Rebellion Racers Eagerly Anticipate New R-One

While all attention focused on the broken Audi sitting forlornly in the gravel at Woodcote inside the first hour of the season opening 6 Hours of Silverstone, few took notice as gearbox issues accounted for Andrea Belicchi's no. 13 Rebellion Racing Lola. But despite the inauspicious end to their last outing with the venerable Lola before the new ORECA-built Rebellion R-One breaks cover this weekend at Spa, there was much that the team, in particular young chargers Dominik Kraihamer and Fabio Leimer, could take away from the weekend.  

Although they didn’t get to drive in the race, the duo certainly make their mark in qualifying, and were all smiles after beating team-mates Nick Heidfeld, Nicolas Prost and Mathias Beche - who went on to finish fourth in the race - to pole position in the non-hybrid LMP1-L class.

“It’s important to put a little bit of pressure on them,” said Kraihamer. “I think everybody was expecting them to be ahead of us; I’ve been told that we’ll need a lot of time in the car, maybe a year or so to get used to it, but it’s working out well so far on our car.”

A promising qualifying didn't materialise into a result on
raceday for the Rebellion no. 13 crew. (Credit: FIA WEC)

For Leimer in in particular, this small intra-team victory came as a significant boost. After four years in GP2, the Swiss finally took the crown last year after a ding-dong battle with fellow sportscar convert Sam Bird which went down to the wire at Abu Dhabi, but with spaces in Formula One at a premium, has now found himself following in the footsteps of Neel Jani, who used Rebellion as a springboard into a factory drive at Porsche.  

With significantly more track time than can be found on the Grand Prix support package, as well as the experience of developing a brand new car and the presence of a known quantity like Heidfeld - a veteran of 183 Grand Prix starts no less - as a benchmark to prove himself against, Leimer has kept himself in the limelight and importantly avoided the fate of his predecessor Davide Valsecchi, who lost all career momentum with a frustrating season on the sidelines at Lotus.

“It’s absolutely the worst thing for a driver to have one or two years doing nothing, so for me it was important that I could continue to race,” Leimer said. “LMP1 is very quick and nice to drive; it’s got a lot of downforce, so it’s not like I’m going from a GP2 to a really slow car. For me it’s a nice position to be in.

“I’ve tested a [BMW] DTM car, but this is my first time doing a race weekend in a car with a roof on it. Everything for me was really strange at the beginning, I have traction control and lots of new things like that, but the driving style is nearly the same. Up till now everything’s been working really well.”

Kraihamer and Leimer debrief after practice
 at Silverstone. (Credit Rebellion Racing)

Although the R-One will likely face the usual new car teething troubles that the manufacturer teams painstakingly ironed out over months of winter testing, Leimer is grateful to have had the chance at the pre-season test at Paul Ricard and Silverstone to adapt to sportscars with a proven mount, free from worries about new parts breaking.

“So far it’s been quite okay because we don’t have many problems with the car, so that meant I could stay out and learn,” Leimer says.  “We’ll be in the new car from Spa and for sure we’ll have some problems because we won’t have had as many kilometres as all the other guys, but up till now in the single-seaters where the car stayed from the beginning to the end I wasn’t changing much, so I’m open to learning, to have a new challenge.”

Unlike his team-mate, Kraihamer is familiar with developmental work after toiling with the Lotus T128 all the way through 2013. The Austrian is a few months younger than Leimer, but has more experience of endurance racing, having raced prototypes – and competed at Le Mans – since 2011, although Kraihamer too is new to the Rebellion setup, his fourth team in as many seasons after previous stints at Boutsen-Ginion and Oak Racing.

Rebellion have high hopes for their new R-One, which is
set for its debut at Spa. (Credit: Rebellion Racing) 

“It’s a new team, it’s a new car, it’s really strange to be honest!” says Kraihamer. “I’m very happy to be driving with Fabio and Andrea as well; he has a lot of experience in the team and he knows everybody, so if you hang onto him, he’ll help you a lot.

“Last year with the Lotus we started with nothing and in the end it was not bad. We’ve been through a lot of problems there, so whenever problems occur here I can help the team out a bit and try to do my best. For us drivers it’s important to develop the car, but to do that first we need to drive it and get used to a different handling and things again. For example we’re sat quite low in [the Lola], the view is through the bottom right of the windscreen, so there’s not much to see, but from what I’ve heard the new car should be better.

“It’s a whole process which will take a bit of time and there will be some moments where we won’t be that happy, but that’s normal. I’m really looking forward to the challenge.” 

Mike Conway: The Best of Both Worlds

Mike Conway is enjoying his racing once again. Having come to the difficult decision in 2012 that he felt uncomfortable racing on ovals, the Englishman nowadays races to his strengths, with a road and street course-only programme that has allowed him to explore endurance racing while also keeping his hand in open-wheel, an arrangement which offers the best of both worlds.

Conway took to sportscars like a duck to water last year with Delta-ADR and was instrumental in the team taking four wins from the last five races of the World Endurance Championship, only narrowly missing out on the LMP2 crown. Not surprisingly, Conway’s stellar form caught the attentions of Toyota, who rewarded his efforts with a factory contract as the team’s test and reserve driver.  

All the while, Conway has continued to find success on the other side of the Atlantic and reignited his IndyCar career. After reminding everyone of his pace in a brilliant one-off outing at Detroit for minnows Dale Coyne Racing – “it was just one of those fairy-tale weekends, where I only got the call last minute, jumped in, won the race then went back to the WEC the next weekend after” – Conway landed at Ed Carpenter’s single-car ECR outfit, surviving a multi-car pileup to win Long Beach for the second time in his career and see his name added to the illustrious list of multiple winners that includes Andretti, Unser, Tracy, Zanardi and Bourdais.

Conway with team-owner Ed Carpenter in Victory Lane
at Long Beach earlier this month. (Credit: Mike Conway)

All this means Conway has a very busy schedule, but there’s a sense that he has the balance just about right.

“I’m really the only driver that said I didn’t want to do the ovals and just stick to the road and street courses, and I thought that might be the end of my IndyCar career to be honest, but it’s worked out perfectly,” he says. “There’s not many teams that could do that, so I’m very fortunate to be in one that can.

