PSRX Volkswagen takes the lead.

Petter Solberg flies over the jump in Qualifying on Sunday.
Image Copyright: FIA World Rallycross

The 2017 FIA World Rallycross champions PSRX Volkswagen Sweden and drivers' champion Johan Kristoffersson began the new 2018 World Rallycross season in the same way it ended last year…at the top of the table.

On Saturday, the World RX drivers struggled in torrential down powers. But Petter aimed to survive throughout each qualifying session, but ended the day in the lead (and fastest of all). The sun arrived for Sunday and the PSRX Volkswagen Sweden drivers made the most of it, locking out the front row of the first semi-final. From pole, Petter drove the perfect race, twice posting a new fastest lap. Johan lost out at the first corner, but recovered to power past Andreas Bakkerud with a stunning joker lap.

Petter Solberg – made his 50th World RX start in Barcelona and was the fastest man throughout the weekend, but a collision at the first corner of the final left Solberg in the tyres and at the back of the pack once he had made it back on track.

The race director initiated an investigation into the incident and Mattias Ekström was subsequently disqualified.

With Johan taking maximum points from the final and Petter bringing his car home fifth, the pair gave the team plenty to excited about as they topped by the drivers’ and teams’ standings after the first of the season’s 12 rounds. 

"It was a hard fight and a tough weekend, one with lots of hits. Starting out with the new car in those conditions [on Saturday] was quite tricky, the grip was so low across the whole lap. Like Petter said, it was a day to survive and having both the PSRX Volkswagen Sweden Polos in the top three was a good sign of the work the team has done through the winter", Kristoffersson said. "The semi-final went well and gave us a great result and a good position for the final. I’m sorry for what happened to Petter in that first corner. It’s been a tough weekend, but we come away with the points and that’s what counts at the end of the season."

Petter Solberg starting in pole position for the FINALS in his PSRX Volkswagen Sweden #11 was the quickest driver over the two days of racing. "What can I say? I am very sad for what happened in the final. Until that last race, everything was perfect for me. I’d had the perfect weekend", said Solberg. "What I am happy with is the way the team worked this weekend and the way the mechanics and all of the guys have come together to make this car so good. Johan gave us a great result, so I’m happy for him. Hey, we are one-two in the championship and leading the teams’ as well. We take our speed and we move on from here."

Source: PSRX Volkswagen Sweden
Image Copyright: FIA World Rallycross

A satisfying start to the World RX championship for GRX TANECO.

Niclas Gröholm driving his Hyundai i20 Supercar in tricky conditions on Saturday
Copyright: GRX TANECO Team

GRX TANECO aimed to qualify both Hyundai i20 Supercars in the semi-final for its first participation in the World Rallycross championship. But Niclas Grönholm’s strong performance throughout the weekend saw the team qualify for the final. 

After a shaky start and a spin in Q1, Grönholm took P6 in the second qualifying session.
“Q1 didn’t work out as planned. The windscreen was steamed up and I couldn’t see much. Q2 was better. Despite a few minor errors, I got a good result”, Grönholm said.

Timur Timerzyanov banked tenth and then twelfth place in his Hyundai Supercar. Far from satisfied with his first day, he was back at the front of the field on Sunday, winning his race and claiming the seventh best time of Q3. His Q4 performance having clinched a place in the semi-finals, he was classed fourth, just missing out on the final. “I’m satisfied with my first race with GRX TANECO", said Timerzyanov. "We had a difficult first day on Saturday but I made up for the lost time and gradually felt more at ease in the car. The team had the podium in its sights right from the first race and that’s an excellent sign for the rest of the season.” 

Niclas put in a consistent performance and was strong on Sunday, finishing the two qualifying rounds in the top five and clinching a place in the final. “I knew we had the potential to qualify for the semi-finals, though it was more difficult than I expected", Grönholm said. "The final was a real bonus for me. We didn’t perform as well as I’d have hoped, finishing fourth, but I think we can be satisfied with our first race with the team and the car.”

GRX TANECO head to round two of the World Rallycross championship in Portugal, in 4th place in a Teams' Championship standings, with both drivers Niclas Grönholm and Timur Timerzyanov, in 5th and 9th place in the Drivers' championship.

Source: GRX TANECO
Image Copyright: GRX TANECO

Team Peugeot Total claim a podium finish on debut

Team Peugeot Total's Timmy Hansen catches some air at the World RX of Catalunya-Barcelona
Image Copyright: Peugeot Sport

Team Peugeot Total certainly didn’t have it easy during the season opener in Catalunya-Barcelona, after incidents involving Timmy Hansen hitting the wall on Saturday, electrical issues while leading the qualifying heat (on Sunday) and Sébastien Loeb spinning on a completely swamped Barcelona-Catalunya circuit in tricky conditions on Saturday but conditions improved on Sunday, when Sébastien Loeb made it through to the final and claimed second place.

Sébastien Loeb finished second overall (after the disqualification of Mattias Ekström following a first-lap incident in the final). Loeb achieved the podium finish due to some solid team work, with Kevin Hansen (not eligible to score team points) giving up a grid slot in the semi-final to the Loeb. Sébastien Loeb finished second in the semi-finals, booking him a place in the final, where the Frenchman showed his characteristic flair to seal a podium.

“We’ve seen this weekend all the different emotions you can go through in rallycross in one weekend!," said Loeb. "I was a bit low at the beginning, and I didn’t expect to go through to the semi-final as we were off with broken rear suspension twice in the heats. Then the decision came that I was going to go through to the semi-final anyway and from that point everything actually went well. I had a bit of luck with me, but this sort of emotional rollercoaster isn’t an easy one to live through! The pace of the car with Timmy is very encouraging as we can see that the car is competitive and that we’ve made a step forward over the winter. We’re in the fight and I hope we can continue in this way.”

Timmy Hansen showed amazing speed all weekend but didn’t get the chance to convert that into a result as his car stopped in the semi-final, while he was leading and pulling out a gap. “The only negative to this weekend is that there were so many positives we weren’t able to capitalise on!," he commented. "I felt very comfortable in the car all weekend: I was pulling out a gap in the semi-final and yet it was feeling so easy, almost with no real effort. Then the car stopped and that was it, which is obviously hard to take. But in the end, our car was really fast, really good, and we put together a fantastic weekend from the very start. It’s a car that I’m able to fight with. I’m eager to get some revenge now on the next round in Portugal. I just want to get back into the car and try again.”

