the Force India was
the faster car. Exhaust blowing
effectiveness was responsible for
below-par performance of the
Renault, Sauber and Williams and
for the above-par (relative to
resource) speed of Force India and
Toro Rosso, both of which are
smaller teams than Lotus, Sauber or
Williams. If performance in 2012
becomes more directly related to
resource, Williams should benet
within that group.
One of the reasons the FW33s
tiny gearbox did not bring the
hoped-for aerodynamic advantage
was that the engine cover formed
too much of a blockage. The
homologated position of the
Cosworths inlet trumpets made for
a more aerodynamically obstructive
cover. The Renaults layout allows
the cover to be tailored much more
favourably. The FW34 will retain
the tiny gearbox and it just might
be that all that potential airow
advantage is nally released.
Although there are bound to be
times when the experience of
Rubens Barrichello will be missed,
Maldonados speed was impressive
for a rookie. Various running
problems disguised it, but from
Monaco onwards he was often the
faster of the teams drivers. Bruno
Senna has yet to convince many,
but theres denitely the spark of
something there. His qualifying
performances in the Renault at Spa
and Interlagos were outstanding,
his race pace in India without KERS
equally so. He never managed to
put together a trouble-free weekend
some his fault, some the teams
but with the security of a drive
from the start of the season and a
winter test programme, he should
be in a much better position.
I suspect a resurgence in form for
Williams to be one of the feel-good
things about 2012.
Its tiny gearbox did not bring
the hoped-for aero advantage
Senna: hoping for
another FW14?
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16 autosport.com January 26 2012
T
oyota could contest more races
than originally planned in this
years FIA World Endurance
Championship with its new TS030
HYBRID LMP1 coupe, which
was launched this week.
The Japanese manufacturer is
coming under increasing pressure
from the series promoter, the
Automobile Club de lOuest, to do
more than a handful of races and
masterminding the manufacturers
return to Le Mans, said: We
havent made a nal decision
on the schedule; it is still
under discussion.
He stressed that there was no way
Toyota would be ready to race at the
season-opening Sebring 12 Hours
in March. It is also unlikely that it
could have more than one car ready
in time for its scheduled debut at
the Spa 6 Hours on May 5.
Toyota announced on the
unveiling of the TS030 at Paul
Ricard on Tuesday that it will
now run two cars at Le Mans.
This decision is understood to
have been made before Peugeots
bombshell last week.
This means that it is unlikely
that any of Peugeots former
drivers will nd a seat in the second
TS030. The TMG spokesman
said that Toyota was well down
the line towards nalising its
second batch of drivers.
Toyota Super GT and Formula
Nippon driver Hiroaki Ishiura, who
tested the TS030 along with
Second car and more races likely for Toyotas rst
year back in sports-racing elite. By GARY WATKINS
Toyota expands
its racing plans
Wurz says TS030 put
a smile on my face
enter more than one car in the wake
of Peugeots decision to axe its
LMP1 programme last week.
Toyota had been expected to
contest the Spa round in May, the
Le Mans 24 Hours in June and then
the Far Eastern rounds in Japan
and China at the end of the
season, all with a solo car.
A spokesman for Toyota
Motorsport GmbH, which is
It is unlikely that any
of Peugeots former drivers
will nd a Toyota seat
60 SECONDS WITH
ALEX WURZ
Toyota driver
Whats it like to drive
a hybrid LMP1 car?
It is weird leaving the
pits under electric power.
When the internal-
combustion engine
kicks in at the end of the
pitlane, you think, My friend is back.
How does it compare to driving the
Peugeot turbodiesel?
For a start you sit on the left and not the right,
so you have a dierent perspective in the car.
Instead of lots of bottom-end torque, you have
power with revs like a Formula 1 car.
What were you initial impressions
of the Toyota TS030?
It has a lot of downforce and is extremely well
balanced in the fast and medium-speed corners.
When I got out of the car for the rst time, I
had a big smile on my face. We had a lot of
downtime because it was a shakedown, but
didnt have any major dramas with the car.
I have to say it was one of the most productive
roll-outs Ive ever been part of.
Do you still have aspirations of winning
Le Mans rst time out for the project?
In terms of speed and feedback I got, I left the
rst test thinking that this is a machine that can
bring us to the top step of the podium. I think
we can challenge Audi on speed. What we dont
know about is the reliability. Time is short and
we have a lot of work to do.
What are your thoughts on the withdrawal
of Peugeot from sportscars?
As a fan, it is always disappointing when a
manufacturer pulls out of motorsport. Its also
sad because I have lot of friends and colleagues
at Peugeot. I also prefer to have the highest
and strongest competition possible, because
that brings the best out of you.
Alex Wurz was talking to AUTOSPORTs
International editor-at-large Gary Watkins
January 26 2012 autosport.com 17
NEWS
PIT & PADDOCK
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Peugeot plans to return
PEUGEOT HAS INSISTED
that its absence from
international motorsport
will be temporary in the
wake of its decision to
cancel its LMP1 sportscar
programme for this year.
The French manufacturer
pulled the plug on the 908
LMP1 turbodiesel on the
eve of the closing date for
entries for the FIA World
Endurance Championship
and the Le Mans 24 Hours
last Wednesday.
The decision was made at
an extraordinary meeting of
the Peugeot board, which
opted to focus its resources
on the launch of a series of
new road cars in the face
of declining sales in key
European markets.
But a spokesman for
Peugeot said that the
withdrawal, which ends a
continuous involvement by
the French manufacturer in
top-level motorsport dating
back to the 205 T16 Group B
rally car of the mid-1980s,
is likely to be short term.
This should be and
must be a temporary
compromise, he said. I
cannot say that we will not
be in the WEC next season.
We will try to be back in
motorsport next year. Maybe
2013 is a little too early,
but we are denitely not
closing the door.
A swift return to
motorsport could be
problematical because
Peugeot is to reallocate sta
away from its in-house
Peugeot Sport competition
department. It is understood
that the resources, human
and nancial, will not be
made available to continue
development of the hybrid
version of the 908, which
the company would have
raced this season.
The decision caught
Peugeot Sport by surprise.
Two updated 2011-spec
908s were already in
the US on Wednesday
ahead of a planned
four-day test at Sebring.