“Last year I really felt like I was enjoying my racing again. That’s what it’s all about and I’d kind of forgotten it a little bit.  Sometimes you put too much pressure on yourself and if things aren’t going right, it can be hard to lift yourself back up and go at it again the next weekend.  That’s why with the ovals it was time to call it a day because I really wasn’t enjoying racing at all, let alone just the oval stuff.”

Conway will tell you that if there was ever a time to sample sportscars, it is most definitely the present. The formation of a World Championship in 2012 for the first time since 1992, the return of Porsche to top-line endurance racing and the arrival of Mark Webber has introduced new audiences to the world beyond Formula One, with more growth expected in the coming years.

But despite the obvious differences between Le Mans and IndyCar, Conway points out that his experience of the former has made him a better all-round racer. His patient approach certainly paid dividends at Long Beach, biding his time and eventually forcing reigning champion Scott Dixon to abandon his fuel-saving run and relinquish the lead with just three laps remaining.

Conway drove an impeccable treble stint en-route to
victory at Interlagos last year. (Credit: Mike Conway)

“It’s a really cool style of racing, I’m surprised I didn’t look at it earlier really, you’re so focused on single-seaters and trying to get to F1,” Conway says of sportscars. “There’s some real longevity here. You’ve got more manufacturers coming in and it’s looking really competitive; this year especially it seems like the level is that bit higher and it looks like more will come in the future.

“I learned a lot last year with the LMP2 racing I did, and I think that’s transferred a lot towards the other racing I’ve done. Le Mans is so different, it’s a great challenge for a racing driver to get to grips with as it’s not just about you in the car; you have to look after it for your team-mates and really look after the tyres. As well you’ve got to be so good in traffic; you’re trying to pass GTs and other P2 cars but at the same time you’re looking in your mirrors for the P1s, which really sharpens you up for anything else you get into afterwards.

“The first stint I did was at night in qualifying, it was tough! All your reference points have gone and you’ve got to re-learn everything. Then when the night is over and the light comes up, the track gets quick, more rubber is going down, there’s a constant evolution of the track, you come away from that place feeling like you’ve learned so much.”

After experiencing the intense pressure of the Month of May in the lead up to the Indianapolis 500, you might have expected Conway to be unfazed when he made his debut at La Sarthe last year. But as he admits, that was far from the case.

“Le Mans was bloody tough!” he grins. “Indy was a whole different challenge, the Month of May was a constant build-up so every day you feel a bit more tension. It’s constant pressure around that place.  You can get bumped out of the field and not make it and I was on the wrong end of that one year in 2011.  It’s hard to describe, there’s no other feeling like that.

Disqualification after finishing third at Le Mans was a low point
in an otherwise excellent debut season. (Credit: Mike Conway)

"But going back to Le Mans, it’s the sheer length of the race that gets you. After the first few stints, you’re thinking ‘it’s not too bad’, but when you start to get to the early hours of the morning and you want to sleep, I couldn’t. It was hard for me to switch off because I wanted to watch the monitors all the time and see what was going on. You feel terrible out of the car, but in the car is when you’re at your best, so you never want to get out!”

Looking forwards, it is unclear whether Conway will get to race the Toyota TS040 Hybrid this year and if so, whether that will be in place of his LMP2 programme with Millennium (nee Delta-ADR), which kicks off at Spa after the team were forced to withdraw from Silverstone. But until that time comes, Conway is simply enjoying being a cog in the factory machine, particularly considering Toyota’s lofty position atop the standings after a 1-2 finish in the Silverstone season opener.

“We’re yet to discuss it really, ideally I’d love to be able to both like I’ve been able to do this year, so we’ll have to wait and see what’s happening. But I’ve really enjoyed working with these boys at Toyota, it’s a lot of fun and the car is just awesome, you factor all the development, new technologies, it’s really cool to be a part of.  It produces a lot of downforce, it stops really well and it’s got big fat tyres on it, so in the slow speed corners it’s really impressive as well.

“If I’m needed I’ll be ready.”

Makowiecki Delighted With Porsche Move

Porsche’s new signing Fred Makowiecki voiced his delight with the 911 RSR after winning first time out at Silverstone. The Frenchman, who shared with Marco Holzer and Richard Leitz, won out in a tight intra-Porsche battle with the no. 91 crew of Nick Tandy, Jorg Bergmeister and Patrick Pilet when the latter came in for full wets just before the safety car neutralised the race, which was halted with 20 minutes still on the clock due to the atrocious conditions.

Makowiecki (centre) celebrates opening his account for the
season with Holzer (left) and Leitz (right.) Credit: Porsche Motorsport

“It’s a perfect start for me, even if it was a bit of a lucky win,” said Makowiecki, who made the switch from Aston Martin over the off-season. “I was a bit worried because the conditions were really difficult; with our tyres it was really hard to follow the safety car and I was worried we would aquaplane and crash the car, but it was not the case. Everybody worked so well; we can be really proud of finishing first and second.”

Makowiecki was surprised by his former team’s disappointing showing, particularly given their dominant form last year, with Darren Turner and Stefan Mucke finishing a distant third. Only the pole-sitting Ferrari of Gianmaria Bruni/ Toni Vilander posed any real threat to the duelling Porsches, although a stop and go penalty for passing under yellows and a brief pit fire put pay to their chances, but Makowiecki is wary of writing off their hopes over the course of the championship.

“We had a big fight with the Ferrari at the beginning of the race and we were really close, but it’s strange to see Aston so far off as last year the car was really quick here,” he said. “But I don’t think it will stay that way, we’ll have to see what happens. It’s very close between the manufacturers, nobody really has an advantage over anyone else.”

Having not raced a Porsche since winning the French Carrera Cup in 2010, Makowiecki admits that a different driving style is required to get the best out of the Porsche, but has no regrets about his decision to switch camps.

“The car is different, but in the end it’s still one steering wheel, three pedals and an engine,” he said.  “I’m really happy because I’m in a great car; Porsche did a great job last year and we continued to work over the winter to improve so we could be perfect for the beginning of the season. I’m proud to be in the Porsche family and I will try to do the best job possible.”

This piece also appears in the latest edition of e-Racing Magazine. Click here to see more news and reviews from the Silverstone weekend.

