L&T Motorsport - March Edition - Issue 4

28/03/2016

Issue 4

BTCC Media Day Review And Look Ahead To The 2016 Season (Page 44)

Also In This Issue

Australia F1 Race Review (Page 4 - 5)

Geneva Motor Show Recap (Page 38 - 42)

The New Fastest Car In The World? (Page 14 - 15)

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Contents CMB ARTWORKS & M Dunning Photography……………………………………………………………………………………………………3 2016 Australian GP Review……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….4 2016 Australian GP Review……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….5 James Whitham Interview………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..6 James Whitham Interview………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..7 Rally Mexico Review…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………8 Silverstone 24 Hour Preview…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….9 2nd Barcelona Test – Day 1………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………10 2nd Barcelona Test – Day 2………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………11 2nd Barcelona Test – Day 3………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………12 2nd Barcelona Test – Day 4………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………13 The New Bugatti Chiron………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….14 The New Bugatti Chiron………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….15 Revamped Qualifying For 2016……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….16 Cutting Corners………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………17 Formula One’s Rather Confusing 2016 Tyre Rules………………………………………………………………………………………….18 Formula One’s Rather Confusing 2016 Tyre Rules………………………………………………………………………………………….19 The New Aston Martin DB11………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….20 The New Aston Martin DB11………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….21 The Importance Of Rio Haryanto In F1……………………………………………………………………………………………………………22 Cutting Edge Technology………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..23 An Exciting New Partnership Begins……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….24 An Exciting New Partnership Begins……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….25 WEC GTE Preview…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..26 WEC LMP Preview..………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..27 Sophia Floersch Aiming For The Podium In 2016 ADAC F4 Single Seater Debut………………………………………………28 Sophia Floersch Aiming For The Podium In 2016 ADAC F4 Single Seater Debut………………………………………………29 The Clever Split Engine…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..30 Time For Rosberg To Deliver…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..31 Preview Of The Ginetta GT4 Supercup……………………………………………………………………………………………………………32 Q&A With WRC’s Hayden Paddon………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….33 Alex Booth’s Featured Driver: Alessandro Nannini…………………………………………………………………………………………34 Alex Booth’s Featured Driver: Alessandro Nannini…………………………………………………………………………………………35 Formula V8 3.5 – Where Are They Now….?……………………………………………………………………………………………………36 Formula V8 3.5 – Where Are They Now….?…………………………………………………………………………………………………...37 Geneva Motor Show Summary………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………38 Geneva Motor Show Summary………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………39 Geneva Motor Show Summary………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………40 Geneva Motor Show Summary………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………41 Geneva Motor Show Summary………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………42 Goodwood Members Meeting Preview…………………………………………………………………………………………………………43 BTCC Media Day…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….44 What’s Going On With The F1 Qualifying? …………………………………………………………………………………………………….45 HALO – What DO We Think To It? …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………46

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2016 Australian GP Review Alice Holloway – @Alice_Holloway_

The 2016 season opener saw the trial of the new qualifying format in which the slowest drivers were eliminated one-by-one, rather than all at the end. It started off being fairly successful, with all cars on track pushing to set a fast and competitive time. But it became clear very quickly that the problems people had predicted with the new format, were going to come true. Five minutes before the end of Q3 and there were no cars on track with the pole sitter, Hamilton, having set his time. The abysmal format did not go down well with fans, drivers or team personnel and was instantly revoked, with the old format returning to the Bahrain Grand Prix.

With qualifying being such a devastating start to proceedings everyone was hoping for a much more exciting race. No disappointment was found from fans as Sebastian Vettel made an incredible start, shooting past both Mercedes before the first corner. His teammate Kimi Räikkönen made the run too; giving Ferrari a one-two just after the lights had gone green. Rosberg made the better start out of the two silver arrows, managing to keep hold of third as they took the first corner. Hamilton and Rosberg made light contact into the first corner but no sufficient damage was taken to either car. The loss of momentum for Hamilton behind saw the Brit drop back down to sixth, behind Max Verstappen’s Toro Rosso and Felipe Massa’s Williams.

Disaster hit Renault as a tangle between Sergio Perez and Kevin Magnussen off the start left the Dane with a puncture limping back to the pits. The rest of the start was fairly clean, with Pascal Wehrlein having an amazing start and getting up to fifteenth by the first corner and the two McLarens both managing to promote themselves into the points.

Ferrari looked to have the race under their belts comfortably, with a good tyre strategy and showing that their race pace was not too far off the Mercedes this year. The gap from Vettel to Rosberg was not closing very quickly at all, and even after the first round of pit stops the Ferrari driver still had a comfortable lead. Rosberg seemed to be the only Mercedes with a chance of catching the Prancing Horse’s as his teammate, Hamilton, was struggling to pass the cars around him.

But that lead was not to last long as Fernando Alonso and Esteban Gutierrez came together at turn three, creating one of the most horrifying crashes to ever have been seen in Formula One. Alonso had been attempting to overtake the Haas in front on the outside of turn three when the Haas broke earlier than the McLaren expected, propelling the Spanish driver over his rear left wheel and spinning them off into the gravel. Gutierrez pirouetted into the gravel but the angle in which Alonso clipped the gravel trap sent the car over, barrel rolling 360 degrees before bouncing up and nearly clearing the safety fencing. The car came to settle upside down squashed against the tyre barrier. Alonso swiftly crawled out of his wrecked McLaren and miraculously walked away with barely a mark on him. Only to be seen a day later with a bandage on his left knee. He was cleared by track doctors ten minutes after the accident had happened and has since been given the “all clear” to race in Bahrain by McLaren’s team doctor. It was a scary crash for all and a tribute to just how safe the Formula One cars are nowadays, to see Alonso walked away unscathed.

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The crash brought out the red flag, where most of the teams opted to take on the Medium compound tyre so they would not have to pit again. Only Ferrari and McLaren’s sole-running Button took on the super soft compound after the restart. This backfired on Ferrari and Button as Vettel’s tyres dropped off and he was forced to pit as Rosberg drew him back in, being only two seconds off his fellow countryman when Vettel pitted for the softs.

Rosberg took the win as Hamilton took second after being chased down by Vettel, who appeared to be on the pace to take the position on the soft compound for the position. However, fourteen seconds was just too much for the German to close down. He got the gap down to half a second but never seemed to be able to get any closer. A lock up on the penultimate saw Vettel loose around two seconds to Hamilton, securing him no higher than third. Unfortunately for Ferrari, Räikkönen suffered an engine failure in the closing stages of the race, seeing him retire to the pits with flames coming out of the air intake above his head. The driver got out of the car safely as the team attacked the flames with fire extinguishers.

Fourth was gifted to home-runner Ricciardo who had a storming run on the supersofts at the end of the race to climb back up the field after his late pit stop. Massa started the season well with a fifth place whilst his teammate Bottas did well to recover to eighth after Saturday’s poor qualifying. The biggest surprise was that Romain Grosjean managed to get his Haas up into the points on the team’s debut. He clinched sixth thanks to a clever tyre choice and opting to take on the medium compound after the restart. Hulkenberg finished behind in seventh whilst the two Toro Rosso’s finished off the top ten. Sainz just ahead of Verstappen, after a heated moment between them lead to contact spinning Verstappen round. The Dutchman was claiming of unfairness after his teammate had been allowed to pit before him, giving him track position after the pit stops. He then complained that Sainz was too slow and requested multiple times to be left passed the Spaniard – who refused to let his younger teammate through.

The race lost six drivers throughout its 57 laps. Daniil Kvyat did not even make the start with a mechanical issue forcing him to stall at the end of the formation lap, and thus reducing the total laps. Fernando Alonso and Esteban Gutierrez were lost due to their coming together at turn three around lap 18. Rio Haryanto unfortunately did not restart after the Alonso crash as a mechanical fault returned his car to the garage.

Räikkönen and Nasr where the other two casualties with mechanical issues.

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James Whitham – Interview @Jacko251180

L&T Motorsport caught up with former BSB, World Superbike Rider and current Eurosport commentator James Whitham for a chat about the upcoming Moto GP, BSB and a few other Motorbike related items.

James, thanks for the time everyone at L&T Motorsport is grateful, I’m trusting you had a good time out in Australia for the opening round of the World Superbike season what are your thoughts on the first round?

It’s a pleasure, yeah unfortunately we don’t get that much time out there we (Jack Burnicle and Myself) flew out Thursday then back home Sunday night so it’s a pretty quick trip. With regards to the racing it was a brilliant start to the season but very ominous that Jonathan Rea had enough from the start to do so well in both races, the surprising thing for me was that the Ducati’s of Chaz Davies and Davide Giuliano were down on top end speed and that was the reason Chaz couldn’t keep up with Jonathan. The Hondas were impressive a solid start for Nicky Hayden (2006 Moto GP champion) in his world Superbike career, Michael van der Mark was very impressive all weekend.

How do you see the Moto GP season heading?

From the pre-season testing has been interesting the Yamaha’s and Hondas have been struggling a little bit early on Lorenzo is now starting to look good, the man who has caught my attention has been Maverick Vinãles on the Suzuki he he’s done well so far. We also have a fairly decent line up of British riders all on competitive bikes this year, Scott Reading on his Ducati for 2016, Bradley Smith should do well with his Tech 3 Yamaha and then there is Cal Crutchlow on his Honda who can hopefully do well.

The British Superbike season on paper looks to be one of the best yet, especially with the new team on the grid being the Tommy Hill Motorsport team which are Running the Yamaha’s Shaun Muir’s Milwaukee team left behind for World Superbikes, what are your thoughts on it all?

For me it’s the best Championship of the lot and should be even better this year, Shakey (Four time BSB champion Shane Byrne) will be looking to bounce back after a bit of a disappointing year where they had a few problems with the Kawasaki which they couldn’t get sorted.it will be interesting to see how they do now the team have Switched to Ducati’s which are a proven bike at World Championship level, they are supposed to be getting full factory and he’s got an Italian mechanic this season so with his ability he has to star as one of the favourites.

What do you make of the THM Yamaha team and the Riders they have Former Moto GP man John Hopkins and the ever popular Stuart Easton and the other competition?

It's a good team line up and they are running the championship winning bike from last season which the Shaun Muir /Milwaukee tools team left behind to go to World Superbikes and two great riders on them Hopkins may just want to prove point after that season finale in 2011 where he lost the championship to his now team boss and owner Tommy hill by just 0.006 of a second ,The Kawasaki team which has three riders this year of James Ellison it could just be his year he has been unlucky the last few years with injuries but he is a solid quick rider who never hides away from the hustle n bustle of a race but he is on a very competitive machine and in a very strong team, Leon Haslam is returning form racing in the Word Superbikes so if he can hit the ground running he has a good chance being in the top six for the showdown at the end of the season, the third rider is peter Hickman who would too me appear to be on-board more for the road racing season also has great potential. I have a good feeling for Christian Iddon on the Bennett's Suzuki, there are too many good riders to pick from it’s going to be a cracking year.

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What is your view on a lot of riders now having to pay for their own rides in the series?

It’s part of racing now, that’s the way it’s been happening in Car racing for years the team is the most important factor, the technicians are now more important than ever before with bike set up and the electronics involved.

Unfortunately, its moved on from the days I fondly remember where you would throw all your gear, bike, tyres, pair fairing in the back of a van with your mates for the weekend and go race. It’s always been a sport where money benefits you but even more so now.

How did you personally find the switch from Racer to Commentator?

