Hulkenberg joins Di Resta in Force India's 2012 line-up

Force India have announced that Paul di Resta and Nico Hulkenberg will race for the team in 2012. Di Resta made his F1 debut with the Silverstone-based squad this season, whilst ex-Williams racer Hulkenberg steps up from his position as third driver to replace the outgoing Adrian Sutil.

 

“I am delighted to present our line-up for the 2012 season,” said Force India team principal and managing director Dr Vijay Mallya. “In Paul and Nico we have two extremely talented drivers with tremendous potential. I think Paul caught the eye of everybody in the pit lane during his rookie season.

“His speed, maturity and race craft confirmed that we were right to believe in him and we look forward to working with him again next year. As for Nico, we identified him as a rising star at the end of 2010 and chose to evaluate him during the course of this season. Despite having only limited time in the car, he convinced us that he deserved a race seat for 2012.”

Di Resta enjoyed a remarkable maiden campaign in the sport in 2011. As well as regularly outpacing then team mate Sutil, the young Scot finished the year as the top rookie driver after scoring 27 points on his way to 13th in the standings. A highlight was his sixth-place grid slot for his home race at Silverstone.

“I’m really looking forward to my second season of Formula One and continuing to grow and develop with Sahara Force India,” said the 25 year-old. “I’ve said all along that I love being part of this team: they are ambitious, hungry for success and we work well together.

“I’m really excited about 2012 and there is a real sense of belief that we can continue to push the top teams and take another step forward. I’d also like to thank the team for all their hard work this year and for all the support they’ve given me. I’ll take some time out over the next few weeks to recharge my batteries and hopefully come back even stronger in 2012.”

Hulkenberg spent the 2011 season on the bench as the team’s third driver, although he did enjoy practice session runs at 14 of the year’s 19 Grands Prix. A year earlier the German enjoyed a stellar debut season at Williams, scoring 22 points and a pole position at the Brazilian Grand Prix, but was forced to make way for Pastor Maldonado at the British team for 2011.

“I’m obviously delighted to be staying with Sahara Force India and to be given the chance to race next year,” explained the 24 year-old. “It wasn’t easy to watch from the side lines this season, but I did my best to help the team and show what I was capable of.

“I’m extremely motivated for 2012 and would like to thank everyone for believing in me and giving me this chance. I’m keen to get down to work over the winter to develop our new car and help the team build on this year’s achievements. The first test in Jerez can’t come soon enough.”

Force India’s announcement means that Sutil will leave for pastures new after six years with the team. Sutil’s tenure saw the team change name (and management personnel) from Midland to Spyker and finally to Force India in 2008. In total the 28 year-old scored 95 world championship points for the outfit, enjoying a career-best finish of fourth at the 2009 Italian Grand Prix.

Mallya paid tribute to the departing German, saying: “Our new line-up means we say ‘goodbye’ to Adrian Sutil, who has been with the team since we entered the sport. He has been an integral part of our success over the past four seasons and we wish him well for the future.”

There are two slots left on the 2012 grid that Sutil could in theory fill, with seats at Williams and HRT still vacant.

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Official mobile F1 2012 Timing App now available

If you are already suffering withdrawal symptoms from the amazing action that was the 2011 FIA Formula One World Championship, there is now the perfect solution: Soft Pauer’s official F1 2012 Timing and Track Positioning App is now available for iPhone, iPad and Android - and it promises to be the perfect Christmas treat for all Formula One enthusiasts.

 

For the special pre-season price of £17.99*, the App offers users over 130 hours of racing action, with a whole host of features to enhance the F1 viewing experience. Award winning** and Best of iTunes in 2011***, the official F1 Timing and Track Positioning App is designed to bring the detail and precision of the sport to life. Whether you are watching the race at home and want that extra level of information and detail, or are out and about and don’t want to miss the action, this ‘Championship Pass’ to the 2012 season is your perfect F1 partner.