Insight: JMW Motorsport

Painstakingly applying vinyls of new tyre supplier Michelin to the team truck, Tim Sugden is the essence of a hands-on team manager. Yorkshireman Sugden, himself a veteran of 8 starts at Le Mans, has been at the helm of JMW Motorsport since its foundation by Jim McWhirter in 2009 and with the team now in its sixth season of competition in the European Le Mans Series – which they won in the curtailed 2012 season – knows a thing or two about what it takes to win. But the changes aren’t limited merely to vinyls; 2014 marks something of a step into the unknown as JMW’s long-standing partnership with Dunlop comes to an end and Michelin take over on the tyre front. 

“It’s a bit of a double edged sword,” says Sugden. “We’ve had six years with Dunlop and we’ve been absolutely delighted with them; we had a brilliant working relationship with them which has brought us an awful lot of success over the years and it was a shame when that relationship ended.

JMW put the Ferrari 458 through the ropes at Ricard, with
Zampieri setting the third quickest time. (Credit: JMW Motorsport)

“But on the other hand, Michelin have been a fantastic competitor of ours for the last six years, so we know how good their products are.  I’ve driven on Michelins in the past and when we were looking for an alternative, Michelin are clearly the first person you want to speak to, because you always know they’re doing to be very good in all conditions.”

So what do the drivers make of it?

“The tyres work really well with the Ferrari and fortunately everyone’s in the same boat,” said former Blancpain racer Dan McKenzie, whose previous experience is with Pirellis. “I did a stint and a half with tyres that almost were finished after qualifying; they’d already done a heat cycle and had a few flat-spots, so they were taking a real battering, but I was really impressed with them.”

The JMW Ferrari showed good speed through winter testing and translated that pace to Silverstone, with former Italian F3 champion Daniel Zampieri qualifying on the front row of the grid and McKenzie leading in the early stages, although a jump-start penalty and an unfortunately timed safety car limited them to an eventual fifth at the flag. Such disappointments are part and parcel of racing, as Sugden is well aware. 

“We’re going to have some really tight races this year because every team has some very good drivers,” says Sugden. “We will always have a strong car I’m sure and we’re definitely in there with a shout, but every race is going to be hard. The races are becoming more and more about sprints; a lot is going to boil down to very small differences and individual performances, so it’s going to be tight. There will be days when you are competing for the win and others where you’ll be fifth.”

McKenzie ready to hop in for another stint. (Credit: JMW Motorsport)

Drivers then, can make all the difference and McKenzie is hopeful that a strong showing so early on will bode well for the rest of the season.

“It’s a massive learning curve for me, as this is only my fifth race in GT's full stop,” he said. “I’m always picking up little bits here and there and that should make me a driver that will progress in the championship, so hopefully I’ll be stronger as the year goes on. I’ve learned a huge amount today and even though we didn’t get the result, the fact that I’ve been in the car getting more and more laps, more familiarity with the car, the tyres, the whole package, is what will help you improve as a driver come the end of the day.”

After originally being on the reserve list, JMW were among the chief beneficiaries of the SRT’s withdrawal from Le Mans and will take one of the available slots in GTE-Am. For Sugden, this is what it all boils down to and he relishes the task of preparing for the marquee event of the year.

“We’ve been at Le Mans for the last five years so it would have been a great disappointment not to be there,” he said. “Le Mans is the jewel in the crown; it’s like Wimbledon, it would be a great shame not to do Wimbledon or the Open if you’re a golfer. It would have seemed like a big hole in the season if we weren’t there, but now thankfully we will be. 

"It’s a lot of work, but we love it; it’s an amazing thing to be a part of every year and we’re desperately keen to get on the podium as we’ve never got there before.”

As far as JMW are concerned, the future is an exciting one, and isn’t that always the best way? 

Sting in the Tail for Jota as TDS Take the Spoils at Silverstone

Traffic played a decisive role in proceedings as the European Le Mans Series got underway at Silverstone, with Thiriet by TDS Racing marking their switch to Morgan with a victory first time out.  After a late-race safety car set up a 20 minute sprint to the finish, Thiriet man Tristan Gommendy was able to use the slower GT cars to his advantage and pass erstwhile leader Michel Frey, going on to win by 4 seconds as the Race Performance driver defended from Morand Racing’s Gary Hirsch.

The sun shone on TDS Racing as Tristan Gommendy opened
their account for the season with a win. (Credit: ELMS Media)

“We did a pretty good job; it’s a new car for us, so we’ve worked really hard for this,” an elated Gommendy said. “On the restart we knew Frey had new tyres, so we pushed really hard, I couldn’t have done any more. I’m really happy, it’s a great team victory.”

Jota Sport looked to have the race in the bag entering the final hour, having qualified on pole courtesy of a stunning lap from Formula 3 convert Harry Tincknell and a strong first stint from Filipe Albuquerque, before the race was abruptly turned on its head.  Simon Dolan was forced wide by the GTE Ferrari of Michele Rugolo at Chapel corner, lost traction on the grass and spun head-on into the inside wall, collecting the blameless Labre Competition Morgan of Gustavo Yacaman along the way. Thankfully Dolan emerged unscathed, although it was nonetheless a bitter pill for the team to swallow, with victory seemingly imminent.   

“Unfortunately things like Simon's accident can happen in racing,” said Albuquerque. “Thankfully he's okay. He'd driven a fantastic stint – strong and consistent. He did a great job and will come back stronger.”

Jota were electric in qualifying with Tincknell at the wheel, but the young
Briton didn't get a chance to drive in the race. (Credit: ELMS Media)

The enthralling three-way battle for the win could well have been four, had it not been for an untimely left-front puncture for Murphy Prototypes at Copse, requiring Rodolfo Gonzalez to complete a full-lap with the flailing tyre ripping the bodywork to shreds. It was particularly galling for Greg Murphy’s men considering Gonzalez’s recovery drive to within touching distance of the lead battle, after it was adjudged the Venezuelan had jumped the start and had to serve a penalty. By the time Alex Kapadia, and later Karun Chandhok got behind the wheel, the latter setting the race’s fastest lap, the green machine was already six laps down and out of contention.

“Gonzo was a bit unlucky at the start; if the guy on the left slows down, you can’t do much about it,” Kapadia said. “Then he was even unluckier with the puncture at Copse, he had to do a whole lap which resulted in bodywork damage, and we lost around 6 laps as a result. After that there was nothing to lose, so I just gave it everything.”

