Tag: Interview

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ThePitCrewOnline Exclusive: Carole Brackley for International Women’s Day 2019

Marshals may well be the unsung heroes of motorsport, often taken for granted but who make the racing we all love to watch possible. Carole Brackley is one of an increasing number of women who are taking to volunteering as marshals at events across the country, and she was kind enough to speak to us about her role as Specialist Marshal as part of our series of interviews for International Women’s Day.

Jenny Rowan: How did your interest in motorsport first come about?
Carole Brackley: My father was a great lover of motorsport and cars. As soon as I could sit, I was in the front seat next to him, and I was a pretty good co-driver with his teaching. I could name every make and model on the road, and shared his interest. It was great that we lived near Silverstone, and one of his uncles had scaffolding, so we always had a good view of the events. Since my early days, I have watched and attended as many events as I could, although F1 was – and is still – my number one passion.

JR: How did you come to be involved in marshalling?
CB: In my early twenties, I had a friend who competed in rallies in his Mini CooperS and was a marshal at Silverstone. For many years I believed that only men could marshal… I got the taste for voluntary work after a stint as an Olympic Ambassador in 2012 and so I went onto the Silverstone website and sent in my details. I found that it was very easy to train as a marshal – much to my delight!

JR: What is the relationship like between marshals when working at a race?
CB: The teams are very supportive and inclusive. There are several different areas of marshalling and, after starting out track-side, I became a Specialist Marshal, working exclusively in the pits and paddock and on the startline. The work can be quite intense, as I will explain later, but everyone helps each other and keeps it enjoyable.

JR: Do you have a favourite event to work at?
CB: This is a difficult question: I love being in the pits for F1, but the security is such that we are not allowed to go near the team garages or personnel, and officiate from the pit wall. In WEC and other series (also with fantastic cars) you stand in the garage or just outside to officiate, which is a tremendous privilege, and you get a better feeling from the experience.

JR: What sort of duties do you have in an ‘average’ race weekend, if there is such a thing?
CB: As a Specialist Marshal, there are many different tasks, and we have pages and pages of official regulations to learn before the event. The most important is probably monitoring teams, to make sure they don’t break any of these regulations. Should this happen – as it usually does at least once – we write a report, which goes up to the stewards straight away to decide whether they will impose penalties. We also make sure that everyone is safe on the pit wall and in the pit lane, and remain ready to fight fires or push cars as the need arises.

‘Gridding up’ is fun – armed with the grid sheet and a yellow flag, you stand out on track to guide the drivers to their dedicated spot on the start line – sometimes they come at you in the correct order, and sometimes it is absolute mayhem! After the practice lap, usually the marshals responsible for pole position and second will go back out to the start-line, stand just in front of the markings and make sure these cars stop in the correct place. I love that feeling as they drive towards you – you leave, they go.
We also manage assembly, parc ferme, flags, message boards, lights and members of the public and guests.

JR: What has been the highlight of your motorsport marshalling career so far?
CB: This is difficult, so I’ll let you decide…
– Obviously the first British Grand Prix in the pits – you’re just so close to the cars.
– Being asked to represent marshals at a reception at Number Ten Downing Street, mingling with the great and famous from all aspects of the sport – pinch me!
– My first MotoGP race.
– Being chosen the wave the start flag for each car at F1 Live in London – can you imagine?!

JR: You joined Susie Wolff’s Dare to be Different as an ambassador – what does being part of an organisation like that mean to you?
CB: I received an email from MSA (now Motorsport UK) as they had been contacted by Susie, and she wanted to know if I would be interested in becoming the Marshal Ambassador for her new initiative. Having already been under the impression that motorsport was a largely male-dominated sport, I grabbed the opportunity to help get the message out that all areas were open to females. It has achieved so much in the four years since it launched, and it continues to offer advice, help and mentoring to all.

JR: What would you say to other people who are thinking of maybe taking up marshalling themselves?
CB: If you enjoy motorsport, there are fewer ways of getting closer to the action that don’t cost you shed-loads of money. It isn’t particularly glamorous: you’re up very early, out in all weathers and the days are long, but, from that first time a car roars past you (or bike or truck!) at close quarters, you’ll want more! It also makes you feel very much part of everything that’s going on.

More information about how to get involved in UK marshalling can be found here ? https://www.motorsportuk.org/volunteers

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Mark Sutton Interview: “There is great camaraderie between all photographers”

Mark Sutton is one of the best-known names in motorsport photography, being the the co-founder of Sutton Images, the largest independent motorsport picture agency in the world.

His interest in motorsport and in photography was piqued at a young age when his father took him to local race meets.

“My father Maurice was a huge [motorsport] fan and took us to our local circuit Oulton Park in Cheshire near Manchester,” he told us, “so you could say I was brought up on motorsports as a young boy, going to races in my dad’s MGT with his mates from work, who built aircraft like the Nimrod, Vulcan bomber and HS147.

“He always photographed me with racing drivers and cars as he was a keen amateur photographer, always taking photographs every weekend at the races and at home.”

It was this initial foray into the world of motorsport that led to Mark’s pursuit of a career in the industry, and in 1983 he attended his first race as a photographer.

Sutton Images | British Formula Three Championship, Oulton Park, England, 6 August 1983.