Kevin Hansen was not eligible to score points for the team was 12th after the heats but withdrew in order to hand his place in the semi-finals to Loeb. "I think it was a good first race. I know this squad very well, for me everything feels very normal. I have my same crew as last year, so I felt very comfortable, and I had a very good first day as well," said Kevin Hansen. "We dropped a lot in the overall standings and went back to 12th. As Seb was 13th, we decided to swap for the team. I already knew it could be like this last year, so I’m aware of the thought, it’s not like it’s something new. And the next round is only in two weeks."

Team Peugeot Total head to Portugal for the World RX of Portugal in third place in the Team Championship standings, while its drivers: Timmy Hansen, Sébastien Loeb and Kevin Hansen are 6th, 7th and 12th in the Drivers' Championship Standings.

Source: Peugeot Sport
Image Copyright: Peugeot Sport
Written By: Junaid Samodien

The World RX of Catalunya-Barcelona win is decided after Turn 1 drama

Turn 1 drama during the final race of the World RX of Catalunya-Barcelona
Image Credit: FIA World Rallycross

PSRX Volkswagen Sweden and World RX defending champion, Johan Kristoffersson has been declared the winner of the 2018 World RX of Catalunya-Barcelona, after Mattias Ekstrom was disqualified from the final following an incident with Petter Solberg while Sebastien Loeb secured second place finish after an eventful weekend for Team Peugeot Total. EKS Audi Sport's Andreas Bakkerud ensured three manufacturers are represented in the top three.

Starting in pole position with Mattias Ekstrom second on the grid, the LIGHTS went GREEN and away they went. Ekstrom had a lightning start [winning the Monster Energy Super Charge award] seeing him slightly ahead before Turn 1. Ekstrom and Solberg then made contact on the run to turn one, resulting in the latter hitting the track markers (stack of tyres) on the inside of the corner. While Mattias Ekstrom continued in the lead, Solberg rejoined the race in sixth place.

With Ekstrom going on to withstand race-long pressure from Kristoffersson to take the chequered flag first, the Stewards concluded the EKS Audi Sport driver had “Made contact with car #11 [Solberg] on his left… Further, the Stewards considered this to be a dangerous manoeuvre and liable to hinder car #11” and disqualified him from the final.

The decision gifted Johan Kristoffersson his tenth World RX victory. 

"This is definitely the best way to start my title defence," he commented. "I squeezed everything I could out of my VW Polo R. I knew it was going to be tight at the exit of the joker but it was an enjoyable fight; Mattias is a very switched-on guy, and he knows exactly how to position his car to make it difficult to overtake. I was happy with second place but while winning like this clearly isn’t the nicest way, I will grab it with both hands."

Loeb's second place came following a remarkable turnaround on a day that initially saw him miss the cut to progress to the semi-finals. A troubled set of qualifying races left Loeb 13th at the intermediate classification, and first reserve for the semi-finals. He was thrown a lifeline when Peugeot stablemate Kevin Hansen, who’d qualified 12th, withdrew from the semi-finals. 

An early Joker Lap gave Loeb the edge over Bakkerud and an unexpected second place ahead of the Norwegian, who later gave Audi something to cheer by inheriting third place overall on his debut with the team.

"It’s amazing how many different emotions you can experience over the course of a rallycross weekend," said Loeb. "I went out of both Q2 and Q3 with broken rear suspension, which left me a long way down the classification and I didn’t expect to make it into the semi-finals, let alone the final. I had a bit of luck on my side at last. It’s good to see that the car is competitive. I think we have taken a little step forward from last year, and we are here in the fight, so hopefully we can continue in this way."

"It was a very tricky weekend with challenging and changing conditions," added Bakkerud. "I am pleased to be in the final already in the first race with my new team and new car. I see a huge potential, not just for me but for the whole of EKS Audi Sport. I need to push even harder, because I want to go all the way to the top at round two in Portugal."

GRX Taneco enjoyed a strong start to the 2018 season with its new Hyundai i20 as Niclas Gronholm claimed a career-best World RX result in fourth position. The young Finn finished ahead of Solberg who ran sixth on the road before being elevated to fifth at the expense of rival Ekstrom.

GC Kompetition enjoyed a positive World RX debut with its Prodrive-developed Renault Megane R.S RX after Guerlain Chicherit and Jerome Grosset-Janin both reached the semi-final stage and demonstrated competitive pace. However, there were mixed fortunes for returning former Teams' champions Olsbergs MSE with Robin Larsson reaching the semi-finals but Kevin Eriksson failing to progress beyond the qualifying races after an uncharacteristic crash in Q2 dented his chances. 

The FIA World Rallycross Championship heads to Portugal for the World RX of Portugal at Montalegre in two weeks’ time (28-29 April).

Source: FIA World Rallycross
Image: FIA World Rallycross Media 

2018 Chinese Grand Prix: Post-Race Press Conference

DRIVERS

1 – Daniel RICCIARDO (Red Bull Racing)

2 – Valtteri BOTTAS (Mercedes)

3 – Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN (Ferrari)

PODIUM INTERVIEWS

(Conducted by Martin Brundle)

Daniel – what an absolute star. What a race! Your sixth victory, but is that the sweetest one?

Daniel RICCIARDO: I don’t know what it is, I don’t seem to win boring races, they’re all pretty fun. That was unexpected. Put ourselves 24 hours ago and I thought we’d maybe be starting at the back of the grid. Firstly, thanks to the boys yesterday. I thanked them after qualifying but today is the real reward for that work. So thank you to everyone at Aston Martin Red Bull Racing, the mechanics worked their butts off, so…

And the team had their brain in gear didn’t they, under the safety car, getting you in the pit lane. Double stacked the car twice, so the pit crew were on it as well?

DR: It was hectic. I heard ‘safety car’ in Turn 14, and they said ‘we’re going to double stop, come, come, in the box’. It happened very quickly but very decisive moves, winning moves also from the team, so thanks a lot. Yeah, fat lip and all I got the win.