It’s been good for, me I found it quite natural to be honest, I had done some commentating whilst I was still riding so when I packed in it just so happened to be the same year Niall Mackenzie who had been working for Eurosport decided to stop it so I kind of took his place. It’s not as much as fun as riding and you don’t feel as big a part of the action but it's the next best thing.

If you weren’t a racer what would you of done for a living?

No idea to be honest from being 12 all I could think of was Motorbikes and racing I didn’t have a creative background like being an artist, writer or marketing executive, I’ve always had an engineering background but like I said form a young age it was only bikes.

Finally, who is your favourite rider of all time?

As a rider it’s Eddie Lawson I liked the way he went about the job he could be a grumpy get sometimes but he got on with the job won championships on several different bikes. As a person it’s Kevin. He is a really nice bloke a very talented rider and for me that’s the best era of racing.

Thanks to James for his time you can catch James commentating on Eurosport throughout the bike racing season.

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Rally Mexico Review Chris Evans - @cptchris2010

With the first 2 rounds of the WRC calendar being in ice and snow it was nice to see some warm weather on the horizon. The first 2 rounds have been dominated with wins from current 3-time world champion Sebastian Ogier, with team mate Latvala crashing out in both the first 2 rounds he was hungry to get his season kicked off.

With the opening day starting on the infamous short 1.4km street stage through the tight mining tunnels in Leon with Hyundai's Thierry Neuville taking the first win of the weekend but after 3 stages on the Thursday night it was time for the world champ to take the lead on the first day.

As every round will go this season the drivers enter the stages in championship order so with Ogier and Mikkelsen doing road sweeping duties and pushing as hard as they can but Latvala took the early lead, with his road position 8th on the road he had the best road position he could he could dream of.

But what is a rally without incident well Rally Mexico will not disappoint at all with Andreas Mikkelsen pushing hard and overcooking a corner and ending in someone’s garden but not causing damage he was able to quickly get back on the road. Not just the top runners had issues Camilli hit a rock and flipped his car over also having miss fortune was New Zealand's Hayden Paddon hitting a banking and damaging his suspension but he managed to crab to the stage end.

With the leading Hyundai man Sordo holding 3 position and not being able to take the fight of second to Ogier he was forced to fight off Mikkelson, with Mikkelson pushing to get the 3rd position going to fast into a tight right hander losing it and ending his day handing 3rd to Sordo.

Nothing was stepping in the way of rally leader Latvala with over a minute and half lead to team mate Ogier but there was still the mammoth 80km stage left to go on the final day but will Latvala be able to keep his nerve and the lead over Ogier.

The final day had approached and time for the 80km stage and Ogier taking 25.3 seconds out of Latvalas lead.

It would take a lot for Latvala to lose the lead to his team mate but with a faultless drive all weekend he managed to keep the position and stopping Ogier from making his 100th WRC start a win. Latvala has never won in Mexico before and with This win he is the first non-Frenchman to win in Mexico for more than 10 years breaking a decade of French domination.

The next round we will see these drivers will be in Argentina on the 21/04/2016.

With the season off to a good start I believe the drivers worth looking out for are Hayden Paddon Jari-Matti Latvala and Mads Kris Meeke, but with only seeing Meeke on a few rallies this year including China he will not be fighting for the championship but will be looking to slow down the World champ in his fight to win another championship.

Latvala has the hunger to win the championship he has many wins to his name including Finland, France, Wales, Argentina and Sardinia he has a large range of rally wins in the championship and will take the fight to his teammate. Ogier will not back down to let Latvala take the wins he will make him work for the victories and will push Latvala all the way let’s hope he keeps his composure and manages to make this season a interesting season and make it harder for the championship victory.

Paddon has come a long way since starting in the championship and he is hungry for the first WRC rally win.

After watching him for the last 18 months he has come a long way, you can tell he has the determination to get those victories. Let's hope he has his first rally win this season shame it won't be on home soil for the kiwi.

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Silverstone 24 Hour Preview Chris Brown - @cbrownmsport

The Silverstone 24-hour race has a new flavour in 2016 as the 24-hour series run by Creventic takes over from Britcar. The 2016 race is known as the European Touring Car Edition as it only caters for Touring car classes from the 24-hour series. GT cars are not allowed mainly due to the strict noise restrictions at Silverstone, but it also gives the smaller touring car teams a chance for outright victory other than only class honours.

The Silverstone 24-hour race started in 2005 with organisers Britcar bringing back the spirit of Snetterton's Willhire 24-hour race of the eighties and nineties. The first few races had grids of 60 plus cars ranging from Mosler's to Clio's. The race was expensive to run and was cut down to a 500-mile race in 2009 and a six-hour race in 2013. In 2014 the race was cancelled all together. Britcar brought the race back in 2015 but with grid size under 30 which easily got lost on the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit.

Creventic is a huge success story in the world of endurance racing and it's 24-hour series is going from strength to strength which now has championship status and seven rounds of 24 and 12 hour races. The grids are consistently 60 plus which is a key ingredient for endurance racing. The series has a professional feel and attracts works drivers in works teams in multiple classes. The Silverstone 24 hours has already attracted over 50 entries which include nine TCR Seat Leon's, works Peugeot 208 GTI's and entries form Rollcentre Racing, Cor Eusor and TeamBrit.

The Silverstone 24 hours is a fantastic event and offers UK motorsport fans the only opportunity to watch a multi class race around the clock. There is nothing like the atmosphere of night racing especially in the pits and paddock which is open to all during the race at Silverstone. As GT's are not allowed there is potential for a very close race between many cars for outright victory.

The support races also look decent as Britcar still has a presence at the event with their new for 2016 Dunlop Prototype series aimed at Ginetta G57's, Radicals and CN specification cars. Silverstone should be the perfect track for these cars. There will also be support from Caterhams and Classic touring cars. It promises to be a great event.

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2nd Barcelona Test Day 1 – 1st March Mark Donaghy - @mdd7

The start of the final test is usually the time when we get to see new cars in their full race spec however this year was a bit different. With just 8 days available over 10 days this preseason has been the shortest and most compact preseason ever.

Whilst we didn’t see the usual onslaught of full car upgrades there were plenty of new pieces the most comprehensive of these was the updated Toro Rosso which debuted in its new livery with numerous upgrades to the aero and cooling package. The other big reveal was that of the new Sauber, as with most of the cars up and down the pit lane it is an evolution of last year’s design.

As was the case in the first test Mercedes racked up huge mileage totalling a huge 172 laps and unlike the first test they strapped on a set of soft tires to lead the times in the hands of Nico Rosberg, this was a full 28 laps ahead of the second best team in the terms laps the Toro Rosso who managed 144 laps.

Whilst is was an encouraging day for Mercedes the same cannot be said for Ferrari who only managed 72 laps with Raikkonen having to spend a large part of the day stuck in the garage with an unspecified gearbox issue.

At the other end of the pit lane it was a bad day for Manor who only managed 45 laps all bar one of which were in the afternoon after an oil leak kept the car in the garage for all but one installation lap in the morning.

After such an encouraging debut test for the Hass team they crashed back down to reality with a terrible start to the second test with Gutierrez who managed just 23 laps before suffering a fuel system problem which confined him to the garage for the rest of the day.

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2nd Barcelona Test Day 2 – 2nd March Joe Clark - @Joe96Clark

On the day of centurions, it has been another day of absolute perfection for Mercedes again. Splitting the duties between Hamilton and Rosberg equally, Lewis drove in the morning and Nico was on the afternoon shift. Hamilton briefly excited fans when he strapped on the soft tyres but did not impress as Rosberg did the day before, finishing 0.5 seconds off Rosberg’s best on that tyre. Nico in the afternoon completed a race distance and more runs afterwards on his way to completing 91 laps in the afternoon compared to Hamilton’s 73 in the morning.

In terms of Mercedes power, it was a good day all round for its customer teams. Bottas finished top on his super soft tyres with a 1:23.261 and completing 108 laps. Perez in his Force India completed 128 laps and his quickest time was 1:26.188 on the medium tyre. Focussing more on long runs on Wednesday, he got a huge amount of laps in. Pascal Werhlein in his Manor car completed 79 laps and had his quickest lap came on the soft tyres with a 1:27.064. Having only got a 1:27 on the soft tyre, is it now time for fans to start worrying that Manor-Mercedes will be starting from the rear of the grid for another season?

Ferrari had a successful day on the second day of test 2. Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel at the wheel completed 151 laps for the Scuderia and his quickest time came on the medium tyres with a 1:24.611. This was good enough to get him fourth on the time sheets but this is not what Ferrari were chasing.

Ferrari’s customer teams on the whole had a very bad day at the office. Toro Rosso the only team supplied by Ferrari who managed to have a good day. Carlos Sainz completed 166 laps of the Barcelona circuit and this was the most by any team on Wednesday. However, Sauber took a few hours to come out of their garage and completed just 55 laps. Their quickest lap was a 1:27.862 on the medium tyre. Sauber also caused a red flag at the end of the day with a dramatic spin as Ericsson lost a wheel in the process.

Gene Haas addressed the media at lunchtime on Wednesday venting his frustration that on a day with perfect weather conditions, the team were stuck in the garage studying an anomaly on the new turbo charger fitted to the car. Esteban Gutierrez made one appearance in the car for an install lap at the very start of the day and was not seen from there. It means that over the testing period, Mercedes have to date, completed over 2000 miles more than the debuting team.

Red Bull had a successful day testing aero, completing 135 laps and their quickest time was a 1:25.235 on the medium tyre. Red Bull fixing a rear brake duct problem that caused a fire on day 1. Magnussen in his Renault completed 126 for the returning team and he was second quickest at one stage with his 1:23.933 on the super soft tyres. However, he finished third behind Hamilton, who was 3 tenths quicker on the harder soft tyres.

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2nd Barcelona Test Day 3 – 3rd March Jack Haywood - @jackhaywood2605

Ferrari’s ever improving stance on the grid was secured on the third day in Catalunya, with Raikkonen setting the pace in the Spanish sun. Another big story was the first official testing of the ‘Halo’, a safety device, who’s introduction has divided the Formula 1 world. In the shadow of accidents such as Jules Bianchi’s in Suzuka’s Japanese grand prix in 2014, later causing the young Marussia driver’s death, the new head production was supported by drivers and teams alike, but some fans are questioning the new measures, seeing it as taking some of the risk out of the sport and thus some excitement.

Raikkonen set a time of 1:22.765 using Pirelli’s new purple ultra-soft compound, just quicker than teammate Sebastien Vettel. Brazilian Felipe Massa was four tenths behind Kimi, ahead of Nico Hulkenberg in the Force India and young Dutchman Max Verstappen, in third and fourth respectively. Mercedes continued their testing of the medium compound tyre, who rounded off the top five in Nico Rosberg, setting a time of 1:24.126, the fastest on the slower set of Pirellis.

The day was not, however, incident free, with Haas’ Romain Grosjean causing three red flags single-handedly.

The Frenchman’s offs caused the session to halt three times and only managed only 1:27.196, finishing in last place on the day and almost a second short of Lewis Hamilton, showing that the progress for the American owned Haas will take time. On the subject of the reigning world champion, Lewis managed just 11 th place, again testing Mercedes’ capabilities using the medium tyre compound, completing 63 laps, taking the team’s total for the day up to 143 laps, a successful day of data collecting for the German team.

The field seems open heading into the season, with Ferrari and Mercedes clearly the two favourites to battle, and with Australia fast approaching, the answer will soon be clear as to who will come out on top in the season opener.

