Aug 2007
Performance Racing in action in Silverstone
Performance
Racing’s National Class drivers were on the
podium once again, but the championship lead is now a
little further away.
Despite two good performances, Frankie Cheng´s weekend turned out to be one of disappointment, as he saw Sergio Perez increase his lead in the fight for the championship. The Chinese driver did well to qualify in 2nd place for both races. He was on his way to finish in this same position, but a puncture in the final laps of Race 1 meant he had to retire and lose precious points in the championship battle. He had a strong race in Race 2, and finished in 2nd place, which meant the points loss to Perez was at least minimized.
Hamad Al Fardan’s weekend did not start very well, as he experienced some setup problems, as well as some technical issues with his car. The team worked hard to sort out this situation, but unfortunately it ended up affecting the Bahraini driver’s qualifying sessions, meaning he could do no better than two 5th positions on the grid. In the races it was a different story, however. With all the problems solved, Hamad drove two strong races and was rewarded with 3rd place on both. His strong results in the past few races mean that he is now 4th in the National Class standings, and looking increasingly likely to take over 3rd place before the season ends.
In Championship Class, Ricardo Teixeira had another tough weekend. The qualifying sessions did not go well, compromising the chances of a strong result in the races. Starting in 23rd place for both events, the Angolan driver fought hard, and was able to move up a few places. Driving in a close group of cars, he finished Race 1 in 16th place, and was 18th in Race 2.
“Hamad did really well this weekend. Despite the problems with his car, he drove two good races and it looks like he can challenge for 3rd place in the standings. Frankie did well once again, but unfortunately we lost some ground in the championship fight. Anyway, there are still many points up for grabs and we are confident that we can win it!”, commented Team Manager Bobby Issazadhe after the weekend.
With their “home race” completed (the Swedish team has their new workshop at the Silverstone Circuit), Performance Racing will be back in action in two weeks in Thruxton.
Despite two good performances, Frankie Cheng´s weekend turned out to be one of disappointment, as he saw Sergio Perez increase his lead in the fight for the championship. The Chinese driver did well to qualify in 2nd place for both races. He was on his way to finish in this same position, but a puncture in the final laps of Race 1 meant he had to retire and lose precious points in the championship battle. He had a strong race in Race 2, and finished in 2nd place, which meant the points loss to Perez was at least minimized.
Hamad Al Fardan’s weekend did not start very well, as he experienced some setup problems, as well as some technical issues with his car. The team worked hard to sort out this situation, but unfortunately it ended up affecting the Bahraini driver’s qualifying sessions, meaning he could do no better than two 5th positions on the grid. In the races it was a different story, however. With all the problems solved, Hamad drove two strong races and was rewarded with 3rd place on both. His strong results in the past few races mean that he is now 4th in the National Class standings, and looking increasingly likely to take over 3rd place before the season ends.
In Championship Class, Ricardo Teixeira had another tough weekend. The qualifying sessions did not go well, compromising the chances of a strong result in the races. Starting in 23rd place for both events, the Angolan driver fought hard, and was able to move up a few places. Driving in a close group of cars, he finished Race 1 in 16th place, and was 18th in Race 2.
“Hamad did really well this weekend. Despite the problems with his car, he drove two good races and it looks like he can challenge for 3rd place in the standings. Frankie did well once again, but unfortunately we lost some ground in the championship fight. Anyway, there are still many points up for grabs and we are confident that we can win it!”, commented Team Manager Bobby Issazadhe after the weekend.
With their “home race” completed (the Swedish team has their new workshop at the Silverstone Circuit), Performance Racing will be back in action in two weeks in Thruxton.
Performance Racing with tough F3 Masters debut
The team had another
difficult weekend in Belgium, having come to Zolder
straight after the British F3 race in
Spa-Francorchamps. The team’s only entrant in
the F3 Masters, Ricardo Teixeira, had a big accident
in Spa and there was a lot of work still to be done
in order to get the car ready for this important
event.
Without any prior knowledge of the track, and also little experience with the mandatory Kumho tires, Teixeira made the best of the free practice sessions to prepare for qualifying. Faced with a very steep learning curve, the Angolan driver struggled in the qualifying sessions and as a result lined up for the start of the race at the back of the grid.
After such difficulties, the race itself turned out to be quite positive. Racing against the top F3 drivers in the world, Ricardo managed to stay out of trouble in the opening laps and moved quickly up the order. Under constant pressure from Alistair Jackson, Ricardo kept his cool. He was running in 22nd place until the last lap, in which he lost two positions.
Bobby Issazadhe, Team Manager of Performance Racing commented that “It was a tough weekend, but a good learning experience for the team and for Ricardo. We hope to be back next year!”
The team now goes straight back to the UK, as the next round of the British F3 International Series takes place in Silverstone next weekend.
