INDIANAPOLIS — Mario Moraes will return to KV Racing Technology for the full IZOD IndyCar Series season in 2010.

Moraes will drive the No. 32 Banco Panamericano entry this weekend during the Sao Paulo Indy 300 on the streets of Sao Paulo, Brazil. He will be a teammate to E.J. Viso and rookie Takuma Sato.

“We are very pleased to have Mario back in the seat with KVRT,” said Mark Johnson, KV Racing Technology general manager. “Mario showed last season he can be very competitive and is in the process of becoming one of the top talents in the series. He has grown and matured on and off the race track over the last year due in part to the support of his family and the many positive influences in his life. Mario finished the 2009 season with very strong results and I would expect more of the same starting this weekend in Sao Paulo.”

Moraes joined KVRT last year and enjoyed his best season to date, scoring six top 10s and one podium finish, at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill., last August when he finished third to Scott Dixon and race winner Ryan Briscoe.

“I want to thank Kevin Kalkhoven, Jimmy Vasser and my sponsor Banco Panamericano for helping me and giving me this opportunity,” Moraes said. “Being in the car to start the season is very important for me especially since the first race is in my hometown. KVRT is one of the best teams in the IZOD IndyCar Series and I am looking forward to working with everyone on the team again. Hopefully we can continue the success we enjoyed at the end of last season.”

Four times world champion Alain Prost will be the drivers’ representative on the stewards’ panel at the Bahrain Grand Prix this weekend.

A former Formula 1 driver will join the stewards at every race this year as part of the FIA’s efforts to ensure transparency and complete fairness in all decisions.

Prost contested 199 grands prix between 1980 and 1993, winning championships with McLaren in 1985, 1986 and 1989, and Williams in 1993.

He subsequently returned to the sport to run his own Prost Grand Prix team after taking over Ligier in 1997, although the squad folded due to a lack of sponsorship before the start of the 2002 season.

The 55-year-old Frenchman has since raced in the Andros Trophy ice racing series, where he is now a double champion.

Thunder Valley played host to the NASCAR iRacing Class A Series.

Just 19 points behind Roberts, with 873 marks, Brandon Buchberger continues to maintain his third position in the championship, although the Illinois based online racer is seeing his lead over fourth diminish as the weeks roll by. Buchberger’s initial foray on the dizzying Bristol oval had secured the A Licensed driver a victory, for a relatively small 124 points, but a fourth place finish in a higher strength of field race later in the week, awarded him 174 marks. Hot on the heels of Buchberger, having secured the highest tally for the week, Jesse Atchison is now tantalizingly close to the Illinois club member, with a mere six points between them. Taking advantage of a high strength of field early in the week, Atchison claimed a pole-to-flag victory to earn the Atlantic Club member 212 points.

Having his worst points performance of his season so far, Sandeep Banerjee found himself losing ground on the main championship protagonists as the fifth week of racing in the NiCAS drew to a close. Whilst the NASCAR iRacing.com World Championship Series driver had secured his eventual 123 points from a victory, he missed out on scoring well at Bristol, when technical gremlins blighted Banerjee in the closing 12 laps of a race with a much tougher field. Unfortunately for Banerjee, the 149 points that Dustin McGrew received for a second place finish in his solitary event, were enough to reduce the gap between the pair to just 19.

A new name appearing in inRacingNews‘ NiCAS reports this week, is Nelson Rivera. The New Yorker has progressively eaked his way up to seventh in the standings table, and following his highest points haul of the season so far, Rivera is now surveying Pennsylvania Club’s McGrew who is 13 marks ahead.

Despite failing to make an appearance at the Bristol Motor Speedway in Week Five, Kyle Hadcock continues to occupy a top ten spot.  Hadcock has so far impressed in the NiCAS, but the New York-based driver has openly admitted in the past that his entry in the series would be limited to cameo appearances to help prepare him for the pinnacle online oval racing championship, the NiWCS. Whilst Hadcock’s absence was a great opportunity for Steve Sheehan to occupy eighth in the championship, the fellow New Yorker failed to grab his chance, after scoring just 97 points. Sheehan had a terrible start to the week, with his opening two races scoring the Pro Licensed racer an average of only of 29 marks. Although he was able to take 164 points with a subsequent victory, the damage of two bad finishes had already been inflicted.

Week Six of the NASCAR iRacing Class A Series heads to the arid desert of Phoenix International Raceway, a favorite amongst many of the championship drivers. Will Schoenburg be able to extend his lead even further, or do the likes of Roberts, Atchison and Buchberger have a reply to the Virginian…

Mario Moraes has secured a late deal to rejoin KV Racing Technology for the 2010 IndyCar Series.

The 21-year-old Brazilian impressed for the team last season, his second year in the championship, with ever more competitive performances including a front row start at Motegi and a maiden podium at Chicagoland.

His re-signing had been delayed while he secured a funding package for this year, but he has now been confirmed alongside EJ Viso and Takuma Sato in KV’s expanded line-up for the full season.

“I am looking forward to working with everyone on the team again,” said Moraes. “Hopefully we can continue the success we enjoyed at the end of last season.”

KV general manager Mark Johnson is convinced Moraes is set for a big future in IndyCar.

“We are very pleased to have Mario back in the seat with KVRT,” said Johnson. “Mario showed last season he can be very competitive and is in the process of becoming one of the top talents in the series.

“He has grown and matured on and off the race track over the last year due in part to the support of his family and the many positive influences in his life. Mario finished the 2009 season with very strong results and I would expect more of the same starting this weekend in Sao Paulo.”

Former Honda Formula 1 test driver James Rossiter had also hoped to be with KV this weekend after testing for the team at Barber Motorsports Park last month, but he was unable to complete a deal in time. He is still optimistic that he can join the team for the second round in St Petersburg at the end of March.

Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner has played down the possibility of his team deciding to officially protest the McLaren over its ingenious aerodynamic devices.

Horner expressed his unhappiness about the slot that McLaren has in its rear wing ahead of the first race of the season - although that area forms only one part of a package of solutions McLaren is using.

As well as a very aggressive double diffuser, McLaren is also believed to be using an innovative concept of flowing air through a vent into the cockpit - where the driver can influence it to help stall the rear wing on the straight.

Although it is not clear how exactly the drivers are doing this, it is believed that they use their legs to help cover a hole in the cockpit tunnel - which changes the air pressure inside as it flows through the car and out the rear - before influencing the rear wing.

If the wing stalls on the straight, it produces less drag - therefore providing the drivers with a straight-line speed advantage.

This vent solution gets around the banning of moveable aerodynamic devices because no part of the car moves – and the driver is not classified as bodywork.

Although the option of a protest about the design remains open for Red Bull Racing and other teams, Horner thinks his outfit will simply opt to now develop such a design concept itself.

“It is similar to the double diffuser issue [of last year], in that teams will pursue different variants of that wing between now and the end of the season,” he explained. “I think that it’s unlikely that we would protest it, so we would look at developing our own version.”

The ability of rival teams to copy the design is somewhat limited, however, because F1’s rules demand that the chassis tub itself is homologated for the season – so changes cannot be made for pure performance gains.

“You cannot change a homologated chassis so you would have to go about it in a different manner,” continued Horner. “But as it’s deemed legal… engineers are creative people. I’m sure they will find another way of doing it.”

Horner believed that the FIA’s green light of the McLaren concept had potentially opened up a can of worms in forcing teams to now develop increasingly intricate designs.

“I don’t think it’s quite as big as the ‘double-diffuser’ but for sure I think you will see probably quite a lot of focus come in to those types of wings,” he said.

McLaren boss Martin Whitmarsh expects his team’s rivals to stop their complaints and instead start copying the radical ‘venting’ system that features on his car after it passed an FIA inspection and scrutineering for the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.

After intense intrigue in the Bahrain paddock ahead of the first race of the season about the unique concepts that McLaren has fitted to its car, Whitmarsh all but confirmed for the first time that his outfit was utilising an ingenious air duct through the cockpit.

Although the exact workings of the system are not known, and Whitmarsh cheekily suggested the car’s airflow system was for ‘cooling the driver’, a clearer picture of what McLaren has done emerged over the course of the day as teams took a direct interest in the system.

It is suggested that air flows into the cockpit via a chimney, believed to be known inside the team as the ‘F-vent’, on the nose. The air is the channeled through the car and out of the rear end.

The air tunnel is believed, however, to have a hole in it that the drivers are able to block on the straights - using either their knees or elbows. When this hole is covered, the air pressure inside the vent is changed - and this helps stall the rear wing.

This design, allied to small slots in the rear-wing’s upper plane that were the original focus of complaints from other teams, helps stall the wing at high speed - reducing drag and helping produce up to six miles per hour of extra straight-line speed.

Although some outfits privately believe that using the driver to influence the aerodynamics of the car in such a way is illegal, the FIA has given the McLaren the all-clear.

Whitmarsh said he doubted any rivals would consider protesting his team – and felt they would now simply embark on trying to copy what his team had done instead.

“People will look at what we have got on our car and I would imagine that most teams are now looking for how they would implement such a system,” he told AUTOSPORT.

“I think there was a ‘what is it?’ question initially, then there was ‘it can’t be legal’. Now people are starting to understand it, there is ‘how quickly can we implement it?’ Most people are saying that it is something quite ingenious. This was a very creative and ingenious individual in our company who came up with the idea and we’ve developed it.”

When asked if he had fears of a protest, Whitmarsh said: “From what I understand, there are no grounds for a protest.

“I don’t think everyone yet understands the nature of the systems that are on our car. So if they put a protest in, it would potentially be on a wrong set of assumptions as to what we’ve got. So we will see.”

McLaren’s chances of holding onto the advantage it has got from the vent concept is boosted by the fact that teams this year have to homologate their chassis tubs – which means implementing the vent will not be easy.

Despite the homologation process, Whitmarsh still felt there was plenty of opportunity for rivals to introduce their own systems.

“If you are picking up on the inlet system, then I would imagine that for access reasons, firstly your nose box is approved and you’d have to re-test it if you wanted to put ducting through your nose, which you could do,” he explained.

“But I’d also imagine that for access even just for pedal changes and various things in the front of the monocoque, ordinarily there are access panels that would give you the facility to put ducts in. I’m guessing, because I haven’t looked. If you look on our car, there are a number of access panels that are in the homologated chassis and also the monocoque is homologated. You can change the nose.”

He then added, in a reference to the fact that his team can claim the hole in the vent is simply to help driver comfort rather than for aerodynamic purposes: “If they wanted to increase the cooling to the driver, then they’d have to do that via an access hole that exists in the monocoque or through the nose.”

Although the situation gives McLaren a huge advantage over its rivals, especially with no teams having managed to copy it so far, Whitmarsh was refusing to get carried away with his team’s success.

When asked if he felt a bit smug about what had happened, he said: “I think I’ll be smug – if that’s the right expression – in Abu Dhabi if we win the championship. But I’m not going to be smug just yet. It’s very difficult.

“We appear to be competitive but we’re not complacent and it’s certainly too early to be smug at the moment. We’re here to win some races and then win a championship. Until we’ve done that, no-one in the team is going to feel happy with what has happened.”

Last year, Towler edged Luke McLean and Shawn Purdy for the inaugual iRacing Pro Series Road Racing title.  At the same time, he more than held his own in the iRacing Pro Series Oval competition, finishing in the top ten in the standings to become one of a handful of iRacers to qualify for both the iRacing Drivers World Championship Road Racing (iDWCRR) and NASCAR iRacing.com World Championship Series (NiWCS).  To date, Towler has faired rather well in both of the online world championships.  Second in the iDWCRR after two events, he leads the NiWCS thanks to a second place at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Tuesday’s superbly-judged win at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Mr. Towler is, obviously, a busy man.  Not too busy, however, that he couldn’t spare some time for a candid and revealing interview with inRacingNews‘ NiWCS correspondent Jameson Spies.

Jameson Spies:  If you had to pick one discipline, road or oval, what would you choose?
Richard Towler:  That’s a tough one.  I’d go with road just for the simple reason that it’s mentally a lot tougher than oval racing.  You really don’t have time to rest during a 1 or 1 1/2 hour Dallara race and that’s something I’ve always enjoyed.

I should also add the contrast in the communities also makes the road side a lot more enjoyable at times

JS:  Set-ups on iRacing are always the center of conversation, which is harder for you to set up, the Dallara or the COT?
RT:  Both have there own unique challenges but the COT provides the biggest as it’s just a harder car to drive and as a driver you have a much bigger influence in the way the COT drives compared to the Dallara. I think it’s because the Dallara is based around understeer so you really don’t have much of a say with it.  You just have to drive the way it wants you to drive it and, unlike the COT, it doesn’t change over the course of a run so a huge part of the testing process is taken out of it with the Dallara.

Towler en route to his NiCWS win at Bristol in the "challenging" COT Impala SS.

JS:  You’re currently first in oval NiWCS, and second in road DWC.  Is it possible that you can get both titles?
RT:  I think it’s way too early to start thinking about that as we’ve only ran three races.  I’m not a driver that really thinks about the points long term; I just go out there and treat every race as a single event with the aim to get the best result possible.

JS:  You’re obviously one of the best, what words of advice can you offer to people who are looking to get better, or just starting out in sim racing?

RT:  I’d disagree with the first part to be honest with you.  There’s so many good drivers out there, I never like to think of myself in that way. But my advice to anyone that wants to get better is just be smart about it and don’t fall into the trap that so many people do.   Too many people in this hobby give-up early because of the fear they won’t ever have the success they think they deserve. I’d also say a lot of guys out there make the mistake of blaming everything but themself if they end-up coming short –  it doesn’t matter if it’s setups, driving styles — people will find something to blame.

But the nature of this hobby means no matter what background you come from it’s not about the money, it’s not about joining the best team and having the best cars as everyone has equal equipment and the exact same opportunityies as everyone else.  It’s down to you and only you, which is hard to take for some.”

Towler (#1) is currently P2 in the iDWC standings.

JS:  How have you progressed in your sim racing career?
RT:  I started playing video games as many years ago as I can remember but I didn’t end up racing online until 2003. I got together with a few guys I had met while racing online with GTR2002 and we started to organize some races for fun. I was OK at the time and then another friend asked me to run an actual league race with NASCAR 2003 and it went from there.  I had the raw pace, but it took a few years to really refine it I think, and still to this day I think I’m improving, as you have to.  The competition is always making steps forward and the moment you get complacent you fall behind. But saying that, I never expected any real success from doing this and everything I’ve achieved so far and currently continues to be a surprise to me.

JS:  Is there anyone that has helped you get to the level you’re at?
RT:  I’d like to thank the guys over at The Drille Aisle for there support over the last 7 years.

Towler (#1) is known as a hard charger. Nice livery, by the way...

JS:  You’re known as a hard charging driver, which some people don’t like. Do you ever get worried that you might rub some people the wrong way?
RT:  Sometimes I do worry, it just depends who it is really. I’ve always tried to race fair and clean with almost everyone out there.  The way racing works is it really just depends who it is at the time.  If someone is a fair racer, I’ll race them with the same level of respect.  But if there’s someone that wrecks a lot of people or drives over their head a lot, I’m not going to give them any room out there. In a competitive environment you have to give-out what you get, otherwise people will just walk over you.  So you really can’t let the fear of someone disliking you get in the way of giving them the same treatment they gave you.

JS:  What is the biggest achievement you’ve had in your sim racing career?
RT:  I think winning the iRacing Pro Road Series is up there, it was a really tough season with a few problems that meant I had to really push to win it at the end.  But saying that, I don’t really get hung up on achievements as they’ve never been why I do this.  So it’s difficult to really think back about them.

Towler cites the inaugural iRacing Pro Series Road Racing title as his most satisying online racing achievement . . . so far.

JS:  What do you get out of sim racing?
RT:  A lot of fun!  I’ve always been interested in cars and motorsport, so sim racing has allowed me to really experience something that I wouldn’t of got to chance to in real life.   And also it’s one of the few things I’m good at. I’d have to say my biggest thrills just come from driving a car on the limit, one that your one wheel moment from throwing it all away but you don’t.  Also just the thrills of the on-track battles, no matter if I came out on top or not. Thankfully iRacing have allowed the hobby to grow and the future is looking really good right now as none of us thought we’d be sitting here talking about us virtual drivers racing in an official NASCAR series.

Preparations are now well underway for the film, which will be an action documentary charting the history of the sport but focusing especially on the period between 1968 and 1982.

The film is being produced by Hollywood-based Michael Shevloff, and is being worked on by the partnership of Oscar winners Mark Monroe (writer) and Paul Crowder (director).

With the full support of Ecclestone, it is hoped production for the film will be completed this year with a release date scheduled for early in 2011.

Monroe, who won an Oscar with Crowder last week for his recent documentary film ‘The Cove’, said the plan was for the F1 movie to appeal to both casual fans and the hardcore enthusiast as it charted the sport’s history and growth.

“My partners and I really believe that documentaries can be entertaining and engaging - not just reporting facts,” he told AUTOSPORT during a visit to the Bahrain Grand Prix.

“We want to make a big action movie - do something that puts people in the car and makes them gasp at the speed of the thing. Then, tell the human stories all the while, so you can dip in and out of these human stories with these big action moments that are enhanced from archive footage.

“We will do it with music, flare and energy - and get people excited about it. It is a pretty tall task as we have to hit the right tone so the proper fans don’t think it is a rubbish, but also make it broad enough so that someone who doesn’t know anything about the sport can really enjoy it.

“That is the task and it is a tough one – but it can be done and that is what we have set out to do.”

Although previous plans for F1-based movies have fallen through, with Sylvester Stallone abandoning his own efforts and making the widely-lambasted ‘Driven’ movie based on ChampCar instead, Shevloff believes that by having a documentary approach, rather than creating fiction, the idea had every chance of being successful.

“It is a tough order to make a dramatic film about a dramatic sport,” he explained. “To make a film and say we will spend 100 million dollars or 200 million dollars on this movie – well Bernie would just reply and say the teams spend a billion dollars on the sport.

“So I don’t know how you would make it bigger than it is. It is bigger in real life than you could ever make in a film, so a documentary is a much better form for this. The real thing is so huge that if you put it in a movie, the whole thing would seem contrived.”

The film does not yet have an official name – but it has been decided the main focus will be on the period between Jim Clark’s death at Hockenheim in 1968 and Gilles Villeneuve’s fatal accident at Zolder in 1982.

“We don’t have a title. We are still looking at titles – and it is the last thing on our plate at the moment,” added Shevloff.

“We have had various working titles, from ‘The Greatest Show on Earth’, to ‘The Untitled F1 Doc’. We need to find something that is a film rather than a documentary title – we are intent on making people see it as a film.”

The WMSC has instructed FIA president Jean Todt, WRC Commission president Morrie Chandler and North One Sport, the WRC’s promoter, to “further consider the World Rally calendar.”

A final version of the calendar is to be decided, according to the FIA’s communication from the meeting, no later than April 16.

North One Sport proposed a 15-round calendar at last month’s meeting of the WRC Commission. The calendar, which would start with Rally Poland if the Monte Carlo Rally organisers decided to remain in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge for a third successive season, included a brand new event in Abu Dhabi - at the expense of Rally Jordan, the first WRC event ever to run in the Middle East.

Abu Dhabi’s inclusion, while commercially sensible given the Emirate’s heavy investment in the sport, has not been greeted with universal acclaim from the sporting side of the world championship.

The candidate event for a Yas Marina-based event does not run until December and, as an AUTOSPORT source put it: “There are concerns about the way one event looks set to jump into the championship at a time when calendar slots are extremely precious. This is something which will need more talking about.

“But, at the same time, it would have been nice to have come away from today’s meeting with a firm decision on the calendar for next season, particularly after North One Sport has put so much time into it.”

The inclusion of Abu Dhabi on the provisional calendar was boosted by the UAE’s vice-president of the FIA Mohammed Ben Sulayem, who stated: “I am convinced that now is the right time to bring the WRC to Abu Dhabi.”

Q. A question to all of you. What are you most looking forward to during this season? Who is going to start? The World Champion.

Jenson BUTTON: The same as all of us I think, and that is getting out there. It has been a few months since we actually raced for three of us here, so getting out there and racing, that’s what we all love. Testing is part of the job but racing is the bit what we really enjoy. I am looking forward to getting out there. It is such a competitive season, it looks like. It is possibly one of the most exciting seasons we have seen in Formula One, so just being a part of that is very special.

Q. Lewis, what are you most looking forward to?

Lewis HAMILTON: Just getting on the track. Testing was good fun but obviously we did not have as much testing as we have had in the past and the more time in the car the more fun we have. Just looking forward to it all kicking off and to see where everyone else sits.

Q. Felipe?

Felipe MASSA: Well, to get back to racing after eight months. It is a long time. I am looking forward to getting back to racing, to starting in a good direction after as Lewis said not many tests. But it is nice to be back racing.

Q. Michael, after an even longer absence what are you looking forward to? And welcome back.

Michael SCHUMACHER: Thank you. The green light or the red light going off.

Q. The green light or rather when the red goes off?

MS: Yes.

FM: You are very motivated. You are already in the overalls.

MS: Exactly.

Q. Fernando?

Fernando ALONSO: The same as everybody. Just starting the competition, the racing. Testing is okay but it is just preparation for the race itself, so looking forward to Sunday.

Q. Who has walked around the circuit? Any of you? Michael, what are your thoughts on the new section of the circuit? It is all probably fairly new to you.

MS: The first part looks quite exciting. The later part a little less exciting, but then you have to drive it and feel it in reality.

Q. Has anyone else been around the circuit to have a look at it? Jenson, been around the circuit?

JB: No, we are going out this afternoon.

Q. Lewis?

LH: The same.

Q. Jenson, a new team. What are the greatest changes and challenges for you?

JB: I think moving teams. I was with my previous team for seven years, so moving teams can be tricky. It is a completely new environment, it is a real challenge and most of us do not really like change, but it has been good. Even after sort of two months I really feel part of the team. We have not even gone racing yet and I feel a big part of the team. I have always worked very hard to make myself fit into a team reasonably well but the team have been great. They are so hungry for a good season. Last year for them was not the best and it has made them hungry for success this year.

It has been good and having the simulator there has helped me a lot to get used to the environment of being in this car. I spent a lot of time at the factory, not just with the engineers, just spending time at the factory, so I am part of the furniture there. Testing has gone well as well. It is important to really use every second or every minute you are with the team as it comes around very quickly. We have Friday and Saturday morning before qualifying but it is not a lot of time, so you have got to be ready for when you arrive here in Bahrain.

Q. Having number one and being World Champion on the car. How motivating is that or is it even restrictive?

JB: I can’t see it as restrictive in any way. You should look at it in a positive way. Stepping into the car and seeing the number one on it is a very special feeling, especially here in Bahrain at the first race. Just before I put on my helmet and I look at the car and see the No 1 it is going to be an emotional moment but as soon as you step into the car and close your visor last season is out the window and you are purely focussed on this year.

Q. You won here last year. Is it a good circuit for you?

JB: I like it. It is a fun circuit to drive and it is a place you can overtake which is great. The new section is pretty slow. There are nine new corners on the circuit and most of them are slow now, so it is tricky and I look forward to getting out there and seeing what we make of it as it is difficult walking around it and trying to understand it. The simulator is useful but still in reality it is nice to get out there and feel it in the car. I hope it does make overtaking better but I am not sure if that is going to be the case. I think it could possibly make the racing more exciting as it is very tricky, so I look forward to getting out on the circuit tomorrow morning.

Q. Lewis, the man next to you is the reigning World Champion. How does that change things for you? Is that extra motivation?

LH: I don’t think it makes a huge difference. Jenson has been welcomed into the team and he seems to be doing a great job, very productive, enthusiastic and he has really brought a lot of energy and enthusiasm to the team. I can only see it as a positive. On my side, for me, just from coming from not so good a year last year but to finish on quite a high I feel just as determined as ever if not more.

Q. Which of the rule changes has been the most challenging as far as you are concerned?

LH: Probably just being a little bit heavier. Otherwise it has been pretty straight forward. Just trying to understand the tyres a little bit and understand the approach to the long stints being a little bit different to last year on lighter fuel but otherwise it is pretty straight forward. I am sure this weekend will be a challenge for everyone but we are all in the same boat.

Q. You finished second here in 2007, the first time you came here.

LH: That seems like a long time ago. We had a good car back then. The last two years things haven’t been particularly special but hopefully this weekend will be a new start for us and hopefully a positive for me and Jenson.