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2nd Barcelona Test Day 4 – 4th March Alex Booth - @Alex_Booth_93

Sebastian Vettel ended Ferrari's impressive pre-season testing with the fastest lap on the final day in Barcelona.

The four-time World Champion set the quickest time of 1:22.852 using the super-soft tyre during the morning session, ensuring he topped the classification for the fifth time in eight days in Spain.

With no one able to surpass the German, Ferrari also head into the new campaign with the fastest overall time in both tests.

Toro Rosso driver Carlos Sainz was closest to the German, his quickest lap registering 0.282 secs slower on the ultra-soft compound.

Williams' Felipe Massa and Force India's Sergio Perez were next on the super-soft tyre and world champion Lewis Hamilton fifth on the medium tyre, 1.6secs down on Vettel on a tyre regarded as about 1.7secs slower than the super-soft.

For the first time during the pre-season test sessions there was bad news for Hamilton as his Mercedes encountered difficulties that limited him to just 69 laps and cut out on the main straight at the end of the morning session.

The defending champion's car suffered a transmission problem before Nico Rosberg took over for the afternoon, finishing 13th.

Hamilton said: "Best test ever in terms of how many laps, but it is not the best test in terms of it gets a bit boring after a while going around and around without learning too much.

"It has put us in a good position for the first race, but I have never been a fan of testing. It's been gruelling.

"The car just goes and goes and goes. So on one hand it has been great; on the other it's like: 'Oh my god, how many more laps have I got to go?'"

Hamilton said he was pleased to have the reliability problem in testing so the team could rectify the issue in time for the first race.

Jenson Button ended the Barcelona test seventh fastest in the McLaren-Honda on ultra-soft tyres, just over 0.1secs quicker than the Renault of British rookie Jolyon Palmer on super-softs.

While Ferrari have shown pace in the two weeks of testing, the sessions are a notoriously poor guide to form, as teams do not reveal the specification in which their cars are running. One conclusion from testing though, the last day problems aside Mercedes looked as strong as ever.

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The New Bugatti Chiron Euan Campbell - @EuanCampbell3

It’s Finally unveiled!

I’ve always thought that the Bugatti Veyron was an engineering masterpiece! Well now the “car gods” at Bugatti have launched a new weapon of mass speed destruction!

It’s called the Chiron and it looks insane! The front looks relatively similar to that of the gran turismo concept of last year. The car sits incredible low assuming for better aerodynamic efficiency; it has the classic Bugatti front grill and huge sweeping intakes on the side to suck in vast amounts of air to keep that stupendous 8.0litre W16 cool. The rear of the car looks a tad odd, with a huge taillight in the centre surrounded by multiple air vents, Bugatti have kept the twin split rear window from the Veyron and again probably for aerodynamic purposes. The power terrain! Ohh boy! This is where things get very interesting indeed! The Chiron when it goes into production this autumn it will be the fastest, most powerful road production car on sale!

With a whole new revised W16 with brand new quad turbo’s that produces 1500bhp and 1600Nm of torque!

Bugatti say the vast amount of power will be available from 2,000rpm to 7,000rpm. Rumour has it that the car was clocked at the Nardo test track doing 0-62mph in 2 seconds flat!

The car is built from a “sophisticated carbon fibre monocoque with extremely high rigidity”, It’s 8kg lighter than the Veyron and 25% more stiff making handling much improved on the Chiron. With this comes 5 new driving programs, “lift” for those annoying speed bumps at the Monaco docks, “EB auto” I hope you all know what EB stands for!

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But auto off course for relaxed Dubai city centre driving. “Autobahn” for your journey between Monaco and St Tropez, “handling” for when you want to demolish every other road car at the Nuremberg ring and finally “top speed” for when you find that derestricted part of the autobahn. The car is limited to a fairly modest 261mph!! and the Bugatti engineers want to try and break the 300mph mark in this car! Just sit back and take in what you just read there! 300mph IN A ROAD CAR! That if achieved would be mesmerizingly incredible!

Just in case you forgot how much of an engineering marvel this car is; here’s some facts for you. This cars transmission has the largest, highest performance clutch ever fitted to a production car, It’s the first car ever to get an airbag to deploy through a carbon fibre housing, The tyres were developed at aerospace facilities and can withstand the highest pressures and forces than any other road tyre in the world, it features the highest performing most intelligent cooling system in the world. It has the fastest high-end speaker system in the automotive sector, and last of all it has the biggest, most powerful temperature resistant carbon ceramic brakes in the world, that spoiler on the back is the most intelligent of any road car! Like the Veyron the sensors within the car measure the different forces such as speed, G-force side and frontal and deploys the spoiler accordingly, for example the spoiler will flip 90 degrees when you brake hard into a corner, it will then contract until you hit 80mph to which it will rise fully to give you maximum down force and then lower to half way when you hit 205mph.

The interior of the car is much more focused on the driver than the Veyron was, with full plush leather in just about any colour you could think of with endless possibilities and combinations, it’s a car that’s fully customisable a unique feature that Bugatti say no two of the 500 Chiron’s will be the same colour combination.

The longest light conductor in the automotive industry lights up the interior, and it’s the coolest interior light I’ve ever seen in my life! It’s a huge C shaped LED light that extends from the roof buttons at the top to the start of the centre console. You will notice no central screen that’s because it’s like the new Audi infotainment system, the Chiron however doesn’t have one huge centre screen, instead it has two TFT dials either side of an analogue speedometer that is supposed to resemble an expensive watch, and a digital speedometer in the bottom centre of the rev counter. The steering wheel itself looks very similar to the new Audi R8’s steering wheel with the starter button on the bottom right and the driving modes on the left.

So the price for this masterpiece of engineering? Well off course everything I have just explained and told you won’t be cheap! In fact, this car when it goes on sale will be the most expensive production car money can buy! An eye watering starting price of €2.4Million about £1.88Million in today’s exchange rates, but what a car this will be! And I would give anything to be one of those lucky 500 stinking rich clientele to own one of these incredible machines!

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Revamped Qualifying For 2016 Neal Venter - @NealVenter

This has been quite a controversial subject over the past few weeks. F1 will retain their three-part qualifying system; however, will introduce an elimination style drop out. Kind of like elimination races you did on your Need For Speed games, but instead the person with the slowest time will be eliminated.

Here’s how it works: Q1 will last for 16 minutes.

After 7 minutes, elimination will begin.

Every 90 seconds the driver with the slowest time will be eliminated.

15 drivers progress into Q2.

Q2 will last for 15 minutes.

After 6 minutes, elimination will begin.

Every 90 seconds the driver with the slowest time will be eliminated.

8 drivers (as opposed to 10 last year) progress to the Q3 shootout.

Q3 will last for 14 minutes (rather than 10 minutes last year) After 5 minutes, elimination will begin.

Every 90 seconds the driver with the slowest time will be eliminated.

The final two drivers battle it out for pole position in the final minute and a half.

The reason this has caused so much controversy is because of the argument that F1 is trying to fix a system that is not broken. The old qualifying system worked perfectly fine, but they are now making it rather complex and confusing.

Sergio Perez says he fears that the FIA are making it too complicated.

Not only this, but recently there has been a lot of confusion about the actual implementation of the rule.

Initially, the rule was only to be implemented at the Spanish Grand Prix, but, after days of different stories and confusion, it has now finally been confirmed that the new qualifying system will be used at the first race in Australia. However, the drivers don’t seem to be very happy with the new qualifying system: “I’m personally not a fan of (the new) qualifying, and speaking on behalf

of all the drivers, no one is, we don’t get what’s wrong with the old qualifying, and why to change it.”

Martin Brundle makes a very good point with his recent tweet though: “Let’s give the new F1 qualifying format a few races before judging it. I’m open to change. The old one is just fine if we need to revert…” With that in mind, it could be an interesting new twist to Formula 1 weekends, and if it doesn’t work, they will surely change back to the old qualifying system.

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Cutting Corners Mark Bowley - @bowley_mark

Look at virtually any old racing photograph and its immediately obvious why drivers used to respect track limits.

From dusty grass to the cement filled oil drums marking out the corners there were consequences to leaving the tarmac. Look at today though and by and large there are only incentives to leave the track. The painted kerbs and vast expanses of tarmac beyond only invite drivers to pick lines that are beyond the edge of the circuit to maximise corner exit speed. Worse even than that such transgressions are barely if at all punished. Look at Sebastian Vettel’s charge to catch the Mercedes-Benz’s in last year’s Belgium race.

For lap after lap he took a line through Eau Rouge that saw his outside wheels a least a meter to the inside of apex of the turn at the exit onto the Kemel straight. Now while you have to admire his fighting spirit his reaction when his tyre blew out was pathetically petulant; blaming everyone for the failure except himself. There was no way he was going to get away with putting that much additional energy into a tyre that was already under maximum aerodynamic and lateral loads for ever. In that respect the result was fair Vettel was not able to capitalise and the right person won the race.

My problem is that he was allowed to continue as he did for as long as he did. This was a blatant professional foul and after the first occurrence the stewards should have penalised him with a stop-go penalty. What he was doing was potentially endangering other drivers, what if the tyre had let go not in a straight line but actually in the corner itself and pitched his car into a driver being lapped? I don’t blame Vettel as such, he was doing his job to the best of his ability, it is those who enforce the regulations who are really to blame. The only reason he would have been allowed to continue as he did was ‘The Show’. In the midst of a generally turgid season those in charge were desperate for something to actually happen and so a blind eye was turned to his indiscretions.

It doesn’t have to be like this. Look at last year’s Silverstone 6 Hours WEC event. Going into the last half hour the race director, Eduardo Freitas, called a penalty for transgressing track limits on the leading Audi. At the time this seemed massively harsh as the Audi had only left the track to avoid contact with a slower car. But Freitas judged that the driver had another option open to him, he could have slowed down. As race director Eduardo has absolute over the conduct of the race and the standard of the driving in it. He may have other people present in an advisory capacity but the responsibility for the decision is his and his alone. The result is that the WEC is home to some of the hardest but cleanest racing in the world. More than anything else this is what Formula 1 needs, strong leadership that is not afraid to make decisions without considering the television audience.

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Formula One’s Rather Confusing 2016 Tyre Rules Neal Venter - @NealVenter

In order to make the 2016 season more exciting and see more track time from the teams, a new tyre rule has been brought in. Most people argue that this rule is extremely unclear and confusing; however, once you understand it, you will see how much more strategy and planning come into play.

So, each driver will get 13 sets of tyres per race weekend. Pirelli reserves 2 of these 13 tyres for the race, and 1 for drivers that progress into Q3. The remaining 10 tyres, drivers can pick for themselves (this will be clarified in a minute).

2016 sees the introduction of the new ultra-soft compound tyre (only available at street circuits), that makes 5 dry tyre compounds as opposed to 4 from last year. This year Pirelli bring 3 different compounds of tyres to each race instead of 2. They decide which based on the characteristics of the circuit.

So as mentioned earlier, the driver has 10 tyres which he can choose himself. He can fill his allocation of 10 tyres with whichever of the three compounds Pirelli brings. Let’s say Pirelli brings the soft, medium and hard compounds to the Bahrain Grand Prix. The driver can choose 5 sets of the soft tyre, 3 of the medium, and 2 of the hard compound for example.

This will bring a lot of exciting strategy into play, drivers can choose to go very aggressive with a lot of softer compound tyres and a lot of stops, or they can try to go the distance with harder compound tyres for fewer stops.