“My first race working as a photographer was the Formula Three race at Oulton Park in August 1983, covering the Ayrton Senna and Martin Brundle battle that year,” he said. “My brother had a contract as Senna’s photographer so I went along to assist him.”

Positioned at Cascades Corner, once the race started Mark found himself in the ideal spot to get a shot of the action.

“Brundle led at the start and after a few laps Senna lunged down the inside of the corner and they collided, and Senna landed on Brundle’s car. I have the frame of them side-by-side, but was shooting on a Praktica camera with no motor drive and this was in black and white.

“Then my next frame is them looking around the cars and those images were used all over the world as the story of the championship got bigger and bigger, and in fact it went down to the last round of the championship in Thruxton. It was a great start to my career at 18 years old!”

Sutton Images | British Formula Three Championship, Oulton Park F3, 6 August 1983

Just a few years later Mark made his move into the world of Formula One, and, out of the places he has visited in the few decades since, he highlighted Monaco and Spa-Francorchamps as two places he particularly enjoyed working at.

“The Monaco Grand Prix is my favourite track,” he said. “You can photograph the cars very close as it’s a very tight and twisty circuit that was first raced at in 1929 and has had different layouts, but the general feel is exactly the same. If a driver makes a mistake he is likely to cause a lot of damage to the car, and also it is very difficult to overtake.

“One of my favourite corners is Eau Rouge at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium, which is a fast kink coming downhill from La Source and then into a hill going up. It offers you some very different opportunities to shoot different images with the speed of the cars and then the exit, sometimes with the cars sparking.”

When asked about the nature of the relationship between photographers when working at a track, Mark said, “There is great camaraderie between all photographers, as most of them have worked in F1 or motorsports for a long time and have grown to love the sport. Of course there is competition between us all, but that’s life in the business.

“I always laugh at the driver celebration photos when everyone is fighting for the same photo. Elbows get wider and then after, as we all check our photos, we recover from getting wet. It’s all very stressful to get the images, but is also a funny moment.”

Sutton Images | Mark Sutton (GBR) Photographer at Austrian Grand Prix, Qualifying, Saturday 8 July 2017.

It goes without saying that at the heart of a photographer’s job is their equipment, and Mark pointed out that when it comes to upgrading, it isn’t necessarily as simple as immediately going for the highest quality camera.

“I tend to upgrade cameras every two to four years,” he said. “This really depends on how often Nikon brings out the new professional camera into the market, [but it] tends to be every four years now, as progress on the equipment has slowed down from creating the best configured camera with twelve frames per second and 22MB sensors. These offer huge files for both JPEG and RAW files, so the quality is good enough for all uses.

“There are better or higher quality cameras, but these are generally used in studio or still-life photography where subjects are not moving quickly. When a car is moving at 200 miles per hour you must be able to move with the subject and in most cases take multiple frames of the car either head-on or from the side, and that is where the twelve frames per second are essential.

“The Nikon D5 will shoot 4K videos as required, but we are not allowed to shoot moving footage at F1 races.”

Sutton Images | Formula One World Championship, Rd13, Belgian Grand Prix, Race, Spa Francorchamps, Belgium, Sunday 26 August 2018.

Equipment

X2 Nikon D5 bodies

Nikkor 200-400mm F4

Nikkor 500mm F4

Nikkor 70-200 F2.8

Nikkor 24-70mm F2.8

Nikkor 14-24mm F2.8

Nikkor 1.4x Mk3 converter

Nikkor 10.5mm F2.8 Fisheye

X2 Nikon speed light flash SB-910

Apple MacBook Pro

 

We thank Mark for taking the time to speak to us, and wish him all the best for 2019!

 

You can follow Mark on Instagram, and on Twitter | Sutton Images

Featured image: Sutton Images | Mark Sutton, Sutton Images F1 Photographer at Formula One Testing, Day Two, Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, UAE, Wednesday 28 November 2018.

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Inside the UK’s only student-run professional race team

Educating and training the next generation of engineers and mechanics is the goal of any university running a motorsport engineering degree, but the University of Wolverhampton Racing (UWR) do it with a twist. While many universities participate in Formula Student against other student-run teams, UWR’s students run a team in the F3 Cup, against other professional teams with fully qualified team members.

This is a rare occurrence and comes with significant challenges, but UWR have been determined to make it work and, so far, they have. The team have finished within the top three in the championship in all three seasons they’ve participated in and are now heading into their fourth season in the series, with even bigger ambitions for the future.

We caught up with their driver, Shane Kelly, at Autosport International to talk to him about his role within the team and the on-going preparations for 2019.

“My role has grown over the years, we’re getting into our fourth year now. We started in Formula Renault which was really a promotion year for the course; it was a great car for students to learn on. As we’ve upped our game, and as the awareness got around that we’ve got a motorsport engineering degree, we upped our game into Formula 3 [cup]. It’s a great car to engineer as a student, knowing an F3 car inside out is a brilliant thing to be able to put on your CV. We’ve got Formula Student and the Morgans as well, we’ve really gone from strength to strength as we built up.”