Q. Felipe, a big welcome back to you. What is it like to return, to be back in the car and back at a race meeting again?

FM: It is just nice to be back in business. That is my job for many years. I have lost a bit of races and just nice to be back. I feel really happy and a lot of motivation to get back to the job.

Q. You are a former winner here, but also in the past you have had some slow parts to the season. Is that something you are conscious of and determined to change?

FM: I think it is something that we understood in the past that the first race is important to finish, important to score points. Even in the last years we always had some problems in the car to finish the race. That I hope doesn’t happen. I hope we can finish most of the races in good points as we know at the end of the season it is always important to be there on a good amount of points. Many people say at the beginning of the season what is important is the reliability. Reliability is always important. It is important to finish the race. We did a lot of kilometres in the winter test which helps when you have a good car to start the season.

Q. Michael, what’s it like to be back at a race meeting when you are a driver and fully involved after an absence of three years?

MS: Well, naturally it is a bit more intense. From the morning to the evening with lots more details than you want and naturally you have to pay attention.

Q. How much are you still team building? People have spoken how you built a team at Ferrari. What is happening at Mercedes now?

MS: I think it is difficult to say right now what is going to be the development. Naturally you have to adapt, you have to evolve developing into the team. It is probably the thing that you will find some potential, you still can improve, to understand how at certain moments the team will work, why it will work, how you can combine the two things. But so far I have to say that the guys are good guys. It is good harmony, particularly due to knowing the boss quite well and he knows me too. It makes things a lot easier, a lot smoother, but otherwise I am sure there is some potential we will have to develop.

Q. You are a two-time winner here. What are your feelings about this circuit?

MS: Making it three.

Q. Fernando is a two-time winner as well, aren’t you?

FA: Yes, three also.

Q. But Fernando, again new team, new challenges. What are the major challenges? What are the major changes?

FA: As Jenson said I think every time you change team you need to adapt yourself a little bit to the new people, the new philosophy of working, of preparing the season. It has been a great time so far. I have been very comfortable with the team from day one to now, so I think we arrive at the first race with a good preparation and ready for the fight.

Q. Ferrari have been said to be one of the two top teams. Is that the way you see it?

FA: Not really. We are not comparing too much the times in winter or making many predictions for these first races. We have just been concentrating on our programme to try to be as prepared a possible for the first race. I think the four teams - Red Bull, Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari - any of the four teams can be a favourite for this race and for the first part of the championship with, I am sure, some teams also like Sauber and Force India, they will have a very good race as well. I think we will do our best. We are well prepared for this start of the season but we want to be World Champions in November, not in March. We will do our best but the goal is to win the championship and we know this is not easy at all and we need to work very hard for 10 months, so it is only the start.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q. (Thomas Richtr - TV Nova) For all the drivers. If it was up to you and not working groups or the FIA, would you choose this year’s regulation regarding the refuelling ban and heavy cars at the start or last year’s regulation when it was a sprint from pit stop to pit stop?

FA: I am happy with any decision. It is just a new challenge for all of us. For the engineers, teams, drivers it is change in Formula One, so any change is normally welcome as it offers you the possibility of discovering some new area of our sport. I am happy with the change but I was happy last year. We will see. We need to give some time to the new regulations to see how the races are. If we see more overtaking, if not? Maybe the races are very spectacular or maybe the races are very boring. We need to wait and see a few races to see if the new regulations are working or not.

MS: Last year… yeah, for the simple fact it leaves more scope for strategy. Naturally, as a race driver you want to drive the fastest car and if you have full tanks to half full tanks it naturally makes a big difference.

FM: I think the regulations have to be good for everybody: for the drivers, for the teams but also a lot for the guys who are watching the race. It’s very difficult to say which ones (regulations) I prefer, the new ones or the ones from last year. We haven’t yet done a single race, it’s very early to say which one I prefer, but I think if it’s good to everybody - for the moment I don’t think anybody is against the regulations, so if it’s good for everybody, it should be no problem to change. It’s also a new challenge for everybody, as Fernando says, so we just need to focus on every new point and try to do the best.

LH: I think it’s a new challenge in the sport for all of us and the key is that we’re moving forward, so I’m excited to see how it works and I’m sure we will do everything we can, collectively, to put on a good show.

JB: I think everything’s been said. I think turn one’s going to be pretty interesting with that much fuel – going down to turn one. I think we forget about qualifying as well. Qualifying is different to last year: we will be running on low tanks all the way through, which is great. I think we will have more of an understanding after qualifying than the last couple of seasons with the cars on low fuel. But I think the differences from qualifying to the races will be bigger than we’ve seen before. Some cars will be very good on light fuel, maybe not so good on 150/160 kilos of fuel, so it’s going to be interesting to see.

Q. (Jonathan Legard – BBC Sport) Michael, do you remember how you felt coming into the sport for the first time, up against champions who you had watched, the likes of Senna and Prost and so on? With your record and reputation, you’re very much the man to beat; is it going to be everyone else’s aim to attack you and challenge you on the track?

MS: Yes. Basically when I arrived, I wasn’t that full of confidence to be on the same playing field but being with them the first time, I noticed that I could be (competitive) and I do feel pretty much the same now. There’s no reason why somebody should not feel in the position to fight me because all those guys who will be on the grid on Sunday have good reasons to be there because they’re highly talented. I have the greatest respect for each of them; for me, each one is a big competitor that I have to look at.

Q. (Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) Michael, you always said you don’t like understeer in your cars, and this year, due to the weight of the car, the tyres, the nature of the cars, you have understeer. Do you think that because of that we may not see the best of you?

MS: I think it varies very much from car to car, it’s a characteristic which is given to a car. Sometimes, you’re right, it may be given by the tyres, then it’s up to you and your team to get the balance that you want, because in the past, don’t forget a car suited me because I like oversteer, I like a neutral car, the fastest car, whatever that is!

Q. (James Allen – Financial Times) Fernando, you’ve talked about settling in; do you think you’re ready to win? And what do you think of Michael coming back?

FA: Yes, I think I’m ready to win. Every time you arrive at the first race of the championship you’ve been preparing yourself all winter for this moment, so I’ve been waiting very long to be here at Ferrari as well, many years of preparation for this moment, so now I feel ready to fight and hopefully we’re in a position to do that. To have Michael here, OK - it was a surprise for sure when he came back but as I said many times, it’s a very good thing for all of us, for all the drivers, for our sport and that can only help Formula One and because we are part of Formula One, all the drivers, it also helps us, so I am very happy that he’s here and hopefully we can have good fights.

Q. (Ian Parkes – The Press Association) Question to Jenson and Lewis: just been watching the dynamic between you two guys while the other three have been answering questions at the front. You’ve been having a good laugh and a joke, sharing comments etc. Is that a good indicator of the friendship/relationship you two have already developed over the past few weeks together?

JB: It’s all for show! Exactly what we were told to do by Steve (press officer Steve Cooper).

LH: I agree. We’re focusing on a potential move to acting in the future!

JB: And no one’s asking us any questions, so…

Q. (Sarah Holt – BBC Sport) I have a question for you, Jenson. How do you feel about defending your title this season against Fernando in the Ferrari, Michael back at Mercedes, Lewis in the same equipment as you will have? Do you feel you will need a dominant start again this weekend?

JB: Yes, I think every championship, for any champion, I think it’s important to be quick out of the blocks. If you look back, normally the guy that really fights for the championship and gets the championship is strong from the word ‘go’, so yes, I think it is important for all of us to be up there at the front here in Bahrain. The competition is very fierce, I must say, but that’s why it is exciting. For a fan of Formula One, this season should be electric, it really should be. If it’s not, we’re doing something seriously wrong. It’s obviously great to have Felipe back after his horrific accident last year. Great to have Michael back because it makes me feel young again! Looking at this race, I don’t think there have been so many competitive drivers in competitive cars for a long time, so it’s great to see.

Q. (Jacques Deschenaux – GP Guide) To all of you, will the new distribution of points with 25 for the first, 18 to the second, change your approach and maybe your strategy for the race?

MS: You still want to score the 25, so that’s the main strategy. It’s certainly a little bit fairer, I think, in a way that if you have somebody who wins most of the races, naturally you will most likely say that he is going to be the champion by the end of the year, rather than somebody there just sitting, waiting and taking second and third places and suddenly being World Champion. I don’t think that makes much sense, as it has been in past years. Actually I think I was the reason why it was implemented, the small gaps, because I was winning so much and nobody could find a way to stop that. I think it’s absolutely correct, the way it is now.

FM: I think it’s correct as well. I think the winner, the victory is always more important than anything, so if you win, maybe to have a little bit more points is always better. So I’m with Michael.

LH: Well, what they said was right. It’s another challenge, it’s a small change to the results. As Felipe said, when you win the race it should be rewarded perhaps a little bit more than the guys who come in second and third. I think it will be interesting to see how it pans out. I’ve not really thought about it too much to be honest.

JB: I think we need to see how it goes. It’s the same as before. You still want to go out and win as many races as you can. Obviously when you’re fighting for a championship – I know how that feels now – it’s about being consistent as well. When you’re fighting for a win, it’s very difficult to hold back and think ‘I’ll come in second and pick up the points.’ We all want to win races and that’s what we’re here to do.

FA: I agree.

Q. (Carlos Miquel – Diario AS) Fernando, in the past you have said Michael is the best driver in history. Now, Michael is back, do you believe the same? And a question for Michael: who could be your biggest rival this year?

FA: Yes, if I said that, it’s because I really think that. If you see the World Championships that Michael has it’s something that is impossible to repeat and part of the history in our sport, as I said. Looking at the numbers, Grand Prix wins, pole positions, championships etc, I think we all agree that Michael is the best ever, so I’m happy that he’s here and as I said, hopefully winning a championship or winning a Grand Prix with Michael on the track has more value, so we will try.

MS: At my age, I keep forgetting things if they are too long away, so what was the question? Basically, I think there are the four main teams that you’re looking at and in all those cars – so you’re talking about a potential eight drivers, seven around me that I have to look out for. Four of them are sitting here right now and there are three more that aren’t here right now. It’s very tough to mention which is the one, but it doesn’t matter who it is, because you’re focused on the one that it is.

Q. (Joris Fioriti – AFP) To all of you apart from Michael Schumacher: you were saying, Fernando, that winning a race ahead of Michael Schumacher would bring more importance. Don’t you think that if Michael starts to win too much, it’s going to be very bad for all of you in the end and for the sport too?

FM: Well, for sure we need to work very hard not to let him win too much. Every team wants to win but it’s the best for the sport to have the best drivers on the track, the best teams fighting on the track and I think that’s always great for the sport. Anyway, everybody wants to win, everybody wants to keep winning all the time. But it’s a big competition, so I think it will be very difficult as we saw in the tests, to see a single car winning every race. But anyway, you never know. The race starts now and we need to wait and see.

LH: We have to wait and see, we have to wait and see.

JB: Yeah. I think you’ve answered it yourself.

FA: I agree!

GT2 previously ran as a class within the FIA GT Championship alongside GT1, but with the formation of the new GT1 World Championship this year, Ratel had intended for GT2 to become a standalone series.

However a lack of entries forced this plan to be called off for 2010, although the series is only postponed at present and the FIA hopes it will be revived in 2011.

For this year a one-off GT2 European Cup is set to be run within the Spa 24 Hours instead.

In the wake of news of FIA GT2’s postponement, Le Mans organiser the Automobile Club de l’Ouest issued a statement insisting the class was an important part of the 24 Hours and the ACO’s affiliated worldwide championships.

Ratel has previously denied that the plan to stipulate a pro-am driver pairing format in FIA GT2 was behind the series’ troubles. Leading teams AF Corse and CRS decided to switch to the Le Mans Series earlier this year.

“If we had left it as it was, we would have had 11 cars like last year,” Ratel told last week’s AUTOSPORT magazine.

“We knew our plan would lose us some cars, but we thought it would bring in others.”

The new deal means the HP branding will appear on the Renault cars from this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix.

As part of the agreement, Renault will gain access to HP technology in order to improve on-track performance.

“We are delighted to welcome a global leader of the stature of HP to our partner network,” said Renault team chairman Gerard Lopez. “F1 has a proven ability to boost brand awareness around the world, and we are proud that Renault F1 Team will be HP’s partner of choice in achieving this goal.

“Genii Capital believes that F1 can also be used as a very powerful business development platform.

“We hope that HP can develop new business opportunities through Genii Capital’s B2B platform and Mangrove Capital’s access to exciting technology opportunities.”

The governing body has taken the decision after US F1, which had the 13th slot for the 2010 season, failed to be ready to compete in this year’s championship.

The American team had requested that the FIA delayed its entry for next year.

However, the FIA has decided to re-open the selection process for the final slot, meaning there is likely to be a significant number of candidates hoping to race next season.

Lola, Epsilon Euskadi, Prodrive and N.Technology were among the teams to have applied for an entry for this year.

The governing body also said US F1 could face sanctions for its absence.

“With regard to the USF1 team’s non-participation in the 2010 championship, the world council mandated the FIA president, in full compliance with the new code of practice for disciplinary matters, to take forward the most appropriate action,” it said in a statement.

The FIA also confirmed that rookie Karun Chandhok had been granted his superlicence to competed with the HRT team at this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix.

FIA technical chief Charlie Whiting checked the car’s rear wing this morning and gave it the green light, despite rival Red Bull Racing having expressed doubts about its legality ahead of Bahrain.

Red Bull believed McLaren was making use of the air flow through the engine cover to deliver a straight-line speed advantage.

The FIA was originally scheduled to inspect the car before flying to Bahrain, but that had to be delayed until today.

The MP4-25, however, was given the all-clear by the FIA stewards ahead of tomorrow’s practice sessions.

“You don’t really know where you are, so we don’t know where we are,” Vettel told reporters in Bahrain.

“We think we are really up there. I think Ferrari looks extremely strong. You’ve got Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes and us there or thereabout in a couple of tenths.”

Last year’s runner-up reckons, however, that the difference in temperature between Spain - where pre-season testing took place - and Bahrain could alter things.

“Here it could be totally different because the temperatures are way different than what we had in Barcelona,” the German said.

“We’ll see. Maybe on Saturday we’ll find out who is strong and who is not. I don’t think tomorrow we will. And on Sunday we have the big unknown.

“Everyone’s starting with lots of fuel. We don’t really know how the race will unfold yet. It could be exciting and crazy and everyone will enjoy it.

“But it could be very boring and the way you are after five laps it could be where you are at the chequered flag as well.”

He added: “It’s pretty unknown what is going to happen right now. It’s not a big secret that you should put money on those four teams. But four teams means eight drivers and I think all of them are in a position to win. So we’ll see.”

The Red Bull driver said he had no concerns about his car’s reliability despite some glitches during testing.

“I think it’s no secret that stopping on the circuit is not something that you want. First of all it means a problem and second it gives the opportunity for others to take pictures.

“So yes, we had to stop a couple of times but we had nothing to fix. In testing you don’t want to take the risk to continue so if you see a loss of pressure or whatever you just shut the car down and bring it back to have a closer look. I think we have no problems to survive.

Three-wide NiLMS battles are the norm at Irwindale.

Division One points leader Brett Nesbitt maintained his lead, and now heads new second place driver Rusty Greer by 76 points. Nesbitt, the Plains club member, secured himself a top ten finish at the end of the week, with 163 points. Nesbitt’s five wins and nine top fives in 12 starts were enough for a solid finish. Greer, who gained a position in the standings this week, was 20th overall at Irwindale. Although Greer won a pair of races, the low strength of field hampered his efforts to catch Nesbitt, and he only grasped 151 points at the end of the week.  Jameson Spies was the class of his division this week, with seven wins in eight starts. Spies had another victory within his grasp on Monday, until Blake Brown, the top dog of the week with 209 points, sneaked past for the win.  Mike Tosi, the Massachusetts driver, moved to third in the overall standings, just 109 points behind Nesbitt. A mere four points behind Tosi is Northwest driver Toby Jenkins, who has five wins and nine top fives in just 10 NiLMS starts. Michael Vaughn rounds-out the top five overall, just 118 points behind Nesbitt.

Drivers throughout all ten divisions had some of the best oval racing action of the season, with three-wide passing, and multiple driving lanes to choose from. After the race, I caught up with Midwest club driver Matthew Carter who shared some insight with the inRacingNews crew:  “Lots of good hard racing all through the field. This track is really hard to pass on. I really prefer having to hold people off than to try to pass.  It seems like almost everyone has troubles with tire wear in the last 10 laps of the race. I’ve seen guys in the top five spin by themselves because they ran out of grip”.

This week sees the drivers making a return trek to the state of Connecticut, as they battle on Jack Arute’s Stafford Motor Speedway. Week Seven of the NASCAR iRacing Late Model Series is about to unfold, and the Connecticut drivers are once again going to have an upper hand in running a second home track in just three weeks. Stafford is one of the signature racetracks on the NiLMS tour, and is a destination many drivers have been anticipating throughout the season.

Care for a little bump-drafting?

DRIVERS OF THE WEEK

Division 2
Jon Chavez impressed many drivers this week, with four wins in six starts, and five top five’s. Chavez’s consistency earned him 146 points, the second best of the week in Division two.

Division 3
JR Petrella ran just once this week, but he brought home the win. He was fourth this week in his division, but picked up his win against a pool of drivers with a high Strength of Field.

Division 4
Mark Creighton was 24th this week, but four top fives in four starts (including three wins) netted him 90 points.

Division 5
Division leader Doug Wells capitalized with three wins and eight top fives in his ten starts.

Division 6
Aleksandr Kogan added two wins and two top fives to his resume in just three races. He was second overall in his division this week.

Division 7
Scott Freeman scored five trips to the winners circle and seven top fives in just eleven starts.

Division 8
Jaime Chambers grabbed two wins and four top fives in five starts, good enough for ninth best in his division.

Division 9
Richard Childress – unfortunately not the RCR team owner, but a fellow iRacing member - catapulted himself into the Division 9 points-hunt with three wins and sixteen top fives twenty four starts.

Division 10
Denny Locke proved he was in no joking matter, with five top fives in just six races, and two trips to victory lane.

PLAINFIELD, Ill. — Graham Rahal and Alex Lloyd are rideless no more.

Graham Rahal, who has been searching for a ride since losing his seat at Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing because of sponsorship woes, will drive the No. 67 Dollar General entry for Sarah Fisher Racing on the Streets of St. Petersburg and at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama.

Lloyd has landed at Dale Coyne Racing, where he will pilot the No. 19 with backing from the Boy Scouts of America during the season opener in Brazil.

“We are all very enthusiastic about having Graham in the seat for the two road course races that start off our season,” said Fisher, whose 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series schedule includes all the domestic oval races. “He has incredible talent. When it was brought to my attention that he was available, I reached out to Dollar General, who was in full support of our decision to give Graham the opportunity.”

Rahal will miss the season opener this weekend in Brazil, but he remains optimistic about his chances at the first two road course events on the 2010 schedule.

“Sarah has clearly done an impressive job building Sarah Fisher Racing and I really thank her, the team and Dollar General for this opportunity to compete in St. Pete and at Barber Motorsports Park,” Rahal told IndyCar.com. “I can’t wait to get behind the wheel of the Dollar General No. 67 car and hopefully contribute to the success of SFR.”

At this point Dale Coyne Racing has only confirmed Lloyd will pilot the No. 19 in Brazil. The official statement released by the team indicated it would make a more formal announcement at the first domestic event on the schedule, which will be held March 28 on the Streets of St. Petersburg in Florida.

Lloyd, the 2007 Firestone Indy Lights Series champion, has made three IZOD IndyCar Series starts in his career, including two during the Indianapolis 500.

Although Penske topped the times in the pre-season test at Barber Motorsports Park ahead of Ganassi, Dreyer & Reinbold and KV Racing also had cars in the top six.

Castroneves believes Penske and Ganassi have now reached the limit of the ageing Dallara-Honda package’s development potential, and with the car set to be used for another two years, the underdog teams will get ever closer.

“I do think that gap is getting closer and closer for several reasons,” he said. “At Ganassi and Penske, there’s only so much we can do to develop the car and we created a situation that they got to continue to catch us.

“It’s hard for us to improve knowing we have limitations on the rules and things like that. It’s less difficult for everyone else as they’re finding the same stuff we’ve found.

“Second thing for those teams, the equipment has been here for so many years. People start figuring out other things as well. So because of that, I do feel the gap is getting closer and closer. I mean, we saw at Barber, less than a tenth, probably was seven or eight cars. That’s crazy.”

The Brazilian is still looking for a first major championship title as he starts his 11th year as a Penske driver, but even though he reckons the field is getting increasingly competitive with the arrival of new signings like Takuma Sato, he does not plan to change his style or approach.

“Certainly the new drivers, they are doing extremely well,” Castroneves said. “I’m going to approach this season the same way I was approaching the past. It may not be successful clinching the title, but that’s outside my control. But at least I’ll be competitive.”

He is also certain that this weekend’s season opener in Sao Paulo will be a huge success, even though he anticipates a few teething problems with the brand new circuit, which will not be used until practice on Saturday morning.

“A first event always has some bumpy spots or little bit here, little bit there,” Castroneves said. “But that’s why the IndyCar Series is so great. We go anyway. We race anyway.

“[The track] seems to be great. Especially after Carnival, they are working a record time here to put everything in a great shape. So far, everything is going smooth. I don’t doubt it’s going to be a great show.”

The veteran Brazilian is optimistic that the end of mid-race refuelling will encourage overtaking on-track as disparities between cars’ performance will be greater as some handle better on low fuel and others when fully laden.

“I think there will be more overtaking most probably,” he predicted. “I think it is going to be a mixed thing because there will be cars that are eventually better on low fuel than high fuel, or the other way around, so I think the grid is going to be a bit more mixed and that will allow more overtaking. Which hopefully we are going to get.

“It depends on traffic, but at least in the first couple of laps, when a guy makes a pitstop he’s going to be able to overtake, but the difference on pace might be greater than a second and when we are talking that much it’s an overtaking opportunity.”

Barrichello and returnee Michael Schumacher are the only drivers in this year’s entry who raced in the previous no-refuelling era. But Barrichello said now the racing will be flat-out from start to finish, whereas 17 years ago teams were often urging drivers to nurse the cars to ensure they finished.

“I think it’s different from the 1993 times because we say we are looking after the car, but all we need to work is to go flat out from the beginning to the end with tyres and the amount of fuel you have on the car,” he said.

“I remember ‘93 days when you had a board that said, ‘keep it straight’ or ‘look after tyres’ or ‘look after the engine’. I don’t think you will be able to do that anymore these days, you’re just going to go flat out with what you have on hand.”

He reckons this year’s form is much harder to predict that at any other stage in his long Formula 1 career, even compared to 1993, which saw similar fuel load variations in testing.

“Right now it has never felt so open like this,” said Barrichello. “In 1993, you had a Williams that was so far in front or a McLaren that was trying to get [Ayrton] Senna so was trying to go for quick times. In those days you had a lot of fuel on board too, but with the variations last year you knew it was 50 kilos, 60 kilos max. Some people would run 40.

“Now you are talking about 10 to 170! And that can add five seconds on things, so it’s really open. It’s really nice to have that type of challenge.”

Lotus has been around five seconds off the pace of the leading teams during winter testing, having built and tested its F1 car in record time after gaining an entry in the second half of last year.

With that in mind, Trulli reckons the sole goal for the team has to be reaching the end of the race to gain experience.

“We will be four seconds off the top, and we will be three seconds off the last car from the top group which is too much. The aim is to finish the race with both cars and to get experience,” Trulli said in Bahrain.

The Italian said he felt the responsibility of carrying the Lotus name, which had been absent from Formula 1 for 16 years.

“It is special given the heritage of the brand,” he said. “It also gives me a responsibility because we are all responsible for this brand, we all know where it was and we all know what the target is.

“We cannot imagine keeping this brand where we will be this week, and we will need to push it to the top. I know it’s not going to be easy, especially for the first five or six races as we will be four seconds off.

“Given the limited time that they had to design the car and to get it on the track, the guys back at the factory have done a great job.

“Obviously they had to make some compromises on the weight, on the general car performance and technically but at least we got it running pretty reliably and put a lot of mileage on it in testing. So far, we have achieved great things.”

Trulli, who started the Bahrain Grand Prix from pole position last year with Toyota, admitted the stark contrast to this year’s prospects has not been easy to accept.