Drivers must choose their tyre allocation 8 weeks before every European race, and 14 weeks before every nonEuropean race. This is simply to allow Pirelli to manufacture and ship their tyres on time. If drivers for some reason have not chosen their compounds by the deadline, Pirelli will ship a default allocation of tyres. This will be 3 of the hardest compound, 3 of the softest compound, and 4 of the middle compound.

The tyres that Pirelli set aside for Q3 will be the softest available compound, and the 2 set aside for the race will be chosen by Pirelli, most likely the hardest and middle compound tyres.

Each driver has to give sets back throughout the weekend, 1 set halfway through FP1, 1 set at the end of FP1, 1 set at the end of FP2 and 1 at the end of FP3 (bear in mind they can choose which tyres they hand in, you’ll see how this comes into play later). This is to force drivers to go out on track instead of sitting in their garages “saving their tyres”. Once these sets have been handed in to Pirelli, they cannot be used again.

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So all I’ve basically done now is go through the rules step by step. Let’s take a look at how this will actually play out over a race weekend. Let’s say we are a front running team like Ferrari, and we are at the Bahrain Grand Prix, so Pirelli bring the soft, medium and hard compound tyres as mentioned before.

So we have 7 sessions throughout the race weekend. FP1, FP2, FP3, Q1, Q2, Q3, and finally the race.

So our driver chooses to bring 3 hard compound tyres,4 medium compound tyres, and 3 soft compound tyres.

Pirelli brings the soft compound for the Q3 shootout, and 1 set of mediums and 1 set of hards for the race.

We start off the weekend with some installation and setup work in FP1, so we use our hard tyres. We hand 1 set of hard tyres back halfway through FP1, and 1 set at the end of FP1.

Now we head into FP2, and we decide to do some race simulations. We want to see exactly how long we can make our distance tyres last and how fast they’ll be. We use our last allocated set of hard compound tyres for the first half and see how far they can go. Then we use a set of our mediums to see how long they will last. We hand in our set of hard tyres at the end of FP2.

FP3, and we are looking at qualifying simulations. We push our 2nd set of medium tyres as fast as they can go, and see how they’ll compare to the other teams. Later on in FP3 we see how the soft tyres work with our car.

At the end of FP3 we hand back our worn out set of soft tyres.

So, it’s qualifying time, we have used all our hard compound tyres to work out our setup and gather data. We have 2 new sets of medium compounds left and 2 slightly won out ones. Finally, we have 2 sets of brand new soft compound tyres left.

Q1, we head out on our medium compound tyres, and we make it through. Q2, we give the medium compound tyres a shot, but it won’t be enough, and we have to use a set of soft compounds to progress. Now it’s time for the Q3 shootout. Pirelli gives us a brand new set of soft compound tyres because we made into Q3. We use them, but we want to go for another faster run, and use our own, final set of soft compound tyres.

It’s Sunday, and it’s race day. What we have left is 3 worn sets of medium tyres, and 1 fresh set, a slightly worn soft compound from Q3 and the tyres Pirelli gives to us for the race, in this case a medium and a hard compound. We have to start the race on the tyres we used in Q2. But we have a lot of room for creativity during the race. As with last year, in a dry race, at least two compounds have to be used.

So we can start on our Q2 soft compound tyres, then go a long way on the hard compound tyres, and give a final 5-10 lap push on our old Q3 soft tyres. Or we can go soft-medium-hard, soft-hard, soft-soft-medium.

There’s a lot of different ways to approach the race strategy, and this is going to make the 2016 season more exciting. None of the teams or drivers are against this approach to the tyre rules, and they all agree that it will bring in a new element of strategy.

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The New Aston Martin DB11 Euan Campbell - @EuanCampbell3

It’s been almost 13 years since Aston gave us the DB9, and you could tell it was getting a bit dated! But finally they unveiled the new DB11 and oh my it is one beautiful car. Prices will start from £154,900, which is fairly modest considering its Aston’s top model. The new DB11 takes no styling cues from the DB9 but it is unmistakably an Aston, the widened grill, the jewel like LED headlights, that swooping side intakes just behind the front wheels, the back is just as beautiful, with those huge LED taillights and the active aero spoiler, makes it one gorgeous GT that will certainly have road presence when delivery’s start this summer.

So performance details, well it still retains a V12 only this time it’s a 5.2litre twin turbocharged unit pumping out 600bhp and takes just 3.9 seconds to 0-62mph.

It’s made from an all-new aluminium tub and the total curb weight comes in at 1,770kg, 15kg lighter than the DB9 it replaces.

What has changed the most however is the suspension system, presumably to add much more comfort for those long journeys to the Cannes film festival. It now has brand new independent double wishbones with adaptive dampers at the front and multi-link wishbones with a 3 stage adaptive damper system, GT, Sport, Sport + at the rear.

Aston have also managed to get almost 50/50 weight distribution by widening the wheelbase by 65mm to sit the V12 further back within the chassis, the final distribution is 51/49. The transmission is all new too, it’s now a ZF 8 speed gearbox which has been rear-mid mounted for that all important weight distribution, Aston also claim this new DB11 to be “efficient”, yeah because having a duel turbocharged 5.2litre V12 sitting under your bonnet is really going to get Greenpeace’s appreciation! Anyway it now has “intelligent bank activation” which is a fancy way of saying it shuts down half of the cylinders to save fuel, it also has start/stop, ha! Good one Aston, having start/stop in a V12 is like working for Greenpeace whist being an engineer on an oil rig, yes it may look like you’re doing your bit to save the planet, but in reality you may as well blow torch that ice sheet in Antarctica yourself! Plus, pretty much every single customer that obtains a DB11 won’t give 2 monkeys about “efficiency”.

Page | 20

What they will care about however is the brand new interior of the car! Enter the new DB11 and it’s like entering a field of cows (not literally of course), leather caked everywhere leather can be caked, from the door handles, steering wheel, dashboard, flappy paddles and the list goes on. What I do like however is the new layout of the interior. Brand new GT seats with “Nexus Quilting”, a new infotainment system that won’t want to make you bang your head off the dashboard in frustration! Yes, because this time everything actually works the way it’s supposed too, it comes with apple CarPlay and the new touchscreen is seamless and looks brilliant. There’s also a brand new TFT dials for the speedometer, which means it goes the correct way for the first time in years for Aston! It also comes with a deafening Bang & Olufsen surround sound system, and comes with the usual car tech such as 360-degree camera with full park assist and gesture control, that’s where you wave your arms about to change the radio station or turn the volume up, meanwhile anyone who looks in the car will think you’ve gone mad. So do I want one? Yes, I’ll take one in Volcano Orange please.

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The Importance Of Rio Haryanto In F1 Daniel Herrick - @DanielHerrick

I think it's safe to say we are all excited for the new F1 season starting this month. Can Lewis retain the title? Will Rosberg overthrow his team mate? Will McLaren be competitive? For all of the excitement we feel, the drivers must be feeling it even more, especially one young Manor driver, Rio Haryanto.

Haryanto is the first ever Indonesian Formula One driver, which is not only an exciting prospect for the growth of the sport, but puts a huge amount of pressure on the young man’s shoulders. If it wasn't hard enough to break into the pinnacle of Motorsport and perform at this level, Haryanto will have the weight of potentially 250 million people behind him, to have a chance of a long term future in the sport. We have seen it before with the likes of Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok. Both had talent, but neither were given much chance and were seen more of a tool to promote F1 in India, this was followed up by a failed circuit in the country and F1 is all but dead their now.

For Rio’s sake I hope he is given time to shine in F1. Let's hope he is allowed to drive his race and perform like we have seen him do in lower formulas. He will need Bernie and pals to leave him be and not try and pin their hopes of growth on him alone. Good luck Rio.

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Cutting Edge Technology Emma Upton - @zumester

Formula E is driving forward a sustainable concept that will revolutionise the domestic market’s use of electric cars. The series is all about innovation, and it was announced back in February that the sport had been shortlisted for two prestigious Sports Technology Awards, Best Use of Technology by a Rights Holder, Broadcaster or Governing Body and Best App Award.

The clever marketing strategies used by @fiaformulae focus on fan engagement. As a brand new motorsport (2014-2015 being series 1) they literally were starting without a fan base, and this would have been at the forefront of any promotion tactic. Added to that is the problem of trying to convert die-hard petrol heads. So the series really pushes the sustainable concept of the car itself with some big name backers, such as environmentalist and Oscar winner Leonardo di Caprio who is the chair of the Formula E sustainability committee. Big name sponsors are the likes of TAG Heuer, Michelin, G.H. Mumm, and DHL to name a few.

Team-wise, the series has attracted some key players such as Audi, Renault, Andretti, and Mahindra on the constructors’ side. Last year the teams were restricted to the same ‘kit-car’ but this season teams have been working on their own engineering of the electric motor, inverter, gearbox and cooling system. The chassis are designed by Dallara and the battery by Williams engineering.

How else could the series attract petrol heads? Formula E has resolved part of this problem with yet more big names, this time from motorsport itself. Think 1980s Formula 1 and take arguably the 3 biggest names from that era, and you have reigning Formula E champion Nelson Piquet Jr, the nephew of Brazil’s most famous motorsport legend (Bruno Senna), and not one, but TWO Prosts in the form of four time F1 champion Alain Prost who co-heads eDams-Renault, and his son Nico Prost who is current championship leader Seb Buemi’s teammate at eDams-Renault. Other names attracted include Trulli, Villeneuve, Chandhok, Jerome D’Ambrosio, JeanEric Vergne.

In terms of the social media and broadcast technology, the use of #Fanboost is hugely attractive. Via www.fiaformulae.com OR the user-friendly app, fans can vote for their favourite driver to receive an extra kilowatt boost of energy during the race. Due to the battery life, each driver has to pit and take out the second car half-way through the race, so they receive the Fanboost twice. There are 3 Fanboost available per race.

The app has lots of great features like live streaming of practice, qualifying and race. All the teams have their own twitter feeds and regularly tweet about cars/drivers to increase fan-engagement. A recent example was Mahindra Racing’s Bruno Senna and his mechanic Andres Castillo complete a Mr and Mrs Style quiz. The pit walks are always streamed and so are laps of the tracks. Most of the circuits are street races in city centre locations.

A final piece of innovation is the introduction of the Super Pole shoot-out, where the fastest driver in each of the 4 qualifying groups goes through to a final ‘hell-for-leather’ chance to secure pole, which has proved really exciting, and also appears to have been ‘borrowed from’ by another single-seater series….

Best of luck to Formula E in the Sports Technology awards, winners will be announced in April.

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An Exciting New Partnership Begins Ian Cutting - @iancutting77

We are pleased to announce our partnership with Enaam Ahmed in the BRDC F3 Championship. This Championship supports the British GT and is a great step on the ladder to F1. After an excellent first year in cars in 2015 competing in the MSA Formula Ford, the SMP F4 series and the SMP F4 Winter Junior Challenge, which Enaam won, this is a great step in his journey towards F1. The teenager is trying to play catch up with the drivers who have been testing the new car from the end of last season but enjoyed his first session in the car at the National Circuit, Silverstone.

The youngest ever World and European Karting Champion, who recently tested the new 2016 BRDC F4 car at Silverstone, said “The car is so quick, especially round here. It is such a long track and in slower cars like the MSA Formula it can be a bit boring, but with the downforce and the power of the Tatuus-Cosworth, it's absolutely incredible”.