F
IA president Jean Todt cant be a happy
man, even if he did pull his punches in
his statement on Peugeots withdrawal from
sportscar racing. For a year, he had the French
manufacturer urging him on to create the
FIA World Endurance Championship, and
then it pulls the plug on its own programme
before the series has even begun.
Todts got a point when he says that in these
difcult times, Peugeot may have been better
served to press on with its plans to contest
the championship. The manufacturers short
and to-the-point statement announcing its
withdrawal talks about the need to focus its
resources on the launch of a series of new
models. Two of those happen to be hybrids,
so what better way to promote the virtues
of such technology than going racing
with the 908 HYbrid4?
Peugeot wanted a world championship
with races all around the globe to showcase
its technological expertise. Now it has
passed up that opportunity. The only
recompense for sportscar fans like me is
that its lobbying led to the revival of a
proper world championship for sportscars.
If the WEC takes off, as we all hope it
will, that might be Peugeots legacy.
AUTOSPORT SAYS
GARY WATKINS
INTERNATIONAL
EDITOR-AT-LARGE
Peugeot leaves a
WEC it lobbied for
Toyota unveiled
at Paul Ricard
Buemi linked to a seat
This wont race in 2012
DID YOU KNOW?
TOYOTAS SPORTSCAR HERITAGE
The nomenclature of the new TS030 dates
back to the Toyota Group C TS010 of 1991-93.
Ocially, TS is taken from Toyota Sport,
but folklore says it stands for Tony Southgate,
the TS010s designer.
Alexander Wurz and Nicolas
Lapierre earlier this month, is in
contention for a drive. Sebastien
Buemi, who has lost his Formula 1
race deal with Toro Rosso, has also
been linked to a seat in the second
car. The Swiss is understood to have
been on Toyotas F1 shortlist had it
continued beyond the 2009 season.
Kazuki Nakajima is due to get his
rst taste of the TS030 at Paul
Ricard this week.
Toyota has nally conrmed that
its energy-retrieval system, known
as Toyota Hybrid System Racing
(THS-R), uses super-capacitors
rather than batteries. These offer
advantages in terms of the speed
of energy storage and release.
It has also revealed that it
is experimenting with kinetic
energy-retrieval systems on both
the front and rear axles, with
technology developed by two
different companies. Because the
2012 LMP1 rulebook prohibits
energy retrieval and release on
more than one axle, it will have
to decide which path to take prior
to its race debut in Belgium.
THE DEAL IN NUMBERS
162
Races since
MGs last
BTCC victory
0
Number of seasons
Plato has
competed in the
BTCC without
winning a race
15
Number of
BTCC wins taken
by MG to date
31
Number of points
by which Triple
Eight took the
Independent
Teams title
in 2011 6
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68
BTCC wins
for Jason
Plato
P90 RACE OF MY LIFE
18 autosport.com January 26 2012
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wo-time British Touring Car
champion Jason Plato believes
that MG can win races this
season after joining up with the
make for its comeback to the series.
Plato and ex-Arena Motorsport
Ford driver Andy Neate will drive
NGTC-specication MG6 GT cars,
prepared for the Chinese-owned
manufacturer by former Vauxhall
works team Triple Eight Race
Engineering. The team will run
as MG KX Momentum Racing.
The two cars will be the rst MGs
on the BTCC grid since a privateer
ZS was campaigned in 2008.
The two-litre turbo engines are
being prepared by Triple Eight.
Two-time BTCC champ joins up with comeback marque and Triple Eight and says hell be topping the podium
Plato: MG can win on return
Artists version
of the MG6 GT
BTCC
Plato, who starts a three-year deal
after three seasons with the RML
Chevrolet squad, said: MG is an
iconic brand and its great that they
see the BTCC and Jason Plato as
keys in their marketing strategy.
We all know how successful
the BTCC can be for selling cars
and thats what theyre here to do
re-establish themselves in the UK.
The 44-year-old, who took the
BTCC title in 2001 and 10, believes
the MG6 will be on the pace. The
cars are being built now and the deal
came together late in the day, but
our objective is to be competitive
straight away, he said.
Whether thats realistic or not
well see, but Triple Eight dont
turn up to make friends. They
turn up to win and its fair to
say the same about me.
I know well be competitive.
Whether it takes one, two or six
races, well be winning for sure.
The deal also represents a return
to a works programme for Triple
Eight, which has run Vauxhall
Vectras on an independent basis
since the end of 2009, when the
manufacturer pulled out after
13 years with the team.
Team principal Ian Harrison aims
to keep expectations in check, but
believes he has the raw ingredients.
Were trying to do six months work
in three months and were relying on
people to deliver when they say they
can deliver, he said. The car looks
pretty good as a base product.
Its cool to be with Jason again
[Plato won the 2001 title in a Triple
Eight-run Vauxhall]. Give him the
right car and he can win the title.
RML chief Ray Mallock was
unavailable for comment. He has yet
to conrm his teams plans for 2012,
but AUTOSPORT understands he
hopes to stay in the BTCC with at
least one full NGTC Chevrolet.
Future is octagon-shaped
for Plato (left) and Neate
IN BRIEF
January 26 2012 autosport.com 19
NEWS
PIT & PADDOCK
Dixon quick at Sebring
NEW DALLARA ON THE PACE
IndyCar teams are optimistic about the
progress being made with the new Dallara
DW12 chassis following last weeks
Sebring test. No ocial times were
recorded, but Chip Ganassi Racings Scott
Dixon reportedly managed a best lap of
around 53.0s, which is already a match for
the quicker times set by the previous car.
DW12 ALL SET FOR OVALS
IndyCar is condent that the DW12 will
be up to the task on ovals following
a two-day windtunnel test last week.
Concerns were raised after the prototype
lapped relatively slowly in testing last
November, but the series says that new
updates should result in lap speeds around
the 225mph mark at Indianapolis.
FULL-TIME F2 FOR BACHETA
British single-seater racer Luciano Bacheta
will compete in Formula 2 full-time in
2012. The 21-year-old raced at two F2
race weekends last year, nishing in
the points in all four of his races.
VAINIO MOVES TO LOTUS
Finnish GP3 racer Aaro Vainio will switch
to Lotus GP (formerly ART) for his second
season in the series. The 18-year-old, 15th
in the standings with Tech 1 last year, will
be joined at the team by ex-Formula 3
Euro Series contender Daniel Abt.