“I thought about it while I was driving here this morning. I was driving in and I said to myself ‘last year I was on pole and this year I will be at the back’.

“What can you say? Things change and unfortunately it has happened to me again that while I was taking the team to the top, it suddenly decided to pull off and you have to start from scratch and do it again.

“It will be sad to see myself at the back of the grid when last year I was on pole, but that’s life and you can’t change it. It can happen to everyone else. If Ferrari decided to pull the plug you would have Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa looking for a drive and searching for a team to give them another chance.”

An analysis carried out by Bridgestone suggested after winter testing that the Sauber C29 is very good at looking after its tyres, something that will be crucial this year, with refuelling banned.

But de la Rosa reckons the conditions during testing have been very different to those the team will face in Bahrain.

“I don’t think the tyre information is that relevant, because we come from winter testing where temperatures were very low, and now we come to the reality,” de la Rosa told reporters in Bahrain.

“So I think the way we use the tyres will change dramatically from the way it was in Barcelona, for example. So we have to be open-minded. We really don’t know where the competitors are.

“We can only judge by what I feel and looking at the data on our car. We are quite happy with the tests that we’ve done.”

The Spanish driver said, however, that his team is determined to push as hard as possible to spring a surprise this weekend.

“We will push. We are here to improve,” he said. “I’m not sure if we will manage it or not, but we have the motivation to do it. But honestly I don’t know where the competitors are.

“I have no idea which teams will be quicker with a 50-degree track temperature. I’m very open-minded and I’ll take it just step by step.”

De la Rosa, returning to racing after seven years as McLaren’s tester, said he was relaxed ahead of the first race of the season.

“It feels good. I’m very happy to be back, to be honest. Relaxed, as well, probably because for me being here is already like I won a grand prix. It’s been a tough winter, long, difficult, so I’m relaxed in that sense.”

Ferrari has been tipped as a title favourite as the 2010 season gets underway in Bahrain this weekend, but although he has declared the Italian team’s car the best he has ever driven, Alonso insisted he could not predict how it would compare to its rivals.

“We are not comparing too much the times in winter or making any predictions for this first race, we are concentrating on our programme, trying to be as good as possible for the first race,” he said.

“I think the four teams, Red Bull Racing, Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari, any of the four teams can be a favourite for this race and the first part of the championship. And teams like Sauber and Force India will have very good races as well.

“We will do our best, we are well prepared but we want to be world champions in November - not March. The goal is to win the championship, this is not easy at all and we need to work very hard for 10 months.”

The double world champion added that he was delighted with how well he had settled in at Ferrari, and felt ready to fight for wins again after two seasons as an underdog with Renault.

“I think every time you change team you need to adapt a little yourself to the new people and the new philosophy of working,” Alonso said.

“It has been a great time so far, I am very comfortable with the team from day one to now, we will go to the first race with a good preparation and ready for the fight.

“I think I am ready to win, every time you arrive at the first race of a championship you have been preparing yourself all winter for this moment, I have been preparing for this moment, so now I feel ready to fight and hopefully we are in a position to do that.”

The team was only eighth in last year’s constructors’ championship, and was rocked by the fallout from the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix scandal.

Kubica said that although Renault was winning championships just four years ago, the team was realistic about its current position and not underestimating the task ahead.

“We will need time, we are starting from far behind looking at the end of last year - and I think most of the teams have based their cars on last year’s cars or trying to follow what was the quickest car last year,” he said. “So we will have to make sure that we have got a development programme and we are trying to catch up.

“Everybody in Renault knows that the time of winning the world championship is far behind. We have to be realistic and last year Renault was I think quite disappointing. So we will have to make sure that we do a better job than last year.”

But he was pleased that he was able to acclimatise to the team very rapidly after joining from BMW at the end of 2009.

“From a team perspective I was very happy with what I got from Renault,” Kubica said. “The time needed to integrate and get on well with the team was short. We could straightaway get on with working on getting a feel for the car.

“But testing is a bit different, so for sure in the races there will be a few things that will be new and we’ll have to get used to them.”

The Pole was reluctant to predict where the team stood at this stage.

“I think it’s difficult to judge where we are and where we will be. I really have no idea where we stand,” said Kubica. “Of course we can have some ideas, and we have seen some things in the tests - for example at Jerez we were very good in my opinion, then at Barcelona not so good. So it’s very difficult to see. Also you never know what stage of development the other teams are at.

“I think we need to wait a couple of races to see. But of course a good start to the season will help. In winter testing I think we did achieve most of what we planned to do, so we are ready.”

Double world motorcycle champion Sito Pons’s eponymous team claimed four victories in 2009 with Marcos Martinez, and previously carried Lotus Formula 1 driver Heikki Kovalainen to the World Series by Nissan title in 2004.

“I am very pleased to sign with such a leading team in World Series as Pons Racing,” said Zampieri. “The fact that there is a double world champion in the team guarantees that things are done well.

“Together with it being my first year in such a competitive category, means that I really want to demonstrate the potential that I know have, and in this way repay and thank all the support of my sponsors, my family, my team and the Ferrari Driver Academy.”

The manager of the Ferrari Driver Academy, Luca Baldisserri, commented: “In the test that we organised in Jerez, Daniel was one of the fastest, showing strong talent and promise that we think is necessary to investigate in more depth.

“Now that he is part of the Academy, we have a mutual objective to learn as much as possible in order to compete with success and so that Daniel can grow like a true professional driver. For this purpose we elected to enter him in Word Series by Renault 3.5, and I expect to see him to succeed with Pons Racing.”

With limited previous experience, Pentus gained plaudits in his debut season by finishing second in the opening meeting at Barcelona, on his way to 12th overall in the standings.

Fortec and Mofaz Racing, now Junior Lotus, ended their association in Formula Renault 3.5 over the winter but Richard Dutton’s team will continue in the series under its own banner.

The forthcoming season will be the first year in Tallin driver Pentus’s career where he will have the continuity of working in a known environment.

“The 2009 season was a big step in my career and we really built a great working relationship with Fortec,” said Pentus. “I feel I made real progress on so many fronts. For this reason I am really pleased to be able to continue that relationship with Richard and the whole team.

“I know how much I have learned and improved since this time last year and I am determined to fight for the results we all believe can be achieved.”

Pentus’s team-mate is set to be confirmed following the second collective test at Jerez on 13-14 March. Sergio Canamasas, who tested for Fortec at the opening Formula Renault 3.5 test of the season at Barcelona last week, is set to sample Czech team ISR’s machinery this time.

Rosberg, who left Williams at the end of last year to join the championship-winning former Brawn outfit, ended the final pre-season Barcelona test with a faster time than Schumacher.

Nevertheless his preparations have been overshadowed by the return of Formula 1’s most successful driver.

Speaking in a Thursday press briefing attended by AUTOSPORT in Bahrain, however, Rosberg indicated that he remained unperturbed by Schumacher’s return and is relishing the challenge of racing against the 41-year-old.

“I’m going into the season very optimistically,” said Rosberg. “I feel very, very comfortable in the car, very confident.

“But at the same time I know it’s going to be as difficult as ever, because obviously I have a rather strong team-mate. So we’ll have to wait and see.

“My motivation is to work with Michael and try to help the team have a strong car, because without a strong car we won’t be able to do anything. And I think until now we’ve done quite well, but we need to keep pushing,” he added. “And as the season goes on it’s important that we get some very strong results.

“Your closest comparison is your team-mate, so my aim this year is too look good compared to my team-mate, of course.”

Rosberg added that he was looking forward to racing a car which he believes will put him in a position to fight at the front.

“For sure I have a lot to gain this year, because it’s the first time I have a very competitive car, hopefully,” he said. “We are not sure yet, but hopefully we’ll have a very competitive car.

“And so I look forward to it, to get some really strong results this year, to be on a level playing field with Michael and things like that.”

Rahal revealed last night that he had secured a two-round deal with Sarah Fisher Racing, having been searching for a new drive following his winter split with Newman/Haas/Lanigan, which was prompted by a sponsor departure.

Fisher had initially planned to drive at St Pete and Barber herself as part of her expanded nine-round 2010 programme with her own team. But the team has now confirmed that Rahal will take Fisher’s #67 car for those events rather than driving the sister #66 entry, which SFR will not field until Jay Howard’s programme commences at Kansas.

Having only contested five road and street course races in her IndyCar career, Fisher said she had no hesitation in recruiting Rahal once it was clear he was on the market.

“We are all very enthusiastic about having Graham in the seat for the two road course races that start off our season,” said Fisher, who will now only race on ovals again this year.

“He has incredible talent. When it was brought to my attention that he was available, I reached out to [main sponsor] Dollar General, who were in full support of our decision to give Graham the opportunity.”

Although SFR has yet to score a top ten finish in its short history, having only entered a limited programme of races since its formation in early 2008, the team is respected in the IndyCar paddock for its professionalism and the quality of its preparation. Rahal is confident that he can impress with the squad.

“Sarah has clearly done an impressive job building Sarah Fisher Racing and I really thank her, the team, and Dollar General for this opportunity,” he said.

Teams like Lotus and Virgin have been over five seconds off the pace in testing, while the Spanish HRT squad has not even turned a wheel yet ahead of this weekend’s first race of the season.

Haug said the new teams deserve respect for having managed to be in Bahrain, and reckons they should be given time.

“I think first of all we need to pay respect to these teams,” Haug told reporters in Bahrain on Thursday.

“It just shows it’s not easy to come into Formula 1. This is a very competitive environment and I would say that you can have at least seven to eight teams that are very, very competitive this year.

“It’s not only four teams. A team like Force India has improved a lot. Toro Rosso is still improving, so I think that is better than ever in Formula 1.

“But the new ones that are coming now need to make big steps but we should give them some time. I think it is a very good sign that new teams are coming amid difficult circumstances. It’s not easy for them to find support and sponsorship money.

“I’m sure the worked very hard and my view is that I pay them a lot of respect. And of course they need to improve.”

Seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher agreed with Haug, and he believes new teams are good for the sport.

“I think what Norbert said already what you have to see. They give the maximum effort to arrive in Formula 1,” Schumacher said. “It means a lot of dedication and this is much more important to see that people are interested to come into Formula 1.

“And you need to give them time. Everybody needed time when they arrived and I think it’s great to see so much interest from new teams that they risk such a step.”

The American had been searching for a new drive since the loss of sponsor McDonalds brought his Newman/Haas/Lanigan stint to an end last winter.

Sections of the US media reported late yesterday that he was set to join SFR for the St Petersburg and Barber Motorsports Park rounds, and Rahal has now confirmed the deal via his Twitter feed ahead of an official announcement later today.

“I guess the news got out earlier than expected!” Rahal wrote, having earlier promised the revelation of his new team would ’shock everyone’.

“But still, very exciting, and really looking forward to this! Busy day today, and back to SFR for lots of work tomorrow! Really excited about this opportunity.”

Fisher initially established her team for the 2008 Indianapolis 500, and has steadily expanded its programme since then. This year she will drive in nine rounds herself, including the St Pete and Barber rounds alongside Rahal, while Jay Howard has also joined SFR for a five-round schedule.

Rahal won the St Pete race in 2008, in what was his first IndyCar Series appearance as he had missed the post-merger season opener at Homestead due to a testing crash.

The 21-year-old was seventh in last year’s championship and expected to stay on with Newman/Haas/Lanigan until recently. He had discussions with Dale Coyne Racing earlier in the winter but did not reach agreement with the squad.

Block, whose new team made its debut in the World Rally Championship on last week’s Rally Mexico, said he felt an affinity with the 1995 World Rally Champion, who he got to know as a friend and competitor at the X-Games competition in America.

“In the Nineties, I watched as much rallying as I could,” said Block, “and I was definitely a Colin [McRae] fan. McRae was my favourite and one of the main reasons I’m here.

“Colin inspired me in his style, his charisma and what he could do with a car. He was the epitome of what I love about rallying.

“To actually become friends with him and then compete with him in the X-Games, I was truly a lucky, lucky person. He and I had a really good friendship and it was really sad to have him go.

“You remember I did the thing in the ski resort? Well, that was like a week before he died. He called me to ask me all about it and he was so stoked, saying: ‘I can’t wait to see that footage.’ It’s unfortunate that I never got to show that to him.”

Block’s next WRC outing will be Rally Turkey, where he will be chasing a finish without having to use superally, as he did in Mexico.

Despite breaking a wheel on his Ford Focus RS WRC 08 on Saturday morning, Block admitted he was pleased with his pace on the Leon-based event.

“I was running in eighth place on the first day,” he said, “and I was really happy with that. What I did was a novice mistake, and I’ll learn from that. But for the pace, I was really pleased. Just before we went off, after 23 kilometers, we were only six seconds slower than Jari-Matti [Latvala].”

Block was classified 18th in Mexico, after missing eight stages on Saturday and returning under superally regulations on Sunday.

Button took the world title last year after his Brawn GP team was rescued by an eleventh-hour deal following the withdrawal of Honda from the Formula 1.

“Wow, I think somebody forgot to tell Laureus I’m 30-years-old,” joked Button. “Breakthrough Sportsman!

“In fact, 2009 was a very special year of my life. When I started the season I didn’t think I’d actually be racing in Formula 1. So to clinch the title with Brawn GP in our first year was a very emotional experience for me, and the team deserve some of the credit for this trophy.

“I would also like to thank the Laureus Academy for putting me forward for this award. his is perfect for wrapping up my 2009 championship.”

Brawn GP also won a Laureus after being named World Team of the Year.

“It’s a huge honour to be collecting this Award,” said Nick Fry, CEO of the Brackley-based squad. “Unfortunately, Ross Brawn, my partner in crime, has to send his apologies. He had an equally important trophy to pick up (an OBE) from the Queen at Buckingham Palace.

“A year ago we had a team owner that needed to get out of Formula 1. We had no sponsors and things looked fairly grim. Our 719 employees decided to build the car regardless, even though they may not have had jobs and the car may not have got on the grid. The two drivers also continued training, despite the fact that they might have had to watch the races on television.

“We all decided to fight. We had no engine, but Mercedes-Benz came to our rescue and provided us with the best engine in Formula 1. Sponsors then came on board - people showed faith in us. We ended up winning six of the first seven races and winning the Constructors’ and Drivers’ Championships.”

The team will announce its full 2010 driver plans at round two of the championship in St Petersburg two weeks later.

Lloyd has been hunting for a full-time IndyCar seat since dominating the 2007 Indy Lights championship. He was taken on by Ganassi as a development driver, but the team was unable to find the backing to run him in its main squad, and he was limited to two Indianapolis 500 outings with satellite operations.

Having parted company with Ganassi to look for other opportunities last summer, he drove for Newman/Haas/Lanigan in the 2009 finale at Homestead and had hoped to contest the full 2010 season with the team before a sponsorship deal fell through.

The 25-year-old Briton recently tested for Dale Coyne at Sebring and will join Milka Duno in the team’s line-up this weekend.

It’s that time of year again. Yes that’s right, it’s March and that can only mean one thing – engines are being fired up, drivers are signing their lives away for another year behind the wheel, and we’re all getting ready to spend every living minute trackside.

British GT is back for another year in 2010 and with the revamped format and class structure for this year, it’s looking decidedly positive.

This year sees the birth of the new-for-2010 G4 category, which combines homologated GT4 cars with Supersports machines. So, here’s the break down of the G4 and GTC classes. To start with, it’s now common knowledge that the GTC (GT Cup) class has made a come back for 2010. This cost-effective category has been reinstated to make the series more appealing to teams and drivers, which will hopefully revive the championship after a difficult 2009 season of low entry numbers.

The G4 class of the highly competitive British GT Championship that we have come to know and love, has been born from the embers from the now defunct, GT4 category. To give the Ginetta G50 machines some much-needed competition after a dominant couple of years in GT4, the KTM X-BOW and Lotus 2Eleven have been granted full access to this year’s championship.

The distinctive KTM XBow figures to be a featured contender in the British GT Championship's revamped G4 category.

With G4 becoming increasingly popular in Europe, more and more marques have made their way into the category in various other GT series across different continental countries. This means that the allowance for a wider range of manufacturers to contest this grouping has grown, which will hopefully result in a more diverse entry of cars in British GT G4 class this year. There are currently thirteen different marques that are eligible for the category, including Aston Martin, BMW, Corvette, Ford, Ginetta, Lotus, Porsche, KTM, Donkervoort, Gillet, Nissan, Maserati and Opel.

Piranha Motorsport have immediately taken advantage of the new regulations, and have announced their plans to run a Lotus 2Eleven in G4 this year, piloted by Chris Bialan and Simon Mason. Speedworks Motorsport and ABG Motorsport have followed suit by also joining the G4 class in 2010. Speedworks team principle and co-founder, Christian Dick will be driving their Ginetta G50, accompanied by Jamie Stanley. ABG Motorsport will field a KTM X-Bow, with Rory Butcher and Benjamin Harvey behind the wheel. Speedwork’s G50 will be accompanied by at least three other similar Ginettas, with entries coming from Team Osbourne Racing and Team GCR to name a few.

Speedworks, Team Osbourne, GCR and others are banking on the Ginetta G50 continuing its GT4 dominance in G4.

The above machinery will have some fierce competition during the season, with ProMotorsport expected to run a Nissan 350z, and RJN Motorsport taking up the challenge of fielding a comparable car later in the year.

At the moment there is expected to be around seven G4 entrants on the grid at the opening round of the series at Oulton Park on Easter Weekend, with more competitors set to join the Championship as the year progresses.

Despite a two year absence from the British GT Championship, GTC is hoping to bring back some familiar names to the sport, with both the Porsche 997 Carrera Cup and Ferrari F430 Challenge cars being granted eligibility to contest the category. The low number of entrants in the Championship was definitely obvious last season, with Porsche being one of the stand-out marques missing from the series. This year is set to spark a renaissance in the UK’s leading SuperCar series, with the Porsche and Ferrari names reviving their GT rivalry.

As the 2010 British GT Season media launch day looms, drivers and teams are readying themselves for any last minute announcements, launches and testing, all set to take place within the coming weeks. With the infamous first round of the series kicking off Easter weekend at Oulton Park, the countdown is most definitely on. All that’s left to do is to wait for those five red lights to diminish in Cheshire in three weeks time, and listen to the collective sound of many thousands of horsepower rounding Old Hall.

Heaven.

The Advanced Legends Cup visited Lowe's Motor Speedway in Week Five.

At the halfway point of the season, the championship points race in Division One is led by New York’s Robert Ackley with Tyler Castle following some 43 points behind and Michael Vaughn in third and trailing Ackley by 70 points.  From the perspective of race wins, however, the clear leader is Connecticut’s Sandro Vitelli, who has posted a total of 42 victories so far this season.  Fourth in the Division One points race, Vitelli can be expected to be in the chase to win the season championship as the Advanced Legends Cup sim racers head to fun but tricky Oxford Plains this week.

I caught up with Sandro and discussed the coming week’s action.

“I think it should make for good racing, how the track is set-up with flat turns,” he said.  “It makes the races more competitive.”

Although Vitelli believes the Advanced Legends Series would benefit by adding some more Legends ovals to the schedule, the fact that four drivers are in contention for the Division One championship attests to the competitiveness of the schedule.

Similarly competitive scenarios are found throughout the Advanced Legends Cup.  Division Two finds MidSouth’s Kyle Hatfield leading New England iRacer Christopher Burgess, while Ivan Giovanni of Club DE-AT-CH is ahead of Virginian David Kadlcak in Division Three.  New Englander Kevin Tourigny is out front of Division Four with Shawn Jakes in second spot and, in one of the closest of the divisional contests, Northwest’s Curtis Skene is just seven points ahead of Carolina’s Brian Morrow.

In Division Six it’s a battle of two Midwesterners, with Bob Howard ahead of Wayne Kauchak, while Texan Greg Venable leads Division Seven from Australia’s Patrick Pigman.  Robert Worthington tops the Division Eight standings ahead of Rich Webster, while Michael Grey and Jonathan Lund are out front in Division Nine and Massachusetts’ Chris Curtis leads Paul Ford of England in Division Ten.  Finally, as the season reaches the halfway stage, Carolinas’ Keith Medeiros is the leading rookie points-getter with 354, 29 better than Midwest’s Matthew Deaton.

Much of that is subject to change at Oxford Plains but, no matter the specifics of the points races, we can all look forward to lots of close Advanced Legends Cup racing in the weeks to come . . . which means a ton more competition for the top drivers and the rest of us as well.

Each of the 10 teams was running the car for the first time and Abadie was surprised by its pace.

“We had one little problem with the turbo pipe, but it’s a very good car,” he said. “I think it is crazy fast. Really, for the first test to do a 1m20s at Le Castellet when GP2 times are around 1m13s, it’s not so bad.

“The tyres are not so bad. We tried medium and soft tyres, the softs are dead after three laps, but then they behave very consistently over the rest of a run.

“Overall, I think GP3 has good people and very nice organisation. There are several routes for a driver to take into F1 now, GP3 and GP2 or through F3 and World Series, but I don’t think it really makes much difference. To finish first you will have to be a quick driver.”

Tech 1 ran Dean Stoneman, Kazim Vasiliauskas and Doru Sechelariu at the Ricard test.

The 1995 Indy 500 winner and 1997 Formula 1 world champion, who has been disappointed in recent weeks after his plans to return to F1 this year with Stefan GP collapsed when the team was not granted a last-minute 2010 entry, will move into the commentary box for the first race of the season.

The incumbent Radio 5 Live team consists of David Croft and ex-Honda driver Anthony Davidson. Davidson is scheduled to race a Peugeot in the American Le Mans Series opener at Sebring the following weekend, and is expected to begin testing ahead of the event on Monday.

Jean-Eric Vergne today set the fastest time at Oulton Park as British Formula 3 challengers gathered for the penultimate pre-season test.

The Frenchman, driving for Carlin Motorsport, managed to better Max Chilton’s 2009 pole position time at the Cheshire track with a 1m27.444s.

Colombian Carlos Huertas was hot on the Frenchman’s heels, taking his Raikkonen Robertson Racing machine to within four-tenths of the pacesetter at the end of the day, having dominated the morning.

Oli Webb, driving for Fortec, was the best of the British drivers with the fifth fastest time, with compatriot James Calado, Vergne’s team-mate, occupying sixth spot.

Vergne will hope to continue his pre-season form at Silverstone with the final official test next week, before the series returns to Oulton Park for the weekend of 3-5 April for the opening race of the season.

Pos  Driver                Team                 Car  Time       Gap

 1.  Jean-Eric Vergne      Carlin               D/V  1m27.444s

 2.  Carlos Huertas        Raikkonen Robertson  D/M  1m28.076s  + 0.353s

 3.  Adriano Buzaid        Carlin               D/V  1m27.846s  + 0.402s

 4.  James Calado          Carlin               D/V  1m28.376s  + 0.932s

 5.  Oli Webb              Fortec               D/M  1m28.497s  + 0.955s

 6.  Felipe Nasr           Raikkonen Robertson  D/M  1m28.696s  + 1.066s

 7.  Daisuke Nakajima      Raikkonen Robertson  D/M  1m28.741s  + 1.142s

 8.  Hywel Lloyd           CF                   D/M  1m29.025s  + 1.285s

 9.  Rupert Svendsen-Cook  Carlin               D/V  1m28.742s  + 1.298s

10.  Menasheh Idafar       T-Sport              D/H  1m30.064s  + 1.332s

11.  William Buller        Hitech               D/V  1m28.960s  + 1.516s

12.  Gabriel Dias          Hitech               D/V  1m29.112s  + 1.609s

13.  Alex Brundle          T-Sport              D/V  1m29.156s  + 1.644s

14.  Jazeman Jaafar        Carlin               D/V  1m29.292s  + 1.764s

15.  Daniel McKenzie       Fortec               D/M  1m29.657s  + 1.896s

16.  Jay Bridger           Litespeed            D/V  1m29.707s  + 2.263s

17.  Lucas Foresti         Hitech               D/V  1m30.232s  + 2.788s

18.  James Cole            T-Sport              D/H  1m30.291s  + 2.847s

19.  Alex Jones            West-Tec             D/H  1m30.903s  + 3.459s

20.  Adderley Fong         Sino Vision          D/M  1m31.234s  + 3.790s

21.  Max Snegirev          West-Tec             D/H  1m33.796s  + 6.068s

The Brazilian rookie was responding to questions about whether the potential lack of speed of his HRT car, and the other new teams, could be dangerous - an idea put forward in recent days by Felipe Massa and Ferrari.

