Dominik wilde motorsport magazine

INDYCAR: New manufacturer aerokits to spice up 2015 - Verizon Indycar Series preview inside

FERRARI ARE BACKStaff shakeup over winter sees the Scuderia back near the front of the Formula One field

PLUSToro Rosso’s young chargers

James Hinchcliffe on his move to SPM

Citroёn continue to dominate WTCC

Nissan’s radical new Le Mans Racer

Tanner Foust’s big year

Motorsport MonthlyApril 2015 Edition - £2.10 - $3.10motorsportmonthly.com

2 Motorsport Monthly

A different Ferrari was expected this year, what with the arrival of Maurizo Maurizio Arrivabene as team principle and a catalogue of other personel changes, but what we’ve seen so far perhaps wasn’t envisaged when the prancing horse’s dire 2014 season came to a

close in Abu Dhabi last November.A stellar testing performance has seen the team leapfrog the likes of Red

Bull and Williams, and their engine move ahead of Renault’s to be the best of the rest behind the unassailable Mercedes team. Third place in the opening race of the season backed that up, but can they win a race this year? Only time will tell.

Elswhere we take a look at F1’s youngest ever team pairing of Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz. Their combined age of 37 is just two year’s shy of the oldest driver on the grid! We also delve into IndyCar aero kit testing at NOLA and Barber Motorsports Park and have an exclusive chat with James Hinchcliffe. e examine Citroën’s rise to the top of World Touring Car racing.

A note from the editor...

The lame horse prancing once again...

Dominik Wilde Editor

What’s inside...

3. Coming of ageTake a look at F1 youngest ever driver pairing

4. The second coming...Sebastian Vettel leads Prancing Horse resurgence

6. Ready for takeoffAerokits lead to IndyCar revolution

8. ‘A season of Change’We chat to james Hinchcliffe about the year ahead

9. New challenges, same results for CitroёnA look at the WRC powerhouse’s instant track success

10. Nissan back in styleLegendary Japanese marque return to Le Mans with radical new racer

11. Keeping busyUS icon Tanner Foust set for a packed 2015 schedule

Cover StoryPage 4

“I think this one it’s a massive step forward.” - Sebastian Vettel on his new team’s 2015 car

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Contact: [email protected] 01925123456Editor: Dominik WildeFeatures Editor: Dominik WildePhotography team: Red Bull Content Pool, Ferrari Media, NISMO Media, IndyCar MediaF1 Correspondent: Dominik WildeSports Cars Correspondent: Dominik WildeRally & Rallycross Correspondent: Dominik WildeAdvertising: Dominik Wilde

If you’re good enough, you’re old enough. Never has a phrase been more appropriate.

Red Bull’s junior team, Toro Rosso, has a reputation of bringing young stars into Formula One.

Jaime Alguersuari, Daniil Kvyat and Sebastian Vettel were all brought into F1 by the Austrian energy drink manufacturer at the tender age of 19.

One of the team’s drivers for this year, Carlos Sainz, isn’t much older, having made his debut at the Australian Grand Prix 20 years, six months and two weeks ‘old’.

However, it’s the young Spaniard’s team mate who has been stealing all the headlines for his age over the winter break. How old is he? 17.

With just a year of actual car racing under his belt, young Max Verstappen became the youngest driver to start a race in F1 history when he lined up to start the 2015 Australian Grand Prix - despite not even holding a valid road driving

licence. Son of former F1 driver Jos

Verstappen, Max finished runner-up in last year’s european Formula Three championship, gaining the backing of Red Bull along the way.

Reaction to the young Dutchman’s arrival in Formula One has been mixed. 1997 world champion Jacques

Villeneuve branded the move the “the worst thing ever”, while Red Bull’s own motorsport advisor, Dr Helmut Marko, hailed the youngster as “an exceptional talent that comes along only once in decades”, even likening him Ayrton Senna.

Engine failure brought a

premature end to Verstappen’s race in Australia but after just missing out on qualifying 3 and running in the points until his retirement on race day, his ability was clear for all to see.

Sainz meanwhile is the son of two-time World Rally Champion Carlos Sr.

He moved up to Formula one having won the 2014 Formula Renault 3.5 title - bizzarley, a first for a Red Bull driver, despite the company using the series to train young driverts for a number of years.

Making way for Sainz was Frenchamn Jean-Éric Vergne who, aged 24, could be regarded as a old man alongside Toro Rosso’s 2015 driver pairing.