CECOTTO JOINS ADDAX
GP2 contender Johnny Cecotto Jr will join
Addax for the 2012 season. It will be the
Venezuelans third full year in the series,
coming o the back of campaigns with
Trident in 2010 and Ocean in 2011.
VALSECCHIS DAMS SWITCH
GP2 veteran Davide Valsecchi will switch
from Team AirAsia to DAMS for the 2012
season his fth in the category. The
former Asia Series champion has nished
eighth in the rankings in 2010 and 11.
DAMS carried Romain Grosjean to last
years drivers championship.
Valsecchi: GP2 yet again
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NASCAR
MULTIPLE NASCAR CHAMPION JEFF
Gordon has warned that NASCAR risks
stripping the spectacle out of its races
if it continues to increase the level of
technology allowed into the series.
The Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
driver said that many of NASCARs
current strengths lie in it being
relatively low-tech, but expressed
concerns that this will change.
If you look at other forms of
motorsports and the evolution of
technology and I mention Formula 1
yes, were behind them in
technology and cost and all of
these things, and I think its
good, said Gordon.
[But] were headed in that
direction, because thats evolution.
Its going to happen. Once you learn,
and you create knowledge, you
cant take it away. In F1, qualifying
becomes extremely important,
because its almost impossible to
pass. [You rely on] strategy, and
how you strategise your pitstops,
the speed of pitstops. Im saying
thats the extreme.
Gordon was briey linked to a
number of F1 teams, including BAR,
in the early 2000s, and sampled
Juan Pablo Montoyas Williams
at Indianapolis in 2003.
Gordon: knowledge worry
Gordon calls for low-
tech NASCAR future
INDYCAR
JAPANESE INDYCAR STAR TAKUMA
Sato looks to be close to a deal with Rahal
Letterman Lanigan Racing for 2012.
Sato, who is 35 this week, took two
pole positions last year on his way to
13th in the championship with KV Racing
Technology, but has long been expected
to switch to Rahals team for 2012. He
would retain his career-long relationship
with RLLR engine supplier Honda.
The ex-Formula 1 podium nishers
best result in his two seasons of IndyCar
competition with KVRT is a fourth place
last season at Mid-Ohio.
The Sato deal will represent a return
to full-time competition for Rahal,
which elded Jay Howard and Bertrand
Baguette in one-os last season, and
entered Pippa Mann for three events. It is
still working on a deal for a second car.
Sato set
for Rahal
Indy drive
LOTUS WILL BE UNABLE TO SUPPLY
engines to more than the four teams it has
already signed up for this years IndyCar
Series in time of the rst race in March.
The British car maker has notied
IndyCar that it will not be in a position to
meet the rule that demands engine suppliers
be in a position to supply 40 per cent of the
eld ahead of the St Petersburg race on
March 25. Lotus has agreed terms with four
teams running a total of ve cars, which
compares with the eight and nine cars
respectively that Honda and Chevrolet
have so far agreed to supply.
Conquest Racing, Sarah Fisher Hartman
Racing, Michael Shank Racing and Ed
Carpenter Racing have so far failed to land an
engine deal with any of the three suppliers.
Lotus motorsport boss Claudio Berro
said: There are still three or four teams
looking for engines, but time is too short
for us to produce more before the start of
the season. We have to stay realistic.
Asked if he had any concerns about
Lotuss failure to meet the 40 per cent rule,
Berro said: That is the rule, but it wasnt
applied on time. We were meant to have
our teams in place in mid-August, but it
didnt happen until much later.
The idea was always to supply between
six and eight cars, but the teams are
coming to us too late.
IndyCar vice-president of technology
Will Phillips explained that the problem
has been created by a larger-than-expected
grid of new Dallara DW12s.
We are in active discussions with all of
our manufacturers regarding meeting and
Lotus struggling to hit engine target
INDYCAR
De Silvestro has
done early miles
exceeding our supply requirements due to
the unexpected high car count, he said.
The Lotus V6, developed in the UK by
Engine Developments, has so far run at Palm
Beach and Sebring for a total of ve days in
HVM Racings Dallara, run with input from
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing.
Another of Lotuss teams, Dragon Racing,
was expected to become involved in the
programme during the engines rst run
on an oval at Homestead this week.
Berro said he was pleased with the initial
running, which was undertaken by HVM
driver Simona de Silvestro.
We have completed 1000 miles
without problem, he said. We just
need to ne-tune the electronics.
Lotus is expecting to start deliveries
of engines to its teams in mid-February.
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January 26 2012 autosport.com 21
NEWS
PIT & PADDOCK
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SEAT returns to WTCC
Two cars to be run out of SEAT factory, but a full works programme is still on ice
G
abriele Tarquinis SEAT Leon
is set to be run direct from the
factory in this years WTCC.
Lukoil Racing, whose pair of
Leons were elded by the Spanish
SUNRED squad last year, is in the
nal stages of negotiations with
SEAT Sport to take over the
running of its cars. Lukoil
conrmed last week that it will
again eld Tarquini and Alexey
Dukukalo in the championship.
SEAT Sport boss Jaime Puig told
AUTOSPORT: Lukoil has asked for
cars and manpower and we are
looking at how we can do it, but the
cars would be customer entries.
They would be entered as Lukoil
Racing and not SEAT Sport.
SEAT has developed its own
1.6-litre turbo based on the Super
2000 Skoda rally engine produced
by ORECA. It has also come up
with a series of updates for the
Leon, which rst raced in the
WTCC at the end of 2005.
We want our customers to
go into the WTCC with the best
possible weapons, said Puig.
Puig would not be drawn on
the chances of SEAT returning
to the WTCC with a full-factory
programme with the next-
generation Leon, due to go on
sale next year.
Everything is possible, he said.
We would like to return with a
factory programme, but it could be
in something else, perhaps rallying.
WTCC
Lukoil squad will
get factory help
Kolles last ran sportscar
effort with Audi LMP1s
LOTUS IS SET TO COMPETE IN THE LMP2
class of this years FIA World Endurance
Championship with the team that ran the
HRT Formula 1 squad last year.