“Every year we get stronger in the sense of we have more data. The F3 is such a niche car, there’s so much going on with the car. The speed is in the suspension, the geometry and the damping. Engine we can quantify, we know what we’ve got. The biggest thing is the mid-corner speed and I think we got that right last season. Bad luck aside, we should’ve been at the top. More of the same from last year would be good, we were more consistent than the year before. But you can’t account for bad luck, you only have to look at Sebastian Vettel in probably the quickest car over 75% of the season and he still didn’t win it.”

Credit: Reuben Inganni

UWR face all the same challenges as any other professional race team, but they have the added element of being student-run, meaning there has to be an educational side to everything that they’re doing.

“We go the long way around everything, that’s for sure! There’s no point us going out doing races if the students didn’t remember any of it, it’s all about the student experience really, that’s why we’re here doing it. We take a bit longer because each student needs to know what they’re doing. We have a bigger team, we have 20 students for this season, and that’s a lot for one F3 car. We manage that, and I think we’re on the cusp of two cars and two championships. We do pick and choose our students, but our students chose us so it’s important that we honour each student and we’ll move them around the car as well, that’s probably the challenge we face most in keeping consistent.”

“It’s hard work to have any team of this level in a university, be it a race team, a rugby team or whatever. At the end of the day, it’s high-level industry, we’re not racing other university teams – it’s not a university championship, it’s a mainstream championship. Some universities wouldn’t touch that because it’s a lot of hard work and myself and Matt Fenton [chief race engineer], we work hard and we put a lot of hours in, but the reward is there and as most people know, you can’t stand still in racing, you need to keep getting better. As a university another thing you come across as well is funding, we’re quite strong with sponsorship with multiple sponsors, we had a breakfast meeting on Friday and sixty people, all sponsors, turned up. It’s just about keeping that up.”

As for the future, both Shane and UWR are optimistic about growing their racing programme and keeping the new projects coming in.

“We have to keep moving, keep changing and refreshing. We’re always open to ideas, different manufacturers, different championships, but that all comes at a cost. The great thing is that we own our own cars, so we can do what we like in that respect.”

To find out more about UWR, click here

[Featured image credit: Reuben Inganni]

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Emily Linscott Interview: “Once the helmet goes on, they’re a racing driver, not male or female”

Despite recent improvements in participation, women in motorsport today are still very much a minority and in this, the last instalment of our interview with Emily Linscott, she was very clear about where she thinks the reasons for this stem from.

“If motorsport is something you want to do, and your parents aren’t taking you karting or racing, then ask,” she said. “I find the reason most girls are missing out on the chance to start racing is down to their parents. It’s normally the boys who are offered the chance to drive and the girls are often overlooked.

“Once you’re there, enjoy yourself. There’s too much pressure to perform and not enough people are enjoying their sport for what it is – fun. Don’t listen to anyone who gives you negative vibes, unless it’s constructive.”

When asked about what advice she would give to other young women trying to break into the world of motorsport, she said, “Dream big! Keep on doing your thing and if it’s truly what you want to do, then you’ll find a way.

Turn Twelve – Sepang International Circuit

“Honestly, it’s incredibly hard work behind the scenes and the level of disappointment is tough to manage, but it is the most rewarding job you’ll do too. If you can deal with that then you’ve got a chance.

For girls and their parents, they shouldn’t compare themselves against other girls, they should compare themselves against the whole grid. Once the helmet goes on, they’re a racing driver, not male or female.”

Emily also stressed the importance of surrounding yourself with the right kind of people. “One other thing which I’ve taken ages to realise (sorry mum and dad!) but which is very good advice, is to surround yourself with positive people, those who want you to succeed and not those who knock you or who aren’t interested in what you do.

“Friends will rarely understand what it takes, why you’re in the gym so much and why you’re never going out with them – ‘My mum drives a car and she doesn’t go to the gym everyday!’ is one of the best I’ve heard. But, keep on doing whatever it takes. Be professional but stay being you and don’t change yourself too much. It’s you that people want to see any not something manufactured.”

All of us here at The Pit Crew Online wish Emily all the very best for 2019 and beyond, and thank her once again for taking the time out of her schedule to talk to us.

Parts one and two of our interview can be found here and here.

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Emily Linscott Interview: “I was prepared to take the chance” with International F4 debut in Malaysia

As mentioned in the first installment of our interview with Emily Linscott, which can be found here, she has recently returned from a visit to the Sepang circuit in Malaysia where she made her International F4 debut.

Speaking of the trip, Emily said, “It was a big decision for me as we all thought after the season I’d had I could do with another year in Ginetta Juniors to boost my confidence. But, I decided that F4 was the way I wanted to go and I was prepared to take the chance.”

She had by no means underestimated the challenges the Malaysian climate could potentially pose, with her father helping her to adapt her training to best prepare.

“My dad had told me about how difficult the conditions were to race in out there,” she said, “so we’d tried to prepare as much as possible by wearing four to five layers of thermal ski tops in the gym and on the bike, which made a big difference to me when I eventually got to Sepang. The heat and humidity didn’t affect me as much as I thought it might, so I’m pleased with my prep work.”

Looking back at her experience at Sepang, Emily was upbeat. “The car, the track and the whole experience was fantastic,” she said. “Sepang is a big circuit: very fast, very technical, with every different type of challenge you could want as a driver. It didn’t take me long to get to know the car, slicks and everything really, but I’ve still got loads to learn.

