Crossing the darien gap by car

The Italian outfit endured a frustrating 2020 campaign, with its SF1000 hampered by both a down-on-power engine and too draggy aerodynamics. It left drivers Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel down on top speed for the straights, which hampered hopes against rival teams. The team has worked hard over the winter at its Maranello base to address the deficits, and it has confidence that it will not suffer the same weakness this time around. Speaking at a Ferrari 2021 launch event on Friday, team principal Mattia Binotto expressed his confidence that the squad was in better shape both with its engine and its aerodynamic efficiency. "I think that last year the main issue was the speed on the straight lines, not only the power but both power and drag," he explained. "We've worked a lot, both on the power unit, and the car aerodynamics, to reduce the drag of the car. "And based on our simulations today, based on what we can see in terms of power output from the … [Read more...] about Ferrari confident straightline speed weakness is fixed

Mostert proved his Practice 1 pace was no fluke mid-way through the second session when he cleared the field by more than half a second with a 2m05.103s. It wasn't until the final few minutes, when the new tyres came out for qualifying sims, that Mostert's time came under threat. It was his former teammate Waters that lowered the benchmark, the Tickford ace banking the first four of the weekend with a 2m04.781s. Mostert had the answer, though, responding on a final green tyre run with a 2m04.792s to grab top spot by 0.01s. There was a handsome gap to the rest of the field, Scott Pye and Tim Slade both six-tenths behind Mostert. The pair traded blows in latter part of the session, Pye ultimately getting the better of Slade by 0.02s. There was a pair of Boost-backed entries next in line, James Courtney leading Brodie Kostecki, with Bryce Fullwood seventh fastest. Shane van Gisbergen finished eighth without getting the best of his new tyre run. The Kiwi had set … [Read more...] about Bathurst Supercars: Mostert completes practice sweep

The Ford squad's new recruit made the most of a frantic end to the 20-minute session, charging to the top of the times with a 2m04.425s on his final run. That was good enough to put him 0.1s clear of session-long pacesetter Shane van Gisbergen to ensure he'll run last in the Top 10 Shootout. "It's only the fifth new tyre run I've done in this thing," said the ex-Erebus man. "I'm learning, learning, learning. We were struggling a bit yesterday but we put in a big effort over night. The car was a bit more to my liking. We chipped away at it as the session went on, went aggressive with it, and here we are." Cam Waters fell 0.04s short of van Gisbergen to finish the session third fastest ahead of practice pacesetter Chaz Mostert . There were some slightly unexpected Shootout contenders next in line, Tim Slade driving for the brand new Blanchard Racing Team and rookie Brodie Kostecki in the Erebus entry fifth and sixth fastest respectively. Booking a spot in … [Read more...] about Bathurst Supercars: De Pasquale takes provisional pole

Although it is one of Europe’s oldest rallies – with a roll of honour dating back to 1966 and featuring names such as Hannu Mikkola, Ari Vatanen, Henri Toivonen and Tommi Makinen – the Arctic Rally is making its debut on the WRC schedule. Lapland made a late substitution in place of the traditional Rally Sweden, which was originally scheduled for this weekend. The Swedish event was abandoned due to concern over the ongoing effects of the Coronavirus pandemic. One significant benefit from moving inside the Arctic Circle has been the guarantee of snow, after recent snow-free editions of the Swedish event. Even so, the temperatures for much of the day hovered just above freezing point and tyre management in such conditions became of paramount importance. The opening day consisted of two passes through one the longest stages of the event, the 31.05km Sarriojarvi test. The first pass was made in crystalline afternoon sunshine and the second in full darkness with spotlamp … [Read more...] about Arctic WRC: Tanak leads after Day 1 for Hyundai

The Tickford ace ran third-last in the Top 10 Shootout, edging Tim Slade with a 2m05.598s. He then profited from a scruffy lap from Shane van Gisbergen and a mistake from provisional pole-sitter Anton De Pasquale at Skyline to end up on pole. It's Waters' second consecutive pole at Mount Panorama, after he topped the Shootout for the Bathurst 1000 last October. "I'm absolutely pumped," he said. "It's an awesome way to start the year. "The car rolled out really good in practice and we've just been fine tuning it to get it a bit nicer. [The track] was pretty sketchy then, nice and slippery. I'm pumped to be starting off pole here again." Slade was the feel-good story of the session, a front-row start a remarkable result for the brand new single-car Blanchard Racing Team. It also comes after Slade spent the 2020 season on the sidelines after parting ways with Brad Jones Racing after a tough 2019. "It's been an awesome weekend up to this point," said Slade. … [Read more...] about Bathurst Supercars: Waters takes Race 1 pole