This left the Greaves team to pick up the pieces and finish best of the rest in fourth, with 16 year-old youngster Matt McMurry impressing on his category debut and a stellar final stint from Tom Kimber-Smith to leapfrog ahead of Paul-Loup Chatin in the Signatech-Alpine; suffice to say, it was not the start to their title defence the French team had in mind, although the ten points scored could yet prove crucial in the long run.

GTE was another close affair decided only in the closing stages in favour of AF Corse trio Matt Griffin, Duncan Cameron and Michele Rugolo, this after a mistake from Andrea Bertolini, who had qualified the SMP Racing Ferrari on pole a full six tenths faster than his nearest rival.  Reigning ELMS champion Griffin, pulling double duty this weekend, had battled past SMP’s Viktor Shaitair in robust fashion at the Loop at the end of the third hour, only to surrender the lead again at the final driver change when an awkward pit entry forced the Irishman to overshoot his stall. However, when the field was released by the safety car, Bertolini tripped over the lapped car of Marco Cioci and the pendulum swung back the other way, allowing Rugolo to capitalise and inherit a lead he would never lose.

AF Corse trio Rugolo, Cameron and Griffin take to the
top step of the podium after a hard-fought win. (Own photo)

Raymond Narac, Nicolas Armindo and David Hallyday completed the podium in the Imsa Performance Matmut Porsche, spoiling what had threatened to be a Ferrari 1-2-3, with JMW Motorsport running strongly in the early stages before a jump-start penalty and an unfortunately-timed safety car dropped them to fifth.

“It’s not bad for the first race, but we all had very high expectations coming in – it’s a home race for all of us, so ultimately we wanted silverware,” said Dan McKenzie. “It was in our grasp, but today just wasn’t one of our days. The safety car put us out of position and let the cars through that we were battling with, and that was it. It’s not ideal but at the same time it’s really encouraging and we’re looking pretty good for the rest of the season.”

Meanwhile in GTC, Daytona 24 hero Alessandro Pier Guidi showed his class to deliver Team Ukraine, Sergii Chukanov and Andriy Kruglyk category honours with a late pass on Formula Racing’s Mikkel Mac. The SMP Racing Ferrari of Olivier Beretta, David Markozov and Anton Ladygin finished second, with Mac, Johnny Laursen and Corvette superstar Jan Magnussen rounding out the podium for the all-Danish Ferrari crew.  

Kapadia Looking To Build On Promising Silverstone Weekend

Alex Kapadia hopes his starring performance with Murphy Prototypes in the 4 hours of Silverstone will help him secure a seat for the second round of the European Le Mans Series at Imola. Brought into the fold on a one-off basis with Tor Graves suffering from shingles, silver-rated Kapadia was awarded the Radio Le Mans ‘Spirit of the Race’ Award for his relentless pace in the race’s middle stint, which culminated in the race’s third fastest lap just a few tenths shy of platinum-rated team-mate Karun Chandhok. Sadly however, this amounted to little, with the Murphy team already six laps down thanks to a jump-start penalty and a puncture which destroyed the left-front bodywork, contriving to ruin what had been a race which promised much.  Eighth place was scant reward for their efforts and left the 33 year-old to rue what might have been.

Kapadia set the third quickest lap of the race in
only his third race at this level. (Credit: ELMS Media)

“We would have won it, in my mind there’s no question,” Kapadia said afterwards. “Even with the penalty, Gonzo [Rodolfo Gonzalez] did a great recovery drive to get us back up to fourth and we were 17 seconds behind the Jota car when we got the puncture. Maybe other factors would have come in, but we were on for a win today. It didn’t happen, but if I get another shot and the other guys are the same then I’m sure we can be in a position to do it again. I’m over the moon about [the Spirit of the Race Award], I’d swap it for a win but that’s about it really!"

Still only in his third race at this level, after two outings for Boutsen Ginion in 2013, Kapadia feels there is still much more to come and is eager for more opportunities to shine.

“I’ve learned a lot from Karun this weekend, he’s extremely professional and very, very quick, so I’m chuffed to have got close to his times,” he said. “Really we had no option but to go for it; there was nothing to lose so I just gave it everything. I just made sure not to lose any time in traffic, went for every gap and pushed as hard as I could.  I still feel there might have been a little bit more there if it hadn’t been for the traffic, but I can get the whole list of excuses out if you want!”

“I don’t have a massive pot of gold, so I have to make my opportunities by pushing as hard as I can. Greg will tell you I’ve been pestering him all winter, as will a few other team owners. After Imola if there is a seat available, my ultimate ambition is to do Le Mans at some stage. One day I’ll get there, I’ve just got to keep trying to make it happen.”

Tincknell's Next Chapter

As the road to Formula One becomes increasingly less travelled, with many a young driver’s progress halted by the prohibitive costs involved and limited opportunities for advancement, the ever-expanding pool of manufacturer teams searching for the best talent available to tackle the World Endurance Championship – not to mention the world-famous Le Mans 24 Hours – has proved an attractive lure for some of the sport’s brightest and best, who are making the leap to sportscars in their droves in the quest to become fully paid-up professionals.  

Much has been made of Brendon Hartley’s leap from a hard-up GP2 part-timer to Porsche factory driver in just a few seasons, while the top three in the 2013 GP2 championship, Fabio Leimer, Sam Bird and James Calado, have all switched disciplines in an attempt to follow suit. But the trend doesn’t stop there; just ask Harry Tincknell. After a fruitful spell in Formula 3, capped with a sterling win on home soil at Silverstone last season, the Briton is taking the next step in his career with Jota Sport in the European Le Mans Series and fancies his chances with the first round of the championship back at the Northamptonshire circuit where he beat last year’s championship rivals, Ferrari protégé Raffaele Marciello and Swedish starlet Felix Rosenqvist, hands down from pole position.

“It was a good year, I won my home race at Silverstone, qualified on the front row for the Masters and had some good results,” says 22 year-old Tincknell, who was the best of the Carlin team in 2013, behind the Mercedes-powered Prema entries of Alex Lynn and Lucas Auer in fifth. “We were the top Volkswagen engine as well, so overall we did a good job.