Just take us through one of the great overtakes – maybe on Lewis? That came out of nowhere down to the Turn 14 hairpin.

DR: Yeah, sometimes you’ve just got to lick the stamp and send it. So, there we go. I enjoyed it very much.

You still made the apex somehow, extraordinary?

DR: Yeah, obviously we had the soft tyre so I knew I could get a little bit more out of the braking than them. A lot of the time you get one chance to try so I made the most of every opportunity.

You were a little closer to Valtteri when you passed him than you are now, but Valtteri, kind of bittersweet. Your 100th start but the safety car didn’t play into your hands and left you on some slightly older tyres and struggling a little bit.

Valtteri BOTTAS: Yeah, you know, the race was going pretty well for us and we were looking strong all the way, until the guys, during the safety car, stopped and we were in trouble then with Daniel and nearly with Kimi in the end. It is disappointing. We were giving everything we had and it kind of felt like we deserved victory… but not today.

Without the safety car, do you think you had enough grip and pace to keep Sebastian behind you and take victory?

VB: It felt like everything was under control so far. I had no major drop-off in the end, so I think we could have done it, but this is racing, these things happen.

Kimi, wow, it looked like you were a bit out of position. It looked like you were struggling a bit. They kept you out a long time before the pit stop. Then the safety car played into your hands and you had great speed and you got yourself back onto the podium.

Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN: Yeah, I think we made a good start and then got, unfortunately, blocked a bit and passed in the first corners. I struggled a little bit following people in the beginning. On my own I wasn’t too bad, but far from ideal at the start of the race and then obviously we stayed very long out. A little bit of luck with the safety car. I had good speed on the mediums but in the end we would have needed the soft tyres to really go for it. But I think I was kind of OK in the end, but once I got close I had much more speed than Valtteri but once you get close it’s so difficult to follow people, to get a good run you need much better tyres to get that proper run and you can kind of offset yourself. But I’ll take what I got, because at one point it didn’t look good at all.

Daniel, I just want to go through the other overtake, when you passed Valtteri into Turn 6, because that looked a little bit touch and go.

DR: It was close. I think it was hard but fair. I saw him defend, so I wanted to go shallower, but then he came a bit more… I thought about pulling out. No, I’m just kidding! I knew there would always be enough room and the tyres had pretty good grip, so worst case I went wide and I’d have another crack somewhere else.

PRESS CONFERENCE

Q: Daniel, many congratulations. In winter testing, if someone had said to you “Red Bull will win a race this year before Mercedes,” what would have been your reaction?

DR: Good job. Yeah, pretty cool. Holy Testicle Tuesday! I don’t know. I’m sitting here, reciting everything in my head what just happened. Yeah, awesome. Even after yesterday. I’ve only got six, it’s not a whole lot but the wins seem to come under always some circumstances. Baku, and this one now where we really thought we were going to start the race at the back. We didn’t think we were going to get out in qualifying and, just over 24 hours later, now to be here, it’s… this sport’s crazy. A week ago I was with my head down after two laps on Sunday. Yeah, frustrated at the sport, frustrated at all the variables that are involved in the sport. Sometimes I question why I chose this sport because there’s so many other things out of your control and it does get you down a lot – but then when you have a day like this it’s worth fifty of those bad ones.

Q: Valtteri, coming on to you. A lot was made yesterday after qualifying about the team having set the cars up for the warmer temperatures that we had today in the grand prix. How was the balance of the car?

VB: I think the balance was OK. Like actually it felt OK yesterday, we were just not quite quick enough with the ultrasoft, so yeah, today we only used soft and medium and I think on the soft it was next to nothing, the difference to Ferrari. We were as competitive as them. I think with the medium it was pretty much the same case. So, for sure, starting the race from the second row makes it more difficult. It’s a shame what happened in the end because we really took the opportunities in the beginning of the race start, during the pitstop. After the pitstop everything was going fine. And then with the Safety Car we just got a little bit unlucky – but that happens sometimes. It’s difficult to accept that quickly, after the race – but that’s F1.

Q: Talk us through the undercut. Were you surprised to come out ahead of Vettel?

VB: No. We knew that it is possible with this kind of gap, if you get everything perfect, coming in, in the box, into the pitlane and all that. If you can switch on the tyres quickly, it’s possible. That’s why we stopped at this point. It was perfect timing from the team. I think it felt it was my quickest stop I’ve had with the team. So, everything just went really well. Good out-lap. So, we knew it was possible.

Q: Kimi, can we get your thoughts on the pecking order now. Because Ferrari were so quick in qualifying yesterday, yet here you are in third place.

KR: It’s very hard to say. I think if you ask anybody, it’s a bit tricky to give you an answer. I think today a lot of the end results depended on whether you had better tyres than others, when you could offset yourself to the others. Obviously, it’s part of the game. A big part of the game. And here it made a big difference. And the safety car playing in there. So, like pure speed, with everybody on the same tyres… it’s difficult, very difficult to say in a race. I think it’s nice like that, for everybody to watch, because nobody really knows, everybody would love to know, nobody really has because it changes from race to race. And such a small difference makes a big difference in the end results. I think you just have to wait and see. I think it might change from race to race and who runs what tyres.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Scott Mitchell – Autosport) Daniel, you’ve pulled off a lot of spectacular overtakes already in your Formula One career, not just to win races. Where does the overtake on Valtteri today rank and can you just talk us through what was going on in the car and going on in your head at the beginning of that process, through the overtake and afterwards?

DR: Yeah. Opportunity be knocking! That’s what I would say. I could tell that obviously we had the advantage coming in at the safety car and having those softs. Yeah, I sensed the opportunity. Initially it was ‘OK, maybe now we can fight for the podium’ and at the rate that we were going through the field, and I could feel the tyres were holding on well, then it was obviously fully set on the win. Yeah, I don’t know. Obviously I had pace over all the guys that I got ahead of but you still don’t want to sit behind for too long. I saw Valtteri defend but I was kind of committed already from turn three that I was going to try. It was cool, it was close but I would say close but fair and it’s cool when you go wheel-to-wheel and I think it’s fun for drivers and it’s good TV so I enjoyed it. It makes it a bit sweeter than just maybe cruising past on the straight so that was a lot of fun.