The British marque has agreed in broad
terms for the team established by Colin
Kolles to run in its colours and with its
badges on the BMW-based V8 engine made
by Engine Developments, which is building
the new Lotus IndyCar V6. The five-litre
units will power a pair of new Lola B12/80
coupes ordered by the Kolles family.
Team principal Romulus Kolles, Colins
father, said: After the end of the HRT deal
last year, we wanted to keep the team
Kolles returns
to sportscars
with Lotus
WORLD ENDURANCE
together. Going back to sportscars is a
good move and the plan is for the name
of the team to be Lotus.
Lotus motorsport boss Claudio Berro
said that the plan had yet to get final
approval from the British car maker.
No drivers have been announced,
but former Aston Martin factory racer Jan
Charouz is expected to be among them.
Lotus had planned to enter the LMP2
arena with its own car designed and built
in-house at its Hethel headquarters. The
project was put on permanent hold at the
end of last summer.
Jetalliance had run Lotus
NO LOTUS FOR JETALLIANCE
The Austrian Jetalliance team will not
continue running the Lotus Evora GTE
this season. Lotus is expecting to be
represented by two teams elding its
GTE contender, one running in the
European Le Mans Series and one
in its American counterpart.
JOTA RETURNS TO PROTOTYPES
The British Jota team, which had been due
to run an Aston Martin AMR-One prior to
the end of that project, will return to the
prototype ranks in the European Le Mans
Series with a new Zytek-Nissan Z11SN
LMP2. Jota, which will run Sam Hancock
and Simon Dolan, formerly entered a Zytek
LMP675 in the LMS in 2004-05.
ORDONEZ SIGNS FOR GREAVES
Spaniard Lucas Ordonez is set to join the
Greaves Motorsport squad for this year.
The former Signatech driver is expected
to join Martin and Alex Brundle for the
Le Mans 24 Hours.
PRIMAT JOINS REBELLION
The Anglo-Swiss Rebellion Racing squad
will contest the FIA World Endurance
Championship with two Lola-Toyota LMP1
coupes. Former Aston Martin factory driver
Harold Primat joins the team in place of
Jean-Christophe Boullion alongside Neel
Jani, Nicolas Prost and Andrea Belicchi.
McLAREN FOR BELL AND HALL
British sportscar regulars Rob Bell and
Stuart Hall will drive McLaren MP4-12C
GT3 cars for Gulf Racing in this years
Blancpain Endurance Series. McLaren-
contracted Bell and former Aston Martin
LMP1 driver Hall will share driving duties
with team co-owners Michael Wainwright
and Roald Goethe respectively.
ZELE AUTO GP SWITCH
Former World Series by Nissan and Euro
3000 team Zele Racing will join Auto GP
this year. The team is the third new squad
to commit to the series for 2012.
Zele will move to Auto GP
IN BRIEF
CONGRATULATIONS
SEBASTIANVETTEL &REDBULL RACING
Casio are proud to support Sebastian &Red Bull Racing in
their outstanding achievement 2011FIAFormula One
Drivers &Constructors World Champions
www.casioracing.co.uk
The solar powered Edice EQW-M1100DB offers a lifetime of use without
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January 26 2012 autosport.com 23
NEWS
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No DTM return
for Hakkinen
Two-time F1 champ rules out a DTM comeback in
2012, but could be in the frame for more GT3 outings
M
ika Hakkinen has decided
against a DTM comeback
this year after evaluating a
return to the series he left at the
end of 2007.
The two-time Formula 1 world
champion tested the new Mercedes
C-class Coupe at Monteblanco in
December. AUTOSPORT
understands that the 43-year-old
was considering a return to the
German series following his
one-off appearance in a Mercedes
SLS GT3 car in the nal round of
the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup
at Zhuhai in November, but he
has since decided against it.
It is understood that Hakkinen
spent most of the test lapping
around one second off a baseline
time set by one of the current
Mercedes drivers, before getting
down to a time just over 0.5s
off the pace by the end. Around
DTM
ES CONFIRMS TWO VECTRAS
British Touring Car squad ES Racing will
run ex-Triple Eight NGTC-engined Vauxhall
Vectras for Dave Newsham and Chris James
in the series this year. Team boss James is
talking to drivers about a possible third car.
NO INDY FOR DANICA
Danica Patrick has reiterated that she will
not contest the Indy 500 this year. The
recent NASCAR convert has not ruled out
returning to the Brickyard in the future,
but will skip this years event to focus
on the Sprint Cup race at Charlotte.
BENNANI STAYING WITH PROTEAM
Mehdi Bennani will remain with independent
BMW squad Proteam for the 2012 WTCC. The
team has also signed James Thompsons
former engineer Marco Calovolo.
CHEVY GAINS WEIGHT
The Chevrolet Cruze that dominated the
2011 WTCC will have 30kg added to its base
weight for 2012. The change, which applies
to both works and privateer cars, brings the
Cruzes minimum weight up to 1180kg.
IN BRIEF
Chevys Cruzes have got heavier
circuits of similar distance to
Monteblanco on the DTM calendar
Hockenheim and Zandvoort
the top 16 cars in the eld were
covered by 0.7s and 0.6s
respectively in the rst segments
of qualifying last year.
Mercedes motorsport boss
Norbert Haug told AUTOSPORT
that Hakkinen will not be returning
to the DTM this year, but he hinted
at further GT outings for the Finn.
Mika was interested in whats
going on, said Haug. It makes
no sense to give a guy like Mika
a few laps, you need to do it
properly. Then he can learn and
we can learn.
When asked if a return to the
DTM was on the cards, Haug
added: No, I would exclude that.
But we need to nalise our plans,
and this of course includes GT3.
Then we will see where we are.
Hakkinen has ruled out
returning to the DTM
Kurt and Kyle Busch will share a Kurt Busch Motorsports entry in this years
Nationwide Series. Kyle will take the wheel for the Daytona season-opener
A PAIR OF MONSTERS
NASCAR
Todt appeared
at Monte Carlo
Todt commits to WRC roadmap
A bold development plan drawn up by former WRC promoter North One Sport will live on. By DAVID EVANS
F
IA president Jean Todt
conrmed last week that the
governing body will ensure
a revolutionary plan for growth
remains in place in the World
Rally Championship.
The WRC strategy and roadmap
for growth was developed by
former promoter North One Sport
and presented to the sports
stakeholders in November.
