May 2010
Up & Down
Sachsenring May 9
Felix Rosenqvist started the final race of the weekend from 3rd on the grid. With the 2nd place finish fresh in memory we where all very hopeful of another great race and plenty of points. Unfortunately things went from bad to worse. Felix where slow off the line and lost several places and went in to the first corner in 8th place. He then cut his way through the pack and came around in 5th. Unfortunately it was a short lived success because on the following lap Felix misjudged the loss of down force when driving close to the car in front and understeered off the circuit.
Meanwhile Alon, who started 18th on the grid, had made up positions and was now running in 15th position. Now Alon really got going and made up 1 position per lap and soon he was running in P12. Alon's pace at this part of the race was as good as the drivers who was driving between 4-6 place, he even got a purple sector 2. Alon kept a good pace for another few laps but he reported over the radio that the car was starting to suffer from severe oversteer. It was about 10 minutes left of the race so the team told him to do his bets and bring the car home. Later it was discovered that Alons rear left tyres was severely blistered and the same happened to Stef Dusseldorp who even had to pit for and replace the tyre.
All in all it was a good weekend. The team made good progress, the cars where fast and the drivers Alon performed well in the 2nd race and to make up 8 positions at the demanding Sachsenring in only his 3rd Formula 3 race is a satisfying result. Felix who finished 2nd in yesterdays race can balance the result from race one with the disappointment from race two and look back at a weekend where he learnt yet another piece of race craft...
Next race is Hockenheim May 29-30
Felix Rosenqvist started the final race of the weekend from 3rd on the grid. With the 2nd place finish fresh in memory we where all very hopeful of another great race and plenty of points. Unfortunately things went from bad to worse. Felix where slow off the line and lost several places and went in to the first corner in 8th place. He then cut his way through the pack and came around in 5th. Unfortunately it was a short lived success because on the following lap Felix misjudged the loss of down force when driving close to the car in front and understeered off the circuit.
Meanwhile Alon, who started 18th on the grid, had made up positions and was now running in 15th position. Now Alon really got going and made up 1 position per lap and soon he was running in P12. Alon's pace at this part of the race was as good as the drivers who was driving between 4-6 place, he even got a purple sector 2. Alon kept a good pace for another few laps but he reported over the radio that the car was starting to suffer from severe oversteer. It was about 10 minutes left of the race so the team told him to do his bets and bring the car home. Later it was discovered that Alons rear left tyres was severely blistered and the same happened to Stef Dusseldorp who even had to pit for and replace the tyre.
All in all it was a good weekend. The team made good progress, the cars where fast and the drivers Alon performed well in the 2nd race and to make up 8 positions at the demanding Sachsenring in only his 3rd Formula 3 race is a satisfying result. Felix who finished 2nd in yesterdays race can balance the result from race one with the disappointment from race two and look back at a weekend where he learnt yet another piece of race craft...
Next race is Hockenheim May 29-30
Success and Disaster
Sachsenring May 8th
Felix Rosenqvist had a well deserved 2nd place at Sachsenring yesterday in only his 3rd Formula 3 race. Felix got off the line well and kept his 2nd place to the finish. There was a lot of pressure from experienced races Stef Dusseldorp at some stages during the race but Felix kept cool and defended his 2nd place very well. The experienced Formula 3 driver Tom Dillman won the race after setting a string of fast laps in the initial part of the race.
Disaster struck Alon already in 2nd qualifying. His engine refused to start in the assembly area on the way out to the track. Volkswagen engineers did everything possible to find and solve the problem but with only 30 min of qualifying time it was a race against time. When finally the engine was fired up it was only 3 min left of the qualifying session. Alon did only one flying lap and ended P18.
In Race 1 Alon started a respectable 6th after a good 1st qualifying but he was slow off the line and lost several places. Alon was fighting well and was starting to make up for the poor start but unfortunately he went wide at the exit of turn 4 and filled the sidepods with grass resulting in poor cooling of the engine and high engine temperature. Alon ended the race in 10th.
In today’s 2nd race Felix will start from 3rd so he is in a good position to score more points.
Felix Rosenqvist had a well deserved 2nd place at Sachsenring yesterday in only his 3rd Formula 3 race. Felix got off the line well and kept his 2nd place to the finish. There was a lot of pressure from experienced races Stef Dusseldorp at some stages during the race but Felix kept cool and defended his 2nd place very well. The experienced Formula 3 driver Tom Dillman won the race after setting a string of fast laps in the initial part of the race.
Disaster struck Alon already in 2nd qualifying. His engine refused to start in the assembly area on the way out to the track. Volkswagen engineers did everything possible to find and solve the problem but with only 30 min of qualifying time it was a race against time. When finally the engine was fired up it was only 3 min left of the qualifying session. Alon did only one flying lap and ended P18.
In Race 1 Alon started a respectable 6th after a good 1st qualifying but he was slow off the line and lost several places. Alon was fighting well and was starting to make up for the poor start but unfortunately he went wide at the exit of turn 4 and filled the sidepods with grass resulting in poor cooling of the engine and high engine temperature. Alon ended the race in 10th.
In today’s 2nd race Felix will start from 3rd so he is in a good position to score more points.
Sachsenring Friday
Sachsenring May 7th
Alon had a steep but positive learning curve at this quite challenging and technical track. Alon went faster in each session and was 6th fastest in the 3rd and last free practice session.
Felix had a bit more ups and downs during free practice with a few spins and trips through the gravel traps. Although Felix showed good speed throughout the free practice sessions his driving never really materialised in top times...
For qualifying 1 the weather changed and rain was hanging in the air. Felix went out on new tyres early in the session and that proved to be a good move since it started to drizzle about 10 minutes into the session. Felix finished P2. Alon was sent out first on old tyres to sample an aero setup change was not as lucky because he hit the rain just two laps after the change to new tyres but he still ended a respectable P6.
For the 1st race we have both drivers in a good position to score points and podium positions.
2nd Qualifying starts 09:05 Saturday morning and hopefully the weather has improved so it becomes less of a gamble with tyres and when to hit the track...
Alon had a steep but positive learning curve at this quite challenging and technical track. Alon went faster in each session and was 6th fastest in the 3rd and last free practice session.
Felix had a bit more ups and downs during free practice with a few spins and trips through the gravel traps. Although Felix showed good speed throughout the free practice sessions his driving never really materialised in top times...
For qualifying 1 the weather changed and rain was hanging in the air. Felix went out on new tyres early in the session and that proved to be a good move since it started to drizzle about 10 minutes into the session. Felix finished P2. Alon was sent out first on old tyres to sample an aero setup change was not as lucky because he hit the rain just two laps after the change to new tyres but he still ended a respectable P6.
For the 1st race we have both drivers in a good position to score points and podium positions.
2nd Qualifying starts 09:05 Saturday morning and hopefully the weather has improved so it becomes less of a gamble with tyres and when to hit the track...