But Senna pointed out that bigger gaps in car performance existed in other forms of motorsport and could be solved by respect.

“I’ve been racing in the Le Mans Series with cars that are two to 20 seconds a lap slower,” he said. “It’s perfectly possible to be with traffic if you are in a faster car. The only thing you need is for the drivers all to respect each other. It’s not a problem.”

Senna accepts that drivers on a quick qualifying run would be annoyed about coming up behind a slower car, but believes it is part of the sport.

“I’m pretty sure the drivers in the faster cars are going to be pissed off when they see a driver with a slower time in front of them,” he said. “People have to remember that they might not always be in the position they are now. They might sometimes not be overtaking, they might be being overtaken, it’s a question of respect and of people giving way to each other.”

He added that the drivers will talk the issue over in Bahrain ahead of qualifying: “For sure this will come up in the drivers’ briefing tomorrow and we will have to just discuss it.”

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — NASCAR has expanded its regional racing television coverage to feature 28 events this year on Speed and nine events on Versus.

The expanded calendar includes 21 events from the NASCAR K&N Pro Series and seven races from the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour.

This comprehensive package includes airing of every race on the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and West schedules. Three of the Whelen Modified Tour races will air as same-day televised events.

Speed’s NASCAR Developmental Series programming will air Thursdays at 6 p.m.

“Our NASCAR Developmental Series all have a strong and passionate fan base, and we saw the results in the viewership of last year’s events and in January for our postseason showcase, the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown,” said George Silbermann, NASCAR managing director of racing operations. “Our fans spoke, and we listened. We are thrilled to be able to work with our television partners to provide extensive coverage of the talented drivers and tracks that help form the foundation of this sport.”

Speed, in conjunction with NASCAR Media Group, will air each tape-delayed race as a one-hour show. Speed will once again provide same-day coverage of the combination event between the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and Whelen Southern Modified Tour at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway Aug. 18, as well as the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H., Sept. 18 and the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour finale at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C., Oct. 14.

Speed’s coverage will begin with the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East opener at Greenville-Pickens (S.C.) Speedway (race date is March 27; air date is April 1) and conclude with the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West finale from Phoenix Int’l Raceway (race date is Nov. 11; air date is Nov. 18).

The schedule includes seven re-airs of previous events during select Thursday slots throughout the season for a total of 34 events.

In addition, NASCAR will expand its relationship with Versus to include coverage of the NASCAR developmental series. It will air an additional nine events from the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour.

For the fourth season, TSN will again provide season-long coverage of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series presented by Mobil 1. The Versus and TSN programming schedules are currently being finalized and details will be announced shortly.

AIR DATE — RACE DATE — AIR TIME — SERIES — EVENT
April 1 — Mar 27 — 6 p.m. — NKNPS East — Greenville Pickens Speedway
April 8 — March 27 — 6 p.m. — NKNPS West —All American Speedway
April 15 — April 3 — 6 p.m. — NKNPS East — South Boston Speedway
April 22 — April 8 — 6 p.m. — NKNPS West — Phoenix Int’l Raceway
April 29 — April 3 — 6 p.m. — NWSMT — South Boston Speedway
May 6 — Re-air — Race TBA — 6 p.m.
May 13 — Re-air — Race TBA — 6 p.m.
May 27 — May 23 — 1 p.m. — NKNPS — Iowa Speedway
June 3 — Re-air — Race TBA — 6 p.m.
TBA — June 6 — TBA — NWMT — Martinsville Speedway
June 10 — June 6 — 6 p.m. — NKNPS East — Martinsville Speedway
June 17 — June 5 — 6 p.m. — NKNPS West — Douglas County Speedway
June 24 — June 19 — 6 p.m. — NKNPS West — Infineon Raceway
TBA — June 26 — TBA — NWMT — New Hampshire Motor Speedway
July 1 — June 25 — 6 p.m. — NKNPS East — New Hampshire Motor Speedway
July 8 — July 3 — 6 p.m. — NKNPS East — Lime Rock Park
July 15 — July 3 — 6 p.m. — NKNPS West — Toyota Speedway @ Irwindale
July 22 — July 3 — 6 p.m. — NWMT — Lime Rock Park
July 29 — July 18 — 6 p.m. — NKNPS West — Portland Int’l Raceway
Aug. 5 — July 30 — 6 p.m. — NKNPS East — Lee USA Speedway
Aug. 12 — Aug. 7 — 6 p.m. — NKNPS West — Montana Raceway Park
Aug. 18* — Aug. 18 — TBA — NWMT-NWSMT — Bristol Motor Speedway
Aug. 19 — Aug. 14 — 6 p.m. — NKNPS West — Colorado National Speedway
Aug. 26 — Aug. 18 — 6 p.m. — NWMT-NWSMT — Bristol Motor Speedway
Sept. 2 — Aug. 28 — 6 p.m. — NKNPS East — Gresham Motorsports Park
Sept. 9 —Re-air — Race TBA — 6 p.m.
Sept. 16 — Sept. 12 — 6 p.m. — NKNPS West — Miller Motorsports Park
Sept. 18* — Sept. 18 — TBA* — NWMT — New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Sept. 23 — Sept. 17 — 6 p.m. — NKNPS East — New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Oct. 7 — Sept. 24 — 6 p.m. —NKNPS East — Dover Int’l Speedway
Oct. 14 — Sept. 18 — 6 p.m. — NWMT — New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Oct. 14* — Oct. 14 — TBA — NWSMT —Charlotte Motor Speedway
Oct. 21 — Oct. 16 — 6 p.m. — NKNPS West —All American Speedway
Oct. 28 — Re-air — Race TBA — 6 p.m.
Nov. 4 — Re-air — Race TBA — 6 p.m.
Nov. 11 —Re-air —Race TBA — 6 p.m.
Nov. 18 — Nov. 11 — 6 p.m. NKNPS West — Phoenix Int’l Raceway

AUTOSPORT was there to hear Senna’s thoughts on the task ahead and the last few nervous months as the Brazilian met reporters in the Bahrain paddock today.

Q. Now you’re here and it’s all happening, what are the emotions?

Bruno Senna: It’s a great feeling. I travelled to Bahrain on Monday - then you actually get the feeling that it is actually starting to happen. Before that, I was careful about how much I expected, how much I believed because I knew that it wasn’t going to be super easy.

So it’s quite a nice feeling to be here, in this paddock right now, and I hope we can get everything together ready for the race weekend and working a little bit on the good side because everything we have been working on and seeing and hearing has been on the business side and the political side and not on the sporting side, which is the one I really like.

Q. Were there any moments in the last few weeks where you thought the team wasn’t going to happen?

BS: Yes, absolutely, just before Colin [Kolles] took the team over, I was very low on expectation that the team was going to happen because we had spent so much time trying to be sold, trying to be bailed and this and that. And they did a really good job considering the timetable they had. The team, Colin and everyone that came in and everybody that was there, worked 24/8 - they made an extra day in the week to manage to get the car here. And they are still going flat out, so the hard times are not over.

Q. So when did you get the final call or email that said it’s happening, you’re there, it’s 100 per cent for Bahrain?

BS: We only knew we were going to Bahrain on Saturday when the car was loaded with half an hour to spare, so I guess we never got that phone call. So our tickets were booked last week and hotels were booked, so it was all last-minute and only really came together last week.

Q. Are you confident the budget is there to go through the whole season?

BS: Well, we’re working on that as well. I think since the start of last year when we signed a deal we were chasing after sponsors and for one reason or another it didn’t happen. Now, the team is there so the sponsors are much more confident, and we have been able to raise some sponsorship, so now we have to keep on working. We believe that the team has also more funding to come from investors. So we’re able to start the season in this way, and how we are going to continue in terms of development we will have to wait and see because it does cost money and not a little.

Q. What sort of preparations have you been able to do?

BS: I had a lot of free time to go fitness training so I’m very fit but not obviously fit in a race car. So I was able to go karting a few days ago and I got all my muscles sore and back into shape again, and that’s better than going to the gym or on the bike, and my neck machine. I have a neck machine from Technogym and it works my neck very hard, so in terms of fitness it’s all good. I posted on Twitter my video on the bike, so I had to do some multi-tasking as well - everything I could do I did in terms of preparation, but the real preparation is only in a race car and that is coming in the next few days.

Q. What sort of weekend are you expecting? The car’s not had a shakedown, just getting laps will be a big achievement.

BS: I think the plan is now on Friday to go out, do a shakedown, do an installation lap, come back in, see if nothing’s catching on fire, see if there are no leaks, send the other car, and do these things a few times – check the electronics. So for sure the first one and a half hours will be quite calm – we’ll be just doing small runs, checking everything. Then we have to do all the things the other teams did in many days in just a few hours, which has been the case anyway.

Q. What do you say to other drivers that say this guy has had it easy because his name is Senna?

BS: I heard it in the beginning but I think as I went through the different championships the drivers did respect me. I think that when you grow up a little bit people respect you a bit more. So I had the respect from the drivers, and tried to give as much respect as I could.

Q: When you said before that you are treating this weekend a bit like a testing session, what do you say to other drivers worried that you are going to be like a mobile chicane?

BS: I can’t worry about that because the odds are that we are going to be slower than the pace of the guys in front, which is pretty certain, but we need to do what we can do. We can’t just be worried about what other people are thinking about, considering that these are the conditions we are presented with. And I think that just being here is a victory for us, so we are going to do the best we can. For sure, if we have problems, if we cause problems, it’s not going to be on purpose, so it’s the conditions that we have to deal with. I don’t think we are going to be the only team that are off the pace, anyway.

Q. What does it mean in terms of safety, because obviously it’s a safety consideration when you have a car that’s six or seven seconds slower than another one?

BS: This is not too hard to deal with. I mean, I’ve been racing in the Le Mans Series with cars that are two seconds to twenty seconds a lap quicker. It’s perfectly possible to be with traffic if you are in a faster car. The only thing you need is for the drivers all to respect each other and for sure this will come up in the drivers’ briefing tomorrow and we will have to just discuss it. It’s not a problem,

Q. You think that all the other drivers are okay with it?

BS: I don’t think they are okay, I’m pretty sure the drivers in the faster cars are going to be pissed off when they see a driver with a slower time in front of them. People have to remember that they might not always be in the position they are now. They might sometimes not be overtaking, they might be being overtaken, so as I said it’s a question of respect and of people giving way to each other.

Q. A couple of guys at Lotus have won a race; the guy who was on pole here last year…

BS: Precisely. Exactly, it’s how it goes. It goes up and down and as I said, we just need to look in our mirrors a bit more.

Q. Do you think you’ll enjoy this weekend?

BS: I am enjoying it already! It’s the start of a dream come true for me. I have had a pretty tough year so far, starting from the end of 2008 all the way to this year, where things have got there only to be taken away.

It was starting to go that way this year, and it was hard to accept because it’s one thing when you do something wrong and things go wrong – if I am not quick enough, if I make a mistake on the track – I lost my chance. It’s another thing when everything is outside your control and it veers off in a direction that you just can’t recover. I’m very glad to be here and very thankful to be here.

GLENDORA, Calif. — Former NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Kurt Busch will make his competitive drag racing debut during this weekend’s 41st running of the Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals at Gainesville (Fla.) Raceway.

The driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge for Penske Racing will get behind the wheel of his rebuilt 1970 Dodge Challenger to compete against a field of between 70 and 90 Super Gas racers.

Busch will make a minimum of three time trial passes Thursday and the field will return Friday morning, pair off, and begin eliminations.

“Gainesville is one of the marquee events on the NHRA calendar and it’s a privilege to compete against the best Sportsman racers out there,” Busch said.

Super Gas is one of seven different Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series (LODRS) classes that will be contested at the Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals. The LODRS is NHRA’s sportsman series that is home to a wide variety of racers from hobbyists to highly competitive, highly-invested teams to young drivers with aspirations to move up to the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series.

Busch bought the Dodge Challenger in 2008 and began the process of getting it into race shape in March of 2009. The car is powered by a stroked 6.1 liter Hemi, weighs 3,000 pounds and puts out 1,167 horsepower.

While Busch feels at home behind the wheel of his Sprint Cup car he is aware that this will be a new and exciting environment for him.

“Sportsman racing is no different than any other type of racing, you need seat time,” Busch said. “I spent over 30 hours at Roy Hill’s drag racing school, and have had two tests in my own Challenger, but that’s nowhere compared to the seat time many of these guys have in their own cars. We are going to go out there and do our best competing against these talented Sportsman racers.”

Busch’s love affair with drag racing began back in the early 1990s when he met a pair of Las Vegas based NHRA racers — George Marnell, a Pro Stock racer, and Dave Bush, a Super Comp competitor. When Kurt began driving in the Sprint Cup Series for Penske Racing, he got to know NHRA Top Fuel champion Larry Dixon, as they were both sponsored by Miller Lite at the time.

He got the idea to compete in an NHRA event after taking part in the opening night of zMAX Dragway in Concord, N.C., in September of 2008 and one of the rare off-weekends in the NASCAR schedule coincided with next weekend’s 41st running of the prestigious Tire Kingdom NHRA Gatornationals.

The Brazilian, the nephew of three-time world champion Ayrton, secured a deal with Campos Meta at the end of last year – but his place was thrown into doubt as the outfit faced financial difficulties before its recent rescue and renaming as HRT.

Although he only knew in the last few days that he would definitely be staying at the team, Senna says he has managed to put all the winter worries behind him to focus on his career as a grand prix driver.

“I am enjoying it already,” said Senna, during a break in his preparations at the Sakhir circuit in Bahrain on Wednesday. “It’s the start of a dream come true for me.

“I have had a pretty tough year so far, starting from the end of 2008 all the way to this year, where things have got there only to be taken away.

“It was starting to go that way this year and it was hard to accept because it’s one thing when you do something wrong and things go wrong – [like] if I am not quick enough, if I make a mistake on the track – I lost my chance. It’s another thing when everything is outside your control and it veers off in a direction that you just can’t recover. I’m very glad to be here and very thankful to be here.”

Senna came close to a deal with Honda at the end of 2008, before the company’s withdrawal from Formula 1 and its eventual takeover by Ross Brawn led the team prefer to stick with the experienced Rubens Barrichello.

After that disappointment, Senna confessed there were times when he feared history would repeat itself and he would lose his second chance in F1.

When asked by AUTOSPORT if there had been times over the winter when he felt his F1 chance wasn’t going to happen, he said: “Yes, absolutely, just before Colin [Kolles] took the team over, I was very low on expectation that the team was going to happen because we had spent so much time trying to be sold, trying to be bailed and this and that.

“And they did a really good job considering the timetable they had. The team, Colin and everyone that came in and everybody that was there, worked 24/7 – they made an extra day in the week to manage to get the car here. And they are still going flat out, so the hard times are not over.”

He added: “We only knew we were going to Bahrain on Saturday when the car was loaded with half an hour to spare. So our tickets were booked last week and hotels were booked, so it was all last-minute and only really came together last week.”

Senna is under no illusions that he faces a difficult task in Bahrain this weekend, with HRT’s Dallara-built car having not yet turned a wheel. But he is ready for the challenge ahead – and far from worried about the extra pressure that comes from bringing the Senna name back to F1.

“I feel pretty good, actually. I don’t mind it at all,” he said about the interest caused by his surname. “I always had huge weight, huge pressure since the beginning.

“At my first race in Formula BMW I had raced nothing before and I had the TV crew from the biggest TV [channel] in Brazil around me all the time and people expecting.

“You know, when I tested the car for the first time at Snetterton in 2004 there were people there saying to me ‘it’s like this’, it’s always been like this, so I have learned how to deal with it. And now it’s much easier because I have experience.”

Twenty of the Powered by Ferrari second generation cars are available, plus 12 of the original Lola-Zyteks used for A1GP’s first three seasons.

Maserati and Ferrari sports cars used as safety and medical cars are also being sold off as well as a large amount of spares and team equipment.

A1GP collapsed due to financial problems on the eve of its planned 2009/2010 season last autumn.

Offers are being invited for the entire package of cars and equipment, but the assets will be sold off individually if no buyer steps forward to acquire the full list.

The two major keys to success at Bristol in the NASCAR iRacing.com Class C Series (NiCCS) by far were track position and tires. Track position because Bristol is one of the hardest places to pass on the NiCCS schedule. The straights are so short that there is almost no time to pass safely. On the other hand, the trade-off of track position is fresh tires. Most drivers likened old tires to driving on a sheet of ice. Many races iended-up being a game of pick your poison or the lesser of two evils. Pick right, the checkered flag is waiting. Pick wrong and the wrecker is not too far away either.

As far as points are concerned, Josh Berry scored the most at Bristol with 244. Berry won both of his races, leading 256 out of a possible 280 laps. Brandon Buchberger earned 228 points on the week, good enough for second most behind Berry, which is nothing to be ashamed of. Derek Cash grabbed 213 points for third most of Week Five, Tyler D Hudson ended-up fourth with a nice, round 200 points and Jesse Atchison’s 185 markers completed the top five of the week. Atchison also picked-up two wins in two starts, but Berry had the advantage as far as Strength of Field.

Jason Burstein leads Jesse Atchison in Monday's NASCAR iRacing.com Class C Series competition at Bristol. The positions would be reversed at the finish.

The overall championship has a new leader, yet again, and it is a familiar face. It took five weeks, but Berry has assumed the points lead. The Mid-South club driver has amassed 1080 points and leads by 30 points over Buchberger. Atchison sits another three points behind in third. Hudson is fourth with 1039 points and Jason Burstein rounds-out the top five in the overall standings with 1008.

Week Six is up next and marks the halfway point of Season One, 2010. Phoenix International Raceway is the venue, and it will be the first of three flat tracks in a row on the schedule. Some drivers welcome them with open arms, others like Atchison want nothing to do with them. When asked about flat tracks, the Atlantic Club driver explained, “If we’re dropping much below 160 MPH in the corners, I’m not racing.”

Thankfully for Atchison, there are four drop weeks that will save him in the championship battle. With some of the top contenders choosing to sit next week out, some new faces have a chance to steal the show and move up in the standings. All signs point to Berry extending his points lead in The Valley of the Sun, but nothing is a given until the checkers are waving.

It all started with John Gorlinsky on the pole with Thomas Hazard on the outside of the front row and Dale Earnhardt Jr. rounding-out the top three qualifiers. Gorlinsky has a history of online racing success at Bristol, winning a NiCWS race at “Thunder Valley” last season, as well as a NASCAR iRacing Class B Series race there  just last week.

Towler held-off Hazard's late race charge to take the NASCAR iRacing.com World Championship Series win at Bristol.

The cautions flew early and often in the 250 lap, 133 mile clash.  The first came on Lap One when Joel Putty drove into Turn Three way too hot and went head-on into the wall, collecting the teammates Jake Swanson and Brian Schoenburg in the bargain.   The second caution involved a lot more cars and much heavier damage.  Coming-off the second turn on Lap 11, Jake Swanson made heavy contact with the outside wall, propelling him back down the track in front of the field. Points leader Thomas Lewandowski, along with Jordan Erickson and Jesse Atchison, suffered heavy damage.

“Our wreck with Jake started our downward spiral.” Atchison said, “Nothing seemed to go right after that, as it bent our left front in, which made us get caught up in later accidents.”

Gorlinsky led the field to the restart on Lap 18 and was the man to beat until Lap 25, when Thomas Hazard showed he had a car capable of winning the race and moved into the lead. While this was going on up front, NiWCS champion Josh Parker was lurking in third, with heavy favorites Richard Towler, Josh Berry and Tyler D. Hudson mired  in traffic.

Each of the NiWCS races thus far have had a “big one” - a large crash involving many front runners. This race was no different as sixth-placed Nolan Scott spun his tires and got into the wall on a Lap 49 restart, causing a massive check-up with a huge wreck ensuing. Patrick Fogel, Brad Davies, Derek Wood, Brian Schoenburg, Lewandowski, Earnhardt - all names of drivers whose cars were heavily damaged in the wreck  for which Scott later took full responsibility.

After the race, Earnhardt had this to say: “I can’t think of a worse sim racing experience for me personally. Congrats to Rich, and the rest of the front runners.” No doubt disappointed, Earnhardt had a car capable of winning, and ended-up with a DNF.

Bristol's Big One came on a restart.

Mercifully, things settled-down a tad after the early mayhem.  Although there would be a total of 11 cautions for 56 laps, the second half of the race featured some long green flag runs . . . too long for Richard Towler’s liking.  The iRacing Pro Series Road Racing champion had assumed the lead on Lap 183 when Berry and Parker both pitted for four tires and fuel. Pit stops cycled through the entire field, except for Towler who was desperately hoping for a caution because he had the entire field a lap behind. With 60 laps to go, Parker — on fresh tires — got into Towler coming-off Turn Four, sending the Englishman for a harmless spin, but trapping himself and Berry a lap down.   Towler was no doubt upset with getting spun, but the end result couldn’t have been better for him as he was able to pit and retain the lead under the ensuing yellow, leaving most of his stiff competition stuck either a lap down or at the tail-end of the lead lap after a wave-around.

Berry (3) gets into Hudson (10), triggering some post race fireworks at Bristol.

Matters eventually cycled-through when Berry took-out Hudson with 30 laps to go.  Hudson, who has rebounded nicely after his DNQ at Daytona, was furious.  He led a bunch of laps in the middle portion of the race and was trying to get into position for the win, when Berry ruined whatever chances he had.

The field restarted with 25 laps to go, and Towler, Gorlinsky, Trombley, Hazard, and Fogel as the top five. Trombley got past Gorlinsky — who restarted on the top — bringing Hazard with him.

“I was about a fifth place car,” said Gorlinsky, “but I think I could have done something with Richard at the end there if I had been starting on the inside for that final restart.”

Hazard then put the move on Trombley for second with 22 laps to go, but had to erase a one second advantage if he wanted to catch Towler.   Out-running Towler by over a tenth of second per lap,  Hazard finally got to the leader’s back bumper with less than 10 laps to go only to catch a lapped car in a terrible spot.  As a result,  Towler got away just enough to secure his first NiWCS victory.  Hazard was forced to settle for second while Gorlinsky took third in his “fifth place car” from Trombley and Fogel.

Feels great to make up for the disappointment of Vegas this way,” said Towler, who finished second to the remarkable Sandeep Banerjee in the previous round of  the NiCWS.  “But (I was) sad to see so many good cars get caught up in other people’s problems.”

Speaking of which, the fireworks didn’t end with the checkered flag. What  better way to end a caution-filled race than with a crash?  That’s right, after the checkers flew, Hudson was looking for revenge on Berry, and he got it. The same day that NASCAR put Carl Edwards on probation for intentionally wrecking Brad Keselowski, Hudson rammed Berry into the Turn One wall before taking his Chevy to post-race inspection.

“I managed to miss all the carnage,” Hudson said, “led some laps, running second with about 28 to go and a lapped car with fresher tires (Berry) spun me out. I was passing another lapped car or I would’ve pulled over, but just got turned, wrecked my car and don’t even know where I finished.”

Berry said this about the incident: “Had fresh tires and was trying to make up time and Tyler kind of slipped up and got into him. Just made a mistake, sorry Tyler. ”

As for the NiWCS as a whole, thus far the racing has been good, with Bristol the first wreck-fest.  The drivers need to learn from this week and move forward as they head to the extremely tight Martinsville Speedway in two weeks time.  When they arrive at the paper clip-shaped oval, they’ll find Towler atop the NiWCS standings ahead of Jayson Anderson (seventh at Bristol), Lewandowski and Atchison, with Hazard and Fogel completing the top six.

Abu Dhabi’s arrival on the proposed WRC calendar for next season - at the expense of Rally Jordan, the Middle East’s first ever WRC round - is the most controversial talking point of tomorrow’s meeting of the World Motor Sport Council in Bahrain. Abu Dhabi has not yet run a candidate rally for inspection by the FIA - and will not do so until December this year.

There has been speculation that FIA president Jean Todt could veto the all-new rally that would be based at the Yas Marina Formula 1 circuit, but 14-time Middle East Rally champion Ben Sulayem is strongly in favour of Abu Dhabi’s event getting approved.

“Motorsport has come a long way here [in the UAE], and I am convinced that now is the right time to bring the WRC to Abu Dhabi,” he said.

“Bringing a round of the WRC to the UAE will also be beneficial to the region as a whole because it will serve as a platform to further promote and develop the sport in the Middle East. There is a need to further improve promotion of the WRC by reorganising the championship to cater to the needs of all stakeholders.”

