MUENNICH MOTORSPORT JOINS WORLD RX

German team ALL-INKL.COM Muennich Motorsport will compete in all 12 rounds of this year’s FIA World Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy with two self-developed Audi S3 RX Supercars.  The team, which is owned by renowned World Touring Car driver Rene Muennich, will use 2015 as a development year in a bid to fight for the World RX Teams’ Championship title in 2016.

Muennich made his long-awaited debut in the Audi S3 RX Supercar at last year’s World RX of Germany but since then the Saxony-based team has made a number of changes to the car based on its performance in Estering and also at Franciacorta for the Italian RX round. It is still to be confirmed who will drive for the team but several drivers are expected to test the Audi S3 over the next few weeks.

“World RX will be our main programme this year,” confirmed team owner Muennich. “We will use this year to learn and then we want to fight for the title in 2016. We are pleased about the development of rallycross as a sport and the fact that we can develop our own car is what makes this Championship so special. Even without a strong result in Germany, we saw that our car is fast enough to score a top ten placing and it was interesting to see how the requirements for the cars change as a result of some of the circuits. The top speed on the World RX tracks is high and the grip is much better so we need to adapt the car accordingly.”

Muennich continued: “We have a different engine in the car since Estering as well as a new gearbox, new differentials and brakes.  We also changed the geometry of the rear axle and have a new weight balance. It’s basically a completely new car.  Our team has grown to more than 20 people and we will have more engineers and mechanics this year to help with the development of the cars. The line-up of competitors such as [Petter] Solberg will make this year very challenging for us but we’re very excited to be competing in World RX full-time and can’t wait to get started.”

Muennich Motorsport is the second all-new World Championship team to confirm its participation in this year’s World RX.  The season kicks off with World RX of Portugal at the end of April.

source: fiaworldrallycross.com

Ferrari SF15-T revealed

Ferrari have officially unveiled the SF15-T, the car the Italian team hope will return them to winning ways in 2015. 

The new machine, which will be driven by Ferrari’s all-world champion line-up of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen, is noticeably different in appearance to last year’s underwhelming F14 T, which became the first Ferrari since 1993 not to score a Grand Prix victory.

“Last year we had an unacceptably large gap in our performance,” technical director James Allison told Ferrari's website. “We’ve tried to make sure that the weaknesses that we felt were particularly noticeable on the ‘14 car were put right for the ‘15 car.”

Like other 2015 cars, the most obvious change from last year is at the front where a long flat nose has been introducued in response to recent rule changes. However, Allison says the rear of the SF15-T received similar attention: “The back of the car is something that is noticeably different from the 2014 car. We have been successful in pulling the bodywork much tighter to all the stuff underneath the skin. That’s been done from a lot of work, not just in the wind tunnel, but also in the design part of the company to try to find radiator designs that were fundamentally more efficient. 

“For every square centimetre of radiator we’re able to extract more cooling this year than last and therefore were able to close the car down at the back as a consequence.”

Another crucial area of development for the Scuderia over the winter was on their power unit, which struggled against the might of Mercedes in 2014.

“We had a number of issues with last year’s power unit,” explained Allison. “Early on in the season the power delivery was not particularly sophisticated so it was tough for the drivers to get the throttle response they wanted. That improved a lot during the season and we’ve taken it a step further for the SF15-T. 

“A definite weakness of last year’s car was that the amount of electrical energy we were able to recover from the turbo was not really good enough for producing competitive power levels during the race. That’s an area where we’ve tried to change the architecture of the engine to make it a better compromise between qualifying and racing performance. 

“And then plain simple horsepower. Enormous amounts of work has gone into all aspects of our combustion efficiency to try to make sure that in this fuel limited formula where every team is only allowed to burn the same amount of fuel, that every single compression stroke, every single ignition stroke is extracting the maximum amount of horsepower and putting it on the road.”

Maurizio Arrivabene, whose appointment as team principal in November was one of a number of key staffing changes at Ferrari over the winter, was full of praise for the new machine.