Q: And Valtteri can we just have your take on that overtaking manoeuvre?

VB: Well, yeah. I was defending, obviously I saw him very close in turns one, two, three. He got a decent exit as well. He was closing lap after lap with pretty big gains. Yeah, from my side there was not much to do. I tried to defend but ultimately, with the better tyres, he could really brake quite a lot later and got inside. Like he said, it was all fair and like this. I think it was just a matter of time, with the pace he was going.

Q: (Keren Wang – Top Driver) Daniel, why didn’t you share your shoey with Valtteri and Kimi?

DR: To be honest, actually I don’t know if I’ve ever offered it to Kimi but to be honest I sprayed most of the champagne so I didn’t have that much more and obviously I saw my number one mechanic Genty (Chris Gent) and he was the priority at the time. There wasn’t enough to go round today unfortunately. Hopefully there’s plenty more opportunities.

Q: Kimi, would you accept a shoey?

KR: Lucky for us…

DR: Maybe next time. It’s a privilege.

Q: (Keren Wang – Top Driver) Daniel, you kept your cool throughout the race. What was in your mind when you saw that Max had made a mistake and you overtook him?

DR: I could see it coming a few corners before. Obviously I saw he was close to Lewis out of ‘three’. I wasn’t close enough to be involved at that moment so yeah, I was just watching, I guess and obviously if there is some contact, I’ve got to then position myself and try and be prepared. Yeah, then I saw he was trying on the outside of ‘seven’ and I could see them both drift wide and I could see that one car was probably not going to make it, so the difficult thing was then when Max went off track I wasn’t sure if he was going to slide back across, hold the line, so that was quite tricky initially, but then I could see he was coming on with quite a bit of speed so then it was quite easy in my mind to cut across the inside to let him go. But yeah, even those things, they happen so fast and you’re still in the heat of the battle so it’s quite hard to always pick the right move. Fortunately I didn’t really lose any time with that and yeah, it was pretty close, so I don’t know what the viewers thought but it seemed like it was a pretty close battle.

Source: FIA.com
Image: Sutton Images 

2018 Chinese Grand Prix: Post-Qualifying Press Conference

Kimi Raikkonen (P2), Sebastian Vettel (P1) Ferrari and Valtteri Bottas (P3)
Image: FIA.com

DRIVERS

1 – Sebastian VETTEL (Ferrari)

2 – Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN (Ferrari)

3 – Valtteri BOTTAS (Mercedes)

TRACK INTERVIEWS

(conducted by Davide Valsecchi)

Q: Sebastian, what a lap, it was just amazing. And then the last sector, how good it was, it was something unbelievable.

Sebastian VETTEL: Yeah, I was happy with the whole lap, not just the last sector. The car was really amazing. It just kept getting better, so really happy. I knew that on the first lap I had some mistakes. I lost the rear at Turn 3 at the exit of the low-speed, and then 6 again, so I was a bit beaten up, but then I knew that if I got a tidy lap and I have a little bit of margin then I could push.

Q: Do you ever check the reaction of the fans? They love it!

SV: Yeah, really good. Also in the hairpin, in Turn 14, just under braking, outside, I see the people going crazy. It’s really nice.

Q: Kimi, you were on pole just until the last sector of Sebastian Vettel. You have to be proud of your quali? I know it must be disappointing but your drive was excellent today.

Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN: It was OK, but not good enough. It’s not exactly what I wanted, so, yeah, we go tomorrow and see what we can do.

Q: About tomorrow: what do you think you can do?

KR: Well, we try to improve. Obviously it’s going to be a long race. We need to stay out of issues and go from there and see what it brings.

Q: Valtteri, how was your quali? It seemed that you were struggling a bit but then just at the end you could improve. What do you think, how was your Mercedes today?

Valtteri BOTTAS: I think for us it was quite straightforward honestly, as a qualifying, run by run understanding the tyres, getting them to work better. But we never could achieve similar grip levels to Ferrari today.

Q: Let me check it out, tomorrow, first row, Turn 1, how is it going to be?

SV: I don’t know. We find out tomorrow. Looks like on Kimi’s side there’s more rubber, so I need a good start!

PRESS CONFERENCE

Sebastian, just talk us through that session and how you built up to that incredible time of 1:31.095?

SV: Yeah, it was indeed a crazy session – the car was unbelievable and it just got better. I think right from the first lap in the first of part of qualifying, in Q1, I was really happy and in the end we didn’t have to do much on the car. I didn’t have to fight so much finding the last fine tunings. I was very happy with the settings I had from the beginning. Usually you change quite a lot, you change your mind… it was tricky, because also the wind was changing, sometimes more, sometimes less, and a bit gusty as well. Trying to look around the lap to see where the flags are, trying to get a reference. The last lap in Q3 I knew I could step it up. I knew I had a bit more in me, because on the first run I had two moments, out of Turn 3, accelerating I was probably a bit keen. The same out of Turn 6, I lost the rear twice, so I lost a bit of momentum in those places. So I knew that I had a little bit more and obviously in the last lap I got it all together and very happy that when I crossed the line I was looking up to see the screen and I saw something green, which is usually good, and little bit of purple. Really pleased; it was a tight session but I think again a great result for the team.

Your car seems to be getting stronger by the race. Are you surprised by the gap to Mercedes this weekend?

SV: Yes, we are. I think the first three races have been a bit different now. The tracks are quite different to each other and to have that much of a gap is a bit of a surprise. But I think it’s also a track where you just need to get in and find that sweet spot and if you are a little bit out then easily you drop a little bit of time, so I wouldn’t be surprised tomorrow if that gap disappears and it will be a very tight race. Obviously, I wouldn’t mind if it stays there but I think it will be a tight race amongst the top three teams, and a long, tough race, but obviously it’s good to start from the front.

Q: Kimi, coming on to you, you’ve been hooked up all weekend. Very, very close to your team-mate. Just talk us through the session from your point of view.

KR: I think it was pretty straightforward. Not much really happened. Obviously after the morning it was a bit unknown where I was going to be with the wind and everything. I was pretty OK. Not much to say that was wrong. For sure there are things that we can improve always – but that’s a never-ending story. It was close. How close I don’t even know but close enough to make a difference, a few corners here and there. So, yeah, not ideal but tomorrow is another day. We’ll see what happens.