“They’d set me a target lap time – [which] I didn’t know but my dad and the team did – to reach by the end of the second session on track which I reached and beat significantly, so everyone was happy with my performance. I’d also out-performed the other two new drivers to the F4 scene, which I was very pleased about. The racing was good, and I drove well.”

Emily is now turning her attention towards the 2019 season and is searching for the right opportunity, although she describes her situation as a “tough one”.

“I want to do the British F4 and F4 SEA Championships if possible but it’s all about budget. We aren’t a rich family and my parents have spent everything they have on getting me this far, so we’re working hard to get investors and sponsors to come on board for next season and for my longer-term career goals too.”

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ThePitCrewOnline Exclusive: The training of F1 driver | Interview with Michael Italiano – Daniel Ricciardo’s performance coach

F1 and other racing series aren’t only about driving a car. Before getting behind a steering wheel the driver must have done a lot of activities. The physical training is one of the most important of them. Michael Italiano,  Daniel Ricciardo’s performance coach, spoke to us by answering questions asked by Julia Paradowska about the physical preparation of the racing driver.

Julia Paradowska: Why is physical training so important for the drivers?
Michael Italiano: Racing is a very demanding sport physically and mentally. The drivers need to be physically fit in order to withstand the G-forces during a race and the constant loading from the cars whether its braking, accelerating or turning. In saying this, it’s important the drivers include regimented cardio and strength training to keep their body in prime condition to race at their peak performance. If an athlete is not physically conditioned to drive they won’t be strong enough to withstand the G-forces the cars produce during a race. They will also fatigue, once fatigue sets in a driver won’t be able to control the car as efficiently as he’d like. These side effects make a big difference in a sport like Formula One where every tenth of a second counts.

JP:  How does the training program vary during the season? – Ie. Training during race week and training during a non-race week.
MI: Training varies quite a lot depending on the time of the year. During pre-season (January) training is fairly intense as your main goal is to get the driver into peek condition and prepared for the first race of the season. Training during race week again is dependent on whereabouts in the world we are. All factors play a part, time zone, weather, humidity, altitude to name a few. To give you a slight idea we would normally train up until the Wednesday of a race, nothing too intense. Mainly to switch everything on, get moving and loosen up feeling good before he (Daniel) jumps in the car on Friday. This routine would change slightly if we had back to back races, we would focus more on recovery with the short break and flight times in between.

JP:  Which round of the 2018 season was the hardest for you and Daniel to train and prepare for and why?
MI: Probably the triple header mid-year. It was a crazy 3 weeks, I’m glad F1 have decided on no triple headers in 2019. It’s asking a lot physically and mentally of the drivers. Not only are they driving the car for three days each week, they have media and team commitments outside the race track, then you add in all the flying and transport to and from hotels. There wasn’t much time for recovery and training, you have to be flexible in these situations and make do for what time you have to prepare your athlete.

JP: In addition to physical training, you also work to enhance and develop the psychological ‘mental’ fitness. How important is this aspect of the training?
MI: Personally, very important. How a driver can stay so immensely focused during a two hour race error free its extremely impressive. If their mind is distracted, fatigued or unfocused this will hinder their driving ability substantially. Sports psychology has really developed over the last five years and I’m a big believer in getting the mind in a positive and affirmative state before a race. How you do that is very dependent on the athlete’s character and your relationship with them. Mental training can be anything from working on a daily winners mindset, race day mindset, mindset out on the track during a race, what are you telling yourself, how you deal with particular actions or issues during a race emotionally, understanding mood profiling and what level should a drivers intensity be at during qualifying or race.

JP: How did you get interested in F1?
MI: I got interested in Formula 1 through Daniel. Being a Perth kid, knowing a Perth boy coming through the ranks and eventually making it to the F1 level was very inspiring. I followed his journey at a young age and developed the love for the sport through my eagerness to see Daniel succeed.

Follow Michael’s Journey
Website: michaelitaliano.com/
Instagram: instagram.com/michaelitaliano/
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/michael-italiano

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Emily Linscott Interview: Winning Overall Young Athlete of the Year award “a total shock”

Despite only taking up karting a couple of years ago, it’s safe to say 16-year-old Emily Linscott already has a lot of achievements under her belt. She recently returned from Malaysia where she made her International Formula 4 debut and has preparations for her mock GCSE exams to deal with, and yet she was still kind enough to speak to us here at The Pit Crew Online.

Her trip to Malaysia was a world removed from her initial experiences in karting and the Lakeside Karting track in Essex, which she frequented just a few short years ago. “My dad and I went to Lakeside Karting one Sunday in 2016 and I liked it,” Emily said. “So, we went again the next week and then again, which is when I beat him, so we thought it might be cool to try some competition. He’s an ex-professional British Superbike champion so he won’t let anyone beat him if he can help it!

“As soon as I knew I wanted to race and I learned about the Le Mans 24hrs, I’ve wanted to race and win that. I’ve started driving Formula 4 cars now, so my ideas have changed a little bit, but I still want to win Le Mans – it’s such an amazing race with so much history to it. My long-term career goals are to become a successful professional racing driver working directly for a manufacturer as their ambassador.”

