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Griever20 · 08-23-2017, 01:51 PM

Qatar GP: Free Practice and Qualifying Report
motorsport-live.com

March 19th, 2016

The roar of V10 engines was in the air for free practice and apart from the excitement of the crown and the television audience, two things became clear. Panther, Rossini and Steinmann looked strong, and Lotus did not build a miracle car in their factory over the last months.

With Nicolai Surikov topping the timesheets with a 1:57:448 in front of Saarinen(ROS, 1.57:673) and Holtz(SMR, 1.57:684) all on the soft tyre. The best Lotus, driven by Iker Vidal, merely managed a: 2.00:387, almost three second behind the leader.

"It took me some time to find the right setup," Woodford told us before the qualifying. "But, we did get some good laps in and learned alot about the car."

Qualifying told a similar story as after the first of two hot laps, the two Lotus were 19th and 20th, 2.479 and 2.987 seconds behind the leader.

But, now back to the front end of the grid. Steinmann ace Harry Chapman led the way after the first go in qualifying with a 1:54.381, but only had a 0.011 gap to the blindingly quick
Windsor of Ana Oliveira as the british team found some serious pace, same as Vélan Racing's Ribeiro who held P5 then.

Everyone geared up for the final run and it was all about grip and track position, and Van Dort's Wolfgang Schmidt set the first exclamantion point, putting his car into provisional P4.

That was before Nina Holtz(SMR) tatooed a new fastest third sector on the tarmac and took provisional pole with a 1.54.043, and that time held as whe left everyone else in the dust by 0.337, collecting the first pole position of 2016 and of the WMC.

"She was faster, plain and simple," Harry Chapman gave to protocoll at the press conference . "I'll catch her in the race," he said with a cheeky grin.

Team Radio of the Day:
"P2, Ana, P2 after the first round of laps, 0.011 behind." - "Not bad for a old girl like me huh?"
Ana Oliveira(WIN) after the first round of flying laps.

--

Excited to be racing again? Well, that went down the drain quickly. We simply did not have any pace, and that won't get better for a while. Our chance comes in the rain, in specific tracks were mayham is happening, safety cars, lucky strategy breaks and stuff.

In free practise, we concentrated on the race setup and the soft tyre, trying to make some places here as we will never qualify high without rain, and there will be no rain in Qatar.

On race strategy, we will start Vidal and Woodford on the soft compound of tyre. Vidal will go on a different strategy as we put some weight and reliability out of his car and see if the additional speed will do him some good without blowing up the car.

We are throwing dirt on the wall and hope that it sticks. It will be a long race and a long year.

08-23-2017, 01:51 PM	#9
Griever20 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Dortmund, Germany Posts: 3,723	2016 Qatar GP: Qualifying Qatar GP: Free Practice and Qualifying Report motorsport-live.com March 19th, 2016 The roar of V10 engines was in the air for free practice and apart from the excitement of the crown and the television audience, two things became clear. Panther, Rossini and Steinmann looked strong, and Lotus did not build a miracle car in their factory over the last months. With Nicolai Surikov topping the timesheets with a 1:57:448 in front of Saarinen(ROS, 1.57:673) and Holtz(SMR, 1.57:684) all on the soft tyre. The best Lotus, driven by Iker Vidal, merely managed a: 2.00:387, almost three second behind the leader. "It took me some time to find the right setup," Woodford told us before the qualifying. "But, we did get some good laps in and learned alot about the car." Qualifying told a similar story as after the first of two hot laps, the two Lotus were 19th and 20th, 2.479 and 2.987 seconds behind the leader. But, now back to the front end of the grid. Steinmann ace Harry Chapman led the way after the first go in qualifying with a 1:54.381, but only had a 0.011 gap to the blindingly quick Windsor of Ana Oliveira as the british team found some serious pace, same as Vélan Racing's Ribeiro who held P5 then. Everyone geared up for the final run and it was all about grip and track position, and Van Dort's Wolfgang Schmidt set the first exclamantion point, putting his car into provisional P4. That was before Nina Holtz(SMR) tatooed a new fastest third sector on the tarmac and took provisional pole with a 1.54.043, and that time held as whe left everyone else in the dust by 0.337, collecting the first pole position of 2016 and of the WMC. "She was faster, plain and simple," Harry Chapman gave to protocoll at the press conference . "I'll catch her in the race," he said with a cheeky grin. Team Radio of the Day: "P2, Ana, P2 after the first round of laps, 0.011 behind." - "Not bad for a old girl like me huh?" Ana Oliveira(WIN) after the first round of flying laps. -- Excited to be racing again? Well, that went down the drain quickly. We simply did not have any pace, and that won't get better for a while. Our chance comes in the rain, in specific tracks were mayham is happening, safety cars, lucky strategy breaks and stuff. In free practise, we concentrated on the race setup and the soft tyre, trying to make some places here as we will never qualify high without rain, and there will be no rain in Qatar. On race strategy, we will start Vidal and Woodford on the soft compound of tyre. Vidal will go on a different strategy as we put some weight and reliability out of his car and see if the additional speed will do him some good without blowing up the car. We are throwing dirt on the wall and hope that it sticks. It will be a long race and a long year. __________________ The Montreal Expos... Exposing the New MLB? MLB 2015 - Being the Brewmaster(ended) MLB 2013: The Blue Jays That Never Were(concluded)