Tincknell celebrates victory at Silverstone in FIA F3 in 2013. (Credit: Harry Tincknell)

“We already knew really at the start of last year that sportscars was probably where I was going to be at for this season. If you look at top level single-seaters at the moment, you’d have to say that the opportunities to be a paid professional driver are shrinking, whereas in sportscars it’s only increasing because of the number of manufacturers coming in the last few years; and there are more being talked about for the future. If you look at LMP1, there’s two Toyotas, two Porsches, two Audis, all with three drivers each which makes 18 spaces for paid, professional contracts with manufacturers, which is almost the whole F1 grid. And we all know that not the whole F1 grid gets paid...

“It was certainly a good move for me to come into sportscars at this time; I’ve got a really good opportunity this year with Jota and hopefully I can make a name for myself this year. If I do a good job it will bode well for the future.”

A key mover in Tincknell’s switch to sportscars, a man familiar to both the Formula One and sportscar paddocks, knows this truth only too well. Allan McNish’s three wins at Le Mans, three ALMS titles and finally, the coveted World championship achieved last year before retiring from competition aged 44, would suggest that he is about as qualified as anyone can be to advise a young driver making his next career steps. Accordingly, the Scot has been a huge asset to Tincknell in his mentor role.

“He’s proven to be an invaluable contact to speak to for advice on all aspects of motorsport,” Tincknell says. “His influence and his knowledge of the single-seater world is obviously very vast but in sportscars it’s absolutely invaluable, he really is the man that everyone will listen to and have a lot of respect for.  He’s been there, done it and got the T-shirt in sportscars, he knows what it takes to win Le Mans, and win championships. He can pass that advice down to me and I try to take as much of it on board as I can.”

Tincknell's foray into sportscars comes with British
outfit Jota Sport in the ELMS. (Credit: Harry Tincknell)

Tincknell will be the first to admit that there is much to learn for a newcomer to endurance racing – which requires a wholly different mindset as the skill of driving flat-out is combined with tyre and engine management to preserve the machinery for the next stint – but is optimistic that while there is much to get used to, with McNish’s experience to draw on, these vital tools in a sportscar racer’s armoury will soon be mastered.

“Certainly this year there’s going to be lots of new challenges in terms of dealing with traffic, fuel saving and all of the different complexities that the sport throws up, so hopefully I can have a head start on some of the other rookies because I’ve got his number in my phone," he says.  “Formula 3 is more of a twenty lap sprint, where once the car is on the grid, that’s it, there’s nothing more that can be done and it’s down to you and you only, where in the sportscars there’s a lot more strategy involved and a very complex car you need to look after; you’ve got traction control and power steering, with engine management and everything like that. 

“It’s certainly much more of a team game and a longer game than in the single-seaters, where there’s the 70/30 moves you have to go for because you might only get that chance to move forward once a race. In sportscars you know you’ve got a four hour race, you’re going to be doing a lot more overtaking and the guys on the pitwall are having to devise a strategy as you go along, pitstops have to work like clockwork and everything like that. Obviously you’ve still got to be fast over a single lap, consistent and not shunt the car or anything like that, but there’s lots of added stuff!”

Another important change Tincknell faces is the elevated importance of his team-mates; far from enemy number one, the impetus is placed heavily on cooperation in endurance racing, with data sharing paramount to the success of the team.  And with ever-improving silver Simon Dolan, fellow sportscar convert Filipe Albuquerque brought in from Audi’s DTM squad, combined with the proven Zytek-Nissan package, the Jota team is sure to feature at the sharp end in 2014.

Tincknell is joined by Simon Dolan and Audi's Filipe
Albuquerque for his ELMS assault. (Credit: Harry Tincknell)

“In single-seaters the number one aim obviously has to be to beat your team-mate because they’re the only ones with exactly the same car and the same engine as you, so you might keep a little bit back for yourself, but in sportscars you’ve got to work with your team-mates as much as possible because it’s very much in your interests for them to be as quick as you or faster. We don’t know exactly what the lineups are going to be but you’ve got to say we’ll be one of the stronger ones,” Tincknell predicts.  

“Simon is a very quick silver driver, as quick as some of the golds on occasion and Filipe is going to be one of the top platinums out there, he’s going to bring a wealth of knowledge and he’ll be a great benchmark to see how we’re doing. With the addition of a third driver and an extra hour onto the race it certainly throws up more opportunities to be clever with the strategy and the engineers are going to have a bit more on their plate than last year because essentially you had two races, the professional driver in one half and the amateur in the other, where now you can mix it up a bit more. It’s going to be interesting come Silverstone to see what everyone does, but we’re comparing well already and it’s good that we’ve got our line-up sorted early; we know what we’re doing and we can start preparing.”

Tincknell will also have the big daddy of sportscar racing, Le Mans, to look ahead to, with Sam Hignett’s team securing one of the 56 prized entry slots to the great race for the fourth year in succession.  Preparations are already underway, with Audi-contracted Marc Gene – a winner of the 24-hours in 2009 – set to join the team and for Tincknell, who has never before experienced La Sarthe, the dreams are beginning to take shape.

“As I understand it’s an incredible atmosphere, it’s going to be amazing,” he says excitedly. “It will be my first time doing a race of that length, so it’s certainly going to be a new experience for me. I’ll just have to use the test day a couple of weeks before to gain as much knowledge as I can. We’ll be on the simulator and stuff like that to prepare as well as we can, although you’re never going to be totally ready for it the first time.  I’ll do the best I can and obviously spend a lot of time with Allan beforehand; he’s has been there a couple of times and done quite well, so I’ve heard…”

FR 3.5: Dominant Sainz Blitzes Race Two At Monza

After an electrical problem that prevented him from getting off the line in race one, Carlos Sainz Jr. made good on his second pole position of the weekend in race two with a dominant victory, his first in Formula Renault 3.5.  The result was never in doubt after the first corner, with fellow-front row starter Marlon Stockinger suffering from wheel-spin that forced him to go defensive from a fast-starting Sergey Sirotkin, the Russian up from sixth on the grid. The top three remained unchanged thereafter, with Sainz extending his lead lap-on-lap to an eventual 10.8 seconds, drawing the Spaniard level with race one winner Will Stevens in the title standings in the process.

Carlos Sainz Jr. dominated from the outset. (Credit: Carlos Sainz Jr.)

It was a good race too for the rookies, as Draco Racing’s Luca Ghiotti led home Eurocup champion and now joint championship leader Pierre Gasly in fifth, ahead of a combative Nikolay Martsenko, the Comtec man stealing sixth from Jazeman Jaafar on the final lap with a brave pass into the second chicance after spending much of the race attempting to overtake Pietro Fantin.