There had been fears that the
document central to the sports
development would be dropped
in the wake of NOSs demise,
but Todt dispelled fears in a
press conference during the
Monte Carlo Rally last week.
Asked by AUTOSPORT if the
targets in the roadmap remain the
WRC
Francois Delecour handed over the controls of his Ford
Fiesta RS WRC to his long-time co-driver Dominique
Savignoni for the nal stage of last weeks Rallye
Monte Carlo, Savignonis last event before retirement.
The move cost Delecour a minute but no places.
A SAVI SWAP
WRC
FIAs objectives for the WRC, Todt
said: Yes, they will. You always
have a roadmap, which is a kind of
objective you are running behind.
This morning I have been talking
about what we want to achieve
by 2015; we have a plan.
AUTOSPORT can reveal the
details of that plan after it was
leaked by a senior source.
BRANCHING OUT
The FIA-ratied roadmap
commits the WRC to moving into
a minimum of two new strategic
territories in 2013. This means a
WRC round next year in any two
of Russia, Brazil, China and India.
The original timeframe for
the plan before NOS went into
administration was to start
immediately. But that has
been delayed slightly while the
promoter situation is resolved.
The provisional FIA-Eurosport
agreement was sent to the FIA
senate to consider last weekend,
and Todt wants to have a deal in
place before the next round of the
championship begins on February 9.
Minis David Richards was in
positive mood, saying: The
solution isnt overnight, but Im
more convinced now than ever that
were going in the right direction.
As teams, we put down and agreed
on the roadmap and while it might
not end up precisely the same plan,
at least we have a clear vision.
RAMPED UP COVERAGE
In the UK, as well as regular
coverage on Eurosport, the original
NOS deals with ITV4 and ESPN are
expected to be agreed. ITV4 will
run a one-hour highlights show
every Sunday night between 1800
and 2000. There are also new
agreements with French terrestrial
television, which will please
Sebastien Loeb. The Citroen driver
admitted he was disappointed
with the coverage in his homeland,
saying: In France, its difcult to
understand why there is an
eight-time world champion, [and]
there is Sebastien Ogier growing
up to the top of the sport, but we
dont see anything in France of the
rally. Its important to make a good
show on the television and maybe
with some live television, like we
saw with IRC.
The Powerstage will be lmed live
again (this was not possible in the
timescale for Monte Carlo) and
always run at 1300 CET, with
between 60 and 90 minutes of
additional live coverage expected
on days one and two of rallies.
The roadmap states the need for
two camera helicopters for each
event and the piloting of HD and
3D for next year.
As well as the television
coverage, all events are expected
to be streamed live online later
this year, with rally fans being
offered tailored viewing facilities
meaning you can watch live from
onboard or a heli-cam from next
year. As well as showing the events
themselves, there will be live
off-event shows as well. The
WRCs new partnership with
communication giant Nokia will
also herald a new dawn in viewing
options on mobile phones.
VOLKSWAGEN DRIVER SEBASTIEN
Ogier has ruled out any repeats of the
heroic stage times he managed on
last weeks Monte Carlo Rally.
The Frenchman, who ran as high
as fourth overall in his Skoda Fabia
S2000 before crashing out, said his
times on the opening round of the
World Rally Championship were only
possible because of the specific
nature of the French Alps event.
Ogier posted a third, fourth and sixth
fastest time before suffering what he
described as the biggest crash of his
life on SS10.
Before the crash, the rally was
good, said Ogier. I was surprised
with the position and the pace. We
made good tactics with the tyre and
some good strategy which made this
possible on the Monte Carlo, but it
will be impossible to do this on a
regular rally.
On the subject of his crash, he
added: This corner was almost flat
in sixth gear and on the second loop I
tried to go flat. I had to cut the corner
and this threw the car off the road. It
was a massive crash. We cut 10 trees
down. I know because I counted
them. Oh, and one electric pole we
cut down as well. This was my
biggest crash ever.
Ogier will now switch his
attentions to the Polo R WRC,
which will be tested in its
homologation specification
for the first time this week.
VW technical director Francois-
Xavier Demaison said: This is the
first time the whole car is together.
We have been working hard for 10
months for this week.
No more
heroics
for Ogier
WRC
January 26 2012 autosport.com 25
ABBRING CONFIRMED
Volkswagen Motorsport driver
Kevin Abbring will contest Rally
Mexico and the Acropolis in the
Skoda Fabia S2000, while Andreas
Mikkelsen will take over the seat
in Sweden, Portugal and Argentina.
Abbring will complete the recce
for every round of this years WRC
with Volkswagen, and Mikkelsen
will recce the rounds which dont
clash with his IRC title defence
with Skoda.
CAMPANA PLANS RETURN
Mini World Rally Team driver
Pierre Campana could return to the
team for as many as three rounds
of the world championship this
season. The Frenchman nished
seventh on the Monte Carlo Rally
last week. Campana is hoping to
tackle Rallye Deutschland, Rally
de France and one gravel rally.
ATKINSON AIMING FOR WRC
Chris Atkinson was an interested
onlooker at last weeks Monte Carlo
Rally. The Australian admitted he
was talking to all of the teams about
a World Rally Car return. Atkinson,
who was a member of Protons
successful Asia-Pacic assault last
season, said he was focusing on a
WRC drive above anything else.
GRONHOLM JR GEARS UP
The Gronholm name will be back
on the side of a rally car this year,
but it will be Niclas Gronholm
the 15-year-old son of Marcus
rather than the two-time world
champion doing the driving. The
Gronholm family is preparing a
two-wheel drive Fiesta for him
to practice driving in.
LATVALA FROZEN OUT
Jari-Matti Latvala had hoped to
make the best use of his Rallye
Monte Carlo retirement by running
through the remainder of the stages
to check the road conditions for
the Ford drivers still in the event.
Unfortunately his role as an
ice-note driver only lasted
through day two, before one
of the other teams complained.
VW DEVELOPING FOR SKODA
A Skoda Motorsport engineer
accompanied the Volkswagen team
on last weeks Monte Carlo Rally.
VW has conrmed it was working
on suspension development for
the Fabia S2000 and will help
the Czech manufacturer which
is part of the VW Group
throughout the season.