When talking about the switch from the MSA Formula to BRDC F4 16-year-old Enaam commented “It is really good as the downforce to power ratio is strong. Despite the amount of downforce that it has though, it does still slide around. It is a good stepping stone on to FIA F3 or GP3. It is the quickest car I’ve driven so far though so it is amazing”. The BRDC F4 is powered by a Tatuus-Cosworth engine producing an impressive 230-bhp compared with 160 from the Ford EcoBoost engine that was in the MSA Formula Ford.

With reference to the power as he makes the switch to the BRDC F4, Enaam said “It takes a couple of laps to get used to the power as it is quite a lot more than an FIA F4 car. The engine has quite a lot more torque so you can’t just plant the power and you need to be more progressive. Getting used to the amount of downforce the car has also takes time.”

The Tatuus-Cosworth engine is more powerful for this year and with the aerodynamic package fitted to the BRDC F3, it is in fact the fastest F3 car in the world. The aerodynamics fitted include a highly adjustable front wing and a two-piece rear-wing. It also has an F1-style front splitter and rear diffuser. This is why the BRDC F3 makes it a perfect feeder series for GP3 and Formula 3.

Enaam is one of several drivers from the 2015 MSA Formula Championship making the switch to the BRDC F3 for this year; this also includes MSA Formula Champion Lando Norris. They will face competition from an international field all hoping to follow in the footsteps of 2015 Champion, Will Palmer, who is competing in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 series.

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For those of you new to BRDC F3 the race weekend consists of a 20-minute qualifying session and three 20 minute races. The grid for the first race is determined by qualifying. Race two starting order is the finishing order of race one but with the top 8 reversed. The third and final race of the weekend is in order of fastest laps from either race one or two. This format is to help drivers develop their overtaking skills and produce exciting racing.

The BRDC F4 will be making its first visit to the legendary Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium. In all, there will be 24 races in the championship racing at 8 different venues. The season starts at Snetterton 27th - 28th March and finishes at Donnington Park on 10th – 11th September. The action will be broadcast on ITV4 which will include race build-ups, podium celebrations and highlights from all three races.

We here at L&T Motorsport will also be bringing you updates via our Twitter and Facebook feeds and feature articles on Enaam in future publications of our magazine.

Engine Ford 1.6L EcoBoost

Cosworth 2.0L

Power 160 bhp

230 bhp

Gearbox 6 speed sequential gearbox with paddle shift

6 speed sequential gearbox with paddle shift.

Aerodynamics Adjustable front and rear wings

Suspension Double wishbones and pushrods, twin adjustable dampers, adjustable anti-roll bar

Weight 540kg ex driver

Two-piece F3 style rear-wing with honeycomb endplates and front wing with adjustable front wing flaps.

Twin wishbone, adjustable front and rear anti-roll bars, two-way adjustable dampers, ride height, camber and toe adjustments on both axles, front and rear wheel tethers

495kg ex driver

The BRDC F3 race calendar: Rounds 1-3 Snetterton 27-28 March Rounds 4-6 Brands Hatch GP 16-17 April (co-headline with British GT) Rounds 7-9 Rockingham 30 April – 1 May (co-headline with British GT) Rounds 10-12 Oulton Park 28-30 May (co-headline with British GT) Rounds 13-15 Silverstone GP 11-12 June (co-headline with British GT) Rounds 16-18 Spa-Francorchamps 8-9 July (co-headline with British GT) Rounds 19-21 Snetterton 6-7 August (co-headline with British GT) Page | 25

WEC GTE Preview Jonathan Earle - @Jon_Earle95

2016 is not only an exciting year for the prototype classes in the World Endurance Championship, the GTE classes also are lining up to have a fantastic year with a number of new or revised cars being run this season it is going to be closer than ever.

The big news for this year’s WEC is the return of a legendary sports car brand in Ford with their new GT. The car is being run by the American Outfit Chip Gnassi Racing. The front of the new GT will look familiar to some, looking like the legendary Ford GT40 that won the famous Le Mans 24 hours’ numerous times.

The car is powered by a Ford EcoBoost twin turbo V6. The aerodynamics of the car is what really sets it apart from the current crop of GTE cars, the radical aerodynamic styling has really turned heads in the racing community. It will be an interesting year for Ford and they hope to be challenging at the front from the off, it will only be reliability that will let the team down this year.

Aston Martin are taking on the 2016 season with a revised version of their V8 Vantage GTE car, the 2016 design has an aggressive new rear diffuser and wing design along with entirely new bodywork the team hopes will deliver their desired reduction in lap times. With relative lack of development from their rivals from last year could this be the British brands year for success? If it is they will have to have greater reliability than their rivals.

Ferrari are back this year with their new 488 GTE, the new car features a twin turbo V8 that the Italian brand is hoping to reclaim the manufacturers championship with for this year. The car was extensively tested in late 2015 and the early on powertrain problems now seem to be a thing of the past. The new turbo engine has given the team greater fuel efficiency and greater torque delivery. If all goes to plan, then the new 488 will probably be Ford’s biggest rivals.

2016 has seen the departure of the factory Porsche Team Manthey after a tough 2015, this is rumoured to be because of a new car for 2017. Porsche are also struggling to take full advantage of the new 2016 regulations due to the rear engine layout of the car not allowing them to benefit as much from the new larger rear diffusers. However, there will still be a Porsche effort in GTE PRO with Dempsey Proton Racing, which we expect will still have plenty support from the factory so don’t count them out just yet.

Sadly, plans failed for Jack Leconte to bring a full WEC GTE PRO effort in a Corvette so we will only see them at Le Mans.

The AM class looks just as competitive as the PRO class with entries from a Labre Competition Corvette, a KCMG Porsche 911, an AF Corse Ferrari 458, Gulf Racing UK Porsche 911, Abu Dhabi Proton Racing Porsche 911 and a factory Aston Martin V8 Vantage.

Both Aston Martin and AF Corse has shrunk their efforts for this year and with SMP withdrawing from the AM class to concentrate on their LMP2 effort the grid has a small drop on last year’s numbers.

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WEC LMP Preview Jonathan Earle – @Jon_Earle95

With just over a month to the start of the 2016 World Endurance Championship I am going to delve into what this year will hold in store in the prototype categories.

LMP1 will certainly be hotly contested again this year with the return of reigning champions Porsche, Audi, Toyota, Rebellion and ByKolles Racing.

What does 2016 have in store for the reigning champions, well they have further developed the championship winning 919 Hybrid over the winter break with upgraded aerodynamic parts. The team has announced that the Championship winning trio in the No. 1 car of Mark Webber, Brendon Hartley and Timo Bernhard. The trio of Romain Dumas, Neel Jani and Marc Lieb will drive the No. 2 919 Hybrid.

Audi has radically changed the design of their R18 e-Tron Quattro, with new aerodynamic parts for the 2016 season along with some internal upgrades. Again Audi sticks with their one of a kind 4 litre V6 TDI power plant for the 2016 season. Their driver line ups have been confirmed: In the No. 7 Car is Andre Lotterer, Benoit Treluyer and Marcel Fassler, in the No. 8 is Lucas di Grassi, Loic Duval and Oliver Jarvis.

2016 will see some major engine upgrades for Toyota, switching from a normally aspirated engine to a turbo charged engine. The development doesn’t stop there with upgrade to the battery system and continuing the running of their double KERS systems. The driver line up has some small changes after the retirement of Alex Wurz: In the No. 5 is Anthony Davidson, Sebastian Bumei and Kazuki Nakajima & the No. 6 is piloted by Stephane Sarrazin, Mike Conway and Alex Wurz’s replacement Kamui Kobayashi.

Rebellion returns to the LMP1 privateer battle with two cars. Its main aim for the 2016 season is to increase the reliability of its LMP1 contender, especially looking at engine reliability. The team has also switched to new Dunlop rubber for the upcoming season. The No. 12 car will be driven by Nicolas Prost, Nick Heidfeld and Nelson Piquet for rounds 1-3 then by Mathias Beche for rounds 4-9. The No. 13 machine will be piloted by Matheo Tuscher, Dominik Kraihamer and Alexandre Imperatori ByKolles Racing will return again with a single car entry. They like Rebellion have opted to run the new Dunlop tyre. The team have been working on some of the handling issues they experienced during the 2015 season.

The driver line up will be Simon Trummer, Pierre Kaffer and Brit Ollie Webb in his maiden LMP1 season.

In the LMP2 category there isn’t many changes due to the new regulations that are coming into place for the 2017 season, however there are a few new arrivals in terms of teams.

The major news for the 2016 season is seeing Manor enter in the WEC with two Oreca 05’s. Their driver line up isn’t complete yet however they have announced joining the team is Tor Greaves, former Manor F1 driver Will Stevens, James Jakes, Matt Rao and Richard Bradley. However, they will only run one car at Le Mans.

The other news is that Jota Sport will now be running under the G-Drive Racing banner, with one entry in the WEC and one entry in the European Le Mans Series.

There are also entries from SMP Racing, a two car Extreme Speed Motorsports entry, Baxi DC Racing Alpine, Signatech Alpine, Strakka Racing and RGR Sport by Monrand.

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Sophia Floersch Aiming For The Podium In 2016 ADAC F4 Single Seater Debut Gavin Finlayson - @gsf2712

Without doubt one of the stars of 2015 was Sophia Floersch who very quickly became a favourite of the British fans with her impressive driving in the Ginetta Junior Championship. Sophia's double victory at Thruxton was the first time a female rookie racer had achieved back to back wins and won her the plaudits of many of the top drivers including Jason Plato and Dario Franchitti. And it wasn’t just her driving that impressed...Sophia won the hearts of young and old, male and female with her friendly and welcoming personality and word perfect English.

Sophia's double victory at Thruxton in only the third round of the series was the first time a female rookie racer had achieved back to back wins and it won Sophia the plaudits of many of the top drivers including Jason Plato and Dario Francitti.

And it wasn’t just her driving that impressed as Sophia won the hearts of young and old, male and female with her friendly and welcoming personality out of the car and word perfect English.

Much to the dismay of her newly acquired British fans Sophia chose to leave the Ginetta Junior Championship at the half way point of the season in order to concentrate on preparations for her 2016 Single Seater debut in the German ADAC F4 Championship which will see Sophia driving for Team Motopark. It’s a partnership that goes back a few years in fact as Sophia got her first taste of a single seater racing car thanks to Team Motopark back in 2012.

As we have come to expect from Sophia her car features a striking livery and an impressive array of sponsors including Under Armour, Husges Gruppe and Adelta. We will be doing a full season preview in another edition of the magazine so for now we will focus on Sophia’s preparations for the 2016 season as she kindly agreed to an interview for L&T Motorsport.

We began by asking Sophia what were her first impressions of driving an F4 car and for her verdict on how testing had gone.

“I love the feeling of driving the F4 car. It is just awesome” came the swift response followed by an upbeat assessment of her testing results, “We were testing a lot last season and to be honest it went quite well, we were fast and I learned a lot, Sophia went on to explain that the front and rear wings and downforce of the F4 car were “different compared to a Ginetta but I got used to it very fast” Page | 28

Certainly it appears that Sophia is able to adapt quickly to different cars and make the necessary changes to her driving technique to find the best way to go fast.

Next came the subject of the British fans and we asked Sophia whether she was surprised at the level of support she got in the UK? “Yes I was very surprised, it was such a great feeling racing for the fans and after my win in Thruxton it was just incredible” Sophia admits she is “sure that I will miss them a lot this year. It remains to be seen whether Sophia will enjoy the same relationship with the German fans and Sophia plans to “give her best this season and then see how it goes with the German fans” A very mature answer as you would expect now from Sophia.