It didn’t take long for Emily’s skill and speed in karting to begin to turn heads, and by the end of her first year she had been signed to Arden’s Young Racing Driver’s Academy. “My parents got a call asking if we’d be interested in coming to their HQ in Banbury to meet them, their teams, have a look around their premises and to try out their state-of-the-art simulator,” Emily explained. “I think at the time perhaps it was too early for me – I wasn’t really interested in Formula cars as I hadn’t even driven any car at that time.

“I’d not spent the whole of my childhood around race cars and tracks, I’d not watched cars on TV or anything like that, so it was alien to me. I actually thought F1 was pretty boring when we watched it, but now I know a lot more about what goes in to racing a car even before you get in one, I can appreciate it a lot more.”

Away from the track Emily’s career has also been gaining momentum. Earlier this month she won the Everyone Active South East Regional Young Athlete of the Year award, as well as being named Overall Young Athlete of the Year, which she described as a “total shock”.

“We were preparing for the F4 race in Malaysia when my dad got an email asking if I’d decided about racing abroad or if we were still able to make the Sporting Champions Mentoring Day and National Awards in London the following week. He told them that the deal was done and we couldn’t be there, which is when someone phoned him and asked if I could do an acceptance video. Well, two videos, as I’d won the South East Regional Young Athlete of the Year, and the judging panel had named me as their Overall National Young Athlete of the Year [too].

“My parents told me in their bedroom when I came back from school and we were finishing packing my kit bag. I laughed a bit as I was so shocked, and they also said they had no idea about these awards. Most awards you get to hear about have fans and followers [voting] for their favourite driver, but these were done by Everyone Active and their Sporting Champions programme. I was really shocked! I even said to my dad on the plane as we were flying to Malaysia, ‘As if I won those two awards!’ It’s crazy!”

Emily spoke to us more about her experience in Malaysia and the International F4 race, which you can read about in the upcoming second instalment of our interview.

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ThePitCrewOnline Exclusive: The interview with Gosia Rdest

During the weekend was the final event of GT4 European Series in 2018. It was the debut year in this series for the Polish ambassador of #GirlsOnTrack Gosia Rdest. After the second race, which took place on Sunday, Pole answered a few questions asked by Julia Paradowska.


Julia Paradowska: The 2018 season has ended, what are your plans during the off season?

Gosia Rdest: I’ve begun working on the next season; mostly discussing plans with current sponsors and acquiring new ones. We are organizing a large media day in October; to recap on the 2018 season, and discus the 2019 season. There is also the Auto World GO program. The recordings will probably start at the end of September. Plus there will new videos on my Youtube channel. I do plan to have some time off from the simulator and physical training but only for a couple of weeks, as we have plans to race in Bahrain, probably during the last week of November.
As part of mentoring the winners from #GirlsOnTrack Tychy and Rzeszów heats. This year I still have 3 sessions with the pupils looking at various aspects of racing – one is actually a video link session. The #GirlsOnTrack project will head to Le Mans in March of next year with the 3 finalists and to start to prepare them as racers. I hope this program will bring good results. I also hope that a Polish Woman will be first winner from the competition.

JP: Are you going to drive for Phoenix Racing for next season?

GR: I’m definitely in the team for the next season and I am satisfied with the format of the racing weekend and the level represented by GT4 European Racing, because there is really a lot of driving and the rules are simple and clear. The question will be which GT4 European series.  When it comes to the balance and performance of cars; the cars presented at an even level. If at the beginning of the weekend they did not present this level, then the track was adapted later.
I adjusted to the car’s performance by the second event of the series. Brands Hatch was a mix of emotions, where we finished the race in the sixth place in the general classification, and the first in the PRO-AM class, but the next day the cup was taken away because the pit stop that my alternate was doing was too short – it was about 0.2 seconds too fast.
There is also a chance of starting in the US. This is something incredible for me, one thing is for sure – it will also be GT4. I’m 100% in the car.

Julia Paradowska/ThePitCrewOnline

JP: Looking back, during race one on Saturday you received penalty points, what happened?

GR: we had two penalites, which I and Cedric (Gosia’s teammate) caused through different events. My punishment was that during the yellow flag I went faster in my sector. It resulted from the fact that on the previous lap I was driving behind other cars. It was only when the space between us got out and I had a free track in front of me, involuntarily I started to drive faster. It was not my personal sector record in comparison to the times achieved in Friday’s trainings or the next sector times, but unfortunately it was my first quick lap and it was faster than the previous. It was a bit of a surprise to everyone, because I was not the only car, but probably 10 more cars received the same penalty.
And Cedric’s penalty – it was for exceeding the speed limit in the pit lane. Until the end we are not sure what it resulted from – when I went down and handed over the car, I had a pit limiter turned on. Probably some irregularities occurred when drivers changed. Maybe I or Cedric caught a knee, foot, armchair or whatever pit limiter you could turn off. It never had happened to us before, and Cedric did not check if the pit limiter was on. when he accelerated from the pit stop on the pit lane, he had no resistance and drove more than 50 km/h. If it is a qualification or training, for such an offense you get penalty points depending on the offense – one or two. At the moment of season, penalty points are not awarded, especially considering that it was the last race weekend in the series, so no point would have worked, which is why Cedric got a penalty through the pit lane.

JP: Sunday hosted the second race, unfortunately your car didn’t finish the race. Can you explain the events leading up to the retirement of the car?