Sulayem concluded by agreeing with WRC promoter North One Sport that rotating rounds of the series was not the way foward, the vice-president being a firm fan of a fixed calendar.

A decision on the 2011 calendar, proposed to the WRC Commission last month by North One Sport, is expected from WMSC tomorrow. A further decision from the meeting is expected to rubber-stamp Pirelli’s position as the control tyre supplier for the next three years.

That is the view of Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner, who supports the widely held view that there is little in performance terms separating the top teams.

“Our analysis is showing us that you have got three teams that are very tight and it is about who gets it right on the day,” said Horner, ahead of this weekend’s season opener in Bahrain. “But nobody has fully declared their hand yet.

“I think Mercedes look more variable. It is harder to read their true performance. But Michael looks on it. He has definitely given nothing away from his time out. I think it is going to be great as you are going to have Michael Schumacher racing, not just buggering off into the lead.

“You are going to have him racing in amongst the Fernandos, the Sebastians, the Marks. Lewis’, Jensons. I think we are going to have some titanic battles this year.”

Horner says Red Bull Racing’s target is simply to go for the world championship - having come close after a season-long duel with Brawn GP in 2009.

“The title is what we all want to achieve,” explained Horner. “They are the only two trophies missing from the cabinet, so the objective has got to be to go for it.

“We will do everything we can to try and win but we have got some formidable opponents. Ferrari and McLaren had a blip last year but they are two massive teams with great depth of resource and the Schumacher/Mercedes/Brawn combination is also a very potent one. F1 is more competitive this year than it has been for many years.

“Thinking drivers will come to the fore this year. Sebastian is a thinking driver, but both of our guys are. Sebastian was fantastic last year when he was given a challenge to save fuel. He was phenomenal at being able to sustain a very strong pace while also looking after the car.”

Horner feels that each of the frontrunning teams have factors in their favour – and also elements that can go wrong.

“I think it is interesting that you have got the British, German and Latin team and then we are a bit more cosmopolitan,” he said.

“It is going to be interesting to see what happens with Lewis and Jenson, and it will be down to the team how they manage that. They are both professional guys and it is going to be fascinating how the dynamics of that work.

“I thought it was a very ballsy move of Jenson to leave a team with which he had won a world championship and quite a surprising move that a team that had just won a world championship let a world champion go.

“Plus it was a bold move from Jenson to go into Lewis’s environment, effectively into Lewis’s team and take him on. But he obviously had the inner confidence that he felt that he could on equal terms take Lewis on in his own environment. Only time will tell if it was the right decisions but certainly a bold decision.

“I think Jenson is a personable kind of guy. I am sure he has got his group of people working around him and the bottom line is if he is quick the team will very quickly fall in love with him.

“Jenson has almost got that pressure off his back now and from the outside looking in he looks more relaxed. he is the reigning WC and I think he will drive in a more relaxed manner as a result of that.

He added: “There are some interesting dynamics with the German and English team, but the Alonso to Ferrari one that is either going to make fantastic music or there will be fireworks.

“Massa has gone okay so it is going to be fascinating how he handles Alonso. Suddenly you have got a very different animal to deal with than Kimi Raikkonen with Fernando next to him.

“Fernando is a pretty ruthless operator and he won’t take any prisoners. You can see he is a very passionate guy. A fantastic driver and a combination of Ferrari and Alonso is going to be a strong one. But he doesn’t look the kind of guy that tolerates things not going how he wants them or his way.”

The 20-year-old Brazilian, who is a test and reserve driver for Virgin’s Formula 1 team, won last season’s finale at Bahrain.

Zampieri, who has been signed up by Ferrari’s young driver academy, is hoping to enter Formula Renault 3.5 in 2010 and will miss this weekend’s GP2 finale to test at Barcelona this week.

“These days have been extremely important in my career, and so many happenings forced me to make choices,” said Zampieri. “I’m honoured to become part of the Ferrari Driver Academy project. I thank Rapax for having let me follow my new programme, and I wish all the team good luck. I really enjoyed the time spent with them.”

Rapax boss Andrea Bergamini added: “We’re really upbeat for the chance given to Zampieri, because it’s really something prestigious and top-notch. We’re pleased to have contributed to his growth and to have brought him to his first experience in an highly-valuable environment like GP2.”

Bruno Senna: I’ve been to Bahrain twice, one time in GP2 in 2007 then in GP2 Asia in 2008. I had a great result in 2007 with Arden International, qualifying fifth and finishing fourth, which was great considering it was my first ever GP2 race. Bahrain is difficult because the track is usually very dirty to start with and improves all the time all the way to the end of the race, so the car set-up is very challenging. Also the sand in the air makes it very dry and the track can be quite slippery, which is another challenge when we are also dealing with the high temperatures. I hope that we can put the car on the track and sort out as many teething issues as possible during our first weekend, the car’s track debut. My goal is to do everything I can to bring the car home to the chequered flag and set a good benchmark for the rest of our season. We’ll certainly focus on the reliability side of things first and from then on, focus on performance.

Colin Kolles, team principal: With our driver line-up, we have all tools in hands to be one of the more successful new teams in the F1 paddock this year. We have identified two talented young drivers for our first season and combined with our passion and determination to learn with every lap, we feel ready to enter the F1 Hall of Fame this weekend. In a curious coincidence, our drivers are teammates for the second time, having partnered each other at iSport in 2008 - making them the first drivers to have been teammates in both GP2 and F1. Our drivers are already familiar with the Bahrain track layout, which will be a real benefit as our car takes to the track for the first time on Friday.

The 55-year-old, who started 27 grands prix from 1981-1983 and is the only Chilean ever to race in the Formula 1 world championship, is working with other famous sportsmen from his country including former Real Madrid player Ivan Zamorano and tennis star Fernando Gonzalez, to collect signed sporting memorabilia.

The A Correr Por Los Ninos (Racing for the Kids) auction will be held on March 26th.

The earthquake, which struck on February 27, is rated as the fifth-largest worldwide since 1900, is believed to have affected over two million people, with a major humanitarian effort underway. The quake measured 8.8 on the Richter Scale, and also triggered tsunamis in the Pacific Ocean.

“The scope of the devastation in Chile is unimaginable,” said Salazar. “So many people need help and the aim is to raise enough to make a real difference to the effort to rebuild the lives that have been destroyed by the earthquake.”

For further information, visit www.eliseo.com.

As preparations for the Bahrain Grand Prix got underway at Sakhir today, Chandhok spoke exclusively to AUTOSPORT about his expectations and getting used to being an F1 driver.

Q. It must have been a bit of a whirlwind week for you. How have things been?

Karun Chandhok: I obviously knew a little bit earlier than the public that it was happening. So I had been to Dallara before and finished the seat - and stuff like that. But it has been a very hectic 10 days. It was almost like having a bus service between Valencia and Parma in Italy for me last week - as I went back and forth about four times.

But we are here now. The main thing is that there are two cars here. It is going to be a tough weekend, so let’s not kid ourselves about it. Friday is going to be very tough to get the cars to do some runs. This weekend is just about reliability and literally getting mileage - rather than performance.

But, hats off to Colin [Kolles], Dallara and all the engineers because a month ago the project didn’t look so good – and they have managed to work 20 hour days to get here. It is a first step, and I think from Barcelona onwards is when we can say our real season starts.

Q. During the winter, was your sole focus on getting into F1?

KC: Yes, for sure. At the end of the day, we had some options to be test driver with other teams up and down the pitlane. So the options were: be a test driver and do two or three days of testing a year; we could have gone back to GP2 as we had plenty of options on the table, but really I felt ready to do F1.

We had a bit of a rubbish season in GP2 last year but that was down to circumstance more than anything else. I felt myself, personally, I was ready to do F1. We had spoken to Adrian [Campos] since we met in Valencia last year, and then we were discussing with all four of the new teams, plus some of the existing ones.

So I was quite optimistic that something would happen in F1, but also both my dad and I were clear in our minds that if we had to make the break, then this year was our best chance because there were new seats available.

Once you got past this year then the system reverts to normal and everything goes back to its place again. You don’t know if those drivers will roll on to 2011, so this year presented a prime opportunity – and here we are.

Q. So how does it feel to be here, and how did it feel getting on the plane out here?

KC: That was the first time it really started to sink in. Because there has been so much going on, especially with the press back in India. There has been so much work to do in such a short space of time. Even sorting out helmets or whatever, there is a lot to do in a short space of time. It was only when I got on the plane that it started to sink in – especially when you see all the other team people on the plane.

Now we are here, it is quite nice. The same security guy who shoved me down the road last year to park in the desert waved me through the gate today! That was pretty good.

Q. How difficult and how big a hurdle do you think this weekend will be?

KC: It is going to be extremely tough. We haven’t even done a shakedown - so it’s no secret it is going to be a bloody tough weekend. I think if you look on the plus side, at least Dallara are a respected [racing] car manufacturer and they have built cars before, so we should be in a slightly better position than if it was with someone else doing it independently. And the people involved are good people.

Starting on the Dallara side, there are aero guys like Ben [Agathangelou], then we have someone like Geoff Willis on board. There are good engineers as well – they are all people who have done F1 recently. So in that respect, looking at it for the medium to long term, I am optimistic that we can get better. But it is no secret that this weekend is going to be tough.

Q. And what about the difficulties of getting on with your programme while other drivers are out there trying to show how good they are?

KC: It is very tough. It is very tough to make yourself look good in F1 because you are so strongly influenced by the car and by the team. So, I think the only thing we can do is think that over the first four weekends there is nothing to gain. You can only lose by doing something stupid.

I think the first four weekends are just about being respectable, being credible, trying to just establish ourselves as mature drivers who are ready to be in F1. That is all Bruno [Senna] and I can do for the first four weekends.

Q. There has been a lot of focus about how the new teams are getting on, and some comments expressing worries about the time differentials between the quick cars and the new boys. What do you say about that?

KC: I have stopped reading the media as much as possible, but there have been a lot of comments that have come recently. In all honesty, I can appreciate these concerns to some extent – because if I was in their situation then I would be concerned as well. The last thing you want in Q3, on the last lap when the circuit has cleaned up, is to get someone in your way.

But first of all I would be amazed if any of the new teams get to Q3. And secondly, at the end of the day I am quite fortunate in that I have a great respect and a great sense of history in F1 – and I remember not so long ago, just look at the early 2000s, the gap between the front and the back wasn’t like it is now. Then if go further back, look at 1997 for example when Jacques Villeneuve was on pole with Heinz-Harald Frentzen was alongside him, they still had the same five or six seconds gap.

So, all those guys [complaining] are only thinking of the last two or three years. But F1 is not about the last two years if you look back in history, which I do. Maybe they need reminding of that.

Q. And doesn’t the fact that there has been so much talk over the winter about new teams show why they are important – because people are interested?

KC: At the end of the day, the more cars there are on the grid and the more independent teams there are – I don’t think it is a bad thing. We have seen in the last 18 months how the manufacturers can change their mind. It is important to have the manufacturers, because it adds a lot of credibility to F1, but you have to have both – as you cannot just have the manufacturers. We saw over the last 18 months, they can change their minds fairly quickly.

Q. So what is a realistic target for you this weekend? Just getting to the finish?

KC: I think so. I think that has to be the first target. Don’t forget that we are two rookies here, so we need as much mileage as possible. Every lap we do is going to be important to learn. I think realistically, we just need to be reliable this weekend – and Melbourne will be the same. When we get to Malaysia, we will have a slightly better situation because we will have two weekends under our belts, and then we can start pushing on. Realistically our main target is to be best of the new teams – hopefully by mid-season. I think when we get to Silverstone and Hockenheim time we should be there.

Q. And it is a help for you that you are working alongside someone you’ve been team-mates with before?

KC: Yeah it is good. We are mates more than anything else. So we are quite happy to sit down and have a meal together – we did last night, and we did at the launch. I get on well with him.

A lot of people have said it will be hard work with him and his family and the rest of it, but it is not. He is a top bloke. We got on really well at iSport. We worked well with the engineers, and I think because you are friends you trust each other a bit more.

In GP2 it was slightly more important because you only had one free practice session, so we would go into a weekend and run a parallel programme. I would run sometimes 60kg, he would run the low fuel and different gear ratios. I don’t think we ever did free practice with the same ratios. After that, we would sit down and make comparisons – and we were mature enough to know that by helping each other it benefits everybody. We will carry that on here.

It is a bit strange because we are both coming into F1 with slightly similar circumstances. Obviously there is a lot of hype and expectation on me from India, with 1.2 billion people, but I would say there are just as many Ayrton Senna fans on the planet! Both our phones have rung off the hook, and the poor press officer is going mental because she has got so many requests and emails for both sides.

It is nice that we are in sort of similar situations. So to go through this process together is great. Even the little things, like the FIA impact test today, it is nice to share the experience with someone else. But at the end of the day, once we get in the car then everything will be different.

With the new Virgin Racing, Lotus and HRT outfits likely to be several seconds off the pace on their F1 debuts this weekend, a number of F1 figures - including Felipe Massa – have questioned the benefits they will bring the sport.

However, Chandhok thinks that anyone criticising the new teams for being so slow that they will cause a danger should look at the history books – which show that there have been much bigger speed differentials between the front and the back of the grid than will likely be present now.

Speaking to AUTOSPORT in Bahrain about his reaction to the comments about the speed differentials, Chandhok said: “In all honesty, I can appreciate these concerns to some extent – because if I was in their situation then I would be concerned as well. The last thing you want in Q3, on the last lap when the circuit has cleaned up, is to get someone in your way.

“But first of all I would be amazed if any of the new teams get to Q3. And secondly, at the end of the day I am quite fortunate in that I have a great respect and a great sense of history in F1 – and I remember not so long ago, just look at the early 2000s, the gap between the front and the back wasn’t like it is now.

“Then if go further back, look at 1997 for example when Jacques Villeneuve was on pole [in Australia] with Heinz-Harald Frentzen was alongside him, they still had the same five or six seconds gap.

“So, all those guys [complaining] are only thinking of the last two or three years. But F1 is not about the last two years if you look back in history, which I do. Maybe they need reminding of that.”

At the 1997 Australian Grand Prix, Villeneuve’s pole position time was 6.603 seconds faster than the slowest man on the grid – Arrows driver Pedro Diniz.

Chandhok is under no illusions about how difficult it will be for his new HRT team in Bahrain, and thinks the outfit’s season will only really get going from Barcelona onwards.

“It is going to be extremely tough. We haven’t even done a shakedown - so it’s no secret it is going to be a bloody tough weekend,” he said. “I think if you look on the plus side, at least Dallara are a respected [racing] car manufacturer and they have built cars before, so we should be in a slightly better position than if it was with someone else doing it independently. And the people involved are good people.

“Starting on the Dallara side, there are aero guys like Ben [Agathangelou], then we have someone like Geoff Willis on board. There are good engineers as well – they are all people who have done F1 recently. So in that respect, looking at it for the medium to long term, I am optimistic that we can get better. But it is no secret that this weekend is going to be tough.”

The FIA has confirmed that the second round of the World Touring Car Championship at Puebla will not go ahead.

The governing body of world motorsport released a short statement explaining that it took the decision because of security concerns in the region.

“The FIA, in agreement with promoter KSO, has decided to cancel the second event in the 2010 FIA World Touring Car Championship scheduled to take place in Puebla, Mexico, on April 11th,” the statement said.

“The FIA’s decision is based on security reports from the region and follows close consultation and guidance from OMDAI, the Mexican National Sporting Authority.”

The decision is thought to have been taken after concerns over visitors’ personal safety. It is yet to be decided if the event will be replaced on the WTCC calendar.

The 36-year-old former McLaren test driver will race an Aston Martin Vantage alongside team-mate Rob Bell, a drive which will tally with his participation in the FIA GT1 World Championship this year - in which he will also be driving an Aston Martin.

“I’m very happy to be joining JMW Motorsport for 2010,” said Turner. “The team has already won the LMS GT2 title twice, outlining their winning capabilities. It’s good to be teaming up with Rob again as we have won together before.”

The team had previously signed Richard Westbrook for the seat, but after the demise of the FIA GT2 championship, Westbrook’s Prospeed team decided to commit to the Le Mans Series. Westbrook was therefore contractually obliged to remain with Prospeed, so the vacancy at JMW arose for Turner.

JMW Motorsport team boss Jim McWhirter believes Turner’s experience will be an asset to the team.

“This underlines our commitment to this championship and adds yet another strength to our very motivated team ethos,” he said. “Darren brings a wealth of experience to the team as well as a working knowledge of the Vantage V8 GT2.”

The opening race of the LMS will be the eight-hour race at Paul Ricard on April 11.

The Italian squad was quickest throughout the first test at Valencia and remained among the front pack throughout the month, while also having very few reliability issues.

Massa reckons his team will therefore not only put its 2009 misery behind it, but can get off to an even stronger start than it did when battling for titles in the previous three seasons.

“I am very happy and very motivated that we can start the championship in a better way not just than last year, which was not a very good year, but also than the other championships,” he told the official Ferrari website.

“It looks like we are in good condition to start the championship with a good car and a reliable car, which is good for the start of the season. It’s good to think about the points straight away.”

While not being certain Ferrari will win in Bahrain this weekend, Massa is confident it will leave Sakhir with a strong points haul.

“My expectation is definitely to score many points,” he said. “Even if maybe we don’t know if it will be possible to win, it will be important to start the championship in the right direction. That’s our expectation and that’s what we’re looking for.”

But he added that he was staying calm about Ferrari’s chances and not underestimating the strength of the competition despite his encouraging testing results.

“The feeling is good, but for sure feet on the ground, because we know we are going to have a very difficult championship,” Massa said. “There are a lot of good cars, good teams and good drivers.

“But I can say that the feeling is really, really good. What we did in the winter tests was always very positive. Our car and our team were very competitive.

“I think it shows that we have a car ready to start the season. But we have to work every day to improve the situation and improve the car race by race to be at the top. But I’m very motivated.”

The 19-year-old son of series boss Jonathan Palmer finished 21st in last year’s standings with just one points finish.

But he took part in all four days of winter testing at Portimao in Portugal and is aiming for his first victory this year.

“Last season was a little disappointing for me until towards the end of the year when I scored my first points,” he said. “I was also quick during winter testing and hopefully I can carry this momentum into my second F2 campaign.

“The testing in Portimao in December was particularly competitive and I went really well there, so this is hopefully a good sign that I can run at the front and get my first win in F2 this season.

“I will start the season on a race by race basis to see where I stand compared to the other drivers, but I really feel that I have the potential to be a contender and if things go my way, maybe even win the title.”

Jonathan Palmer added: “As with a number of young drivers, F2 was always going to be a multi-year programme for Jolyon. Last year was very challenging - I think many people underestimated just how tough the competition was - but Jo improved encouragingly over the final couple of events. He was right on the pace in winter testing and should be a regular points scorer in 2010.”

Former GP2 racer Ricardo Teixeira and Formula Renault graduate Benjamin Lariche have also confirmed their places in F2 in 2010.

The Spaniard had driven for the team in Abu Dhabi earlier this year, but Adrian Zaugg took the seat for the previous rounds at Sakhir last month, charging to eighth in the first race before colliding with Sergio Perez as they fought for the lead at the start of the sprint race.

Trident has now recalled Clos for the finale, where he will rejoin full-season driver Plamen Kralev.

Clos has already signed for Racing Engineering for this year’s main GP2 championship, with the 21-year-old staying on for a second season at the Spanish squad after taking 21st in the 2009 standings and ending the season with a podium in the final round.

The Huntingdon firm is one of five contenders for the 2012 IndyCar deal, along with Swift, Dallara and new firms BAT and DeltaWing. The latter has made reintroducing multiple chassis builders a key part of its bid, declaring that its design is a rules concept that other companies can build.

But Lola’s head of special project Peter McCool said that while his company would love a return to the level of chassis competition it enjoyed in Champ Car’s heyday, it did not believe such a situation was sustainable now.

“Intense competition and battles with other constructors is a fantastic spectacle and a rich environment for our engineers to be in,” McCool said. “However it is not conducive to keeping cost down. Which has been one key criteria.

“The R&D alone is cost prohibitive and at present it would be counter productive for the IndyCar series. This is exactly why the dual body style Lola IndyCars will short cut a great deal of the concerns of the series.

“A return to multi-chassis grids may well be one option in stronger economic times. If the landscape is right then Lola in terms of the engineering challenge would enjoy this environment.”

Lola’s proposal instead features two alternative body styles for teams to choose, which will be performance balanced.

“The main reason for choosing one Lola bodywork configuration over the other would be a preference for the visual variety,” McCool explained.

“How it will work practically is that Lola will match the configurations in the windtunnel across the entire ride height range to ensure parity.

“It is most probable that the teams’ engineers will try very hard to get an advantage from one kit or the other, but there will be means of policing that action.

“Lola has also designed a series of sized and configured aero blockers for the underbody that can be stipulated at a particular race venue. These will have the purpose of varying the downforce where required, but also ensure that one design does not gain an advantage over the other.”

Another central element of the Lola concept is that the same basic chassis would be used for both IndyCar and feeder category Indy Lights, which McCool reckons could be the key to increasing grid sizes.

“The common chassis idea was creative thinking at Lola and generates a cost effective solution in the current economic climate and secondly in trying to assist the teams in terms of pragmatic racing in two series that run on the same bill,” he said.

“The crossover when you look hard at it helps both series and will encourage new teams to enter both IRL and Indy Lights. Above all it will ensure over subscribed Indy 500 grids come May.”

Lola also hopes its design would provide significantly better racing via an underbody and rear end design that aims to eliminate turbulent wakes, and that it would offer a significant step forward in safety.

The 23-year-old Dutchman has been a Superleague regular since the football-themed series’ inception - taking second in the inaugural championship for PSV Eindhoven (Azerti) and taking Zakspeed’s Anderlecht entry to fourth last year. Atech ran 2009 Superleague champion Adrian Valles’ Liverpool car.

“I am happy to be back in Superleague Formula with last year’s championship-winning team and I look forward to scoring for a top club,” said Buurman.

“AC Milan is one of the best clubs in the world and I am proud to defend their honours. After being second and fourth in the championship over the last two years I will now go for the top.

“I only have one aim and that is winning the championship for and with AC Milan. I am ready for it and I’d like to thank everyone at Atech GP for their confidence in my capabilities.”

Team boss David Hayle said Buurman has long been a target for his squad.

“I’m very pleased to have finally penned a deal with Yelmer who I’ve known from his Formula Renault days,” said Hayle.

“Over the years I’ve watched him grow up and over the last two seasons he has proven to be a particularly strong contender in Superleague Formula, finishing second and fourth. This season we’ll be looking to go one stage further with him and I expect him to be in the fight for the championship.”

The Yamaha rider had to sit out the last test at Sepang having sustained a hand injury when he crashed a motocross bike while training.

His management had suggested Lorenzo would probably not be fit for the Losail test next week, but the Spaniard has decided he needs to get back on track as part of his recovery.

“Yes, I’m going to the Qatar test,” Lorenzo told Motosprint. “I’ve taken this decision for several reasons, including the need to understand how my hand is doing, but certainly not to set the quickest lap time.

“I have thought about forgoing testing and going straight to the first race. But I feel like going to the tests. I’d like to recover some feeling, some confidence, basically I want to get back in touch with my bike. Even if it’s just a couple of laps, I want to see how I feel on the saddle.”

He admitted that the injury is likely to compromise his form in the season-opener at Losail in mid-April too, but is optimistic it will not spoil his title bid.

“I think I won’t be well prepared when we get to the first race,” said Lorenzo. “I won’t be, and neither will be my bike.

“In any case I don’t want to get disheartened. I carry on thinking positive, since the season is long: 18 grands prix are a lot of races, we need to think long term. As for the first race, I will try to limit the damage as much as possible - that would already be a positive thing for me.”

Lorenzo said that starting the season carrying an injury would be a new experience for him.

“This is the first time I’ve hurt myself during the winter preparations, when there’s testing, with the championship nearing,” he said. “This is a new situation for me. This is an injury that takes a long time to recover from, it needs time and patience.

“The incredible thing is that sometimes you have big crashes while going quick and you don’t hurt yourself at all, while this time I hurt myself plenty while going at 30km/h. The real problem is that I crashed on the asphalt. I was in a turn, the bike lost grip and I found myself down all of a sudden. I put down my hand and broke the first metacarpus. It’s the right hand, the one you accelerate with.