Fantin just held on to eighth after a committed lunge from Roberto Merhi failed to pay off, the Spaniard failing to match his race one podium on his return to single-seaters following two trying seasons in the DTM, while Oliver Rowland picked up tenth with a strong drive from the pitlane after stalling on the dummy grid, capped with an audacious move around the outside of Zoel Amberg at Ascari.

As for Stevens, the Caterham youngster suffered a nightmare race. Starting a lowly 14^th after a difficult qualifying, Stevens was embroiled in a battle royale with fellow Brit Will Buller on the run down to the Rettifilio chicane, when the two cars came into wheel-to-wheel contact, tipping the Strakka man into the gravel and damaging the front-wing endplate on Buller’s Arden machine. Even around Monza, which is famed for its long straights and low requirements on downforce, Buller was a sitting duck thereafter and eventually pulled into retirement having plummeted out of the reach of the points.

Elsewhere, Tech1 Racing’s efforts to get Marco Sorensen onto the grid following his frightening race one flip came to naught as the Dane was forced into an early retirement. 

2014 WEC Season Preview

Much has changed since Audi trio Allan McNish, Tom Kristensen and Loic Duval hoisted the Tourist Trophy aloft on the World Endurance Championship’s last visit to Silverstone on April 14^th. McNish, for one, has stepped aside, his shock retirement from motorsport after winning the world title he had so long craved creating a vacancy for Lucas di Grassi, who enters his first full-season of sportscar racing with the number one on his door. No pressure then.

For another, the long-awaited return of Porsche to top level motorsport has finally arrived. 9-times Grand Prix winner Mark Webber heads the billing in the new 919 Hybrid, with Neel Jani and Brendon Hartley brought into the fold from Rebellion and Murphy Prototypes respectively, while Marc Leib, Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas are all promoted from the GT ranks.  

Not wanting to miss out on the fun, Toyota have shuffled their pack too, with Nicolas Lapierre moving across to partner Sebastien Buemi and Anthony Davidson and Stephane Sarrazin taking his place alongside Alexander Wurz and Kazuki Nakajima in the new TS040 Hybrid.

Porsche will look to take centre stage in this year's WEC, but will
have to fight off the attentions of Audi and Toyota. (Credit: WEC Media)

With all three LMP1 manufacturers running new hybrid systems and testing proving inconclusive due to different aerodynamic setups and undisclosed fuel flow levels – for the record, Hartley was quickest at The Prologue for Porsche – there are numerous unknowns heading to Silverstone, although ferocious level of competitiveness is sure to remain as high as ever.

Overlooked somewhat amid all the clamour over Porsche’s return and McNish’s retirement is that which remains the same. Though they were beaten to the title, the Marcel Fassler, Benoit Treluyer and Andre Lotterer trio were arguably the quickest Audi crew over the course of last season, as three poles attest, and were only denied victory at Le Mans through poor reliability, which also resulted in a forty point swing in the championship in their team-mates’ favour with double points awarded for victory.  The inaugural WEC champions are not about to let that disappointment stop them though, and that continuity could prove crucial if the new e-tron Quattro holds down its end of the bargain.

Another change for 2014 sees the top class divided into hybrid and non-hybrid categories, LMP1 – H and LMP1 – L.  This latter class will be contested by Rebellion Racing, back in the familiar red and white of the Swiss national flag, persisting with their venerable Lola Toyotas for the time being until development on the new R-One is completed. Nick Heidfeld, Nicolas Prost and Mathias Beche return, with GP2 champion Fabio Leimer signed to a second entry alongside Andrea Belicchi and Dominik Kraihamer, who switches from Lotus.  Colin Kolles’ team are on the provisional entry list for Silverstone with their new T129, an upgraded version of the T128 which was debuted in LMP2 in 2013, although the machine slated to be driven by Christijan Albers, James Rossiter and Thomas Holzer has yet to break cover with less than two weeks until the season gets underway.

Rebellion will continue with their old Lola in LMP1-L. (Credit: WEC Media)

With the 2013 champions Martin Plowman, Bertrand Baguette and Ricardo Gonzalez going their separate ways, the LMP2 title is once again up for grabs and new Toyota reserve driver Mike Conway will look to continue his terrific run of form with the newly renamed Millennium Racing squad. The Briton, who will again race road and street courses in IndyCar alongside his sportscar commitments, is be joined by Japanese Shinji Nakano and Stefan Johansson, the Swede returning to the cockpit for his first full-season of racing since 2007, while ELMS stand-out Oliver Turvey moves across from Jota Sport to head up the second entry alongside Fabien Giroix and Aussie John Martin. G-Drive Racing – a moniker which confusingly last year adorned the Delta Motorsport team – has now entered into partnership with the Oak-Morgan team, which sees Roman Rusinov join Olivier Pla and Julien Canal.

Following their premature withdrawal from the 2013 season after Le Mans, Strakka Racing are back with their brand new Dome coupe. Teething troubles are expected early on, but Jonny Kane, Danny Watts and Nick Leventis will surely benefit in the long run having switched from the LMP1 HPD. Elsewhere, the Chinese KCMG team are gearing up for their first full-season of WEC competition, with Brits Matt Howson and Richard Bradley set to be joined by double Super Formula (nee Nippon) champion Tsugio Matsuda at Silverstone, while SMP will enter two cars, headed by the irrepressible Frenchman Nicolas Minassian.

In GTE, Gianmaria Bruni and AF Corse will face stiff competition if they are to defend their titles, and have moved to strengthen their two-car lineup over the off-season.  With Giancarlo Fisichella transferring to the United SportsCar programme and Kamui Kobayashi opting to return to Formula One with tailenders Caterham, Ferrari switched Toni Vilander to partner Bruni, promoted Davide Rigon following an impressive spell with AF customers 8-Star and after much deliberation, signed British prospect James Calado, who tested extensively for Force India last season and finished third in GP2.  Fellow Ferrari team and last year’s runaway ELMS champions RAM Racing have made the step up to the world stage, and in Alvaro Parente and Matt Griffin have two of the best GT drivers around, although it remains to be seen how a privateer will fare taking on the manufacturers.