IN BRIEF
Mini hopes
for fresh
investment
WRC
MINI WORLD RALLY TEAM PRINCIPAL
Dave Wilcock is hoping Dani Sordos
second place on last weeks Monte Carlo
Rally will kick-start further investment
in the programme.
The Mini name returned to the podium
of the worlds most famous rally for the
first time since Rauno Aaltonen finished
third in 1968 after the British cars had
dominated the event in the mid-60s.
Wilcock said: Wed like to think this
result is going to help things along.
After three podiums from our first seven
rallies, we dont feel we have anything
to prove, but were hoping this will help
BMWs engagement in the programme
and encourage further investment.
The team was only given the green
light to go to Monte Carlo 16 days before
the start of the WRC opener.
It was a massive challenge, Wilcock
said. But we got a three-day test
organised and got on with things.
This is the perfect start.
NEWS
SPECIAL STAGE
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Abbring will recce all rounds
Ogier briefly
held fourth spot
Sordo: perfect
start to 2012
AUTOSPORT SAYS
DAVID EVANS
RALLIES EDITOR
david.evans
@haymarket.com
W
hat an incredible week in the World
Rally Championship. In the middle of
a fascinating opening round, normal service
was suspended. The president was in town
and there was only one place to be.
As the cars headed out to the Vercors
mountains, journalists, team principals and
everybody who was anybody in the WRC
(apart from those in the cars) wanted to
listen to Jean Todt.
Going in, the talk was crisis, crisis, crisis.
Just over 44 minutes later and nothing had
changed. Todt had said nothing.
Actually, hed said enough. Hed committed
the FIA to a game-changing three-year plan
originated by former promoter North One
Sport, roundly chastised the illogical
superally regulation and talked of putting the
world into the World Rally Championship.
Granted, he didnt say: Eurosport is the
future, the WRCs saved. But the ink, believe
me, is now drying on that particular deal.
One thing is sure: things cant carry on as
they were on the Monte. The WRC stepped
back in time last week, with no split-times
and constantly failing tracking systems
who ever thought a GSM-based system would
work among 1,000-metre-plus mountains?
Everybody mucked in, but that Dunkirk spirit
cant be expected to last.
There was, however, a
noticeable shift in mood
as the event progressed.
The right people were
making things happen.
And how great to see
Petter Solberg back to
his best. Read his thoughts
in his new column on
autosport.com this week.
Solberg back in factory car
AUSTRALIA
2011:
A YEAR
OF WOE
SPAIN
INDIA
MALAYSIA
MONACO
BRAZIL
CANADA
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January 26 2012 autosport.com 27
New
direction for
Head-less Williams
TEAM ANALYSIS
WILLIAMS: WHAT NOW?
W
illiams can no longer be
plausibly regarded as a
great Formula 1 team in a
fallow period. Its ongoing
victory drought now stretches to 127
races and last year was the most
dismal in the teams history. Not
once did Rubens Barrichello or Pastor
Maldonado nish in the top eight and
Williams languished a distant ninth
in the constructors championship.
Fundamental to the teams hopes
of recapturing anything approaching
its past glories is that 2011 be made
to represent rock bottom.
Its tempting to view the departure
of Williams co-founder Patrick Head,
who remains involved with its hybrid
power division but no longer plays any
active role in the F1 programme, as a
watershed moment. But, realistically,
Head has had only a peripheral F1 role
in recent years and his departure is
more totemic than anything else.
The days when the team was
exclusively about Frank Williams and
Patrick Head have passed. While
Williams remains involved and the
largest shareholder, chairman Adam
Parr is now in day-to-day charge of
the team. What happens in 2012 will
likely dene what might be called
Parr-era Williams.
One thing that the team cannot be
accused of is a failure to react. Early
last season, a comprehensive review of
the technical structure was launched.
Sam Michael, technical director since
2004, handed in his resignation,
staying on to steer the ailing ship
through to September. Mike Coughlan,
now technical director, was brought in
and focused his energies on the 2012
car, with Mark Gillan coming in as
chief operations engineer. There was
an admission of structural problems,
hinting of a monolithic F1 team that
had not evolved to the demands of the
The once F1-dominating squad has lost one of its
key figures of the past 30 years, so what next?
By EDD STRAW
sport in the 21st century. Effectively,
the old technical director role had
been divided, with Coughlan in overall
charge and overseeing factory work
and Gillan heading up the race team.
Being a travelling technical director
is a very difcult task, explains Gillan.
With 20 races and a lot of yaways,
its impossible to keep an eye on the
factory so we needed to have somebody
strong there to direct things.
The demands of a race team and a
factory are subtly different and can be
at odds. Certainly, that appeared to be
the case year. Race, not nancial,
results are the measure of an F1 teams
success, even in these balance sheet-
obsessed times, and its the race team
that delivers those. Gillan found a
squad that was dancing to the beat of
the factory, often throwing too many
parts at the car for evaluation. In the
days before the test ban, this empirical
model of car development could be
made to work. But with so little track
time, its more important to have a
broad understanding of the cars
strengths and weaknesses and a
relatively stable package rather than
running the risk of either engineering
in problems or papering over the
cracks by luck rather than judgment.
In the past, we have tended to
make lots of bits for smaller gains and
sometimes not seen those gains at the
track, says Gillan. And we have ended
up with lots of new parts at the track,
which is operationally difcult. Where
we probably struggled is in simple
things, not having consistency of
components and being a bit slower
than we could have been at reacting.
Red Bull is the gold standard as far as
this process is concerned. Its rare for
the team to throw new parts on the car
that dont work and that has allowed
the team to have the quickest car in F1
for the past two-and-a-half seasons.
THE NEW BOYS
Williams made
three key technical
appointments in
2011s restructure.
These are the new
faces who will try to
turn around the
teams fortunes.
MIKE COUGHLAN
TECHNICAL
DIRECTOR
Joined: June 2011
Came into F1 for
1985 after joining
the design team at
Lotus. Switched to
Benetton in 1990,
penning the 91
B191 before moving
to Tyrrell to head
up the technical
team in 92. In 93,
he joined Ferrari
as head of R&D,
moving to Arrows
as deputy technical
director in 1997.