“From a medical point of view, I can try to get some running in Doha. But I must go slow, and that’s what I will do. I will try to think about everything except lap times. Neither mine nor the others’.

“Movement of the finger is still limited, and the arm has lost quite a lot of muscle tone. But this is normal, I’m not worried about that.”

Collard won twice for Motorbase Performance last year on his way to sixth in the standings, and had looked certain to remain with the Kent-based squad.

However, he said that the opportunity to return to the team with which he took his maiden BTCC race win in 2005 in an MG, was “too good to turn down.”

“I could see these BMWs on track last year and they just looked awesome,” Collard said. “It was a very difficult decision for me to make a late switch from Motorbase.

“However, I have to think about what’s best for my career and to now be driving in a championship-winning team is a big bonus.”

Collard, 41, will partner Andy Neate at WSR in a pair of 320si models and team principal Dick Bennetts is delighted with his signing.

“It will be really great to have Rob back with us in a BMW,” he said. “Rob already has two years’ experience in the 320si. We are really looking forward to see how he performs with our set-ups on the car.”

Bennetts said that he is still trying to finalise a deal to run a third car for Colin Turkington, who took the drivers’ championship in a WSR BMW last year.

Rounds of the WRC are currently permitted to run anything up to 310 competitive miles, an increase from the 220-mile rule which had been in place prior to this season’s increase. But that limit could be binned next year following a meeting of the WRC’s Global Working Group.

WRC Commission president Morrie Chandler said: “This is something the working group has talked about and it could be interesting. At the same time, I’m not too sure how many rallies would be interested in running really long rallies due to the cost implication. It will be interesting to see how many events run to the higher limit this year, not too many I would imagine.”

The working group is also investigating the possibility of merging selected cross country rallies into the WRC, although such a move would be at least two years away.

NASCAR announced yesterday that Edwards was being put on probation after admitting that he deliberately drove into Keselowski in the closing laps last weekend. The collision saw Keselowski’s car launched into the air, although he emerged unscathed and was the latest episode in a row between the pair that stretched back to their dramatic late-race crash at Talladega in 2009.

Writing on his Facebook page, Edwards declared that he wanted to end the row with Keselowski and move on ahead of the next event at Bristol, one of NASCAR’s tightest tracks and a venue where bumping between cars is frequent.

“I respect NASCAR’s penalty and look forward to our meeting in Bristol,” Edwards wrote. “I’m ready to put this behind us and get on with some good racing.”

Edwards currently ranks 20th in the points, while Keselowski is 33rd ahead of the fifth event of the season, where the top 35 in the standings that have their start guaranteed for the next race will be reset based on the current rankings.

Brad Keselowski says he support NASCAR’s decision to put Carl Edwards on probation for deliberately crashing into him near the end of Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Atlanta.

The Penske driver was sent into a frightening airborne crash following the contact from Edwards, who later admitted he had been intentionally retaliating for previous incidents between the pair - including their famous late tangle at Talladega last season.

Some in the NASCAR fraternity have expressed their surprise at the lightness of Edwards’ punishment, but in statement issued through his Penske team, Keselowski said that he agreed with NASCAR’s decision despite having called for further punishment for Edwards on Sunday. He lamented that his crash had cast a shadow over his team-mate Kurt Busch’s win.

“I support NASCAR in the decision they communicated today,” Keselowski said. “They are not in an enviable position when it comes to these matters, but they do an outstanding job.

“The unfortunate part about what happened on Sunday is that it has overshadowed a win by [Busch] and an overall solid performance by Penske Racing at Atlanta.”

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — NASCAR President Mike Helton said Tuesday that NASCAR has placed Carl Edwards on probation for the next three races after Edwards intentionally wrecked Brad Keselowski at Atlanta Motor Speedway Sunday.

Unless Edwards does something additional to provoke another punishment from NASCAR, this will be the only penalty levied against him as a result of the crash.

Helton said that there were two issues to consider — the incident between Edwards and Keselowski and the fact that Keselowski’s race car became airborne as a result of the contact.

“We’ve not seen a car get airborne much on the mile-and-a-half race track, and that’s something that is very important to us and we want to study very closely to figure out things that we can do to help prevent this very quickly in the future,” Helton said during a teleconference Tuesday. “Obviously the 12 car getting airborne to us is a much more serious topic right now. Certainly we take what Carl did seriously, and we’ll react to it accordingly and have, we feel like.”

The clash between Edwards and Keselowski comes on the heels of NASCAR telling the drivers to “have at it” prior to the start of the season, essentially telling them they were allowed to police themselves.

“We were telling the drivers and telling the public that we told the drivers that we were going to back off on that grip we had,” Helton said. “But there is a line you can cross. When you cross that line in our opinion, we’re going to get involved with you.”

After Edwards sent Keselowski flying, NASCAR quickly responded by pulling the scorecard of the No. 99 Ford and ordering Edwards to the garage. Edwards was then summoned to the NASCAR hauler for a discussion with NASCAR officials.

Helton also said that NASCAR is working to arrange a meeting between NASCAR officials, team owners Jack Roush and Roger Penske and the two drivers to try and settle any issues between them.

That meeting is expected to take place sometime prior to the Food City 500 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway March 21.

Rubens Barrichello: I’m delighted to be entering my eighteenth season. I’m so motivated and I’m in a much better physical condition than I have been at any other time. I’m also really happy to be driving for AT&T Williams. I’ve settled in well, and I already feel like I’ve been here five years!

We covered a lot of miles with the car during winter testing, working on reliability during the first few tests and then some upgrades for Bahrain at the final two. In terms of set-up, reliability and drivability of the engine, we’ve done a good job. The car has improved a lot and the team have done well preparing me so I’m completely familiar with everything heading into the first race.

I think we’re strong, I’m optimistic, but it is very hard to draw a conclusion as to where we are so I’m going to wait and see. It’s going to be a fantastic season with the new teams, the new drivers and the new regulations.

Nico Hulkenberg: Being a Formula One driver is a great feeling and I’m very excited about going to Bahrain. I learnt a lot as the team’s test driver, which has prepared me well for the season ahead. Working in the factory has also helped give me more of a technical understanding of the car, it won’t make me quicker, but it will help me with set-up.

Winter testing was good for us. Having completed a good amount of mileage, we are well placed going into the season. The Cosworth engine is also looking strong; it’s powerful and reliable. We have potential, but we have to wait to see where the competition is. It’s going to be an exciting season and I can’t wait to start it!

Sam Michael, Technical Director: The FW32 completed almost 7,000kms during winter testing with the new Cosworth engine installation. We have made great progress on reliability and we’re still working on improving that, albeit at high mileages that we shouldn’t encounter during race weekends.

Performance has been solid throughout the test sessions, but Bahrain will tell us where we are. We tested the majority of our Bahrain race package while in Barcelona, while a couple of additional parts will go straight to the race. Rubens and Nico will also go through their first race weekend as teammates. Signs from winter testing are that they’ll push each other all the way!

Carl Edwards has been put on probation for the next three Sprint Cup races following his incident with Brad Keselowski during last Sunday’s race in Atlanta.

Edwards admitted after the accident that he had intentionally caused Keselowski to crash in the closing laps of the event.

The incident resulted in a heavy crash as Keselowski’s car flipped and crashed against the barrier while upside down, although fortunately the 26-year-old was unhurt.

After the accident, Edwards was parked by NASCAR officials for the remainder of the race.

NASCAR president Mike Helton said in a teleconference on Tuesday that the Roush Fenway driver had escaped a penalty, but that he had been put on probation for the upcoming three Cup races.

“We made it very clear that these actions are not acceptable, and we believe that the driver of the #99 understands our position at this point,” said Helton.

Helton also said that NASCAR would look into the accident to work out why Keselowski’s car has flipped.

Bruce Ashmore, Alan Mertens and Tim Wardrop announced Friday the creation of BAT Engineering. The trio has already announced plans to submit a comprehensive proposal to the Indy Racing League that focuses on creating a new competition platform and bringing new jobs to Indiana.

The group also revealed computer-generated images of its proposed Indy car design, which they say will be fast while providing strength and structure to allow for hard racing among the competitors.

BAT Engineering used computer-aided design and computational fluid dynamics software to develop the shape and aerodynamics of the new car.

BAT’s bid is based on a program that would see the design built within a 30-mile radius of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, using American labor. Further details of the concept, which features strength, protected wheels and stable aerodynamics to ensure close racing, will be announced later.

• For the first time in her career, Milka Duno will run the complete IZOD IndyCar Series schedule after joining Dale Coyne Racing for the 2010 season.

This is Duno’s fourth season in IndyCar competition. Last year she competed on a part-time basis with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, earning a best finish of 16th.

“I look forward to competing with Dale Coyne Racing. I’ve had the chance to speak with Dale and the team to discuss goals for the season and we are in harmony in all areas,” said Duno. “For the past three seasons I’ve only run partial schedules and I’m anxious to be competing in all the races this year. Doing so builds momentum and maintains consistency that I feel is a key factor to good results. The full schedule includes seven races at tracks that I have yet to compete on, so I will be doing my absolute best to learn these new tracks as quickly as possible. This full season will be challenging — but I’m very thankful for the opportunity.”

Coyne fielded an entry for Justin Wilson in 2009. The Coyne-Wilson combination proved successful as Wilson won at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) Int’l last season. It was the first victory for Coyne in open-wheel competition.

Schumacher, who quit Ferrari after a 14-year relationship to join Mercedes, will be going up against reigning world champion Jenson Button, who has joined 2008 title winner Lewis Hamilton at McLaren.

Joining the fray are Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa at Ferrari, Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber at Red Bull, Schumacher’s teammate Nico Rosberg and the rest of the lineup.

Meanwhile, the Lotus brand returns to F-1 for the first time since 1994. Joining Lotus as new entries on the grid will be Virgin and HRT.

On the rules front, the biggest change this season is that no refueling will be allowed during the race.

“There are a whole lot of new nuances that will come from no refueling and will make F-1 just as interesting as before,” says Mercedes team principal and F-1 technical guru Ross Brawn.

There has also been considerable movement on the team and driver fronts. Below is a thumbnail guide charting the changes between the last race in 2009 and the first grand prix of 2010.

Changes For The 2010 Formula One Season

Drivers
MOVES: Jenson Button from Brawn to Mercedes…Fernando Alonso from Renault to Ferrari…Rubens Barrichello from Brawn to Williams…Nico Rosberg from Williams to Mercedes…Jarno Trulli from Toyota to Lotus…Heikki Kovalainen from McLaren to Lotus…Timo Glock from Toyota to Virgin…Robert Kubica from BMW Sauber to Renault…Kamui Kobayashi from Toyota to BMW Sauber
OUT: Kimi Raikkonen, who went off rallying…Nick Heidfeld, who is now a reserve driver for Mercedes…Giancarlo Fisichella, who is now a reserve driver for Ferrari…Kazuki Nakajima, who is out of a ride after Williams did not renew his contract…Romain Grosjean, who struggled to shine as Nelson Piquet, Jr.’s replacement at Renault
IN: Michael Schumacher from retirement to race for Mercedes…Pedro de la Rosa from McLaren’s reserve driver to race for BMW Sauber…Nico Hulkenberg from Williams’ reserve driver to team race driver
ROOKIES: Lucas di Grassi (Virgin), Vitaly Petrov (Renault), Karun Chandhok (HRT) and Bruno Senna (HRT)

Teams
OUT: Toyota, BMW, Brawn and 75 percent of Renault
IN: Sauber, which took over the BMW team…Mercedes, which now owns Brawn…Genii Capital Investments, which now owns 75 percent of Renault
NEW TEAMS: Lotus, Virgin and HRT

Engines
OUT: Toyota and BMW
IN: Cosworth
CHANGES: Williams switched from Toyota to Cosworth while Sauber switched from BMW to Ferrari….all the new teams will use Cosworths

Massa Healed, Ready For New Season, New Teammate At Ferrari

The best thing about Felipe Massa’s accident during qualifying for last year’s Hungarian Grand Prix is that he doesn’t remember anything about it. He was traveling at 160 miles per hour in his Ferrari when a steel spring, weighing about 28 ounces and somehow having fallen off of Rubens Barrichello’s Brawn, struck him in the face. Although briefly knocked unconscious, Massa was awake and distraught for much of the ordeal. But his first recollection is waking up in a Budapest hospital.

That was July 25. Massa believed he would be fit to race in the European Grand Prix at Valencia four weeks later.

“I was sure after the accident when I was in hospital in Hungary that I was in a position not to miss any races,” he recalls. “I once almost fought with my wife because she said I wouldn’t race in Valencia.”

The doctors, however, as always in the case of head injuries, were cautious and insisted that the Brazilian sit out the rest of the season. But he’s now back testing and ready to race when the season opens Sunday in Bahrain.

“Physically, I now feel better than I did before the accident,” he says. “The accident hasn’t changed my life, hasn’t changed the way I think or work.”

What has changed is that Massa has a new teammate at Ferrari as two-time world champion Fernando Alonso replaces 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen.

During his first season with Ferrari in 2006 Massa was content to play the support role to Michael Schumacher, and the latter really took Massa under his wing. Raikkonen was the dominant driver when he joined in 2007, but that flipped in 2008 as Massa was the better shoe.

That, team principal Stefano Domenicali points out, led to a mutual respect between the duo.

It will be interesting to see how it plays out between Massa and Alonso if one or the other is consistently faster.

“When there’s a new driver at Ferrari there are great expectations and the goal is to work well as a team, to be complete,” Massa says. “I’ll have a very strong teammate. I’ve always done good work, learned a lot and shown many times that I’m able to win and fight, whoever my teammate was.”

Alonso agrees.

“Felipe and I both race for Ferrari,” he says. “It is important that a red car wins. We’ll both give it our all to improve our performance; we’ll both give 100 percent. I’ve always had strong teammates and I never had any problems with them. My best friends in F-1 are these people. I have a beautiful relationship with my teammates and it will be the same with Felipe.”

Domenicali and Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo have both sat down with Massa and Alonso and told them that Ferrari comes first.

“Let’s not forget that our characteristic has always been putting the interest of the team at the core of everything; both Felipe and Fernando know what our context is, how they have to move and the rules of our team,” Domenicali elaborates. “When you have strong drivers you have to manage them, this is true, but what is most important is to give them a car which may be a winning car or a competitive car from the start, and they will be able, as professional as they are, to take it to the end of races in the best possible position.”

The new teammates are communicating well as Alonso is far more loquacious than the introverted Raikkonen.

“I’ve already spoken more with Fernando than I did in three years with Kimi,” quips Massa.

Schumacher played an integral role in the rebuilding of Ferrari.
Raikkonen mostly rode the wave. Massa has matured immensely, but is he a leader in the Schumacher and Alonso mold? Perhaps not. On the other hand, Massa and Ferrari have been together for years, and they suffered and bonded through his traumatic accident last year. Massa is not going to meekly stand aside and let Alonso set the team up around him.

The new Ferrari F10 has looked very strong in pre-season testing. And Massa is feeling strong as well. During one day of testing at Spain’s Jerez circuit he completed 160 laps, which was almost two-and-a-half race distances.

“I thought I might be more tired than I am,” Massa said. “I don’t think I’ve ever done that many laps in one day; it’s a personal record! Physically, I feel fine, I’m in good shape.”

The accident in Hungary is not a distant memory. It is not in Massa’s memory bank at all. All he remembers is the long wait to test and race again. And now he’s back in action.

“For sure I’m happy to be back after such a long time watching the races on television, sometimes on track,” he says. “I’m ready to work with the team, I’m ready to race, and I’m also very happy I’m back to where I was before my accident.”

IndyCar Expanding International Presence With Brazil Season Opener

As the IZOD IndyCar Series prepares for its first trip to South America, this weekend’s S

McLaren believes that it is critical that Formula 1’s new teams are stabilised as quickly as possible, for the good of the sport.

Following on from the withdrawals of BMW and Toyota at the end of 2009, and US F1’s inability to make it to the grid this season, the Woking outfit’s managing director Jonathan Neale said that the newcomers, such as Virgin and Lotus, should be welcomed into the fold, rather than disregarded for any lack of experience at the top level.

“As a group we have to be supportive in getting new teams off the ground,” Neale told reporters via teleconference. “I respect greatly what the drivers are saying and one or two have raised concerns about it, but I think that’s a matter for the FIA.

“We have to try and get as many new teams off the ground and stabilise them as quickly as possible because we need it in view of the disappointing losses Honda, Toyota and BMW [since 2008] is disappointing. I’d like to think that collectively we can achieve that.”

Despite voicing his support for the new teams, Neale said that he expected the FIA to keep a close eye on their performances, and particularly that of the Spanish HRT squad, as its car will not turn a wheel until first practice in Bahrain this weekend.

“I wouldn’t like to be an MD with a car running for the first time on a GP Friday in terms of the reliability package and how do you dial it in with such limited running and so few tyres,” he added.

“I’m sure that the FIA will look very closely at it and if there are big gaps in closing speeds and plenty of red flags, then they’ll take the necessary actions. And it’s important that they do because we don’t want yet more casualties before the start of the season.”

FIA technical chief Charlie Whiting will take a look at the rear wing design of the MP4-25 in Bahrain ahead of this weekend’s season opener, following complaints from Red Bull Racing that it could be in breach of the regulations.

Red Bull Racing believes McLaren is making clever use of air flow through the engine cover and air box – and perhaps even from the cockpit – to stall the wing at high-speed and deliver a straight-line speed advantage.

Whiting had been due to inspect the wing during a meeting in Woking last week, but he had to cancel that visit after getting delayed while travelling back to Europe from Brazil.

McLaren’s managing director Jonathan Neale said during a regular Vodafone McLaren Mercedes phone-in media call on Tuesday that the team was sure there would not be an issue.

“Charlie’s going to continue to confirm that he’s happy, which is what we’ve tried to do all the way through this process,” said Neale. “It’s regrettable that his plane got cancelled while leaving Sao Paulo by 24 hours.

“It would have been nice to take the opportunity with him and some of the other FOTA team members to finish it off in the UK, but we’re quite relaxed about it.

“We’ve spoken to Stefano (Domenicali) and some of the other team principals and colleagues there and of course everyone wants to see clarity. We’re doing the same on a number of other teams’ developments. There’s nothing untowards about it though - we’re quite confident the car is legal.”

Neale said that his team had put a contingency plan in place, just in case an issue did arise with the wing.

“We’re not taking a radically different package, but you just never know what the stewards are going to do on the day,” he said. “We get the best advice we can from the FIA in the interests of transparency.

“If the stewards decide on a different course of action though, it’s still our duty to go racing. So we have a contingency, but I wouldn’t put much effort into it and I’m not expecting it to be used.”

Neale said he also doubted Red Bull Racing had a full understanding of what McLaren had done with its car.

“I have a pretty good idea, knowing Adrian [Newey] and the guys as I do, that they have a pretty good idea of what’s going on with our car,” he said. “They won’t have figured it all out, but they’ll be close.”

McLaren is planning some further upgrades to its car for this weekend’s season opener in Bahrain, after a major update package in Barcelona delivered a clear step forward in pace.

“There are some pretty low level ones. Nothing night and day,” he said about what was coming for Bahrain. “We continue to work through details regarding the efficiency of our pit stops.

“[There are] one or two minor aerodynamic developments on the car, but it will look and feel like the car we had at the end of the Barcelona test - some around the diffuser and we’re yet to make a decision on what we do about sidepod wings. There’s the usual arsenal of stuff to come over the next few races.”

With the Swiss-outfit’s C29 having already shown some strong pace in pre-season testing, the team’s hopes of delivering some surprise results are boosted by the fact that early data reveals it suffers less tyre degradation than Ferrari, McLaren, Red Bull Racing and Mercedes GP.

That ability to look after its tyre could prove crucial on two fronts this season - by first of all allowing the team to use a softer tyre than its rivals in Q3, but also in delivering it greater consistency over the course of a race when there will be a premium on looking after the rubber now that refuelling is banned.

Hirohide Hamashima, Bridgestone’s director of motorsport tyre development, says there is little separating the big four teams in terms of tyre degradation – but Sauber is a different case.

“We have compared many teams’ data and looking at the quick [four] teams – their degradation tendency is very, very similar,” he told AUTOSPORT. “Once they have the 150kg start weight, with both the medium and soft compound, then there is little difference – so we could expect a very close pace. However, Sauber is more consistent.”

Although this weekend’s race is Bahrain will not be too punishing on the tyre front, Hamashima believes the difference between Sauber and the other teams is enough to offer the outfit strategy options that others do not have.

When asked if there was a chance for Sauber to opt for more marginal tyres than their rivals to help boost qualifying performance, Hamashima said: “Yes, it is possible.

“With an easy car, you can have the possibility to do that. Somewhere like Barcelona will be very interesting – because the circuit is severe and the softer tyre may only be good to get one lap time before suffering big degradation in the race.

“But even places like Monaco and Bahrain, which are very, very easy on tyres, the specification that shows the best lap time should be the best race tyre – which could make it interesting as well.”

BMW Sauber’s technical chief Willy Rampf acknowledged that the C29’s tyre performance was one of its main strengths.

“The car doesn’t have any stability problems, and its performance and balance on high fuel loads is a strong point,” he told AUTOSPORT in an interview. “We will build on this – it’s a very good thing. Our car is not too heavy on its tyres, so we can do reasonable long stints without killing them.

“That will help keep the strategies more flexible, if you’re not forced to stop by tyre wear.”

Hamashima also believed that the competitiveness at the front of the field had closed up in the final pre-season test at Barcelona, as McLaren and Red Bull Racing delivered car improvements.

“At the first three tests, Ferrari it seemed had a little bit of an advantage over one lap. However, in Barcelona, McLaren and Red Bull used their latest cars and the picture was very mixed. It’s now very difficult to judge.”

ORECA came out on top on the second day of the official pre-season Le Mans Series test at Paul Ricard.

The French squad’s AIM-engined chassis was fastest in the hands of Soheil Ayari in both of Monday’s session. The ORECA team regular set the best time of the two-day test late in the afternoon.

His 1m42.963s lap was 0.8s better than the second fastest time of the day set by Loic Duval in ORECA’s Peugeot 908 HDi turbodiesel.

ORECA team manager Philippe Leloup said: “We’ve worked a lot on the car since Le Mans last year, look at our performance at Silverstone [which the team won], and we’ve improved the car more over the winter.

“We worked through a tyre programme with our new partner Dunlop and the tyres worked well in the conditions.”

Duval, who got his first taste of the 908 HDi during the official test, recorded his best, a 1m43.756s, during the morning. The two Rebellion Racing Lola-Judd coupes came close to his time in the afternoon in the hands of Marco Andretti (1m44.025s) and Jean-Christophe Boullion (1m44.264s).

Neel Jani, who shares with Andretti and Nicolas Prost, said: “We finally got the tyre to work in these [cold] conditions. I found a different tyre that worked, we focussed on the set-up and then Marco was able to set the time. We are really happy now.”

The LMP2 division was headed on day two by the British Strakka team’s HPD (nee Acura) driven by Danny Watts. His fastest lap of 1m46.174s set in the morning was the best LMP2 time of the test, four tenths ahead of Olivier Pla’s 1m46.584s recorded right at the end of the day.

The GT1 division was headed on Monday by Bas Leinders in the best of the Marc VDS Ford GTs. His 1m57.711s was four tenths behind the best GT1 lap of the test set by Stefan Mucke on Sunday aboard the Fischer-run Young Driver AMR Aston Martin DBR9.

The ProSpeed Porsche squad headed the GT2 times. Marco Holzer ended up fastest on a 1m59.213s just one tenth ahead of Pierre Kaffer in the CRS Racing Ferrari.

The seven-time champion’s efforts will be one of the main focuses at the season opener at Sakhir, even though both he and his German car manufacturer team does not believe it will hit peak form until much later in the year.

And although pessimistic about his chances for early success, Schumacher is adamant that Mercedes GP has what it takes to pull through and triumph in the end.

When asked in a preview interview posted on his official website if he was ready for a long hard title fight, Schumacher said: “Absolutely, yes. This is what I am here for, and I am confident we can play a role in this fight.

“If we win it at the end will be a different question, as always in sports. But our entire team is extremely motivated, as am I. The guys have won both titles last year, and now, with Mercedes power on board, they want to repeat this success.