Davide Rigon and James Calado won't be difficult to spot in their
brightly-coloured AF Corse Ferrari. (Credit: WEC Media)

Buoyed by its perfect record in 24 hour races following victories at Le Mans 24 Hours and Daytona, 2014 is time for the Porsche 911 RSR to start delivering across a season. Given the remarkable success the new-for-2013 model has already achieved, it wouldn’t be too much of a surprise to see the Mathey-run cars, which topped the times at Paul Ricard with Richard Leitz, near the front again come Silverstone. In Patrick Pilet, Jorg Bergmeister and Nick Tandy, and Marco Holzer, Leitz and prized new signing Fred Makowiecki, Porsche can lay claim to being Ferrari’s closest threat.

That’s not to say Darren Turner would agree. The Brit will again spearhead Aston Martin’s assault with Stefan Mucke in no. 97, and after winning the season opener in 2013, would be a good bet to do so again. Joining AMR in the Pro ranks are Bamboo Engineering, which has made the switch from the World Touring Car Championship with drivers Alex MacDowell, Darryl O’Young and Fernando Rees to run a second V8 Vantage GTE.

GTE-Am also throws up some spicy combinations, with the Danish Aston Martin crew in no. 95 again likely candidates. New signing David Heinemeier-Hansson is about as quick as silver-rated drivers come and will be an enormous asset to Nicki Thiim and Kristian Poulsen, while Christoffer Nygaard, Pedro Lamy and Paul Dalla Lana will also threaten in another Aston.

Ferrari also have some excellent candidates for Am honours, with Enzo Potolicchio’s 8-Star Motorsport operation, narrowly beaten to the 2013 title, gunning for revenge with Paolo Ruberti and Gianluca Roda on board, while the experienced Johnny Mowlem will head RAM Racing’s assault alongside Ben Collins, better known in some circles as Top Gear’s ‘The Stig’ and Mark Patterson. Like GP2 rival Calado, Sam Bird will also be making his GT debut at AF Corse, alongside Michele Rugolo and Stephen Wyatt, while Luiz-Perez Companc and Marco Cioci are joined by Mirko Venturi in a second car.

The excitement is brewing.

[This article originally appeared in e-Racing magazine.] 

Hamilton Wins Battle Of Wills In Bahrain Thriller

Who says Formula One is boring? Bahrain’s tenth anniversary race produced a thriller under the lights, as Lewis Hamilton recorded back-to-back wins and Sergio Perez scored Force India’s first podium since Giancarlo Fisichella at the Belgian Grand Prix in 2009.  Hamilton may have dominated from lights to flag in Malaysia but he certainly had to work for this one; repelling attack after attack from an inspired Nico Rosberg, using all the road and just a little more to take the flag by just one second in a grandstand finish set up by a late-race safety car. 

Rosberg and Hamilton go wheel-to-wheel, but it was the Brit who
came out on top after a hard-fought duel. (Credit: Getty Images)

Although Rosberg was able to score his first pole of the season, the third in a row for Mercedes, it was Hamilton who got the better start, setting a precedent for the rest of the race by robustly forcing his team-mate wide into turn four. Behind, Felipe Massa made a perfect getaway from seventh on the grid to head Sergio Perez and a wheel-spinning Valterri Bottas in the best of the rest scrap, while Kimi Raikkonen found himself boxed out by Fernando Alonso and Jean-Eric Vergne sustained a puncture.

With the Mercedes duo again the class of the field, opening up a comfortable 30 second lead over the battle for third, there were concerns that team orders would become a factor, but these were soon allayed on lap 18, when a DRS-assisted Rosberg lunged down the inside into turn one, only for Hamilton to seize the place back again on exit. Undeterred, Rosberg tried again one lap later with more success, albeit only for a couple of corners as Hamilton forced Rosberg to run deep into turn four and muscled past on the run to the esses. Pitting at the end of the lap for another set of the softer option tyres, Rosberg was forced to run longer, allowing Hamilton to gain a decisive undercut that consolidated his advantage. And with Rosberg opting for a long middle stint on the harder prime tyres, Hamilton was able to stretch the gap out to almost ten seconds when Pastor Maldonado contrived to change the course of the race.

The Lotus had not been a factor all day and was running well outside of the points, when exiting the pits Maldonado simply drove into the side of Esteban Gutierrez’s Sauber, tipping the Mexican into a frightening barrel roll from which he fortunately emerged unscathed. The resultant safety car allowed Rosberg to switch to the option tyres and presented him with a golden opportunity to attack Hamilton, his lead nullified and now forced to run the primes in a 10-lap sprint to the finish. But credit where credit’s due – Hamilton tenaciously stood his ground and against the odds managed to hold a deeply disappointed Rosberg at bay, despite the latter’s tyre advantage and the benefits of DRS, to close to within 11 points of the championship lead.

Scary moment for Gutierrez after being upended by Maldonado,
but the Mexican would walk away. (Credit: Getty Images)

24 seconds back, Perez was a jubilant third for Force India after a tough 2013 season with McLaren which didn’t yield the expected results. The Mexican, whose last podium visit came at Monza in 2012, was crucially able to defend his position from team-mate Nico Hulkenberg at the restart, and as the German faded in the closing laps on worn tyres, was able to build a big enough cushion that even when Daniel Ricciardo's Red Bull worked its way past into fourth, there were not enough laps to catch him. Ricciardo was nonetheless delighted to score his first Red Bull points, following his disqualification from Melbourne and pitstop maladies in Malaysia, which copped him a 10 place grid penalty which forced him to start a lowly 13^th.  Fourth place also meant the Aussie finished ahead of his illustrious team-mate Sebastien Vettel; the four-time champion missed Q3 for the second time in three races and complained of a lack of straight-line speed en-route to sixth, just behind Hulkenberg, who is a remarkable third in the championship having scored points in all three races so far.

In seventh and eighth, Williams twins finished line astern for the second week in succession as Massa again held off Bottas, the safety car intervention ruining any hopes that their three-stop strategies would leapfrog the Force Indias, while rounding out the points in ninth and tenth was certainly not where Ferrari had hoped they would be before the season; much improvements will be needed for Alonso and Raikkonen to mount any sort of challenge on the dominant Mercedes come the start of the European season.  