GR: Cedric, got hit during the start of the race. This resulted in problems with the temperature, because the right cooler was damaged and thus the temperature of oil and water had to be controlled all the time. As the race continued, the car gently began to go crazy in traction control, which we turned off anyway, but all the time there was a problem. There was Safety Car period which shortly after, we got hit again; when somebody drove into the left rear. This caused the car to have steering problems and we had to retire the car.
I have did not race one lap today; It was terribly sad because I was ready to change – I had my little racing seat in my hand and helmet on, waiting for the car to come in during the pit window – and it turned out that I will not go any further in today’s race.

Julia Paradowska/ThePitCrewOnline

JP: But there is a big positive for the team this weekend.

GR: The huge positive of this day is the fact that the second car from our team with the number 5 (drivers: Milan Dontje and Nicolaj Møller-Madsen) won the championship title. It was also a huge combination of events; because the BMW which was competing with our car was involved in the incident during the first lap right after the start. The BMW did not manage to avoid the collision and they hit a back-facing Mercedes. The #55 Ginetta was also involved in the collision, which became engulfed in flames later on because of the impact received during that incident.

JP: You have a lot of memories when it comes to the Nürburgring- you have achieved a lot here. Is this one of your favorite tracks?

GR: Definitely yes. In fact, the first time I was here (about 7 years ago at the Polish event) – it was the premiere of the new Mercedes A45. It was an event for Polish Mercedes customers, so I received an invitation and it was my first contact with the circuit.
The next time I appeared here in the Audi Sport TT Cup, where I managed to beat in third place. It was a cherry on the cake and a terrible joy because it was supported by the plant. It was the penultimate race of the season and the bet consisted of this: if I finished on the podium during this race, then my supervisor at Audi Sport TT Cup, declared he would present to me an Audi TT at The Warsaw Motor Show. Luckily I finished 3rd.
This year the track was in a different configuration (sprint). With Oscar Tunjo, we managed to win second place in the first race, and in the second race the first place. Memories from the track are very good – in fact, apart from this weekend, which is the worst, but it is a combination of unfortunate events. Two penalties, I still had a gentle contact after the start, but it was a gentle push and the fact that today I did not participate in the race. I was disappointed at Spa, where my team-mate completely broke the car during qualifying, but it was not so bad, because the Hungaroring and Nürburgring were next on the calendar, so there was almost still half of the season left.

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ThePitCrewOnline Exclusive: Wywiad z Gosią Rdest

W miniony weekend zakończył się sezon GT4 European Series. Był to debiutancki rok  w tej serii dla polskiej ambasadorki #GirlsOnTrack Gosi Rdest. Po drugim wyścigu, który odbył się w niedzielę, Polka odpowiedziała na kilka pytań zadanych przez Julię Paradowską.

Julia Paradowska: Sezon 2018 właśnie dobiegł końca. Czy masz jakieś plany na ostatnie miesiące 2018?

Gosia Rdest: Przygotowuję się już do kolejnego sezonu. Prace tak naprawdę już się zaczęły nad utrzymaniem sponsorów, którzy są oraz pozyskaniem też nowych.  (Prace już ruszyły. Póki co chodzi o utrzymanie obecnych sponsorów, a także pozyskanie nowych). To co mamy też teraz w planach, to zorganizowanie większego media day, który będzie już w październiku. Podczas niego trzeba będzie zaprezentować się, pokazać formę oraz podsumować także sezon. Poza tym jest jeszcze program Auto Świat GO. Ramówka będzie już we wtorek. Nagrania pewnie zaczną się pod koniec września. Oprócz tego jest jeszcze też mój kanał na youtube – także dzieje się. Teraz będzie kilka tygodni zwolnionych od symulatora, przygotowania fizycznego i pewnie będzie to taka delikatna posezonowa rekonwalescencja, która nie będzie trwała długo, ponieważ są już głosy, że polecimy wystartować  w Bahrajnie. Ten wyścig bodajże jest w ostatnim tygodniu listopada – także to będzie takie drugie zakończenie sezonu.
W tym roku będzie kontynuowany program #GirlsOnTrack, w ramach którego będziemy realizować cztery bloki tematyczne z laureatkami zawodów w Tychach oraz w Rzeszowie. W tym roku odbędą się trzy spotkania – jedno będzie zdalne. Projekt będzie kontynuowany w następnym roku – wyjazd na zawody z trzema finalistkami w Le Mans oraz pomoc w przygotowaniu do startów, którą planujemy na marzec.  Mam nadzieję, że praca, którą już podjęliśmy przyniesie efekty i to właśnie Polka będzie pierwszą zwyciężczynią.

JP: Czy zostajesz w zespole Phoenix Racing na następny sezon?