Without any prior knowledge of the track, and also little experience with the mandatory Kumho tires, Teixeira made the best of the free practice sessions to prepare for qualifying. Faced with a very steep learning curve, the Angolan driver struggled in the qualifying sessions and as a result lined up for the start of the race at the back of the grid.
After such difficulties, the race itself turned out to be quite positive. Racing against the top F3 drivers in the world, Ricardo managed to stay out of trouble in the opening laps and moved quickly up the order. Under constant pressure from Alistair Jackson, Ricardo kept his cool. He was running in 22nd place until the last lap, in which he lost two positions.
Bobby Issazadhe, Team Manager of Performance Racing commented that “It was a tough weekend, but a good learning experience for the team and for Ricardo. We hope to be back next year!”
The team now goes straight back to the UK, as the next round of the British F3 International Series takes place in Silverstone next weekend.
Disappointing weekend for Performance Racing in Spa
Despite scoring three
more podium finishes in National Class, the team had
a tough weekend at the famous Belgian track.
In National Class, China’s Frankie Cheng did well to qualify in 2nd place for both races, with Hamad Al Fardan close by in 5th and 4th position. They finished the first race in a very positive 2nd and 3rd place, and hoped to make further progress in the wet conditions of Race 2. Unfortunately it was run mostly under the safety car, making it virtually impossible to make any improvements on their starting positions. Cheng is now a close 2nd in the championship standings, and Bahrain’s Al Fardan continues to move up the order, steadily catching up to 4th place.
In Championship Class, Ricardo Teixeira was having a promising weekend and registered the 15th fastest time in Qualifying 1. He was set to improve on this in the second session but before he could set a proper time the nose cover flew off, hitting his helmet, and resulting in a crash in the high speed Blanchimont corner.
“At first we all thought that the nose cover hadn’t been properly tightened, but when the car was returned to us the screws were still there! Maybe there was a small crack. It was a very strange thing to happen!” commented the Angolan driver after the incident.
This wasn’t the end of his troubles. Because of the crash the engine had to be changed, and the team worked hard to get the car out in time for Race 1. Unfortunately there was not enough time, and Ricardo had to struggle with an unbalanced car, dropping back many positions and not being able to challenge for a points finish.
Starting from a lowly 26th place for Race 2, Ricardo was making good progress in the heavy rain conditions until he was caught out and crashed heavily in Eau Rouge.
“This was a tough weekend for us. The National Class boys did a good job once again, but unfortunately we lost the championship lead. Ricardo’s pace in the first qualifying session was very encouraging, but what happened in the second session really hurt our chances for the rest of the weekend. The car was quite damaged from the crash in Race 2, so now the main focus is to get it ready for the F3 Masters event next week.”, commented Team Manager Bobby Issazadhe.
Performance Racing is staying in Belgium, as it will participate in the famous Masters of Formula 3 event, which takes place in Zolder next weekend.
In National Class, China’s Frankie Cheng did well to qualify in 2nd place for both races, with Hamad Al Fardan close by in 5th and 4th position. They finished the first race in a very positive 2nd and 3rd place, and hoped to make further progress in the wet conditions of Race 2. Unfortunately it was run mostly under the safety car, making it virtually impossible to make any improvements on their starting positions. Cheng is now a close 2nd in the championship standings, and Bahrain’s Al Fardan continues to move up the order, steadily catching up to 4th place.
In Championship Class, Ricardo Teixeira was having a promising weekend and registered the 15th fastest time in Qualifying 1. He was set to improve on this in the second session but before he could set a proper time the nose cover flew off, hitting his helmet, and resulting in a crash in the high speed Blanchimont corner.
“At first we all thought that the nose cover hadn’t been properly tightened, but when the car was returned to us the screws were still there! Maybe there was a small crack. It was a very strange thing to happen!” commented the Angolan driver after the incident.
This wasn’t the end of his troubles. Because of the crash the engine had to be changed, and the team worked hard to get the car out in time for Race 1. Unfortunately there was not enough time, and Ricardo had to struggle with an unbalanced car, dropping back many positions and not being able to challenge for a points finish.
Starting from a lowly 26th place for Race 2, Ricardo was making good progress in the heavy rain conditions until he was caught out and crashed heavily in Eau Rouge.
“This was a tough weekend for us. The National Class boys did a good job once again, but unfortunately we lost the championship lead. Ricardo’s pace in the first qualifying session was very encouraging, but what happened in the second session really hurt our chances for the rest of the weekend. The car was quite damaged from the crash in Race 2, so now the main focus is to get it ready for the F3 Masters event next week.”, commented Team Manager Bobby Issazadhe.
Performance Racing is staying in Belgium, as it will participate in the famous Masters of Formula 3 event, which takes place in Zolder next weekend.