Elsewhere, Jenson Button's 250^th Grand Prix start ended in disappointment, the McLaren joining team-mate Kevin Magnussen in retirement two laps from home, having run as high as fifth early on.  Daniil Kvyat just missed out on points for the first time in his short F1 career in 11th, while both Lotuses made the finish for the first time this season and Max Chilton's 13th place moves Marussia back ahead of Caterham in the constructors battle. 

2014 ELMS Season Preview

After a three-way title showdown brought the curtain down on an enthralling 2013 season, the European Le Mans Series is back for more in 2014, as a bumper 41-car grid prepares to converge on Silverstone for the season-opener. With races elongated to four hours allowing for three-driver combinations, several new teams have been attracted to the five round series, which also takes in Imola, Spielberg, Paul Ricard and Estoril along the way, in the hope of winning an automatic entry to the 2015 Le Mans 24 Hours.  

The ELMS is set for another exciting season, with a record
grids planned for Silverstone. (Credit: ELMS Media)

Signatech-Alpine and Nelson Panciatici will kick off their title defence at Silverstone with LMPC champion Paul Loup Chatin and new signing Oli Webb, who got his first experience of LMP2 with Oak Racing in the Rolex 24 at Daytona after a promising single-seater career.  Philippe Sinault’s team will again be right at the sharp end, but fellow French outfit and former champions Thiriet by TDS Racing will be looking to stop them. The 2012 winners took the title to the wire last season, and have switched from Oreca to Morgan over the off-season in the hope that their change of chassis will put Pierre Thiriet, Ludovic Badey and the ultra-quick Tristan Gommendy in contention for honours once again.

After splashing their way to victory in a rain-shortened race at Silverstone last year, Jota Sport’s Zytek will again be in the thick of the action, with Audi ace Filipe Albuquerque anchoring the lineup as he acclimatises to prototype racing before doing Le Mans in a fully fledged R18 e-tron Quattro. Alongside the Portuguese is the ever-improving Simon Dolan and Formula 3 convert Harry Tincknell, who hopes to draw on the experience of his mentor and manager, Allan McNish, as he begins his sportscar foray.  

"His influence and his knowledge of the single-seater world is obviously very vast but in sportscars it’s absolutely invaluable, he really is the man that everyone will listen to and have a lot of respect for," Tincknell says. "He’s been there, done it and got the T-shirt in sportscars, so he knows what it takes to win Le Mans and win championships. He can pass that advice down to me and I'll try to take as much of it on board as I can. Certainly this year there’s going to be lots of new challenges in terms of dealing with traffic, fuel saving and all of the different complexities that the sport throws up, so hopefully I can have a head start on some of the other rookies." 

Elsewhere, former ALMS champion Chris Dyson and British pro Tom Kimber-Smith are expected to be joined by 16 year-old Matt McMurry in a strong Greaves Motorsport lineup, while NewBlood by Morand Racing have tied down ex-Formula One racer Christian Klien for the full season in their Morgan Judd, alongside young Swiss Gary Hirsch and experienced GT racer Romain Brandela.

Murphy Prototypes hope to confirm Berthon this week
after his impressive performance in testing. (Credit: ELMS Media)

Murphy Prototypes could just be the dark horses coming into the season, having topped the times in testing at Paul Ricard with Frenchman Nathaniel Berthon. Team-boss Greg Murphy was full of praise for the 24-year old, who was expected to sign alongside Rodolfo Gonzalez and Tor Graves as e-Racing went to press.

  

“He’s a great driver, he’s got that speed over one lap that we’ve seen before from Brendon [Hartley] so he’s very exciting,” said Murphy of Berthon.  “After our performance at the test and our win at Paul Ricard last time out, we have as good a chance as anyone. It’s our home race, only down the road from where the workshop is and I think the Oreca will be good around there. If we can just put a few of the final pieces together I think we’ll be alright.”

Also don’t discount Sebastien Loeb Racing, which rejoins the series after a year away with former Aston Martin racer Jan Charouz leading the line.  Frenchman Vincent Capillaire is confirmed as the team's silver, while Audi-contacted Rene Rast has been confirmed in the car for Le Mans only, but was present at the Paul Ricard test and was in the frame for an ELMS programme as e-Racing went to press.

The GT ranks have swelled considerably this year, with nineteen Ferrari F458 Italias – including a mammoth 6 entries from AF Corse – entered across the GTE and GTC categories for Silverstone.  Reigning GTE champion Matt Griffin is back to defend his crown with Duncan Cameron and Michele Rugolo at AF Corse, with Michael Lyons, Marco Cioci and Piergiuseppe Perazzini in a second entry, but will have to contend with the blisteringly quick Italian Andrea Bertolini, who leads the charge for SMP Racing.  Other prominent Ferrari entries include the British JMW Motorsport team, which have signed Daniel Zampieri to partner Dan McKenzie and George Richardson, while 1998 World Cup winning goalkeeper Fabien Barthez will campaign another 458 for Team Sofrev ASP, alongside experienced the Soheil Ayari and Anthony Pons. 

SMP Racing will enter four Ferrari 458 Italias, including
this one for Andrea Bertolini (Credit: ELMS Media)

GTE-Am Le Mans winners Imsa Performance Matmut, Crucible Sport and Prospeed Performance will head the Porsche challenge, and look out for the Gulf Racing UK squad, which has hedged its bets between running an Aston Martin V8 Vantage for Stuart Hall, Dan Brown and Roald Goethe, and a Porsche 911 GT3 RSR for former A1GP champion Adam Carroll and Michael Wainwright.

The GTC entry has been boosted by the addition ART Grand Prix, Fred Vasseur's highly successful GP2 outfit which ran Formula One stars Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Hulkenberg to the 2005, 2006 and 2008 crowns respectively. The two McLaren MP4-12C GT3s prepared for Britain’s Alex Brundle, Karim Ajlani and WEC LMP2 champion Ricardo Gonzalez in one car and Estonian GP3 convert Kevin Korjus, Yann Goudy and Gregoire Demoustier, who took two podiums in the Hexis McLarens in a competitive 2012 FIA GT Series, in the other, will certainly be ones to watch among the sea of Ferraris, which include star names Mika Salo and Jan Magnussen at SMP Racing and Formula Racing respectively. 

Elsewhere, Sebastien Loeb Racing have entered an Audi R8 LMS for Henri Hassad and Mike Parisy and Barwell Motorsport join the series in a BMW Z4 for Jonny Cocker, Leo Machitski and Timur Sardarov.  Let the games begin…