“Enzo Ferrari said a long time ago that the best car is the winning car. Last year we had an ugly car and it was a non-winning car. I like the car this year in terms of aesthetics. I don’t know about the performance (but) it’s really sexy."

Arrivabene had previously stated that Ferrari’s objective for 2015 should be to win at least two races, and the Italian sees no reason to change that goal.

“I am just realistic,” he said. “Nobody has the magic to change things when things are unchangeable. The car was ready in December and we applied certain modifications that in our opinion are quite interesting. I don’t want to say that we are going to win the world championship but for sure we are committed to win at least two races.

“The work to do is to enhance the team spirit, the passion that was a little bit lost in the past few years and to work together very hard with one objective: to win as much as possible.”

The SF15-T is expected to make its track debut at the start of pre-season testing in Spain this Sunday.

source: formula1.com

F1 : Sauber C34 revealed

The Sauber F1 Team will go into the 2015 FIA Formula One Championship with new drivers Marcus Ericsson (SE, 24) and Felipe Nasr (BR, 22). Raffaele Marciello (IT, 20) has signed as test and reserve driver. The roll-out of the new Sauber C34-Ferrari will take place at the first winter test in Jerez de la Frontera (Spain).

With regard to the 2015 season, team principal Monisha Kaltenborn said: “2014 was a very disappointing year. However, this is in the past, and we now focus on what comes next. We have learned our lessons and are confident for the new season.”

The team principal’s prediction for the new season is short and concise: “We have to improve, and be able to fight for championship points.” For the Sauber F1 Team 2015 is its 23rd season in Formula One; it is the fourth oldest of the current brands.

Monisha Kaltenborn is optimistic about the new driver line-up: “I am delighted about our two new drivers who bring a breath of fresh air. Both are young, talented and highly motivated. On their way to Formula 1 both stood out through victories in Formula BMW and Formula 3. Both then finished this career progression off in the GP2-Series. While Marcus looks back to one season in Formula 1, Felipe will have his rookie year in which he comes fully prepared due to his role as test and reserve driver at Williams last year. I feel confident with regard to our drivers.”

Marcus Ericsson also looks into the future with optimism: “I am pleased about being a member of the Sauber F1 Team. After a difficult season, we want to move forward and fight in the mid-field like the team previously did. From a driver’s point of view, I want to continue to learn and establish myself as a Formula One driver. I have the feeling of being in the perfect environment to do so. In Formula One it is difficult to have precise targets, as it depends on the overall package. It is clear that we want to be fighting for points.”

Felipe Nasr explains: “In my rookie season there is a lot to learn, and especially as I have not yet driven on some circuits yet. In general, I am ready to take on this challenge. In my role as test and reserve driver for Williams last year, I was involved in every race weekend. Furthermore, I also had the chance to drive the car a few times, so I think I have a certain understanding of Formula One. Now I am taking the next step in being a race driver, and I am looking forward to bringing my experience from 2014 as well as to supporting the Sauber F1 Team in getting back into the points.”

Test and reserve driver is Raffaele Marciello who, as well as other series, won the 2013 Formula 3 Championship in an outstanding way. Last year he had two podium finishes and won the main GP 2 race in Spa-Francorchamps.  Raffaele will also have the opportunity to participate in some Friday practice sessions during Grands Prix. Monisha Kaltenborn said: “Raffaele’s previous career is impressive. Therefore it is a logical step for us to give him the opportunity to become more familiar with Formula 1. As a team we are pleased to be there with him on his way to the pinnacle of motorsport.”

Raffaele Marciello explained: “I am really pleased to be a member of the Sauber F1 Team, which has a long tradition of building up excellent drivers. I really think that this is the best choice for my future career. I am also happy to compete for one more season in the GP2 Series, which, together with my new F1 role, will give me a very busy 2015 season. I want to thank the people at the Ferrari Driver Academy who are responsible for giving me this important opportunity, and now I really can’t wait to start delivering my best.”

source: sauberf1team.com

Toyota confirms WRC return in 2017

TOYOTA CONFIRMED TODAY THAT IT WILL RETURN TO THE FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP WITH A YARIS WORLD RALLY CAR IN 2017.