This is something she reckons you “learn with time” as I asked Sophia how she was able to remain so focussed in the car but very relaxed and friendly out of the car. Anyone who has witnessed Sophia in-between races last year will be aware of how much she tries to give all her fans a smile or picture or offering young children the chance to sit in her Ginetta. “I try to be nice with everyone” says Sophia, it is something she does extremely well.

The final question of course centred around Sophia’s expectations for the 2016 season and it is fair to say she has set some tough targets.

“I want to be the best Newcomer again this year and learn a lot but by the end of the season I want Top 5 or even Top 3 results. That is my goal” Don’t be at all surprised then if Sophia goes and does exactly that and scores podiums in her rookie season...I for one am sure of it!

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The Clever Split Engine Rebecca Thomas - @rebeccathms

Mercedes have been the leading team for the last two seasons with win after win. As well as having two great drivers to thank for their dominance, the genius rethinking of their car also plays a big part.

First, a little engineering lesson. All F1 cars have a turbo engine; turbos are pretty simple and have two main turbines that work together. The back takes in the hot exhaust gas and spins quickly. The front one takes in the fresh air and is spun by the hot exhaust turbine and compresses the fresh air, forcing it in to the engine, producing more power. The problem with this is the engine wants as much cool air as possible but this is difficult since it is right next to the turbine that runs off hot exhaust gas.

Mercedes have managed to find a way to separate the turbine and the air compressor in the turbo engine, putting them at either ends of the car and linking them with a clever shaft. By separating the hot exhaust gas from the fresh, cool air this reduces the turbo lag and improves efficiency. Another plus is that it does not need as big of an intercooler that the other cars use to keep the compressed air cool. This results in a car that is packaged tighter around the important bits, allowing the design to be much more aerodynamic.

This is a remarkable and efficient engine and a Mercedes-only speciality. Certainly an advantage over the other teams and it is easy to see how the Mercedes cars and drivers usually speed ahead, leaving the others behind in the dust.

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Time For Rosberg To Deliver Ben Churchill - @Bejc001

2016 will mark Nico Rosberg’s 11th season in F1, his 7th with the Mercedes team and potentially his final chance to win the biggest prize in motorsport, the Formula One Driver’s World Championship. At the end of this season, should Mercedes choose not to renew Nico’s contract, it’s hard to see him ever having such a dominant car at his disposal again. Against a team-mate with three crowns already to his name and a resurgent Italian team with its own multiple world-beater, Rosberg needs to stake his claim to a seat at that most exclusive of tables-that which is made up of F1’s elite. Otherwise he risks joining the likes of Mark Webber, Rubens Barrichello & David Coulthard as a nearly-man, a multiple race-winner who never quite fulfilled their full potential.

So what does Rosberg need to do to stand any chance of finishing the season on top? We know he has the speed to beat Hamilton, as he demonstrated over the last five or six races of the ‘15 season. We also know that Nico is very good, having beaten seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher over their three seasons together at Mercedes.

What has been called into question is Rosberg’s desire-how much does he want the world championship? Does he have that same desire that burns deep within his team-mate, as well as the likes of Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso, for example.

The key to success for Nico this year will be keeping the pressure on Hamilton, as we have seen that when it is the other way around, Rosberg has shown that his head can drop. How can he do this? Firstly, by beating Lewis in qualifying as he was able to do consistently in 2014 and towards the end of last season, and secondly to ensure he remains resolute in defence of those well-earned pole positions. Time and time again we have seen both Mercedes drivers make decent starts only for Lewis to prevail in wheel-to-wheel combat going into the first corner. Rosberg really needs to get his elbows out and show that he wants it more than Hamilton if he is to have a chance of beating his teammate. If he can do this, there is every chance he can become the second Rosberg to be crowned World Champion after his father Keke, and not just another nearly-man destined to always be the Bridesmaid.

Nico Rosberg, your time is now.

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Preview Of The Ginetta GT4 Supercup Ian Cutting - @iancutting77

The Ginetta GT4 Supercup is one of the support packages that tours the UK and supports the BTCC. Ginetta uses the G55 GT4 for this series and there is full technical support from the Ginetta factory. The GT4 Supercup is a great launch pad for GT racing not only in the UK but globally too. In fact, the GT4 has been a class winner in the Dubai 24 Hour Endurance race several times.

The grid for the Supercup is split into two categories, one for the Professional drivers and one for Amateur drivers, the gentleman racers. The championship consists of 23 races over 8 rounds at the UK's favourite circuits.

There is a 20-minute qualifying session on the Saturday, followed by a 20-minute race later that day. On the Sunday there are two 20 minute races. ITV4 films every round and the 2 races on the Sunday are broadcasted live on ITV4 and ITV4 HD. In 2015 there was an average of 17 GT4's on the grid with the mixture of Pro and AM drivers making the racing exciting for the spectator’s trackside and also thanks to ITV the TV audience at home. To add to this excitement, the drivers have to manage one set of tyres over an entire race weekend which includes qualifying and all 3 races!

The 2015 Ginetta GT4 Supercup champion, Tom Oliphant, who will be racing in the Porsche Carrera Cup UK Championship which is another series that is part of the BTCC support package, said “Ginetta strives to provide a route for drivers to progress their careers from an enthusiast all the way through to becoming a professional driver. I have been lucky enough to experience this first hand, starting in 2013 in the Ginetta GT4 SuperCup championship I gained experience in one of the most competitive GT classes, and now I’ve taken the championship two years later! I would highly recommend the Ginetta series to anyone wanting to move up the ranks, gaining experience from the in-house expertise on hand”.

We will be covering the Ginetta GT4 Supercup this year, so keep checking our social media feeds for updates, reports and interviews and more articles in our magazines.

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Q&A with WRC's Hayden Paddon Chris Evans - @cptchris2010

Who was your inspiration to start rallying?

My father - he was driving before I was born and it was the environment I was brought up in.

Who is your favourite driver of all time?

Colin McRae and Possum Bourne. Two amazing drivers both in and out of the car and great role models.

What was it like changing from the cold of Sweden to Mexico?

It was certainly quite contrasting, and in fact the slippery conditions we had on the first pass in Mexico was more slippery than the ice/snow of Sweden. But of course I feel more comfortable on the gravel so the transition is not so bad - but I would rate Mexico one of the most difficult gravel rallies of the year.

Can you see yourself winning your first WRC rally this season if so which rally would that be?

I hope so - well that's the goal. I still have some work to do but we are getting closer. I don't want to add any unnecessary pressure by targeting one particular event - instead I feel we have a good chance to fight at the front on all European gravel events.

What is your favourite rally car of all time?

The 1995 555 Group A Impreza. Not the fastest car in the world, but that crisp group A cackle and the history make it special.

How do you prepare for a rally physically?

As much time in the gym possible. Minimum 2-3 hours a day training (focusing on endurance training) and also a lot of mental training.

How old were you when you first raced competitively?

Started in go karts when I was 6, starting driving at my local car club with my Mini when I was 13.

Did you always want to be a rally driver?

Yes, was never a question. When I finished karting at the age of 12, I had the choice of spending the money from selling my kart on either a club circuit or rally car. Was an easy decision.

What tips would you give to someone wanting to start off in Motorsport?

To firstly have fun - it doesn't have to be expensive and you don't need to have the fastest car to have fun.

Where is your favourite place to rally and why?

I'm a little biased but the best rally roads in the world is hands down NZ. But outside NZ, I love Finland.

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Alex Booth’s Featured Driver: Alessandro Nannini Alex Booth – @Alex_Booth_93

20 years before Robert Kubica, another driver was making a name for himself as one of the standout talents of the business before a tragic accident sadly cut his career short. Italian Alessandro Nannini raced for five seasons, like Kubica scored one victory and could very well have added more to his tally had his career lasted longer.

Indeed, most F1 fans remember Nannini’s solitary triumph as he was the man who inherited the win at the infamous 1989 Japanese Grand Prix after Ayrton Senna was thrown out.

Born in Siena in 1959, Nannini began his career at rally events driving a Lancia Stratos. In 1982 he drove in Formula Two for Giancarlo Minardi. For three seasons Nannini would set the scene for years to come as he impressed onlookers by punching an uncompetitive car above its weight. In 1985 the Minardi team moved up to Formula One and Nannini was the team’s first choice to drive the new car. Bizarrely he was not granted the required super licence to race and Pierluigi Martini took the seat instead. Understandably miffed, Nannini spent the year with Lancia again in the World Sportscar Championship finishing sixth at Le Mans.

In 1986 Nannini was finally given the go-ahead to race for Minardi. The little Italian team would later become known for building solid cars that were hampered by a lack of finance. But that was not the case in the early years, the Minardi was underpowered and overweight to compensate, leading to a poor package. With such uncompetitive machinery Nannini was on a hiding to nothing but the young Italian attracted attention by outpacing his more experienced team mate Andrea de Cesaris. 1987 was Minardi’s last year using the Motori Moderni V6 Turbo, the car was a slightly better design than the previous year’s had been but it was still dreadfully unreliable. Nannini only saw the chequered flag twice with a best finish of 11th in Hungary. However, the real story of the season was the fact he made mincemeat of his new team mate Adrián Campos, firmly establishing himself as a Grand Prix driver who was there on merit.

Benetton recognised this and signed the Italian as a replacement for countryman Teo Fabi in 1988. He partnered the highly rated Thierry Boutsen. The team was preparing for the turbo engines to be faded out for 1989 and ran the works Ford DFR engine. It was a development stage for the team and while it was decent package, it was no match for the all-conquering McLarens. Nannini, despite initially struggling to find his feet fighting with front runners, quickly showed why he was one of F1’s most promising talents. Boutsen may have been the one who had the plaudits going into the season but Nannini proved more than a match for the experienced Belgian.

His best race was at a very wet Silverstone where he finished third behind Senna and Nigel Mansell. Earlier in the race he had entertained Mansell by blasting past him at the Woodcote chicane. He finished on the podium again in Spain. He finished 10th in the championship with 12 points.

In 1989 Nannini would be promoted to Benetton’s lead driver alongside British rookie Johnny Herbert. The team started the season using the old but reliable B188. Plus, with the whole field now using naturally aspirated engines the team was much closer to the front. He was third at Imola and fourth in Mexico before he qualified third on the extremely hot streets of Phoenix.

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Unfortunately, a crash in warm up injured his neck and prevented the Italian scoring another podium finish. At the French Grand Prix, Benetton finally wheeled out their new B189. In just its second race Nannini returned to the podium. The car gradually improved the final two fly-away races would prove the best for the team. In Japan, Nannini was running third behind the two McLaren’s in the midst of a bitter confrontation between the pair.

Lap 46 brought the collision that has now gone down in F1 history as one the most controversial, Alain Prost was out but Senna continued with a broken front wing. The Brazilian pitted and lost the lead to Nannini before catching him on fresh tyres. Senna dived past Nannini to take the lead and the win but the officials were not happy. Arguments and delays followed until the verdict was reached. Senna was excluded and the Italian was victorious. The joy on the podium brought light relief to the sour atmosphere in which the race had ended.

Nannini then finished second in the appalling conditions in Australia, securing sixth in the championship after a breakthrough season.

1990 started slowly for the Italian as the team again used the previous year’s model for the opening rounds.