Q: You say tomorrow’s the day. You’re going to be starting the race on the soft tyre, as are the top four drivers. Was that a straightforward decision – or were you tempted to start on the ultrasoft?

KR: It was quite an easy decision, at least in the minds. If you cannot be fast enough… that we only find out in qualifying always but I think it was quite straightforward decision. We’ll see how it plays out tomorrow. It’s a bit unknown tomorrow.

Q: Valtteri, just talking about that gap to Ferrari. Sebastian has already told us that he’s surprised at the size of the gap. Are you?

VB: Yeah, we are. We thought coming into today that we would be fighting for the pole position but it was definitely out of reach today, there was nothing in the lap that we could have gained that much. I think there’s a little bit in terms of getting the tyres absolutely perfect for the lap – but it’s not half a second. You could feel it if it would be that big. So, I think they have a really strong car. We can see it, especially in long corners, Turn One-Two, they make some good gains to us and obviously not without any speed difference on the straights, they can keep the gains they make in the corners – so we definitely have work to do but yeah, tomorrow is a different day. Again, a long race ahead and like we saw last weekend it probably will be close. Hopefully we can make it up tomorrow what we lost today.

Q: Can we elaborate a bit more about tomorrow. Do you think you’re going to have a more competitive race car than you had today?

VB: hmmm… it’s difficult to say. We expected to go into today, that we would be fighting for the pole. From our numbers, it’s going to be very close between us and Ferrari – but as they were quicker today, we don’t know. But we will for sure try with everything we can. Obviously, we start on similar tyres so there’s not going to be massive differences with the strategies but yeah, we need to try and take the opportunities.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Scott Mitchell – Autosport) Question for Kimi. Kimi, the first two sectors of your final lap were the fastest in the session so far, what happened in the final sector?

KR: Nothing really. I lost some time but… I don’t know why. It wasn’t like I did some big mistake but yeah, need to see, I don’t know right now.

Q: (Christian Menath – Motorsport-Magazin.com) Question for the two Ferrari drivers. It’s always a balance between race pace and qualifying pace. Now, as you’ve seen the gap to the Mercedes, do you feel you’ve sacrificed race pace a bit too much for qualifying pace?

SV: No. No, I think we try to look at both, obviously, and tomorrow the forecast is quite different so I think we kept that in mind. Obviously we see how it works tomorrow but the answer is still no.

Kimi, anything to add?

KR: I honestly don’t know how you could sacrifice something today to be better tomorrow. We have nothing that you could change like that. I never… as long as I remember, there has never been a case like that. You have somehow different setups for two days. It’s what you have. If it’s fast in qualifying it’s fast in the race, if it works.

Q: (Yiyi Duan - Titan Sport) Kimi, very good qualifying lap but still not good enough so what details do you think can be improved if you want to overtake your teammate, if it’s possible, in tomorrow’s race?

KR: Well, obviously first of all we need to make sure that we run a troublefree race. Obviously that’s the first point and then we have to see how it pans out, obviously, so it’s a long race. We know what we’re going to do between ourselves so there’s nothing… I think the start will be a big part of it and who knows? We will see how it pans out and what it brings but we need to make the best out of it.

Q: (Keren Wang - Top Driver) Valtteri, you mentioned that you were struggling to find the grip level that you had yesterday. Was it because of the low temperature, does that mean that your car is less competitive under low temperature conditions?

VB: Well, I think the grip levels came up, for sure, from yesterday so in a way it was better but I think I said, I just struggled to find as much grip as Kimi and Seb. I said maybe some part of it can be from the tyres but I think some of it must come from the car. I don’t know if yesterday… it’s (tomorrow) going to be quite different to today, definitely warmer, a few degrees warmer with the air and definitely on the track; with the sun it’s a question mark. But we don’t think we are less competitive on a cold track. I thought we struggled a bit in Bahrain with the heat! For sure, we always need to understand everything better but for sure we need to make the car better as well.

Q: (Christian Menath - Motorsport-Magazin.com) Seb, you had some problems yesterday; I don’t think the balance was alright and on the long run the lap times dropped a bit. Why did it go so much better today? Did you change something dramatic in the car or what happened?

SV: We made some small changes but I think it was already pretty OK yesterday afternoon. I think in the long run I was catching traffic and (on) the other one it started to rain so I think for everyone it was a bit compromised, the amount of laps that you got. Yeah, I think overall I was happier today. Obviously it helps a little bit to focus on one lap as well, if you get the P3 session right you get the better feeling for the car so between practice and qualifying we didn’t do hardly anything. I think the overnight changes that we did, they were working and they made the car a little bit better. I was a little bit happier with the front end overall. I hope we can carry that momentum and feeling, obviously, into the race tomorrow.

Q: (Scott Mitchell – Autosport) Valtteri, are we seeing a recurrence of Mercedes’s struggles on the softest compound Pirellis from last year? And in those scenarios why do you think you are able to get more out of the car than Lewis?

VB: I think we saw in the races before that in general we’ve been a bit better with the harder compounds. That is something that we’re still working on, to get more out of the softer compounds and I think Ferrari is doing something better on that so yes, for that. I think the gap between me and Lewis was really small, it’s been quite small all weekend so it’s about fine details. I haven’t seen the lap so it’s difficult to say, really, why I was ahead but yeah, it’s been close between us all season so far so that’s how it is.

Source & Image From: FIA.com

A new chapter for Peugeot in World Rallycross

Team Peugeot Total's 208 RX Supercar.
Image Copyright: Peugeot Sport

Peugeot aim to take the fight to PSRX Volkswagen Sweden (defending champions) and EKS Audi Sport in the 2018 FIA World Rallycross season after entering World Rallycross as a full factory manufacturer. Team Peugeot Total will be fielding 3 cars in 3 different colours for there 3 drivers. 

Nine-time World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb, together with the Swedish brothers Timmy Hansen and Kevin Hansen will race an evolution of the 2017 car. All 3 Peugeot 208 RX Supercars will be progressively updated during the season, with new evolutions currently being prepared by Peugeot Sport engineers at the factory.