Toyota Motor Corporation president Akio Toyoda ended months of speculation when he made the announcement during a press conference in Tokyo, at which the Yaris WRC made its public debut in a launch livery.

The programme will be handled by Toyota Motorsport (TMG) in Cologne, Germany, which has already completed a preliminary test programme in Europe with the Yaris WRC on asphalt and gravel.

Frenchman Eric Camilli, who drove a Ford Fiesta R5 in WRC 2 at Rallye Monte-Carlo, has been selected as the first member of Toyota’s junior driver development scheme.

The 27-year-old will carry out the test programme alongside former Subaru driver Stéphane Sarrazin, now a racer in Toyota’s FIA World Endurance Championship squad, and eight-time Finnish champion Sebastian Lindholm.

Toyoda said his visit to last season’s Neste Oil Rally Finland impressed him.

“During my time there many rally fans asked me when Toyota would come back to WRC. People talked about Toyota’s history in WRC, and I was filled with surprise and gratitude that so many people remembered.

“Last time we competed was in 1999. That makes me think we are not announcing a return, but perhaps a start. We must begin again from scratch and carefully prepare both team and cars," he said.

The current Yaris WRC complies with existing regulations, but changes are expected when updated technical rules are introduced to WRC in 2017.

Toyota won four drivers’ and three manufacturers’ world titles in the 1990s with legendary drivers such as Carlos Sainz and Juha Kankkunen.

Toyota’s return was welcomed by WRC Promoter’s managing director, Oliver Ciesla.

“Toyota has a long and distinguished history in motorsport, particularly in world rallying, and we’re delighted to welcome one of the automobile industry’s giants back to WRC,” he said.

source: wrc.com

McLaren understand Honda engine problems

McLaren are confident that they have now understood the Honda engine woes suffered at their first public appearance in Abu Dhabi testing.

McLaren Racing Director, Eric Boullier, says that they have got to the root cause of the issues after the team engineers spent last few weeks working hard to fix the issues. 

"We changed a little bit the schedule and we sent Honda, McLaren people and the car itself back here [to Woking] for full investigations," the Frenchman said.

"They worked very hard for a week and they found out everything. A recovery plan is in place. Part of it has already been fixed, so there are now some further tests on dynos to validate."

Jean Eric Vergne joins Ferrari

Maranello, 19 December 2014 – Ferrari announces that, as from next season, Jean-Eric Vergne will join the Scuderia in the role of test driver to work on car development in the simulator.

The rest of the driver line-up consists of the race pairing of Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel, along with test and third driver Esteban Gutiérrez, while Marc Genè and Davide Rigon are confirmed in the role of test drivers.

Pedro de la Rosa leaves the Scuderia at the end of this year. Everyone in the team thanks him for the work he has done over the past two years.

“On behalf of the entire team, I welcome Jean-Eric, who I’m sure will make an important contribution to our development work in the simulator,” commented Scuderia Ferrari Director General and Team Principal, Maurizio Arrivabene. “He will fit in to a programme aimed at improving important areas, invigorating and strengthening an already strong and capable group of professionals.”

“I feel very honored to be joining the Ferrari family and becoming a part of the most prestigious team in the history of Formula One,” commented Jean-Eric Vergne. “The objective is a unanimous one and that is to help the Scuderia get back to the top step of the podium. Having had two years working in the simulator for a top F1 team and three years racing with Toro Rosso, my experience will add to the great efforts that are currently being made in order to get the team back to its winning ways. I look forward to fulfilling my dream in becoming a member of the Ferrari Formula One team and having the Tifosi behind me every step of the way.”



Source - www.formula1.ferrari.com