“We all want to win. The season will be long and hard, no doubt about that, but I love this fight - it is because of this fight that I came back to Formula 1.”

The Mercedes GP W01 has not appeared to be the quickest car in pre-season testing, although its ultimate form remains unclear with the team only due to fit its definitive 2010 diffuser package at Bahrain this weekend.

That leap forward could be enough to haul it right to the front of the grid – and Schumacher is hopeful that the extra development time the team has gained from introducing its parts so late should pay off.

“The car has not been completely at the level of other teams’ cars at the end of the tests, true, but the amount of fuel was massively influencing this impression,” he explained. “It seems we were driving more fuel than others most of the time and therefore we look quite good I would say. But then it is hard to judge who [has] played all his cards yet.

“Our car also has not been at the final configuration - something we had deliberately wanted. We wanted to use the two weeks development time between the last test and the race in Bahrain.”

And although Schumacher is well aware that only more success will be good enough for his return to F1, he does not think the pressure on him to succeed is too high.

“I said it quite clear from the beginning: we do not have to - and probably will not - be in the position to win right from the start,” he explained. “It is important to be close and then use the long season to be at the top at the end. It is not the start which is important; it is the finish.”

Schumacher, 41, returns to racing at this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix after having retired from the sport at the end of the 2006 season.

The seven-time champion has shown competitive form during winter testing with his Mercedes GP team, but Australian Webber does not believe Schumacher will be able to enjoy the same kind of success as before his retirement.

“I think it will be a bloody hard season for him,” Webber told the Daily Telegraph. “I think he’ll go all right but I have never, ever seen a phenomenal comeback.

“When has the second career ever been better than the first?”

Webber, 33, also believes the new generation of drivers have it easier to make an impression now, as he reckons Formula 1 is easier now.

“The cars are easier to drive,” Webber added. “You don’t look at these guys and think ‘they are real men’. They are talented, no question, but there is less in common.

“There is power steering now; a lot of things that make the cars easier to drive. That’s why these youngsters can get away with it. I came through the categories with gear sticks and what have you. And that was beneficial for me. But there is no point whingeing about it. They come along and do a good job for the most part. Some don’t.

“But every now and again - whether it’s a Lewis [Hamilton] or a Seb [Vettel] - they can, with phenomenal grooming, come in and do a good job.”

The multi-million pound investment in a new track layout for this year’s race, as well as improved spectator facilities, is on schedule to be finished by the end of the month.

The new ‘Arena’ layout will host this year’s British Grand Prix, but also MotoGP and World Superbike rounds.

“Work on the circuit and venue is on schedule,” said Silverstone managing director Richard Phillips. “The team has been working around the clock, through some pretty terrible weather conditions, to make sure the circuit is ready on time.

“The track works at Brooklands and Woodcote are now complete, including the new run-off area for the fast entry into Pits Straight, while the major new development - the new section of circuit from Abbey, up to the Arena Complex and round to the National Straight – is also coming along nicely.

“There is still a considerable amount of work going on at Silverstone, including the new elevated banks and spectator viewing areas, which will continue beyond March. Conference and hospitality buildings are also being built on the new Stowe Complex.”

The 120 Minutes of Sebring, a tribute to America’s oldest sports car race, is slated to run concurrently with this year’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on March 20.  The third stop on iRacing.com’s 2010 World Tour, the two-hour online racing event is a chance for iRacers all over the world to celebrate the 58th running of this classic endurance race and to experience the awesome performance of the American Le Mans Series GT1-class Corvette CR6.

“The 12 Hours of Sebring was America’s first truly international race,” said Kevin Bobbitt, iRacing.com’s director of marketing. “And today Sebring is probably the best-known American sports car race among the global community of sports car racing fans. Like all of our World Tour events, the 120 Minutes of Sebring is open to every iRacing member, regardless of their level of experience with racing games or simulations. Given that a third of our members live outside North America, and that the race is being held on the weekend, we expect a large proportion of the entry to come from our international online racing community.”

Qualifying begins March 14th at 00:00 GMT, with 20-minute open sessions starting throughout the week start at 30 minutes past the hour. The race takes the green at 12 noon EDT (16:00 GMT) on Saturday, March 20th.

Jeff Segal co-drove the SpeedSource Mazda to the GT win at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday.

iRacers went three for four in last weekend’s Grand American Road Racing Series visit to Homestead-Miami Speedway.  Jeff Segal (who joined iRacing in February) teamed with Emil Assentato to pilot the SpeedSource Mazda RX8 to victory in the GT class of the Grand Prix of Miami while, a little further back, Joey Hand drove the Turner Motorsport BMW M6 to sixth place in GT, together with co-drivers Bill Auberlen and Paul Della Lana.

Earlier, Hand teamed with Michael Marsal to finish third in the Continental Tires Challenge in their Turner Motorsport BMW M3 couple.  Of course, the big news in Continental Tires Challenge was the fact that iRacer Jack Roush Jr. – together with co-driver Bill Johnson – scored the 400th victory in the history of Roush Motorsports at Homestead.  Roush had put the Roush Ford Mustang on pole only to be sent to the back after technical inspection revealed an unapproved part on the car.  Undeterred, Roush motored into the lead before handing-off to Johnson who brought the car home for the win.

What’s more, another iRacing member - Derek Whitis – teamed with Tom Long to drive the Freedom Autosport Mazda MX5 to the Continental Tires Challenge ST class win.  Things didn’t go quite so well for the iRacing contingent in the Daytona Prototype class of Saturday’s Rolex GRAND-AM Series race.  iRacer Alex Gurney came home third in the Gainsco Riley/Chevrolet he shared with Jon Fogarty, while Ryan Dalziel came home fifth, one better than fellow iRacer Ricky Taylor.

Up the road at Atlanta Motor Speedway, meanwhile, the Kobalt Tools 500 saw iRacer A.J. Allmendinger earn his best finish since last year’s Daytona 500, coming home sixth in the Richard Petty Motorsports Ford Fusion.  Fellow iRacer Scott Speed was tenth, one better than Marcos Ambrose, while Dale Earnhardt, Jr. finished fifteenth and moved up two notches to thirteenth in the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings.   On the other hand, iRacer Brad Keselowski saw his hopes of a top five finish demolished (along with his car) when he flipped after Carl Edwards intentionally “turned” him in the closing laps of the race.  While Keselowski escaped injury, NASCAR official indicated they are reviewing the incident and will announce any penalties to Edwards on Tuesday.

HAMPTON, Ga. — Carl Edwards got even, but in the process, he might have bitten off a bit more than he can chew…points-wise, that is.

Edwards retaliated against Brad Keselowski near the end of the Kobalt Tools 500 on Sunday, 283 laps after Keselowski sent Edwards for a ride that severely damaged his Scotts Ford.

The result was Keselowski’s car getting airborne and hitting the wall in the frontstretch, bringing back painful memories of a similar crash between the two at Talladega Superspeedway last April.

The two antagonists were crystal clear in their remarks after the race, and they were the only ones. Everyone else refused to comment on much of anything, including NASCAR.

“It looked like it could have been payback from the No. 99 [Edwards] on the No. 12 [Keselowski],” said NASCAR Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton after the race. “We talked with Carl after the race and we have an understanding about it and we will talk internally again as a group on Monday or Tuesday of this week and make any decision on if there will be any other actions that we will take.”

Edwards was clear, if understated, in his comments once his car reached the garage area.

“Brad knows the deal between him and me,” Edwards said. “The scary part is his car went airborne, which is not at all what I expected. At the end of the day, we’re out here to race and people have to have respect for one another and I have a lot of respect for people’s safety.

“I wish it wouldn’t have gone like it did, but I’m glad he’s OK and we’ll just go on and race some more and maybe he and I won’t get into any more incidents together.”

Keselowski, who has a reputation as a hard charger who gets into his share of incidents, was more aggrieved.

“To come back and intentionally wreck someone, that’s not cool,” he said. “You could have killed someone in the grandstands. I know that’s a little ironic that it’s got me saying that, but at least I didn’t do it intentionally when it happened.

“It will be interesting to see how NASCAR reacts to it. They have the ball; if they’re going to allow people to intentionally wreck each other at tracks this fast, we will hurt someone either in the cars or the grandstands. It’s not cool to intentionally wreck someone at 195 miles per hour.”

Keselowski was the one doing the bumping at Talladega last year, when Edwards’ car turned sideways and flew first to Ryan Newman’s windshield, then the outer wall and catchfence. Fans were injured in that incident, and Keselowski made the case that it was just hard racing.

The incident that triggered Edwards’ retaliation happened on lap 41.

“We were on the restart and I was going for the bottom,” Edwards said. “I knew Brad was peeking inside, but I thought he’d give me just a little bit of room and he didn’t and we ended up overlapping. I had it saved and I guess I got into the 20 car at the very top of the race track.

“I didn’t see that part of it, but it’s so frustrating for a number of reasons, most of which is that I love racing here. I love this race track and I want to be out there driving right now. I know Brad has made his career on being super-aggressive. We both had a part in it and it’s not his fault, but it’s just a little too aggressive overall, I think, for that early in the race and caused us to wreck.”

Keselowski, to continue the he-said, he-said banter, said he did back off, just not enough.

“He cut down on me on a restart and I lifted,” he said. “I couldn’t lift fast enough for him. I lifted to let him in, but I was there. I don’t know what more you can do…car low…that’s what they say.

“I was underneath him and tried to cut him a break. It was too late, though, he turned down. I apologized to him, but there was nothing I could do in that situation.”

Keselowski has had run-ins with several drivers in both the NASCAR Nationwide Series and the Sprint Cup Series, including Edwards, Denny Hamlin and Juan Pablo Montoya.

HAMPTON, Ga. — It’s springtime in Atlanta, so there must be some talk about Goodyear tires on race day, right?

Right.

Depending on where you were at the end and how your day went, there were many differing opinions on how the new-construction tires that Goodyear brought to Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Kobalt Tools 500.

Race winner Kurt Busch said he was happy with the way his tires performed on his way to victory lane.

“I felt like we had great restarts all day long,” Busch said. “I feel like we didn’t have any tire spin at all and that squirted us ahead. If you get into a panic, the guy takes off in front of you, you end up slipping your tires.”

Crew chief Steve Addington said he paid close attention to the tires all day long, and that was one of his keys to victory.

“Everything looked great all day long,” Addington said. “We had that one set that we felt was pretty loose. We had a small blister on the right rear. That run was pretty loose from the beginning. We missed it a little bit on the adjustment.

“You can look at those things forever and not see why it’s a looser set or a freer set. It goes along with your adjustment. All our stuff looked great. That’s one thing that I can see we pay attention to the tire wear on the car, especially when you come to a place like Atlanta and have a big falloff in the tire wear. We paid attention to that and tried to be easy and put grip in the car with our setup. So it worked out. We didn’t have any issues all day long really.”

Third-place finisher Juan Pablo Montoya said the key was balance.

“I think when you have a good balance, I think you can look after the tires a little bit better,” he said. “I struggled.

“The USF1 Team have indicated that they will not be in a position to participate in the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship,” a FIA statement said. “Having considered the various options, the FIA confirms that it is not possible for a replacement team to be entered for the Championship at this late stage. In the coming days the FIA will announce details of a new selection process to identify candidates to fill any vacancies existing at the start of the 2011 season.”

This makes sense because now the prospective teams and the FIA can sort out their future in a calm, orderly and professional manner.

As for StefanGP hoping to race in Bahrain without an official entry [never mind not having any cars] and wanting to compete in the FIA Formula One World Championship, that’s like a group of unknown guys showing up outside the NFL offices and saying: “We don’t belong to your league, and we don’t really have a properly organized team, but do you mind letting us in so we can play against some of your teams?”

US F1 now waits for the FIA to decide what the criteria will be for new teams to enter the championship in 2011.

“We are not done as is being reported,” team boss Ken Anderson told National Speed Sport News. “We are just on hold until we hear from the FIA.”

If the FIA doesn’t give the team an entry for 2011, then it’s all over. The team really fell behind schedule in mid-January [about one week after NSSN visited US F1’s base in Charlotte] when an expected sponsor payment did not arrive. Last week the staff was told that the team has been temporarily shut down.

Anderson said that YouTube’s Chad Hurley still has faith in the team, and he said rumors that executive vice president Peter Windsor had left the team were untrue.

“If the FIA grants us a reprieve to be able to come out in 2011, then we have the funding committed,” Anderson told Autosport. “We have a factory, people, machines and parts. People can come here and see how we can be on the grid in 2011, so it is a lot easier to raise money for that.”

But will the FIA grant US F1 a one-year deferment? Or will it open up the 2011 entry slot to bids from a number of applicants?

The landmark deal was formally signed in Moscow March 1, and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin gave the agreement his public endorsement.

Having lost title sponsor ING last year, Renault needs some major income and the Lada rubles will help fill the coffers. With Petrov and the link with Lada, the popularity of F-1 will grow in Russia. But it remains to be seen if Ecclestone’s dreams of a Russian Grand Prix get anywhere closer to reality.

- Will there be a protest against McLaren’s rear wing at the first race?

The team invited FIA technical delegate Charlie Whiting to inspect the car at its factory but that visit was delayed. Rival teams have questioned the way the engine cover and air box meld into the rear wing, and are suspicious that it illegally causes the rear wing to “stall” and thus improve straightline speed. No doubt other teams will soon copy McLaren’s design if it’s declared legal.

- The new Campos team has been renamed the Hispania Racing F1 Team — HRT F-1 — after Jose Ramon Carabante bought a majority share in the outfit founded by ex-F1 driver Adrian Campos. The new name was chosen to reflect the team’s Spanish roots. India’s Karun Chandhok and Brazil’s Bruno Senna have been confirmed as the drivers. HRT unveiled its car built by Dallara on Thursday, just eight days before the first practice session of the season.

- Despite StefanGP’s claims it could be ready to race in Bahrain, and that it would present its cars to the world last week, the cars remained where they have always been — in Toyota’s ex-F1 factory in Germany. “We have two 2010 F1 cars here in the workshop,” a source at Toyota told National Speed Sport News. “They are complete and would have been ready to go to Bahrain if required. They are both in plain red livery.”

- Jacques Villeneuve, who had been one of the mooted drivers for StefanGP, says he still hopes to find a ride with another team in 2010 should something open up, and he’s aiming at 2011 as well.

- Which of the new teams will be the fastest? “In Barcelona [testing], Lotus and Virgin were only a good second faster than a GP2 car, for which Dallara has all the data. And according to Dallara’s estimates we should be at least two seconds faster than a GP2 car right from the word go,” said HRT’s Bruno Senna.

- Although eight of the 12 teams are based in England, it’s interesting that only McLaren, Williams and Virgin are officially entered as British teams this season.

The rest are as follows: Red Bull, Austria; Force India, India; HRT, Spain; Mercedes, Germany; Renault, France; Ferrari, Italy; Lotus, Malaysia; Toro Rosso, Italy; Sauber, Switzerland.

F-1 is getting the league of nations flair that A1 GP tried to obtain but with the added bonus of having star drivers besides.

“Working with [Hamilton] now, he is very, very easy to get on with; very professional,” Button said. “I was blown away with how well mannered he is. It just shows his family upbringing. He’s the kind of guy who opens the door for you. I mean, I do, too, but more for women.”

But what happens when they finally go head-to-head on a grand prix weekend?

“You always go into a team thinking you’re equal to the best in the world,” Button said. “Nobody ever knows until you race against other drivers who are competitive. But I’m not going into the first race thinking ‘If he beats me in this race, that’s it, it’s game over.’
“Nor am I thinking if I beat him ‘Yay, that’s it, I’ve won the championship.’ It’s not like that. It’s a 19-race series, a long championship, and we will see what happens.”

McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh said: “At some point, one of them is going to feel uncomfortable because he is getting beaten by the other.”

Will both McLaren drivers still be smiling as broadly at the end of the season?

Bruce Ashmore, Alan Mertens and Tim Wardrop announced Friday the creation of BAT Engineering. The trio has already announced plans to submit a comprehensive proposal to the Indy Racing League that focuses on creating a new competition platform and bringing new jobs to Indiana.

The group also revealed computer-generated images of its proposed Indy car design, which they say will be fast while providing strength and structure to allow for hard racing among the competitors.

BAT Engineering used computer aided design and computational fluid dynamics software to develop the shape and aerodynamics of the new car.

BAT’s bid is based on a program that would see the design built within a 30-mile radius of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, using American labor. Further details of the concept, which features strength, protected wheels and stable aerodynamics to ensure close racing, will be announced later.

- For the first time in her career, Milka Duno will run the complete IZOD IndyCar Series schedule after joining Dale Coyne Racing for the 2010 season.

This is Duno’s fourth season in IndyCar competition. Last year she competed on a part-time basis with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, earning a best finish of 16th.

“I look forward to competing with Dale Coyne Racing. I’ve had the chance to speak with Dale and the team to discuss goals for the season and we are in harmony in all areas”, said Duno. “For the past three seasons I’ve only run partial schedules and I’m anxious to be competing in all the races this year. Doing so builds momentum and maintains consistency that I feel is a key factor to good results. The full schedule includes seven races at tracks that I have yet to compete on so I will be doing my absolute best to learn these new tracks as quickly as possible. This full season will be challenging — but I’m very thankful for the opportunity.”

Coyne fielded an entry for Justin Wilson in 2009. The Coyne-Wilson combination proved successful as Wilson won at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) Int’l last season. It was the first victory for Coyne in open-wheel competition.

Roush’s son, Jack, Jr. along with co-driver Billy Johnson, wheeled their Roush Racing Ford Mustang from 34th on the grid to win the Grand Am sanctioned Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Series event at the 2.3-mile road course.

“It makes me feel old,” said the elder Roush who was on site for the victory. “It was ironic that my son was there. I know that when he was about three weeks old I had a serious drag racing wreck in my pro stock car.

“The best way for me to approach this is to put myself in both drivers’ situations,” he said of the incident between his Penske Racing teammate Brad Keselowski and Carl Edwards. “If I was in the situation, you know, it’s one thing to sweat somebody and pinch him a little bit up against the wall, take their line away, or to make it hard on them for a few laps, or for a full run if you want to, but to see what had happened, why it happened, I don’t know what led up to that.

“I can’t really speak on which way NASCAR’s gonna view it. But the way I view it is, hey, if NASCAR disciplines Edwards for it, that’s what they saw in their mind. If they don’t, that’s what they saw in their mind and that’s why they didn’t react.

“It’s not for me to judge how to penalize somebody.”

- Before that, however, Busch said he was “a bit disturbed” by what he saw on the replay.

“To see a guy that’s a hundred laps down take out a guy that’s run really well, that was a tough, tough pill to swallow,” he said. “It reminded me of when Keselowski was racing Edwards hard for the win at Talladega, and Edwards ended on the short end of the stick. That was racing for a win. That wasn’t where you were a hundred laps down.”

- Can things get much worse for Robby Gordon? A brand-new race car did not survive a hard trip to the concrete in turn two after a right-rear tire came apart on lap four. He’s fine; his car is toast.

- “I like old, slick, wore-out race tracks,” said Brian Vickers. He really likes Atlanta, then. It’s the new Darlington!

- Kyle Busch has a deep respect for Jimmie Johnson and the Lowe’s team. “They’re the best of the best,” he said. “There’s no question that the 48 team is the best team probably in history.”

- Ryan Newman and Tony Stewart had to drop to the rear of the field for the start for changing engines after practice, and Greg Biffle wadded up his Ford and had to go to the rear as well.

- During practice and qualifying, the temperatures were fairly low and that meant the cars were bottoming out. “The track has a lot of grip in it right now, and we run these cars so close to the ground so it doesn’t take much to put them over the edge,” said David Reutimann. “With the speeds being up and the track being rough in spots, the cars are getting into the track pretty hard.”

- LifeLock has joined The Folds of Honor Foundation as a sponsor. LifeLock will promote the foundation, which takes care of military families with educational support and opportunities. The foundation provided Major Ed Pulido’s daughters with full college scholarships after he lost a leg and underwent 38 surgeries.

- U.S. Olympic Bobsled gold medalist Steve Holcomb had good things to say about Boris Said, a long-time supporter of the Bo-Dyne Bobsled Project. “He does it a lot and is a big supporter,” Holcomb said. When informed that Boris was only one of two drivers not to have turned a sled over, he laughed. “Just jinxed himself, didn’t he? You don’t mess with the bobsled drivers!”

- Kevin Harvick knows how to endear himself to the media. Asked if he anticipated the RCR cars being as strong as they have been in the early races (with the added implication that the media didn’t anticipate it either), Harvick laughed. “I don’t listen to anything you guys anticipate. I know that for sure.”

- Tony Stewart on the rigors of being a team owner/driver/superstar. “I have to send girlfriends out to go shop for me because I can’t even tell you what the current clothes are. I have to send somebody to do it for me so I don’t look like I’m stuck in the ’80s anymore.”

- How are things between the Earnhardt Ganassi Racing teammates who crashed last week at Las Vegas? “He sent me a text saying ‘la-la-la-la-la’ and he was sorry and the whole thing,” said Juan Montoya of Jamie McMurray. “I said don’t worry about it. It happens. It’s racing. Move on.”

Greger Huttu was in dominant form (again) at VIR, taking his second iDWC win in as many races. Here he puts a lap on tenth placed Dion Vergers.

“Getting the pole is usually a nice advantage with the rolling starts, and I got away a little in this race as well,” offered the series leader. “I saw Bastien Bartsch and Rich Towler battling it out behind me, which allowed me to build a gap on the opening laps. After that I had enough pace to keep increasing the gap lap by lap. It was a pretty straightforward race for me in that way, I didn’t have any close calls or anything.

It wasn’t easy though as VIR is a tough track and there are a couple of places where if you put a wheel off the next thing you know you’re in the wall. In the end, it was a great team effort for us as well with Bastien and Dom finishing in third and fourth.”

Huttu now carries a 16 point lead in the iDWCRR, following his domination of the opening rounds, something the Finn certainly wasn’t expecting in the series’ inaugral season. “I’m really happy to get my second win and I’m a bit surprised about my pace in these first two races,” says Huttu.

Despite suffering from technical ’splutters,’ Towler, a former Redline Racing team mate of Huttu, brought his Dallara home in second position, to remain hot on the heels of the championship leader. The Englishman, who by his own admission had an ‘uneventful’ race, was plagued with performance issues ahead of the start. “I went from been able to run 33.7 to 34.0’s in race trim to struggling to run a low 44 all race.” Towler shared. “Aside from that my race went OK.   I managed to get Shawn Purdy into Turn One and Bastian Bartsch on Lap Four, so from that point it was a case of bring the car home in second place. It was kind of an anti-climax, as Bastien dropped-off a bit and with Dom Duhan and Shawn having problems, I was just left in second place.”

Moving up to third in the championship, Bartsch’s podium finish at the mamouth VIR circuit secured him 92 points, putting him 28 marks off the series lead. Bartsch had started second on the 34 car grid, but by the time the green flag dropped, the Frenchman was feeling the tension.

“In the race I wasn’t very confident with the car, so I preferred to drive carefully to cross the line with an entire Dallara,” commented a relieved Bartsch from the third step of the podium. “I managed to stay second on Lap One, even though I missed my Turn One marker, braking too early. Then, Rich Towler overtook me on Lap Four or Five I think. It was the last highlight in my race, since I finished third, increasing slightly the gap from fourth until the end.”

With Huttu, Bartsch and Towler already up the road, Purdy heads Duhan, Haapala, Murray and the rest on the opening lap.

Stepping in to the top five of the championship for the first time this season, Darren Marsh’s sixth place finish came about from sheer tenacity, with his persistance paying-off as others around him succumbed to the devilish turns of Virginia.

“I lost time and dropped back from Ryan Murray with a couple of messy laps and I had nothing to come back with,” offered Marsh. “Luckily for me he spun; but after that Derek Wood picked up the pace and was right on me before he pitted. I stopped a couple of laps later, stayed in front and a couple laps later on, Derek spun off, leaving me out in the middle of nowhere for the rest of the race.”

Putting-in a battling performance in Round Two of the iDWCRR series, Duhan overcame rear suspension damage to bring his car home in fourth spot. On only the second lap of the race, Duhan’s attempt to pass Purdy on the approach to Roller Coaster saw the pair touch wheels, sending the Canadian hurtling across track and grass into the out-field tirewall.