With exclusive live timing screens, classifications and race schedule information, the official F1 Timing and Track Positioning App also offers a host of other tools to enhance your F1 experience:

- Detailed, fully interactive 3D map means you can see what’s happening on the circuit as it happens, zooming in to focus on any given driver or track position at any given time.
- Live Pause during sessions allows you to quickly replay the action as soon as it happens.
- All the action is brought direct from the track to your handheld as it unfolds, with real time track positions and data streamed directly from the track to your device, all within two seconds.
- Access timing information on pit-stops as soon as they have happened and use the live maps to track the gaps between drivers as they re-join the race track.
- Follow live text commentary****.
- Full replay of every session so you can review the action again and again.

All these features are complemented by a huge database of information on all the drivers, teams, races, circuits and season that can be accessed at any time. The App also runs on GPRS so it can be viewed anywhere.

With just under three months until the 2012 FIA Formula One World Championship gets underway, now is the perfect time to give the ‘petrol-head’ in your life the perfect F1 stocking filler this Christmas…

For further information visit www.softpauer.com/f1site/

BlackBerry device support coming in the New Year.

* Price for UK App Store. Different regions may vary. Price valid until January 1, 2012.
** The F1 Live Timing App won the SportBusiness Ultimate Sports App Award 2010 for providing the ultimate value-added experience throughout a race weekend.
*** iTunes Rewind 2011 iPad UK and other regions Sports category.
**** Text commentary on the App provided in English, French and German.

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Pirro: "I want to make a statment in MotoGP"

In an exclusive interview with motogp.com, the Italian rider expressed his thoughts about the new CRT adventure he will take on in 2012 with the San Carlo Honda Gresini team.

Michele Pirro shared his expectations and goals ahead of his upcoming season aboard the Gresini team’s CRT. "It's definitely an important milestone," began the 25 year-old. "I’ll be joining the best riders in the world in the highest category of racing on board a great team.”
 

Pirro recently extended his partnership with the Italian team, about which he said: “I am happy I’m staying with them, they are like family and after everything that happened at the end of the season, I really wanted to stay. My first place at Valencia gave Fausto (Gresini) and the team the strength to take the next step they needed to continue. After what happened in Sepang, the motivation to continue racing was at risk, but that victory helped us want to try to build something positive.”

After a competitive season in the Moto2 Championship, the Italian is ready to make the lead into the premier class where he will confront the challenge of the new CRT category, which will commence in 2012. “People are saying that it is the future,” said Pirro. "Of course in the beginning it will be criticized, just like the Moto2 class was. But after the first year, it should be possible to develop the performance of the CRT bikes even further.”

Following his win at the final round in Valencia, most expected that he would run a second term in the 600cc Moto2 class. But the two-time 1000cc Italian Superstock champion surprised everyone by opting instead for the jump to MotoGP. "I admit I waited until the last second to decide whether to continue with Moto2, especially after learning about the circuits and the category in general. With a few improvements to the bike, most likely we could have had a successful season. But I spoke with Fausto several times and he has always had the utmost confidence in me and encouraged me, and has never stopped believing in my abilities, so I'm really happy and proud to represent the Gresini team in MotoGP.”

“Staying in Moto2 surely would have allowed me to develop further in the class as a rider, and taking on this new opportunity will be a lot of hard work. But I'm happy, we will work hard to do our best to have a good season, although, given the newness of the class it’s difficult to predict too much. I am prepared and excited to invest in this new project."

The San Carlo Honda Gresini Team will run a prototype Italian FTR chassis with a Honda CBR 1000 engine, which he went on to describe: "The bike is promising, FTR has always made good chassis and of course the Honda engine and will strong. Although Aprilia and BMW are further ahead in development, I will still try to focus and prepare myself to start from where we are to move the project forward. Hopefully we can adapt the chassis to the tires, but for my part I will have to learn everything about the bike, from the electronics to the best suitable riding position. But most important will be the first test, which is expected to be in February.”

Pirro isn’t new to 1000cc bikes, having won the Italian 1000cc Superstock Championship in 2007 and 2008, riding a Yamaha YZF-R1 for the Yamaha Lorenzini by Leoni team. The next season he won the Italian Supersport Championship, and in 2010 rode as a replacement for the injured Vladimir Ivanov of the Gresini Racing Moto2 team, with which he remained for the next season as a regular rider.