GR: Na pewno zostaję w zespole na następny sezon – jest to pewne na 100%. Nie ma co do końca decyzji jeżeli chodzi o serię wyścigową. Jestem zadowolona z formatu weekendu wyścigowego oraz poziomu reprezentowanego przez GT4 European Racing, ponieważ jest naprawdę dużo jeżdżenia i zasady są proste, jasne oraz klarowne. Jeżeli chodzi o balans i performance samochodów to nie było zbyt dużych gaf ze strony organizatorów. Auta prezentowały wyrównany poziom. Jeżeli z początkiem weekendu nie prezentowały wyrównanego poziomu, to później następowała adaptacja do toru. Z samochodem już w zasadzie od drugiego w tym sezonie wyścigu zaczęłam się dogadywać. Był to Brands Hatch, gdzie skończyliśmy wyścig na szóstym miejscu w klasyfikacji generalnej, a na pierwszym w klasie PRO-AM. Niestety, następnego dnia zostaliśmy zdyskwalifikowanie z powodu za szybkiego pit stopu mojego zmiennika (trwał za krótko o 0,2 sekundy).
Na ten moment pewne jest to, że samochód będzie to GT4 i jest również pewne, jaki będzie to zespół. Do końca jednak nie jest wiadomo, w jakiej serii będę startować, ponieważ na rynek wyścigowy wchodzą mistrzostwa Niemiec w serii GT4 organizowane przez ADAC i tutaj zobaczymy, jak zespół zadecyduje o kierunku, w którym pójdziemy. Dla mnie jest ważne, żeby zostać z tym samym samochodem.
Ostatnio pojawiła się jeszcze ewentualna szansa startów w USA. Jest to coś niewiarygodnego dla mnie, ale z tym myślę, że trzeba z miesiąc poczekać, żeby cokolwiek było ubrane w ramy. Jedno jest pewne – też będzie to GT4. Na 100% zostaję w przy tym samochodzie

Photo credit: Julia Paradowska/ThePitCrewOnline

JP: Porozmawiajmy o weekendzie. W sobotę odbył się pierwszy wyścig, w którym na wasz samochód zostały nałożone kary. Z czego one wynikały?

GR: Tutaj karami podzieliliśmy się z Cedricem (partner zespołowy Gosi) po równo – jedną przywiozłam ja, a drugą on. Moja kara była za to, że podczas żółtej flagi pojechałam szybszy czas swojego sektora. Wynikało to z tego, że na poprzednim okrążeniu jechałam za innymi samochodami. Dopiero jak zrobiła się przestrzeń miedzy nami i miałam wolne pole przed sobą, mimowolnie zaczęłam jeździć szybciej. Nie był to mój rekord osobisty sektora w porównaniu do czasów osiągniętych w piątkowych treningach czy następnych czasów sektorów, ale niefortunnie złożyło się, że było to moje pierwsze szybkie kółko i niefart chciał, że było one szybsze od poprzedniego i stąd ta kara. Okazało się to zaskoczeniem dla wszystkich, ponieważ nie byłam jedynym samochodem, ale bodajże jeszcze 10 samochodów otrzymało tą samą karę.
A kara Cedrica nałożona została  za przekroczenie dozwolonej prędkości w alei serwisowej. Do końca nie jesteśmy pewni z czego to wynikało – jak ja zjeżdżałam i oddawałam samochód, to miałam włączony pit limiter. Prawdopodobnie w momencie zmiany kierowców zaszły jakieś nieprawidłowości. Może ja albo Cedric zahaczyliśmy kolanem, stopą, fotelem czy czymkolwiek czym można pit limiter wyłączyć. Nigdy wcześniej nam to się nie zdarzyło, także Cedric nie sprawdził, czy pit limiter był włączony. W momencie gdy przyśpieszył w alei serwisowej, nie miał oporowania i pojechał więcej niż 50 km/h. Jeżeli są to kwalifikacje lub treningi, to za takie wykroczenie otrzymuje się punkty karne w zależności od wykroczenia – jeden lub dwa. W momencie wyścigów nie są przyznawane punkty karne, zwłaszcza biorąc pod uwagę fakt, że był to ostatni weekend wyścigowy w serii, więc żaden punkt  na nic by się zdał, dlatego Cedric dostał karę przejazdu przez aleję serwisową.

JP: Wróćmy do wydarzeń z dzisiaj – niestety wasz samochód wziął udział w wypadku i nie ukończyliście wyścigu.

GR: Kontakt był z nie naszej winy i to nie jednokrotnie. Cedric dostał dwa uderzenia zaraz po starcie i też po zjeździe samochodu bezpieczeństwa ktoś wjechał w jego lewy tył, przez co go obróciło i nie był w stanie kontynuować jazdy. Już po pierwszych dwóch kontaktach pojawiły się problemy z temperaturą, ponieważ została uszkodzona prawa chłodnica i przez to cały czas temperatura oleju oraz wody musiała być kontrolowana. Przez poślizg delikatnie zaczęła wariować kontrola trakcji, którą i tak wyłączamy, ale mimo tego cały czas pojawiał się błąd. Także całkowicie poszła geometria i zbieżność w samochodzie. Finalnie nie przejechałam dzisiaj ani jednego okrążenia. To było strasznie przykre, ponieważ byłam przygotowana do zmiany – miałam w ręku mój fotelik oraz założony kask, bo za 2 minuty miało być otwarte pit window, ale okazało się, że nic z tego i dzisiaj nie pojadę.

Photo credit: Julia Paradowska/ThePitCrewOnline

JP: Ale jest duży pozytyw dla zespołu podczas tego weekendu.