Imola saw the baptism of the new John Barnard designed car and Nannini took third place and set the fastest lap in its first outing. He later drove well in Canada and was on course for a potential second place until he fell foul of a gopher that had strayed onto the track. The stop for repairs dropped him back and attempting to recover he slipped on the wet surface, a sorry end to an encouraging performance. The second half of the season was when Nannini really came of age. 1990 had seen the Italian joined by three-time World Champion, Nelson Piquet but Nannini began to show everyone he had the measure of his illustrious team mate. At the German Grand Prix, he found himself involved in race long battle with Ayrton Senna, the Benetton team would frequently attempt to go the full race distance on one set of tyres. It almost paid off at Hockenheim until Senna finally found a way past the Italian but he had been given a real test by the Benetton driver. Senna would also spoil Nannini’s day in Hungary when he punted him off at the chicane ending his race after running in second.

Nevertheless, his recent form had fuelled rumours of a contract with Ferrari. He would be back on the podium in Spain.

The Ferrari rumours proved false as the Scuderia signed Jean Alesi. Still Nannini was happy at Benetton and resigned for the team. All was looking good until 12 October 1990. A helicopter crash at his Siena vineyard severed his right arm. His injuries were healed thanks to successful microsurgery but sadly it ended his Formula One career just as it was really beginning to take off. A cruel blow to a shining talent.

Nannini later drove in private test sessions for Ferrari and later Benetton, he returned to racing in International Touring Cars driving for Alfa Romeo, culminating in third place in the championship in 1996. After retiring from racing for good, he now runs a chain of cafés and retains his sunny personality that made him a popular figure Page | 35 in the F1 community.

Formula V8 3.5 – Where Are They Now….?

Phil Martin - @philmartinGSY

It's an old adage, but as with anything in life what appears to be a future blessed with victories and glory doesn't always turn out that way. Here we look at three of the series most successful drivers, and why the future wasn't all it appeared to be…

Ricardo Zonta Ricardo Zonta was one of the few drivers of the modern era to have actually driven in Formula 1 prior to dropping back down the ranks and taking his place in what was then the 2002 edition of the series. Zonta drove for BAR in their ill-fated 1999 debut season, where despite numerous boasts from manager Craig Pollock, the team failed to score a single point, with Zonta being remembered more for spectacular accidents.

He missed three races with a broken foot after a huge crash in the Brazilian Grand Prix practice session, before a massive accident in practice for the Belgian Grand Prix, flipping the car through Eau Rouge of all places. Despite picking up some points towards the end of 2000 season, Zonta was dropped and signed up as test driver for Jordan. After filling in for one round, Zonta decided to turn his back on Formula 1 and signed up to the Telefonica World Series (the old name for the Formula V8 3.5 championship). Winning 9 of the 18 races, Zonta comfortably won the title ahead of Franck Montagny and Bas Leinders.

A move back to Formula 1 as the test driver for Toyota materialized between 2003 and 2006, with him participating in four races due to Cristiano Da Matta being sacked in 2004. In 2007 Zonta became a reserve driver for Renault, before subsequently heading back to Brazil to complete in Stock Car Brazil. A third place at Le Mans 2008 followed, but on the face of it what appeared a highly promising career has never really met the expectation.

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Alx Danielsson Alx Danielsson was the series’ 2006 champion. Driving for Comtec Racing, and after a relatively quiet start to the season, Danielsson set the series on fire by winning four of the last six races, wrapping up the title with a 5 th place finish in Barcelona. This was enough to finish ahead of Borja Garcia and Pastor Maldonado. Unfortunately for Danielsson, his career never really kicked on.

After driving in a number of different series, ranging from the Formula 3000 Euroseries and the Ferrari Scandinavia Challenge, of which he was the 2009 champion, Danielsson has in more recent times attempted to pursue a career in NASCAR, driving in the Xfinity Series, and has also been competing in the FIA World Rallycross Championship.

Heikki Kovalainen To some this may seem a tad harsh, as ultimately Heikki was a one-time race winner for McLaren, however because of the caliber of his earlier career, one could certainly have expected more. The 2004 champion, Kovalainen’s performance were a cut above the rest. During the middle of the season, a run of seven straight pole positions paved the way for strong races in which he ultimately cruised to the championship, clear of former Formula 1 racers Enrique Bernoldi and Tiago Monteiro.

The following year he finished 2nd in the GP2 series, and ultimately became the official test driver for Renault in 2006. However, following Fernando Alonso’s move to McLaren, Kovalainen was promoted to a race seat.

However, Renault struggled to be competitive, and while there were mistakes there were moments of his potential shining through, with a fine 2nd in Japan. Alonso left McLaren in acrimonious fashion at the end of the season, and Kovalainen was headed to McLaren in a swap.

2008 bought more points and a first victory, however he was no match for team mate Lewis Hamilton, who subsequently won a thrilling battle for the title against Felipe Massa. Kovalainen was retained for 2009, however McLaren built a woeful challenger, and points were hard to come by until mid-season. However, McLaren signed Jenson Button for 2010, and with a lack of options Kovalainen signed for Team Lotus.

The team fought out both 2010 and 2011 with the HRT and Virgin/Marussia outfits, but were never threatening the teams in front. Team Lotus became Caterham in 2012, but a similar story ensued and for 2013 Kovalainen was dropped. He did get two races for Lotus as a replacement for Kimi Raikkonen, but to little effect.

He has since raced in Super GT in Japan, but it's often referenced that a man of his talent should have had a rather lengthier list of successes on his CV.

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Geneva Motor Show Summary Euan Campbell – @EuanCampbell3

Skoda VisionS Concept Skoda Preview a big SUV which is a full plugin hybrid with a 2.0litre 223bhp engine and a 0-62mph time of 7.4 seconds, however the full purpose of this car is to preview the potential new looks for the new Skoda Yeti due late this year! If it does, then the new Yeti will be some looker! And a huge improvement from the last model.

Mercedes C-Class Convertible Well what can I say? It pretty much does what it says on the tin! It’s a Mercedes C-Class coupe with the roof cut off! However, Mercedes are trying to pitch this car as an “all weather car” i.e. not just something you buy in a mad dash in summer. To do this they have had to put a much thinker fabric roof on the car and neck scarfs as standard plus a system which when it detects the slightest of rain drops it automatically raises the roof, Em, Mercedes why don’t you just do what BMW do and that’s install a metal folding roof!!, you know the one you’d do for the SLK I mean SLC!? Yeah work on it Mercedes!

Volkswagen Phideon Okay so I think this is the replacement for the Phaeton, you know that uber luxury car VW make above the Passat? No? oh okay never mind then. Anyway VW are hoping to grab some of BMW, Merc and Audi customers towards this extended wheelbase Passat. It looks quite nice but I wouldn’t buy one, unless they put Bugatti’s 8.0litre W16 in it! Actually even then I probably still wouldn’t buy it, anyway it’s powered by a 3.0litre turbocharged V6 and that pretty much wraps up the car, moving on…

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Ford Fiesta ST200 Yes, Ford have made a 200bhp fiesta! Who would have thought it eh!? It now also has 20% more torque and is 0.2 of a second quicker to 62mph. This new fiesta also comes with new LED taillights, new special matt black wheels and storm grey colour plus a nice wee silver dedication plaque behind the gear stick. Mechanical upgrades include Enhanced torque vectoring, adaptive rear twist beam for more stiffness, 15mm lower ride height with unique damper settings and larger disk brakes. It will be available from June this year.

Porsche 911 R This is supposed to be the 911 every driver wants!

Same power and setup as the GT3 RS but with a manual gearbox, but everyone I have spoken to have had very split opinions about this car, some say it looks awesome and will drive like a dream, while others have said they didn’t think Porsche had made an effort, you know what? I have to agree, it just doesn’t look special like the GT3 RS or even the GT3 does, it’s basically a GT3 RS with the spoiler removed and a manual transmission with added stickers, I mean they haven’t even bothered to change the wheels! Disappointed Porsche!

McLaren 570GT Have you ever looked at a 570s and gone “You know what that car needs!? A bigger boot with some plush leather and a comfortable ride” No neither have I! But for some reason McLaren think it’s customers need a “GT” 570s, it does look cool though with that opening glass panel which makes for easy access of your Ralph Lauren travel bags. It also has a much better air con system, a panoramic roof and has “sound and solar film” to absorb solar radiation and keep the outside noise to a bare minimum. The car is pointless but cool!

Audi Q2 Audi has now decided to move into the small crossover market with this Q2, its architecture share’s that of the Audi A1 and looks pretty nice, however don’t get why people get these small crossover things? It’s just a raised up hatchback at the end of the day! It does come with all the Audi goodies such that amazing 12.3inch cockpit display, a small screen in the centre for all the passengers needs I guess. It can also be equipped with a Bang & Olufsen sound system! I’m sure there will be a S and RS version of this car coming soon but I just wouldn’t recommend it.

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Lamborghini Centenario Another ridiculously outrageous car from Lamborghini that you will never see! As like the Veneno this car is a 20 coupe and 20 roadster limited production. It was built to celebrate the founder Ferruccio Lamborghini’s 100th birthday and it looks like the kind of car the devil would create. Using that famous 6.0litre V12 Lamborghini have managed to squeeze 770bhp out of it! 0-62mph in 2.8 seconds! And once more this car is filled with more race tech and telemetry information than Ferrari’s F1 paddock on a race day! But it’s awesome and I hope I do see one in the wild!

Fiat Abarth 124 Spider Yes! I hoped Fiat would produce an Abarth version of this beautiful little sports car! It features 1.4 Turbo charged engine with 170bhp and 250Nm of torque, 062mph in 6.8 seconds and only weighs 1,060kg! It also has a record Monza Exhaust that I hope sounds insane, lowered suspension setup as well as stiffened dampers for that proper racing feel! It’s rear wheel drive and comes with an option of either flappy paddle or manual gearbox! Only issue I have is the price, at €40,000 it’s not exactly cheap!

Fiat Tipo Fiat have launched a brand new hatchback, I’m not sure if it’s meant to be a Punto or bravo replacement though so I’m a little bit confused Fiat!? Anyway it looks okay, the usual typical fiat styling. You get a choice of 2 turbo diesel engines, a 1.3Multijet with 95hp and a 1.6Multijet with 120hp, 3 petrol engines, a 1.4 95hp unit, a 1.4turbo with 120bhp and finally a 1.6 E-torQ 110hp engine which has a torque converter with a six speed automatic gearbox and is built for comfort and long distances. But it’s meh!

Spyker C8 Preliator Ever heard of them? No? Yes? Well I have, it’s a Dutch company specializing in beautiful craftsmanship works of art such as this, the new C8 Preliator. They have returned after almost 5 years of producing nothing. It features an Audi turbocharged V8 engine but they didn’t really give much away, the founder of Spyker had this to say at the unveiling, "The greatest man in our industry, Enzo Ferrari, once said: 'What's behind you, doesn't matter'. What does matter is the fact that we have returned to Geneva today to unveil the worthy successor to the Spyker C8 Aileron, launched right here in 2009.

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Bentley Mulsanne “Excuse me sir? Yes, Charles? There’s a new Bentley Mulsanne out would you like to acquire one? Em yes okay go get my checkbook out from office!” That’s how I imagine most Mulsanne owners come to 0 purchase one. Anyway the new luxury barge from Bentley has had a few wee cosmetic tweaks and comes with new paintjobs, and a brand new range of interior colours too. But that’s really it nothing new on the performance side, although it does have a brand new 10.2inch screen for all your drivers’ information needs.