Two years later, he
became technical
director but moved
to McLaren as chief
designer in 99. He
left the team in
disgrace over the
spy scandal in 07,
serving a two-year
F1 ban, working
for Michael Waltrip
Racing in NASCAR
before heading
to Williams. P
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28 autosport.com January 26 2012
One area that Gillan has isolated for
improvement is the simulator, which
can play a greater role in car
development and part evaluation.
Fundamentally he does not believe
that Williams lacks the tools to do the
job. While perhaps no longer quite as
well-equipped as the likes of Red Bull,
McLaren and Ferrari, turning around
the teams fortunes is not dependent
on investing vast sums of money in
new technology. It should therefore be
able to achieve what might be called its
natural level near the front of the pack
chasing the big teams if the structure is
right and the management does its job.
In terms of tools, we are very
well-equipped, explains Gillan. We
have got a very good windtunnel thats
as good as the one we had at Toyota
one of the better ones in F1. We
have all of the building blocks for the
development of a fast racing car.
The key is that the team needs to
make better decisions on which
technical avenues to go down. Last
years low-line gearbox, for example,
was a superb piece of engineering,
but one that ultimately produced a
question over bang for your buck.
But its difcult to calculate a denitive
answer to its problems with the 2011
car considering that the Cosworth
engine deal prevented Williams from
developing hot-blowing, off-throttle,
exhaust-blown diffuser strategies. The
outlawing of such technology in 2012
removes that from the equation, while
the teams Renault engine deal is
surely a boost, even though it would
be oversimplifying matters to blame
Cosworth for all of the teams ills.
You cant escape the conclusion that,
while the team has decent facilities, it
has not produced a great all-round car
since it won its world titles of 97.
By Heads own admission, the
Williams-BMWs that won races
in the rst part of the last decade
owed more to German grunt than
to British chassis genius.
The elephant in the room
is the departure of Adrian
Newey. Its no coincidence
that the last car to have felt his
inuence strongly was the 97
machine. While mentioning
Neweys name and suggesting it
was a mistake to let him leave
for McLaren tends to raise ire among
some at Williams, the succession plan
would surely have been a lot rosier had
he stayed on. Or even had talks to bring
him back to the team before he joined
Red Bull paid off.
Of course, its not the only setback.
Parting company with BMW at the end
of 2005 was a huge blow. The team was
once again a privateer and it also lost
its sponsorship deal with HP as a result
of severing the engine partnership.
Financially, Williams retrenched
effectively, but the global nancial
crisis of late 2008 undid some of that
good work. Like all of F1, sponsorship
has been harder to come by in recent
years and currently the team is without
a title sponsor after its AT&T deal
expired last year.
While technical restructures are
essential, an F1 teams success is
broadly proportional to its budget.
The slide from sixth in the 2010
constructors standings to ninth
last year alone represents a hit
reckoned to be worth around 6m.
The team has been heavily
criticised for taking on what it
claims are not pay drivers,
but theres no question that
sponsorship concerns played a
big part in the recruitment of
MARK GILLAN
CHIEF OPERATIONS
ENGINEER
Joined:
September 2011
Gillan started his F1
career as a vehicle
dynamicist at
McLaren in 1998.
Rose to principal
operational
aerodynamicist
but left for Jaguar
in 02. Acted as
head of vehicle
performance and
chief engineer
before leaving what
was by then Red
Bull in 05. Joined
Toyota as head of
aero in 2007 but
was left without an
F1 job when the
Japanese marque
quit at the end of
09, returning with
Williams last year.
The team has not
produced a great
car since 1997
Villeneuve took teams
most recent title in 97
Gillan (l) now operates
without Patrick Head
January 26 2012 autosport.com 29
TEAM ANALYSIS
WILLIAMS: WHAT NOW?
It was clear last year that Williams had
a big performance problem and that
something had to be done. From the
start, I was critical of the low-line
gearbox, which required a lot of design
eort for a very small aerodynamic
benet, as the increased driveshaft
angles would consume a small amount
of power and, because of its size, would
suer stiness problems.
To turn things around, much depends
on Mike Coughlans performance as
technical director. Hes been around in
F1 for a very long time and is clearly a
top-level engineer. But he faces a very
big task and we havent seen him taking
on so large a challenge before. The
question is, can he take up the Adrian
Newey role of giving the team direction
and imposing his will on every aspect of
the design and technical process?
Former head of aero Jon Tomlinson is
a very capable aerodynamicist and Im
confused as to why the team didnt do
better with him there, but perhaps that
was a symptom of the internal structural
problem with Patrick Head still there
on a day-to-day basis Sam Michaels job
as technical director would not have
been easy. Jason Somerville has come
in, so the important thing is that he has
the right support from management.
Mark Gillan I rate highly. He is
excellent at stepping back and analysing
what the problems are so, provided hes
given time to implement the solutions,
he should do a good job. Hes right that
the team threw too many parts at the car
last year rather than understanding what
the problems were and addressing them,
and he is also the right man to get the
race team and the factory working
together in a more eective way.
If the new technical team can make
a consistent step to the front of the
mideld pack, that would represent a
good start and something to build on.
Pastor Maldonado and Bruno Senna.
Thats largely because pay driver has
become a pejorative term. It would be
wrong to say that the Williams seats
were simply available to the highest
bidder. While money was important,
Williams did not want to run no-
hopers. The lucrative PDVSA contract
stipulates a Venezuelan driver and
Maldonado is the best available. He is a
former GP2 champion, remember, who
acquitted himself solidly in his rst F1
season. Its a similar case with Senna,
who brings backing from the likes of
Embratel. He showed ashes of pace
last year and its true that the team
did evaluate him extensively, even if it
has somewhat over-egged claims that
money wasnt a factor in his signing.
While the line-up lacks experience,
considering the pair is reckoned to
bring 20m or more to the team, a
more reasonable conclusion to draw
would be that this shrewd business,
given the nancial climate. In short,
neither are unworthy F1 drivers and
the results they achieve this year will
owe more to the new-look technical
department than anything else.
Williams has changed hugely over
the past decade. Over the next 10 years,
it could go either way. A lot depends
on the Williams-Renault FW34.
JASON
SOMERVILLE
HEAD OF
AERODYNAMICS
Rejoined Williams
in August 2011
after working on
the companys
BMW sportscar
programme from
1997-1999. He
switched to the
F1 team from
1999-2003, rising
to take joint charge
of the aero team.