Let's hear from the driver:

Sébastien Loeb
“Our shakedown was good, and it was useful for me to get back into the rhythm of driving a rallycross car again, even if in the end it’s quite different from a Dakar car or a World Rally Car, so I never have any big difficulty adapting from one car to another: it’s what I’ve always done. The test is also a good opportunity to try out different settings to see what works best, knowing also that we will consistently be bringing in new developments to the PEUGEOT 208 WRX throughout the year. I’m looking forward to Barcelona; it’s a nice place that I’ve always liked. In rallycross it’s always hard to set an objective in advance anyway, but especially at the first race of the season. So, I’m just going to do my best and see what happens.”

Timmy Hansen
“We are having a proper week-long build-up to the first race in Barcelona with a shakedown in France and then some testing. Obviously, you can’t make any big changes in just a few days, but you can join everything together and iron out any little things that aren’t perfect. The car feels quite familiar to me in a good way, as we’ve kept all the strengths from last year – with a really good balance and feel – but updated it in the areas where we wanted to find a bit more performance. Barcelona has always been a good track for me personally: I don’t think I’ve ever had a bad race there. The surface is high-grip and should suit our car well, but in the end, we have to treat it as a race like any other.”

Kevin Hansen 
“I feel really excited to start the season! I tried my factory car during the shakedown we and it felt good. Our recent tests are all about confirming the work that has been done over the winter and making some small adjustments so that we are completely ready for Barcelona. At the beginning of the season I’ll be racing a 2017-specification PEUGEOT 208 WRX but I am confident in the work that the PEUGEOT Sport team is putting in for the future. Barcelona is a track I really love: I have driven there in RX2 as well as Supercars, and it’s where I took my European title in 2016, so I only have good memories. I’m feeling positive: this is a great place for us to start the season and I’m determined to make the most of every opportunity that comes my way.”

Source: Peugeot Sport
Written By: Junaid Samodien
Image Copyright: Peugeot Sport

2018 Chinese Grand Prix: FIA Team Members Press Conference TRANSCRIPT

TEAM REPRESENTATIVES – Maurizio ARRIVABENE (Ferrari), Robert FERNLEY (Force India), Franz TOST (Toro Rosso)

PRESS CONFERENCE

Franz, can we start by looking back at the Bahrain Grand Prix. How satisfying was Pierre’s fourth place and can you give us some idea of the emotion within the team and at Honda after the race?

Franz TOST: Well, it was a very emotional race result of course, because the fourth place we didn’t expect. We expected to show quite a good performance and realistically I expected a place between eight and ten. At the end it was the fourth place. It was a big positive surprise and I’m very happy, especially for Honda after the difficulties they had in the past, and also for Toro Rosso of course, and for Pierre. Pierre drove a fantastic race, without any mistakes. He deserved this fourth position and I hope that we can continue in a similar way. Not always in the fourth position of course, because we must not forget that three cars in front of us did not finish. They were faster, like Kimi Räikkönen, then Verstappen and also Ricciardo. But nevertheless, it was a good performance.

One of your most satisfying results in Formula 1? You, personally?

FT: Of course one of the most satisfying results, especially thinking about Honda, because we last year, in December, we had many meetings in Tokyo and I promised the president that we would have a successful season and a successful future, and this was the first step. Therefore, I was quite satisfied to have this good result.

You’ve already said that Pierre drove a fantastic race, but Brendon had a more difficult weekend. What can we expect from him this weekend and going forward as well?

FT: Brendon was also quite good in the qualifying. He missed Q3 just by one tenth. The race went a little bit in another direction because he had a collision with Pérez and he got the 10-second penalty and after this penalty he was not anymore in a position to score points, although I think if the race had gone for another three to five laps maybe he could have finished in 10th position. He drove a good race. Brendon is doing a good job, because you must not forget that most of the tracks, he doesn’t know. Also here, he is the first time with a Formula 1 car, he was here in LMP1. It’s not so easy to get everything together with these real strong midfield competitors and I am quite convinced that Brendon is on a good way and he will quite soon be close to Gasly.

Thank you. Bob, turning to you, a point for Esteban in Bahrain demonstrated progress for Force India, but it hasn’t been the easiest of starts. How do you assess the opening couple of races, and the winter as well? 

Robert FERNLEY: Well, I think actually it’s probably misleading. As a team, we have actually improved race-on-race, both for Australia and for Bahrain, by quite a significant amount. In terms of the opposition, they have improved even more, and the reliability is there. Last year we probably flattered a little bit to deceive getting the points early in the season, while we were very strong towards the end of the season. And I think it’s probably the same now. We had a good baseline programme for Bahrain in FP1 and FP2, which paid off, and you could see the difference in qualifying. We didn’t have a particularly good race: Checo had his incident on lap one, which basically took him out, and Esteban had a bad re-start, and we got betwixt and between a strategy that really didn’t pay off for us. I think hopefully we’re getting back on track again and the team under Andrew Green will do a great job of bringing the car forward.

You made a reference there to the midfield closing up. Can you give some feeling of how difficult the task ahead is? Not only for Force India but for everyone in that midfield? What’s the secret for your guys to finish fourth this year?

RF: I think it’s, well, like all times it’s down to reliability and being able to maintain the pace all the time. If you look at Bahrain, and looking at two or three teams, if you look at the Haas programme, one was in Q3, one dropped out in Q1. If you look at the McLarens, they just got the set-up slightly wrong and didn’t have the pace to get to Q3. It’s literally a tenth or two and that’s the difference in making Q3 and not.

Can you remember a time when the midfield was as tight as this?

RF: Not in recent years, no. I think it’s tremendous. The battle for that fourth place in the championship is going to be extremely interesting through the year.

Thank you. Maurizio, two races, two victories for the team, it’s been a tremendous start. But first, and most importantly, how is Francesco Cigarini, the mechanic who was injured in Bahrain last weekend?

Maurizio ARRIVABENE: Francesco is fine. He went back to Italy yesterday, so it’s all under control.

And how is he? Is he in good spirits? Have you had the chance to catch up with him?

MA: Of course, as team principal I was talking with him every day. He’s at home, it’s all OK.