“I got a good run on Shawn and thought I did enough to pass, but obviously not,” confessed Duhan.  “We clipped and I saw him go off the track.  I sustained a small amount of suspension damage, which like at Barber made the car looser to drive and a bit tricky. This came to a head at Turn One on the next lap, when I found it very hard to brake in my normal place and I went off a couple of laps later.”

Having got used to the ‘new’ handling of his car, the Englishman found himself locked in a head-to-head battle with Ilkka Haapala, with Duhan getting the jump on the Finn in the pits.

Duhan swoops through the Hog Pen en route to a fourth place finish.

“After Ilkka pitted earlier [for his first stop] I thought I could get a fast lap in and leap-frog him in the pits, but unfortunately I got stuck behind a lapper at a crucial moment and that cost me the place. After battling with Ilkka for another 20 laps or so he pitted and allowed me to get a few flying laps in on low fuel. I managed to pass him in the pits and seal fourth place.”

Although Purdy sustained substantial damage in the collision, after pulling his car out of the tires, he somehow continued and brought his decidedly second-hand Dallara home in seventeenth position.

“I messed up Oak Tree a bit which gave Dom a run on me; I felt like I left enough room as I practiced going side by side through that turn,” the bruised and disappointed Canadian commented at the end of 49 laps grueling laps. “From my point of view it looked like Dom washed out a bit and it was too late for me to react to it.

The contact wasn’t hard, but for some reason my car just launched into the grass where at that point I was pretty much a passenger. I almost saved it on the grass, but then there was a wall in my way.”

Finishing outside of the top ten has cost Purdy his slot amongst the elite five of the iDWCRR and with 139 points to his name, the likes of Dion Vergers and Mattea Callestani are threatening his sixth spot in the championship. Vergers, who has now collected top ten finishes from both of his races this season, had hardly envisaged such a strong end to the 50 lap event.

“I went into the race unsure what to expect.  VIR is a tough track and I’ve never felt really comfy there. So I was actually quite happy just to qualify and be on the grid here in twenty-fourth.” exuded the Benelux driver following Saturday’s race. “With some small mistakes from others, and a good second pit stop, I was actually able to make it into the top ten, which I am very happy with.”

Scoring his highest result of the season so far, the man of few words, Matteo Callestani now occupies eighth in the title chase with 133 points.  “Seventh place overall in the end, is a great result for myself,” responded the Italian before departing the Virginia circuit. A solitary point behind Callestani in the standings, California’s Bryan Heitkotter eventually found some confidence in his car to work his way through the field for a top twelve finish. “I didn’t put-in the time this week to get up to speed, or to even hash-out a setup. In qualifying I just didn’t have the speed and wasn’t feeling motivated to drive this car with intensity,” Heitkotter earnestly shared with inRacingNews. “It was a slow start to my race today with a rough qualifying session. With the attrition and the measured race I ran I finished twelfth. Turns out my fastest race lap wasn’t so terribly far off the pace of the other humans, so who knows what might have happened if I had qualified better.”

Heitkotter avoids a wayward Chris Palmer en route from twenty-sixth on the grid to a twelfth place finish.

Despite not finishing a race outside of the teens, Ales Simunek finds himself coyly occupying tenth position in the championship. The Czech Republic driver who had struggled with his car’s handling during practice and qualifying was relieved to achieve a finish on the 3.2 mile track. “I did only one mistake in the race which lost me about three to five seconds and then everything worked out very well. After George Sandman’s problems in the last laps, I finished in thirteenth position which is another great result for me.”

Week Three of the iRacing Drivers World Championship Road Racing Series heads to Daytona’s road course. Whilst Huttu has carved himself a small lead in the title chase, the likes of Towler, Purdy and Duhan will be looking to stake their claim on the championship and be the first to take a win from the Finn.

Mike Gascoyne: “Our test season was extremely productive - in general we’ve had very good reliability, and the team is in very good shape going to the first race.”

Tony Fernandes: “We are all looking forward to Bahrain; to have Lotus Racing on the grid will be a momentous occasion for all involved and, indeed, for our fans, whose support has been absolutely fantastic since we launched just under six months ago.

“Yes we are a little slower than the major leading teams, however we will get there, with passion, hard work and a clear vision - our aim for this first Grand Prix will be to finish and steadily but surely improve, race by race.”

Although it has been a race against time for the teams, tech boss Mike Gascoyne remains hopeful about Lotus’s chances.

AUTOSPORT heard Gascoyne’s thoughts ahead of the first race of the season.

Q. We’ve had the final pre-season test, and things look fairly solid. You had a few reliability issues but are you happy with where you are?

Mike Gascoyne: Nothing major, just normal stuff to be honest. Nothing that we are worried about. We have far exceeded the mileage that we thought we would do and, starting the project five months ago, the aim was to have a neat simple car that would be reliable for the first four races. It was a pretty tall order, and we’ve achieved it probably better than we expected we could.

Q. Pace-wise, where do you think you are?

MG: The car was a little overweight in Barcelona so we haven’t really done any qualifying runs. When you look at it, each day, the lap time has been around 1m20.5s. If we had a go at it, we would have been in the 23s-high 23s. That is where we are.

Three and a half seconds off the pace - that’s where we said we’d be six months ago and I think that’s where we are. We always said that the first four races were about being respectable, that level of performance and being reliable.

When you look at the presentation of the team and the car and its reliability, we have done what we said we could do. It wasn’t ever going to be possible to do anything other than that. Of course now, when we look at the updates with all of the people we’ve got on board, with wind tunnel resources, CFD coming on stream, we can push the performance, but we’ve got a solid base to do it from. We’ve done everything we’ve said we were going to do.

Q. Virgin Racing seems to be struggling on reliability. At this stage is the most important thing for the new teams to be reliable?

MG: With the best will in the world, none of the new teams are going to score points on merit in the first four races. The only way you are ever going to score points is to finish.

Everyone knows that in the first four races, there is always going to be a good opportunity if you finish - so that has to be the number one aim. That’s how we approached it because if you put new aero bits on it, you can make it quicker. If you’re not finishing you’re not going to get anything. The aim was always to do the first four races and have a car that has a chance of finishing.

Q. In terms of updates and improvements, will it be minor tweaks early on?

MG: There are tweaks coming along, but our major drive is a major update around Barcelona time, depending on the results. There are a lot of things coming through so that’s the sort of time scale.

Q. Operationally, you’ve had just two weeks on track. Is it all going well on that front?

MG: We are 100 percent where we want to be. We have got experienced guys, experienced engineers, experienced mechanics - just look at the number of laps we did at every day at the test. From that point of view, operationally, we are totally sorted.

Q. Have you paid much attention to what is going on further up the order?

MG: It is not really our problem. We are obviously concentrating on fixing our bits, and we want to make sure we are race reliable. I think it is going to be a great year – and you look at the times from the final day of the test and you can see it is going to be pretty exciting. Obviously the top four teams are very close.

How are Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen coming on?

MG: Good. I think they know what they have signed up for. They are realistic about where the pace of the car is at the moment.

I think there have been a couple of headlines that make it sound they are much more negative than they actually are. You can be realistic and say the car lacks downforce – and that flashes a headline. But if you talk to them, they are saying, ‘The team is great, and the progress is amazing’ so there are a lot of positives. Some of these comments get seized as headlines when they don’t mean them as such, but they are actually very positive about where the team is – and impressed with being part of the team. I think they are pretty happy.

Q. And it must have been a big help for you to have two experienced guys pushing you forward?

MG: Massively – because it means you are straight on the pace. Jarno got in the car two days ago, and within four or five laps he said, ‘I understand this is the problem – it’s this, we need to solve that’. You then do some things and he says, ‘yes, this is better, we now have a clear direction.’ So it is clear straight away that he can pick it up.

Q. Does it feel slightly unreal for you that you have got it all done and dusted?

MG: It is in some ways unreal that it is all here and working – when you think back in May/June last year I was sitting in my office at home with a workforce of one. Then, here you are with a full F1 team.

So in some parts you are very satisfied that you have achieved something that is very difficult – then other parts you look at it and say, ‘we are 3.5 seconds off the pace, so if I can get the boys in the wind tunnel to work a bit quicker then we could be there…’

That means part of you isn’t satisfied – you need more. We’ve done one impossible job; we just need to do the second one. It is the old saying: the impossible I can do, miracles might take a little longer!

Q. Your aim from the start was to produce a simple car for the start of the season. With the updates coming, do you think there will be dramatic improvements in time?

MG: Yes. Normally you are chipping away and finding tenths, but now we are looking at updates that will bring us a second. You have to bear in mind that when we were finalising the design of this car, doing the crash structure and radiator inlets, it was still a month away from going in a wind tunnel. The basic radiator configuration had to be designed with no cooling figures, and no data.

People have said the bodywork at the rear is a bit chunky, and it is – because when we were deciding on cooling figures we didn’t have any engine data. And when we took the route that we want to finish the first few races - we had to make sure that it cools, and does all the right things, so we had to do it like that.

Q. So you are bang on course for where you hoped to be at the start of the season – just behind the established teams but with the potential to challenge them over the course of the year?

MG: Yes, I think we are exactly there. It remains to be seen how good the established teams are – because there will be a gap to start with. But it is exactly as we said. Obviously as we get resource on it, then we are going to be able to close the gap.

Formula 1’s new teams have so far not delivered the kind of speed on track that will be needed to challenge the established outfits – but that has not left Gascoyne downbeat about the situation.

In fact, Gascoyne believes that Lotus’ form has been hit by the fact his outfit has been chasing reliability from the outset – as he is well aware that just getting to the finish of grands prix early in the year could deliver some early points.

“With the best will in the world, none of the new teams are going to score points on merit in the first four races,” Gascoyne told AUTOSPORT ahead of the season opener in Bahrain. “The only way you are ever going to score points is to finish.

“Everyone knows that in the first four races, there is always going to be a good opportunity if you finish - so that has to be the number one aim.

“That’s how we approached it because if you put new aero bits on it, you can make it quicker. If you’re not finishing you’re not going to get anything. The aim was always to do the first four races and have a car that has a chance of finishing.”

Although the Lotus T127 suffered a few reliability problems in the last test in Barcelona, Gascoyne thinks the team is in good shape considering how little time it has had to get ready for the move in F1.

“[It was] nothing major, just normal stuff, to be honest,” he said about the stoppages in Barcelona.

“Nothing that we are worried about. We have far exceeded the mileage that we thought we would do and, starting the project five months ago, the aim was to have a neat simple car that would be reliable for the first four races. It was a pretty tall order, and we’ve achieved it probably better than we expected we could.”

Lotus is planning a major aerodynamic upgrade in time for the start of the European season in Bahrain – with Gascoyne expecting big leaps forward in pace.

“Normally you are chipping away and finding tenths, but now we are looking at updates that will bring us a second,” he said.

“You have to bear in mind that when we were finalising the design of this car, doing the crash structure and radiator inlets, it was still a month away from going in a wind tunnel. The basic radiator configuration had to be designed with no cooling figures, and no data.

“People have said the bodywork at the rear is a bit chunky, and it is – because when we were deciding on cooling figures we didn’t have any engine data. And when we took the route that we want to finish the first few races - we had to make sure that it cools, and does all the right things, so we had to do it like that.”

Q. After four weeks of testing, do you feel ready to go racing?

RK: I feel as ready as I can be considering that winter testing has been so limited. I’ve spent a lot of time with the team and we already have a strong working relationship, which means we can make the most of the time at the track. There has been a lot for me to learn and there are still questions to answer, but we got some good information from the tests and I tried to extract the maximum from every lap.

Q. How do you think the R30 compares with the competition?

RK: It’s difficult to judge performance, but we’re heading in the right direction. We also haven’t run with all our new updates yet and there is another aero upgrade for Bahrain, which we hope will match the wind tunnel predictions and improve performance. Overall, it seems that all the top teams are quite close, but some have definitely hidden their full potential during testing and will also have more updates for Bahrain. So far, I think Ferrari and Mercedes look very strong.

Q. What aims do you have in mind for the year ahead?

RK: It will be a long season and our goal must be to develop faster than our competitors. There was a big gap to make up at the end of 2009 so we will have to take two steps forward if we want to catch the top teams. Performance is what we need - it’s always the best medicine. Bahrain has a new layout this year. Do you think it will encourage more overtaking?

I don’t think the layout will make overtaking easier. The biggest overtaking opportunities are still there in the old part of the track and the new part is quite twisty with a lot of corners, but no heavy braking zones. So the overtaking will happen in the usual places – into turns one and four.

Q. Set-up wise what’s the secret to a good lap?

RK: Bahrain is a circuit that requires good braking stability and traction. There are no real high-speed corners so the set-up work focuses more on the mechanical side.

Vitaly Petrov

Q. Vitaly, how excited are you ahead of your first race?

VP: People are asking me if I feel nervous, but I’m used to racing and I know what I need to do. Of course things are different in F1 and I’m still learning about the car and how to work with the team. But I feel good and I can’t wait to go racing in Bahrain.

Q. How tough has it been to get up to speed with Formula 1?

VP: It hasn’t been easy, especially because we had so much wet running during testing. You always want more time to test and more time in the car, but that’s how it is. The problem is that I haven’t had a lot of time to work on setting up the car in the dry. What I have found is that you need to be really precise with any changes you make to the set-up because even a little change can make a huge difference to the car’s behaviour.

Q. What do you think of the circuit in Bahrain? Is it a track you enjoy?

VP: I know the track and raced on the old layout in GP2, but obviously the new section is a new challenge for all the drivers. I don’t think about whether I enjoy tracks: all that matters to me is that the car works well and we can find a good balance. Bahrain is all about braking performance and, with the heavy fuel loads, this will be very challenging because it will be easy to lock a wheel and flat-spot your tyres early in the race.

Q. What is your target for your first race?

VP: It hard to say because we still don’t know where we stand compared to the other teams and I haven’t driven the car with all the new updates. I need to be realistic in Bahrain because it’s my first race and it will be a big learning experience. So my first aim is to build my confidence through the weekend, to finish the race and try to be as close to my teammate as possible.

“It has been very tough to understand and unpick the details of winter testing and how we compare with the other teams because we don’t know what approach they have taken,” said Boullier ahead of this weekend’s season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.

“We took a decision to run with heavy fuel at every test because we believed this was the best way to understand and improve the car.

“In terms of outright performance, I hope we are close to the top four teams,” added the Frenchman, who is now in charge of the team following the exit of Flavio Briatore.

Polish driver Robert Kubica agreed that it was very hard to tell how strong Renault will be, but he believes the French squad is at least working in the right direction.

“It’s difficult to judge performance, but we’re heading in the right direction,” he said. “We also haven’t run with all our new updates yet and there is another aero upgrade for Bahrain, which we hope will match the wind tunnel predictions and improve performance.

“Overall, it seems that all the top teams are quite close, but some have definitely hidden their full potential during testing and will also have more updates for Bahrain. So far, I think Ferrari and Mercedes look very strong.”

Team-mate Vitaly Petrov, making his grand prix debut this weekend, admitted he was eager to go racing.

“People are asking me if I feel nervous, but I’m used to racing and I know what I need to do,” the Russian said. “Of course things are different in F1 and I’m still learning about the car and how to work with the team. But I feel good and I can’t wait to go racing in Bahrain.”

Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner said last week that his team was seeking clarification from the FIA about the rear wing concept of the MP4-25 - the design of which he believed was helping to stall it at high-speed and give the car more straight-line speed.

In the wake of the controversy, McLaren offered FIA technical chief Charlie Whiting the chance to give the wing another inspection during a meeting originally set-up to discuss other matters at its Woking factory last week.

That inspection did not take place, however, after Whiting suffered delays to his travel plans while he returned from a trip to South America and therefore had to cancel his visit.

With the FIA having already had correspondence with McLaren about the design of the wing, and not believing there to be a problem. AUTOSPORT has learned that the matter will now wait until the cars are in the garages in Bahrain.

McLaren is far from worried about the matter – which comes on the back of an encouraging final test for the team at Barcelona.

Team principal Martin Whitmarsh told The Daily Telegraph last week: “The wing is different and innovative, yes. But we have been in contact with Charlie over a period of several months to check that it complies with regulations. We have been assured that it does.”

The racing legend fell down three floors of a lift shaft following a malfunction with the lift doors - when they opened on the third floor while the lift was still a floor further up.

Moss broke both ankles and four bones in his feet, plus suffered further damage to his vertebrae, in the fall. Luckily he did not suffer any internal injuries.

Following the accident, Moss was admitted to the London Hospital and then later moved to the Princess Grace Hospital, following the intervention of Professor Sid Watkins. Doctors hope he can be moved out of intensive care later on Monday, and his life is not in danger.

Despite the severity of his injuries, his wife Lady Moss reports him to be in high spirits.

“We finished 2009 on a real high note - our first-ever points, a podium and one place up in the Constructors’ Championship,” said Mallya in a team preview ahead of this weekend’s first race of the season in Bahrain.

“That is enough in itself to set the bar much higher this season, but we’re really determined to take it to the next level.

“Regular points and the odd podium have got to be the aim and we know it is possible. I have a lot of faith in the drivers and the technical staff, I think we’ve got into a very good rhythm together now.”

The Indian admits he is confident the new car can help the team keep its momentum going, after a promising showing during winter testing.

“I have been very encouraged by the entire performance, both at the track and at the factory,” he added. “The testing times gave very positive headlines, but it is very difficult to know where we are until we get to Bahrain.

“Certainly however the initial reports from the drivers are encouraging and when that happens it’s worth another three to four tenths - if they feel happy and confident in the car then that they can really attack.”

Race driver Tonio Liuzzi reckons Force India should be able to score its first point already this weekend.

“For the first race we want to show that our winter work has paid off. Points are our target for the time being and getting into the top ten, as high as possible,” Liuzzi said.

“Being realistic, a few points should be feasible and hopefully everything goes as well as in testing with good reliability for the first race.”

Q. What are your thoughts ahead of what could be a crucial season for Force India?

A: We finished 2009 on a real high note - our first-ever points, a podium and one place up in the Constructors’ Championship. That is enough in itself to set the bar much higher this season, but we’re really determined to take it to the next level. Regular points and the odd podium have got to be the aim and we know it is possible. I have a lot of faith in the drivers and the technical staff, I think we’ve got into a very good rhythm together now.

Q. Have you been encouraged by the performance over the winter?

A: I have been very encouraged by the entire performance, both at the track and at the factory. The testing times gave very positive headlines, but it is very difficult to know where we are until we get to Bahrain. Certainly however the initial reports from the drivers are encouraging and when that happens it’s worth another three to four tenths - if they feel happy and confident in the car then that they can really attack.

Q. What is it that has made the difference this year for Force India?

A: The key point was that last year we had a good baseline car and we improved throughout the year in a very structured manner. In the second part of the season we were very successful - at times we even had a potential winning car - and with that in mind we went into the winter and developed this foundation as much as possible. That stability is crucial and we have been able to focus 100% on emphasising the strong points while addressing the weaker areas. I think Mark [Smith] and his team have done an excellent job.

Adrian Sutil

Q. Adrian, you’ve now finished the VJM03’s winter testing programme - how did this go?

A: The baseline car we have now after 12 days of testing looks very good and promising. The changes we have made during the winter have all had a positive effect. Testing went well and although there was a lot of rain over the period, the last two days in Barcelona were OK. We did our long runs and a lot of work with the tyres so we are fully prepared. We are pretty confident that our car is good enough to be in the top ten in Bahrain.

Q. From the testing, it is possible to see how the competition is faring?

A: You can see a little bit, but you can’t be 100% sure as you never know what the other teams are doing with their programme. That said, you can tell that some of the big teams like McLaren and Ferrari look very strong on both the long runs and qualifying runs and are always on the top of the timesheets. I am expecting them to be on the top again in the race weekend but we are not far away and that’s a really good sign.

Q. One new addition to the team is a new team-mate for you in the form of Paul di Resta. You’ve raced against him before?

A: Yes, it was a long time ago, but in F3 in 2005 we raced against each other. I think he is a very good driver and it’s great to have him on board in the team as he can help develop the car with us. He will do some Friday sessions too so will get some experience, it’s a good opportunity for everyone.

Q. Looking forward to Bahrain, what would be a good result for you?

A: Hopefully in the top ten and I think that should be possible. I would hope we could score a few points. For everything else, it is very difficult to say what else will happen, but I am fine with any position within the top 10 - that’s my goal for the moment.

Tonio Liuzzi

Q. You covered a lot of kilometres in pre-season testing. How did that go for you?

A: I had five and a half days in the car and I learnt a lot of things about the car over this time. We had several test items to get to the optimum level for the start of the season and generally every item we tested had a positive effect. The car responds very well to any change, it’s definitely going in the right direction. For sure the weather didn’t help, but fortunately the car showed formidable reliability and performance, so in my mind there is a really strong preparation for Bahrain and the rest of the season.

Q. How would you judge this car compared to the other cars you have driven in your career?

A: In my five years of F1 this is definitely the best car I’ve driven, It’s the most balanced, and knowing that has made me feel so much stronger and confident. Of course you can never know exactly where you are compared to the others but we can go to Bahrain feeling optimistic and positive.

Q. And Bahrain has a new track lay-out. Have you had a chance to look at this?

A: I’ve had a look on Google earth and on the simulator. I think they have just made it much longer and slower and I’m not a big fan of this type of track as I love high speed corners and circuits. I don’t think there will be any more overtaking opportunities as the track goes through too tight an area. But it’s the same for everybody and we need to get used it. We’ll see when we walk the track on Thursday.

Q. What are your aims for this race?

A: For the first race we want to show that our winter work has paid off. Points are our target for the time being and getting into the top ten, as high as possible. Being realistic, a few points should be feasible and hopefully everything goes as well as in testing with good reliability for the first race.

Paul di Resta, test and reserve driver

Q. Paul, it must have been a bit of a whirlwind since February when you were announced as the test and reserve driver. What have you been doing since then?

A: It’s certainly been busy! I’ve been in Spain during all the F1 tests and it’s been quite a hectic schedule with three tests in three weeks. I’ve also spent some time at the factory, getting to know the team and the engineers and generally settling in. I had two half days in the car in quite difficult rainy conditions, which was not ideal, but I did at least learn about what to expect when it does rain and how to find that level when you need to change tyres: hopefully it’s something I will have to deal with later in my career. But it’s nice to get a feeling for the car going into the season, the strong points and how we deal with weaker spots. Any experience for me at the moment is valuable.

Q. You’ve also been testing the DTM cars as well, sometimes switching literally overnight. How has that been going - has it given you a taster of how things will go this year when you are swapping F1 for DTM?

A: F1 and DTM are quite different to each other but so far I have done a switch from F1 to DTM and then one back again. The last time I didn’t even notice it had happened, so already I am learning how to deal with it. Both cars require a different mindset but I am sure I will be able to do it with more experience without really having to think about it.

Q. What are your feelings heading into Bahrain?

A: For sure I am very excited. It’s a great thrill to be going there as part of an F1 team. Although I’m not going to be driving during free practice, Bahrain is a great track, I’ve raced there before in F3, and I can’t wait to get on the plane and head off for the first weekend. I’m realistic there are lots of challenges ahead of us and only in Bahrain will we really know where car is on the field, but everyone is very excited to see this. I can’t wait.

Several World Touring Car drivers have joined together to promote a website aiming to help the son of touring car racer Andre Couto.

Couto, who has raced in the WTCC round at Macau every year since 2005, has a six-year-old son, Afonso, who was diagnosed with leukaemia in November.

He has left his home in Macau and is hospitalised in Porto, Portugal and in need of a bone marrow transplant, but a compatible donor is yet to be found.

The SEATs of Gabriele Tarquini, Tiago Monteiro and Tom Coronel carried stickers to promote the www.saveafonso.com site, which is hoping to find a suitable donor, at Curitiba on Sunday.

Andy Priaulx and his charity team have organised a drop-in clinic in Guernsey next week to test for potential donors. For more information visit www.anthonynolan.org.uk or email info@andypriaulx.com.

The event was scheduled to run on April 11, but local authorities informed series bosses last week that the safety of visitors could not be guaranteed due to unrest in the region.

The championship took the decision to abandon the event just as this week’s season opener in Curitiba kicked off. It has not yet been decided whether there will be a replacement or the calendar will reduce to 11 rounds.

“No decision has yet been taken about the possibility to replace the Mexican event,” said series promoter Marcello Lotti. “We will think about it, evaluate the different opportunities and decide before the next meeting at Marrakech.

“I will decide in one month, but it could also be that we can stay with 11 events.”