Worked for Toyota
as deputy head of
aerodynamics from
2003 and took over
as department head
during 2006. After
Toyota quit F1 at
the end of 09, he
joined Renault as
aero project leader
before heading
back to Williams.
GARY ANDERSONS
TECHNICAL ANALYSIS
Maldonado/Barrichello
struggled during 2011
Williams has undergone
major tech reshuffling
Senna must prove
himself at famous team
Williams tried tiny
gearbox in 2011
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30 autosport.com January 26 2012
Nigel Mansell
LEGENDS
CONTENTS
GUEST EDITOR: DEREK WARWICK
Mansell was one of the
all-time great British racers
Former World Sports Car champion Derek Warwick competed against Mansell in
F1 and, briefly, in the BTCC. He explains why Our Nige was such a great racer
Mansell-versus-Senna was a theme of F1 in the 1980s and early 90s. This is Spain 1991
Just why did Colin Chapman and Frank Williams
take a punt on an unproven British driver?
32 His early days in F1
Impossibly dicult? A great asset? Maybe both.
A view of Mansell from those he worked with
38 Working with Mansell
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January 26 2012 autosport.com 31
By Derek Warwick
NIGEL MANSELL BEST OF BRITISH
Nigel Mansell is all about
determination and true
grit. He never gave up,
and this was denitely a
strength that carried him
throughout his career.
He gave 110 per cent
every time he stepped
into a racing car and thats why he was
always a winner. He was fast, had superb
car control, gave good feedback, was
selsh (in a good way) and, more
importantly, had amazing self-belief.
He was also around in a golden era with
a great group of drivers such as Ayrton
Senna, Alain Prost and Nelson Piquet, all
of whom he beat during his career. Nigel was
a great qualier, a great racer and the crowds
Warwick and Mansell raced against each other many times
Mansell attracted fans like few others
F1 journalists Mark Hughes and Tony Dodgins
go head to head on where Mansell really stands
44 How good was Nige?
A look at Mansells career in numbers, from
F1 success to taking America by storm
46 Counting the score
Patrick Head gives an insight into how the
1992 machine became one of the F1 greats
52 Great car: Williams FW14B
loved him. I can think of no other time in
motor racing when we got the sort
of track invasion Nigel got at Silverstone.
In my opinion he is denitely up there
with the British greats of Jim Clark, Stirling
Moss and Jackie Stewart because he was
so fast, determined and committed.
I do think he is misunderstood within
our industry. When we saw him collapse
after races and looking like he was dying,
we all thought he should have manned-up,
but I think he just gave so much of himself
both mentally and physically. He put so
much physical effort into driving the car
and his bravery was outstanding. When
you hear Patrick Head and Frank Williams
say he was the bravest driver who raced
a Williams that means something, given
some of the drivers theyve had.
If you compare Nigel to current drivers
youd have to look at Lewis Hamilton in
terms of overtaking, commitment and
controversy. He and Nigel arent the sort
to just sit behind other drivers. Nigel was
always forcing the envelope. He did some
extraordinary overtaking, passing Senna in
Hungary, Piquet at Silverstone. Along with
Senna, he was one of the best overtakers in F1.
When we had the active-suspension cars
he was also intelligent enough to work out
how they worked and got the best out of
them. And we saw again in GP Masters, where
the cars were equal, why he was so good.
He never got the credit he deserved for
his IndyCar title. To go over there, learn
the ovals, work with a team that already had
Mario Andretti, and win was almost a bigger
feat than winning the F1 championship in
1992 when he arguably had the best car. But
in 93 in Indycars there were several drivers
with pretty equal cars, and he beat them all.
I was around during much of his career
and he always had time for me, but if you
were racing Nigel Mansell, in F1, Indycars
or touring cars, you knew you were in
for a tough race.
To sum Nigel up, he was determined,
aggressive, emotional, focused, controversial
and only ever gave his all. Hes an
extraordinary person and was one
of the greatest British drivers ever.
32 autosport.com January 26 2012
Nigel Mansell
LEGENDS
No-one attracted adoration from his fans like Nigel Mansell. Here, they go wild after Nigel had won the 92 British GP
January 26 2012 autosport.com 33
MEMORIES OF MANSELL
by Mike Doodson
The words of Frank Williams, for whom British racing hero Nigel
Mansell won 28 grands prix and the 1992 world title. And they
perfectly encapsulate the regard in which Our Nige is held
Conceited,
arrogant...
but brilliant
Has there ever been a British
driver who was more adored by
the public in his own country
than Nigel Mansell? Back in the
day when Our Nige was in his
pomp and the price of admission
was still tolerably affordable,
British circuits hosting our
national GP attracted huge crowds
so devoted to their hero that they
broke down retaining fences in
order to be closer to him.
At Brands Hatch in 1986, when
Mansell collapsed at the nish
after an exhausting but successful
duel for victory in the British GP
with Nelson Piquet, he insisted
on doing his delayed victory lap
sitting on the tailgate of a
medicos Range Rover. No victory
lap for his public, insisted this
Man of the People, and thered
be no press conference.
A year later, at Silverstone, he
was swamped by delirious fans
when his Williams-Honda, again
victorious, ran out of fuel on the
slowing-down lap. To this day, the
BRDC feels compelled to place a
limit of 90,000 on admissions,
simply to avoid a repeat of those
potentially dangerous scenes.
It wasnt just the punters who
loved Mansell. To have a Briton
as a championship contender in
the mid-80s was a godsend to
Britains tabloids, which suddenly
began to take almost as much
interest in F1 racing as they did
in other non-football sports like
tennis and golf. Previously, they
had reported motor races only
when death or injury was
involved. Now they attached
celebrity status to top drivers,
although the hacks lap-dog
adulation of the Midlander wasnt
appreciated by everyone. These
were the days when F1 teams still
used highly visible race numbers,
and Murray Walker on BBC
television noisily identied
Mansells car as Red Five.
Williams own press ofcer, Annie
Bradshaw, noted the quintet of
Fleet Street bloodhounds forever
on Mansells tail, and memorably
dubbed them Brown Five.
The Mansell story was
heart-warmingly attractive, as
several rather sloppy biographies
have attempted to show.
Working-class origins, an
Love him or loathe him, Mansells focus and determination could never be doubted
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