The Italian’s career path saw him jump to the highest category in just a few years’ time. “For every rider, the ultimate goal is to race in MotoGP, but I’ll admit that this step in my plans was expected to happen in a couple of years. The important thing now is to work well with the team and have fun at the same time, because when everything goes your way and you can ride without problems, the results gradually come. In a few years I’ve done what many of my colleagues take much longer to achieve, but I believe I've earned each step along the way to the higher categories."

"I don’t want to just 'participate' in the MotoGP class, I’d also like make a statement. Even if the level is high, and I’m racing with the best riders in the world, I want to try to be competitive with them. I realize that in the beginning this won’t be easy, it will be difficult to achieve much because of the different technical circumstances, but hopefully the first year with CRT is an investment for the future, to grow and be competitive in the coming seasons.”

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GP Commission approve new rules changes

The Grand Prix Commission approved various rules changes with effect from the 2012 season.

The Grand Prix Commission, composed of Messrs. Carmelo Ezpeleta (Dorna, Chairman), Ignacio Verneda (FIM Executive Director, Sport), Herve Poncharal (IRTA) and Takanao Tsubouchi (MSMA) in the presence of Javier Alonso (Dorna), Mike Trimby (IRTA) and Paul Butler (Secretary of the meeting), in a meeting held on 14 December in Madrid, decided the following:

Sporting Regulations

A revised wording of the testing regulation was approved. This incorporated the various decisions made earlier in 2011 concerning this matter.

Additionally it was decided that contracted riders in the MotoGP class may also test machines using the allocation of 240 tyres available to each manufacturer's team. Previously such testing was restricted to test riders only. In the interest of fair competition it was also agreed that other MotoGP class riders could exclusively test their team machines with a limit of 120 tyres per rider.

It was agreed that riders who did not qualify for the race based on their time in the qualifying practice can qualify if they achieve a time at least equal to 107% of the fastest rider in the warm up. This is an addition to the previous regulation which only considered free practice sessions.

Under the regulation concerning MotoGP class riders starting the race from pit lane due to an engine durability sanction, it was agreed that in future they will start ten seconds after the green light is shown at the pit lane exit.

Riders in all classes may now use a starter engine on the grid. For all classes tyre warmers may now remain in place until the display of the one minute board. Generators must still be removed at the three minute board.

Technical Regulations

With effect from 2012, for all classes, it will be compulsory to display a red rear light in rain conditions.

The minimum weight limits for 1000cc machines in the MotoGP class will be increased from the current 153 kilos.
- Effective from 2012: 157 kilos
- Effective from 2013: 160 kilos

The permitted wheel sizes for the Moto3 class were confirmed as:
Front 2.50" x 17" only
Rear 3.50" x 17" only

Several detail changes to regulations, submitted by the Technical Director were all approved.

A list of MotoGP class entries for 2012 was considered by the Commission. The list contained nine entries plus one reserve entry using CRT machinery of various types. Participation of all CRT entries was approved by the Commission on the understanding that the granting of CRT Status was subject to review by the Grand Prix Commission at any time.

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Successful operation for Bautista

The Spanish rider underwent an operation on Wednesday to remove the pins from his left leg put in place after a crash at the Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar earlier this year. 

Álvaro Bautista was operated on Wednesday afternoon at the USP San José de Madrid by Dr. Angel Villamor, who removed the pins from his left femur and clean the affected area.
The 27 year-old MotoGP rider was injured during practice at the opening round of the season, the Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar, and had to undergo emergency in Doha, although this operation caused him trouble all season.
Bautista thanked the hospital for the care provided him and hoped to return home this Thursday, saying: "Thanks to the all the staff at the USP San José hospital and Dr. Angel Villamor’s terrific team, who have always treated me well. Now I’ll rest and tomorrow morning I’ll get discharged to rest at home,” he said.
A few days ago, Bautista participated in the Riders for Health “Experience Africa”, which led him around various parts of Zambia on a bike in a week long journey. Bautista's impressions after the venture are included in this link.

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