GR: Ogromnym pozytywem tego dnia jest fakt, iż drugi samochód z naszego zespołu z numerem 5 (w składzie:  Milan Dontje i Nicolaj Møller-Madsen) wygrał tytuł mistrzowski. To był też ogromny splot zdarzeń, ponieważ konkurujący z naszym samochodem BMW zostało zamieszane w incydent podczas pierwszego okrążenia zaraz po starcie. BMW nie zdołało uniknąć kolizji i uderzyło  stojącego tyłem do kierunku Mercedesa, a z kolei Ginetta z numerem 55 spłonęła  w wyniku uszkodzenia, które było spowodowane było kontaktem podczas tego samego incydentu.

JP: Masz dużo wspomnień jeżeli chodzi o Nürburgring – dużo tutaj osiągnęłaś. Czy jest to jeden z twoich ulubionych torów?

GR: Zdecydowanie tak. W zasadzie pierwszy raz byłam tutaj około 7 lat temu na polskim evencie – była to premiera nowego Mercedesa A45. Było to wydarzenie dla polskich klientów Mercedesa, więc dostałam zaproszenie i to była moja pierwsza styczność z torem.
Następnym razem pojawiłam się tutaj w pucharze Audi Sport TT Cup, gdzie udało mi się zdobyć na trzecie miejsce. To przysłowiowa wisienka na torcie oraz straszna radość, ponieważ była ona poparta zakładem. Był to przedostatni wyścig sezonu i zakład polegał na tym – jeżeli wbiję się na podium podczas tego wyścigu, to wtedy nasz opiekun Audi Sport TT Cup zadeklarował, że przywiezie mi samochód na Warsaw Motor Show. Byłam na najniższym stopniu podium, więc nic mu nie zostało i musiał przywieźć  auto do Warszawy.
W tym roku też już byłam na tym torze, lecz jeździłam w innej konfiguracji (sprint). Z Oscarem Tunjo udało nam się wywalczyć w pierwszym wyścigu drugie miejsce, a w drugim wyścigu pierwsze miejsce. Wspomnienia z toru są bardzo dobre – w zasadzie oprócz tego weekendu, który jest najgorszy, ale z powodu spotu niefortunnych zdarzeń . Dwie kary, ja miałam jeszcze delikatny kontakt po starcie, ale było to delikatne przepchnięcie i jeszcze fakt, że dzisiaj nie wzięłam udziału w wyścigu. Równie byłam rozczarowana na Spa, gdzie podczas kwalifikacji mój kolega zespołowy kompletnie rozbił auto, ale nie byłam tak rozgoryczona, bo w perspektywie miałam wyścigi na Hungaroringu i Nürburgringu, więc przede mną była jeszcze prawie połowa sezonu.

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“We will be on tracks where we could be performing better” – Robert Kubica

Click here to read polish version

Robert Kubica – many fans were waiting for his comeback to F1. The winner of 2008 Canadian Grand Prix is the reserve & development driver for Williams. After qualifications of Azerbejian GP, the polish driver answered some questions asked by Julia Paradowska.

Julia Paradowska: The Chinese GP was much better for Williams than Bahrain and Australia. Do you think it’s possible to get their first points of the season for the team in the upcoming races?
Robert Kubica: Well, Formula 1 is a fantastic sport because it is changing very quickly. Of course we are beginning the season not where we expected. In the initial races we did face more issues than we had hoped so generally we are working on trying to improve areas where we face issues. We will be on tracks where we could be performing better. As I think all of the cars in the paddock have better tracks and worse tracks so there is time for our car. But this doesn’t exclude that generally we have to keep working and keep focusing on as we think we have an issue.

JP: How does a non-race week look for you as the reserve & development driver?
RK: For sure it is completely different to a race driver’s weekend. Nonetheless it’s still very exciting for me to be back in the paddock. Ok, it is a different role than I have been used to but still this gives me an opportunity to stay close in the team, stay close to the sport to which I have a lot of passion. It gives me the opportunity to see a Grand Prix weekend from a different perspective and a different point of view so it is a good opportunity for me. It isn’t easy to see and hear what I was racing but still as I said I am enjoying it and I am trying to help the team as much as I can.

World Copyright: Mark Sutton/Williams F1

JP: What’s your part in solving team problems?
RK: My part as a driver is to try to give the best feel as it is possible when I get to drive a car. As a part of my role I am doing a lot of simulation work so we are trying to improve our simulator, to improve our correlation between the simulator and reality. As part of our development, I am doing a part of our development programme which is involving me doing some internal technical meetings so as you can see I am a bit more than just a reserve driver and this is very nice from the team. I am really keen to play a part and also trying to help the team but also to learn from other people.

JP: Before the 2018 season there was much speculation about your comeback to F1. Did these rumours sometimes get you tired?
RK: Well, it is a part of the game and I think the media got very excited about the possibility for me to comeback as a race driver. I think everybody was trying to get their opinion around. I think this was the normal approach from the media. It looks like during November-December my name appeared and was quite popular and I think media had some speculations to talk so they used it.

World Copyright: Glenn Dunbar/Williams F1

JP: F1 is a sport that is constantly evolving, changing. What do you miss the most when compared to the beginning of your career?
RK: Driving, very simple and being younger. But on the other side I have much more experience so actually experience is helping a lot.
Generally, I think the sound was making F1 races very exciting which we are missing. It is easier for media commitments – in the past it wasn’t as easy, you were travelling to do interviews as well. The Season was running and we can do it (the interview) so there is always pros and negatives.

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