Apollo Arrow Gumpert are back! And have renamed the company Apollo under their new Chinese owners. They displayed the most radical looking car called the Arrow! They claim it could do 224mph; it’s made with a full carbon fiber body and weighs 1300kg, it’s powered by a 4.0litre bi-turbo V8 giving out 986bhp that is good for 0-62mph in 2.9 seconds! It all sounds good but it has some fierce competition, Regera, Chiron, Huayra BC and of course the big 3! It’s a tough world the hyper car world and all I can say is good luck to Apollo!

Alfa Romeo Disco Volante Spyder Touring The Disco Volante Spyder is just as beautiful as the coupe version! Well it is pretty much the exact same design just with a gap at the top. However, you chance of getting one or in fact even seeing one are extremely slim, only seven examples will be built and half of them have already been sold! This maybe the last ever hand built coach made car ever, as this art is expensive and a skill that is fading fast in today’s modern electronic times, it’s a shame as this car shows they come out looking beautiful as ever!

Ferrari GTC4 Lusso The FF replacement is finally here! Ferrari’s “family” car features a whole host of brand new features; engine upgrades and styling that makes this car look like an angry catfish! Ferrari stick with the 6.2litre naturally aspirated V12, however I have a feeling this will be the last naturally aspirated V12 Ferrari ever!

And that thought alone is very sad indeed. Anyway 062mph has improved to 3.4 seconds with a top speed of 208mph. Vast improvements in the interior including a brand new 10.2inch touchscreen with 8.8inch passenger touchscreen which they can control the music, view the route details on the satnav, change the air-conditioning and much more giving the passenger just as much control as the driver.

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AC Schnitzer ACL2 Concept This car showcases what happens when you put a BMW M4 engine into an M2! The result is insane styling and performance that can take on anything the roads can throw at it! No really this is incredible, 570bhp 0-62mph in 3.2 seconds means it can leave a 911 GT3RS, or a Ferrari 458 Italia left for dead! It is just a concept for now, but it does look very production ready! And if they did decide to build it, I reckon I would place an order, I mean just look at it! It screams racecar for the road all over it!

Morgan EV3 Morgan has made an electric three-wheeler that looks straight from the 1960s vision of the future! I personally think it looks ridiculous and would never buy one myself. It’s powered by 46kW motor driving the rear wheels with a 20kWh battery embedded within the chassis, with 0-62mph in less than 9 seconds and a top speed of an incredible 90mph! This things going to be a rear danger to Tesla! It does only weigh less than 500kg making good for a range of 150miles and is rumored to be around the £20,000 mark! I’d rather buy a watch than that thing if I were honest!

Audi SQ7 TDi Not long after releasing the new Q7 have Audi made an S version of course! Although this one’s a diesel version, a newly developed 4.0litre V8 with 435bhp and 900Nm of torque! Which is good for 0-62mph in 4.8 seconds! Impressive for a 2 and a half tone luxury barge! But most impressive figures are the economy, as it can do the same economy as a V6 diesel engine!

It also features the world’s first electric powered compressor in a production car! It helps to cut out turbo lag at start off and at low revs.

Rimac Concept One Meet the world’s first fully electric hyper car! It’s just a concept for now but Rimac say’s if it gets enough interest, they would consider building it! It looks rather awesome, and very futuristic especially the interior! Well the power is a total of 800kW from the battery and motors; it makes 1088bhp and 1600Nm of torque! With an all-wheel torque vectoring system that calculates the optimum torque for each wheel. 0-62mph takes just 2.6 seconds! Meaning if it were to enter production, it would be the fastest most powerful electric car ever made! The man behind all this, the founder and CEO Mate Rimac had this to say at the Geneva stand “"My goal was to not to create an electric version of existing supercars. I wanted to create technology to make the supercar considerably better in every regard - faster, more fun and more efficient. I wanted to make the supercar of the 21st century”. Page | 42

Goodwood Members Meeting Preview Chris Brown - @cbrownmsport

Goodwood is very well known for the Festival of Speed. An annual event which sees a plethora of racing machinery tackle the tricky hill climb. Then in 1998 Goodwood brought the old racing circuit back to life with the Revival meeting. A step back in time to a period of racing with skinny tyres, lots of horsepower, no downforce or traction control. The revival is a wonderful event where everything is in the period of the 50's and 60's. The Festival of Speed and the Revival are two great events but with one problem. They are ridiculously popular and the crowds are huge, which puts getting a good view of the cars you want to see very difficult.

There is a third Goodwood event though which solves this problem for the lucky few and that is the Members Meeting. This was a popular meeting during the circuits first active stint and was since relaunched in 2014 with the 72nd members meeting. It was met with welcoming arms from the motorsport community. The event is as you would guess, for members only but Goodwood does allow a few tickets for sale to the general public, but these are limited and on a first come first serve basis. They are pricey too as a Sunday ticket will set you back £80. What makes the members meeting different though is that the period restrictions of the Revival are removed which allows for an extra race in the form of the Gerry Marshall trophy for Group 1 touring cars. It is a fantastic race filled with Ford Capris, Rover SD1s, Mini Clubman’s and Chevrolet Cameros. All cars are in period livery and it attracts some star drivers from the current crop of BTCC aces as well as old touring car masters such as Anthony Reid and Tiff Needell.

I first went to the members meeting in 2015 and at first was concerned I may not get value for money as I took the long drive south with my now empty wallet. How wrong I was! The event is incredible and for two main reasons. The cap on how people are allowed in and the sheer array of cars on display. As there was not the mass crowding of the Revival I was not only able to enter the paddock but take my time viewing all the cars on display without being in the way of photographers. Petrol head heaven. Plus, there was no queue to park!

As the restriction of the year of cars allowed on track at members meeting is lifted, the high-speed displays offer a unique experience. Last year was the high air box F1 cars and Group C Le mans racers. Two excellent sounding sets of cars. The demo runs were not a slow speed demonstration but drivers pushing as hard as they dared in these priceless cars, which makes me think this year's demonstration of Super Touring cars with the likes of Patrick Watts and John Cleland will not be far off a full blown race! The other high speed demo this year is Group 5 sports cars such as the Porsche 917K and the Ferrari 512M, to hear these cars flat out will be a joy. An expense well worth it, I cannot wait!

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BTCC Media Day Sam Hall - @samhallsport

The British Touring Car Championship media day at Donington has become a popular venue for fans to get their first up close look at the coming seasons contenders on track. With teams unveiling their new liveries, driver line ups and typically making big announcements, it is an event not to miss!

The 2016 edition was no different. Team Dynamics made the official announcement that Halfords had made a return with their cars now reverting back to an orange livery similar to the of the years before Yuasa came on the scene. Matt Neal topped the time sheets in the new Civic Type R while Gordon Shedden and Andy Neate also gained some valuable mileage. The surprise of the day came from debutant Ashley Sutton who finished up in second in his first official timed session with Josh Cook, who recently moved to Triple888 from Power Maxed Racing, fifth in the standings to complete a strong showing for the outfit. The team are still fielding a pair of MG’s despite a less than impressive 2015 with Andrew Jordan and Jack Goff.

Sutton will be familiar to those who follow the TOCA support championships. Having entered the paddock in Formula Ford, Sutton moved to link up with Team BMR in the Clio Cup for 2015, winning the title in one of the most competitive seasons the championship has seen for years. He will be one to watch for 2016!

Rob Austin moved from running his own team, leaving Sherman behind him, to Handy Motorsport where he replaced team owner Simon Belcher as the driver. The Toyota has never consistently featured at the front in the BTCC, Tom Ingram making occasional appearances withstanding, but in Austin the car looks like a genuine challenger.

Austin found himself in third with Ingram directly behind him. If development continues then these two could find themselves embroiled in a fascinating fight for the independents crown, Austin already publicly stating this as his goal for the season.

The new Subaru Levorg of Team BMR was not ready to be driven at the event which, no matter how the team dress it up, will not help their preseason development plans. Arguably Jason Plato lost the 2012 because the MG wasn’t ready before the season opener. Could this be history repeating itself?

Aron Smith has parted ways with the team, returning in his ex BMR VW Passat CC with BKR. He is replaced at BMR with last year’s Motorbase Ford driver, James Cole.

The most exciting thing though, is that the top 18 drivers were separated by just one second and that was on a fairly long track. Imagine how small the margin for error will be at the curtain raiser at Brands Hatch on April the 3rd! BTCC is back so it’s time once again to get behind your favourites and queue the carnage. Now if only we could get Maldonado in here somewhere!

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What’s Going On With The F1 Qualifying?

Sam Hall - @samhallsport

Picture this. It’s 5am and you’ve dragged yourself out of bed to watch qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix, just as I did, and then you witness one of the worst sessions in Formula One history. The only positive is that you can say you’ve seen it, that you kept going…I guess?

Make no bones about it, qualifying in Australia was a total disaster. The elimination just did not work and there are several reasons for this.

Firstly, the introduction of the super super soft tyre that you can only get one lap of any note out of. Teams would go out and, if they had made just one tiny mistake, they were in serious danger of being knocked out.

This is what we wanted, driver error to be punished.

The problem was that driver could then not defend their position. It takes so long for an out lap, a flier and an in lap that there is no time to stick on a new set of boots and defend your position before you find yourself cast out into the motorhome.

The problem was inherently obvious in Q3 when fans were treated to the sight of the drivers all being weighed with four minutes remaining on the clock. Hamilton could have waved the chequered flag to end qualifying himself had he wanted!

The circuit in Melbourne is one of the shorter venues, when talking about lap time, so imagine the problem at Spa, Austin or Silverstone. Singapore will be a nightmare! Driver’s may not even have time to complete an initial flying lap and traffic will cause no end of trouble.

After qualifying and the endless apologies from team bosses who, despite having unanimously voted the format in, suddenly announced that they had been voicing concerns from the very beginning, it was announced that the elimination style of qualifying would be ditched in time for the Bahrain Grand Prix.

The was a collective sigh of relief at the news, qualifying would revert back to the way it has been for the last few years. Three sessions, losing cars after each session. Simple and easy to follow for the average fan even if a little predictable.

Then came the news that the elimination format would be given a reprieve for Bahrain and every single fan went into full Hulk mode, the internet becoming a cesspit of negativity.

In a way it does make sense to not have an instant kneejerk reaction if something fails the first time but this failed so spectacularly that the Grand Prix Drivers Association felt the need to write an open letter to the F1 big wigs, complaining about the way the sport is run.

Will it be better the second time around? I think I speak for the majority of fans when I say that I’m not holding my breath.

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HALO – What Do We Think To It? Sam Hall - @samhallsport

The HALO device is now talked about almost as much as tyre degradation or Lewis Hamilton’s bizarre fashion sense in the Formula One paddock so we thought we’d join in.

Fernando Alonso was an incredibly lucky boy to survive a horrific crash at the Australian Grand Prix, his McLaren rolling several times as it flew through the air after he hit the rear of Esteban Gutierrez’s Haas.

After the incident, questions were asked about whether the device would have, in this case with the car finishing up upside down, hindered safety by preventing Alonso from exiting the car quickly.

Fortunately, the Spaniard’s straight talking team-mate, Jenson Button, was on hand to deal with these questions.

In a post-race interview with Sky Sports F1, Button said, “He didn’t need to get out though did he? There was no need for him to get out in that situation.”

He went on to say, “There’s more safety risk of something hitting our head than anything happening when the car’s upside down. It’s very unusual that there would be an issue with fuel spillage or anything like that because of the safety cell and the way the fuel tanks are. It won’t happen so it’s better to have the HALO system.”

“They would tip the car over, of course, to get him out which would take a bit longer but he was OK so it doesn’t matter.”

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