Fantastic news. As I say, two victories so far and Sebastian is sitting pretty at the top of the championship. He seemed happier with his car in Bahrain last weekend than he was in Melbourne. Can we expect further progress on that front here in China as well.

MA: We are at the early stage of the season. The performance of the car is changing and it is really related to the track. So track versus other track, they are changing the performance. They have different characteristics. So I think at this early stage we are happy for the results that we have. But in the meantime we know that the season will be long. Here, for example, in China we will see Mercedes and Red Bull quite strong, but we are not here to surrender.

Maurizio, can we have a quick word from you about the performance of Kimi Räikkönen this year? He seems to have hit the ground running, he’s performing well.

MA: Yeah, I’m quite happy about the performance of Kimi. He is in good physical form, which for him is very, very important, because, if you remember, a couple of years ago he has a problem with his back but now he is recovering well, he’s really fit, and focused on his job.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Scott Mitchell – Autosport) Maurizio, can you explain why Kimi was given the green light to leave in the pit stop in Bahrain and what has changed in the procedure for this weekend?

MA: Just to make it clear, once, forever. First of all, the team was hurt. We have a person who was injured, so it was in our interest to review the overall procedure. We done our review, together with the FIA have to say, as they are caring about safety, as we are caring about safety. We went through all the procedure. We have a procedure to ensure that the pit stops during the race are done in the most safe mode. In this case we have three factor – one involves human control, the other involves mechanical, the other involves electronic device. What’s happening there is we have a mishandling of the rear left. It was not perfectly read by the electronic device that gives the green light. We went through all the procedure together with the FIA, making sure that this thing doesn't happen again, and it’s in our interest, because we care about our people, before anything else.

Q: (Michael Butterworth – Xinhua News Agency) This is to Franz. We talked just now about your fourth place last time out in Bahrain and we know that the McLaren-Honda partnership wasn’t that successful over the last three years or so. Do you think it’s a case that Honda is a better fit for a team like Toro Rosso than it was with a team like McLaren, for example?

FT: I don’t know the circumstances which happened at McLaren and I do not want to comment on this because this is past tense and I was not involved – therefore I cannot come up with any conclusions. The fact is Toro Rosso has a fantastic relationship with Honda. We work very closely together, we worked quite hard during the winter months to sort out all the problems which maybe occurred in the past and Honda worked very hard to come up with a reliable and competitive engine. The last two races they proved that this is the case and I am really optimistic for the future.

Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines, Racefans.net) To all three of you but particularly to Maurizio. Your comments please about the Liberty presentation last Friday and whether Maurizio, Ferrari is satisfied with what was proposed in terms of either bonus structure, financial structure etcetera. And the impact on your team of the necessary reduction in headcount.

MA: First of all Dieter, I was not commenting on the meeting that we have. We were listening to the presentation and any kind of decision related to our further strategy or decision, they are related to our CEO. That is the one that has the responsibility to take this kind of decision.

Bob, anything further to add?

RF: Not really. I think we have to remember this is work in progress. It’s not something that really is for discussion at this point. It’s something that’s presented to us. It will go another few rounds yet before something becomes more concrete. I think it’s too presumptuous to start thinking that we’ve got the process in place yet. I think it’s too early.

Franz, anything from you on that?

FT: I support all the points which Liberty Media presented and I hope that they will realise it.

Q: (Andrea Cremonesi - La Gazzetta dello Sport) A question for Maurizio about the matter of the meeting. It’s difficult to comment but I would just like to know if Ferrari refuse totally the budget cap or if there is a door open to discuss something like this – maybe with different figures. And, about the new distribution of money, if it’s something that you don’t want to discuss at all with Liberty or there is some chance to speak about it.

MA: I have to point out that it’s not difficult to make a comment. It’s simply not my job. It's the responsibility of my chairman.

Q: (Steve Wade – AP) Forgive me, I came in late. Can you explain again the condition of your mechanic and if you’ve been to see him, been in contact with him.

MA: The first comment is that he’s back in Italy, he’s at home and he’s OK.

Are you in contact with him?

MA: Of course. As the team principal I’m in contact with him. His name is Francesco but he’s not St Francesco. Blessing the hurt who doesn’t need hero. This is Bertolt Brecht, it’s not Maurizio.

Q: (Edd Straw – Autosport) Question for Maurizio. Although it’s not your job to discuss the proposals, it would be your role to implement any changes to Ferrari as a result of the proposals. Toto Wolff has said a budget cap of $150million is not achievable. Could such a thing be achievable for Ferrari?

MA: I mean we are reading the overall document. We are discussing and, I mean, we will see in the future if it’s achievable or not.

Q: (Gaëtan Vigneron – RTBF) Question for Franz. There is always a technical aspect in a relationship but there is a also a human one. What did you try to do to build a respectful relationship with Honda with the kind of harmony that was maybe a little bit missing in the past years with another team?

FT: The Toro Rosso team from its nature is a very friendly team with Italian mentality. I must say that we never had any frictions from the very beginning onwards we had a good cooperation. In addition to this, we organised some workshops for our engineers and employees who are working together with the Honda people, to understand the culture, to understand the way of thinking, because the cultures between Europe and Japan are different. I must say that they found a really good way of working together without any problems and I am also convinced that this will continue in this way. From the technical side, as I mentioned before, we had a couple of technical meetings in December where we discussed different topics and where both sides started immediately to work on this and we are still quite close, cooperating together because we want to develop the car as well as the power unit also during the season. From this point of view I must say Toro Rosso is in the best situation we have ever been – because we are now much more involved in the complete design process, regarding the car and how to fit in the power unit, how to design the cooling system, the exhaust system, where to put the electric boxes and so on. I think, especially for next year, this will be a big advantage from the complete car design point of view.

Franz, are there Honda engineers based in Faenza?

FT: No, the Honda engineers are based… some of them are based in Milton Keynes, because Honda has there as well an R&D department, but most of them are in Sakura and our engineers are flying to Sakura, to Japan when there is a special programme on the dyno or wherever because we are now much more involved also in the dyno runnings. We started already in November/December with the gearbox, and engine and gearbox tests and gearshifts and all this kind of stuff and we also are currently running a programme in Sakura.

Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines, RaceFans.net) Bob, you said earlier on that this is a work in progress, this Liberty presentation. To all three of you, what is the deadline needed before it’s really firmed up and proposals are made and accepted and regulations, because we only have two and a half years left before the current agreements expire?

BF: I am hoping that most of it will be done this year, perhaps the financials will take a bit longer but I would have thought that the engine regulations would have to be out reasonably quickly. It’s more to do with the engine manufacturers than it is us. We’re a customer team so we’re not really involved in that, Dieter, but I’m sure those would have to be done this year to give everybody the right opportunity and I would have thought that early next year – this time – we should be looking at chassis regs and anything else that’s surrounding that; cost controls or whatever, should be in place as well.

MA: They give us a deadline for the end of May, I think. I hope that this deadline is going to be respected. It’s a bit early somehow but it’s far if you’re looking at the situation from another point of view, a technical point of view. Concerning the engine, we, Mercedes, Renault and Honda sent a letter a month ago explaining in detail our position. Now, it’s quite clear.

FT: I think the power unit regulation has to be finalised soon, May, June, otherwise I don’t think it’s possible for new manufacturers to come into Formula One because time is running away, ’21 is tomorrow and I think that Liberty Media is aware of this and the rest we will see.

Q: (Julien Billiotte – AutoHebdo) I’ll try my luck with a question to Maurizio: Maurizio how would Ferrari react if you were to lose your historic right to veto any regulation change under Liberty Media’s new governance plans?

MA: We’ll let you know as soon as we go deeper into the conversations. You can see a smile on our face or not.

BF: Veto the question.

Q: (Dieter Rencken – Racing Lines, RaceFans.net) Maurizio, Bob has said that he would like to see the engine regulations firmed up this year then the chassis in a year’s time and the money thereafter. From a Ferrari perspective, can one actually split it, given that to Ferrari all three are very very important elements which would be basically decide your way forward?

MA: All the elements are important because they are somehow linked together so soon we will find an agreement if any, related to the various topics that are into the proposals and then we can go.

BF: Just to clarify Dieter, it would be nice to have everything done in one go but I’m giving you the timelines that might be realistic rather than (those that) are absolutely necessary.

Q: (Andrea Cremonesi – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Maurizio, about the sporting situation now, I would like to ask you what makes you more proud about this season?

MA: As I said at the beginning, we have only had two races now. The season is very very long so as I said before, the car behaviour changes from one track to another. I can see here, for example, Mercedes and Red Bull are quite strong but we are not here, as I said before, to surrender. You came later, I suppose. You were not here.

Q: (Yang Guang – China Radio International) My question is about the circuit; there were a few slides in the morning practice, so how would you assess the condition of the Shanghai Circuit and what are your strategies for the following sessions in terms of the weather conditions?

MA: Talking about the strategy, can you ask this question to Horner and Toto and then you let me know? Talking about the track, yeah, it’s a fantastic track, it’s very different versus Australia and Bahrain where we competed. I think it’s great to be here because we feel that Chinese people really support Formula One and I think that in the future and I hope that in the near future they are supporting further because the infrastructure here is great.

Q: And Bob, your strategy going forward for the rest of the sessions?

BF: If you could control the wind, that would be the strategy! I think that it’s a wind related issue today, it’s very strong and gusting so it’s causing a few issues for the drivers but the track is fantastic and it’s a great facility. We just look forward to being able to optimise the set-ups.

FT: There’s not much to add. Yeah, it’s a fantastic infrastructure here, it’s a really nice racetrack, we always like to come here. Unfortunately the weather is not as beautiful as it could be because it’s a little bit cold and the wind is blowing a lot which has a big impact on the behaviour and the balance of the car and the strategy is to do as many laps as possible because our drivers need to learn the track and they will do some long runs today in the afternoon and then we will see.

MA: I would like to say something concerning Bahrain. I would like to thank our doctor, our team doctor, the medical staff of the FIA and also the authorities in Bahrain, they immediately granted to us the best doctors in Bahrain to do the surgery and they were assisting us 24 hours (a day) literally, so thanks to all of them.

SOURCE: FIA.com
IMAGE COPYRIGHT: Sutton Images 

PSRX Volkswagen Sweden begin title defense in Barcelona

The 2018 PSRX Volkswagen Sweden camouflage livery
Copyright: PSRX Volkswagen Sweden

After 153 days away from competition, the 2018 World Rallycross season is only days away. PSRX Volkswagen Sweden are raring to go but are aware that the competition is going to be fierce this year. 

"We all need to work very hard, the boys need to stay out of trouble and focus on the team strategy to defend our two FIA World RX titles. Now we’re looking forward to an exciting season with fair and professional driving. Petter Solberg will start his 50th World RX race this weekend", said Pernilla Solberg, PSRX Volkswagen Sweden Team Principal.

Last year was the team’s rookie season and the three-way partnership between Petter’s PSRX squad, Volkswagen Sweden and Volkswagen Motorsport couldn’t have worked better. It was the dream start, with both titles taken with two rounds to spare and victory in eight of the 12 races. 

The first round of the season takes place at Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona from 14-15 April, where PSRX Volkswagen will begin their title defense. 

Petter Solberg said: “Catalunya is a good track for me, it’s got some nice longer corners where you can bring a little bit more speed. This Volkswagen Polo R Supercar we have is an unbelievable car to drive, you know we are hitting 100kph in under two seconds; we are accelerating faster than a Formula 1 car and then we are going to gravel. Honestly, this sport is just fantastic – the thrill you have when you are sitting waiting to go is fantastic. I love it. My target for my 50th World RX race is to give them (the Spanish fans) a Petter Solberg win to celebrate!"

All eyes will be on defending FIA World Rallycross Champion, Johan Kristoffersson who dominated the 2017 season winning seven out of the 12 rounds. And clinching the title with 2 rounds to go. Johan Kristoffersson said:“Last year was unbelievable for me, winning at home in Höljes was something else and then breaking some records was amazing, but I think this year will be tougher. Last year we were able to surprise some people, but now they’re ready – and I think a few of the teams are even having some surprises for us!"

LET'S GO RACING!

Image Copyright: PSRX Volkswagen Sweden
Written By: Junaid Samodien