While Vergne was participating in the all-electric in Formula E series in Miami, Sainz was racing to a ninth placed, points scoring finish in Melbourne.

They certainly start them young these days.

IMAGES: Red Bull Content Pool

Coming of ageWith a combined age of just 37, Toro Rosso field the youngest driver lineup in F1 history this year. DOMINIK WILDE reports

MAX ATTACK: Verstappen in action

3Motorsport Monthly

There are teams that go months without winning something, there are teams that go years without

winning something; in fact, there are teams that never win anything. Yet for Scuderia Ferrari, going five minutes without winning something is a disaster.

The 2014 season marked the first time since 1993 that the fabled Italian outfit had failed to win a race. With it, their championship drought which stretched all the way back to 2008 continued.

New regulations for last year didn’t exactly help their cause either. The new turbo V6 hybrid powerplants gave Mercedes a huge advantage with

both Ferrari and the third supplier Renault both struggling. Still, Renault managed to claim three wins over the course of the season. Ferrari? They weren’t even close.

Naturally, that didn’t sit well with the big wigs in Maranello who made a raft of sweeping changes throughout last year.

After team Principle Stefano Domenicali walked during the early part of the season, his replacement Marco Mattiaci followed suit, along with star driver Fernando Alonso, who had grown frustrated with the team’s lack of results.

Chief Designer Nikolas Tombazis, engine boss Luca Marmorini, technical chief Pat Fry, tyre

analysist Hirohide Hamashima and development driver Pedro de la Rosa were also shown the door as part of the massive shakeup.

So much was the disappointment of Ferrari’s results, company president, Luca di Montezemolo (who had been at the helm since 1991) also left the company.

Sergio Marchione, president of parent company FCA, took charge and quickly installed former Malboro executive Maurizio Arrivabene as boss of all of Ferrari’s sporting activities and as principle of the Formula One team.

James Allison became director track engineering activities in place of Fry, Simone Resta took over design

The second coming...19 years since another German champion moved over to Ferrari, Sebastian Vettel now carries the hopes of the Tifosi, aiming to ressurect the lame horse. DOMINIK WILDE investigates


duties while Mattia Binotto and Lorenzo Sassi were placed in charge of the power unit.

Jean-Eric Vergne moved over from Red Bull’s simulator progamme to take the place of de la Rosa while Esteban Gutierrez took the place of the stricken Jules Bianchi as the team’s reserve driver.

As for Ferando Alonso, he was replaced by no other than Sebastian Vettel. The German, who has been the Scuderia’s biggest rival for the last five years, turned defeating Ferrari into an art form. Now it is he who will don Rosso Corsa.

Following the high-profile off track accquisitions, Vettel’s arrival drew comparisons to that of Michael

Schumacher who joined Ferrari after winning back to back titles with Benneton, bringing with him an army of technical staff and engineers. Of course, Ferrari won six constructors titles and five drivers titles during that time that followed and many expect Vettel to repeat that success.

Early signs suggest that they wont be wiping the floor this year - that job looks to be Mercedes’ yet again - but it is clear that Ferrari have made huges leaps of progress so far this year.

“From a performance point of view, it’s clear that Mercedes is still ahead by quite a way,” Sebastian Vettel conceded during testing in Barcelona, “but right behind there is us, Williams and Red Bull, all very close.” We will know more in a couple of weeks. Meanwhile we must move forward one step at a time, looking above all at what we are doing ourselves”.

“I never drove the 2014 Ferrari, but I think this one it’s a massive step forward.” the four time champion added. “That doesn’t mean that we are satisfied as it’s clear that if you want to win, you have to beat Mercedes.”

Although testing times are never something to be taken seriously, in Jerez Kimi Raikkonen’s fastest time of 1 minute 20.841 compared to his best effort of 1 minute 24.812 last year highlighted just how big a stride the team have made.

As did their performance at the opening Grand Prix of the 2015 season in Australia. Sebastian Vettel’s

third placed finish cemented Ferrari’s place as the best of the rest behind the dominant Mercedes duo of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosbrg.

Customer team Sauber faired well with a brace of points finishes - a welcome relief to the Swiss team who suffered their first pointless campaign in their history last season.

A pitstop problem for Kimi Rakkonen was the only sore point to the weekend, the Finn retiring because of the issue.

Remaining positive though, the 2007 World Champion said afterwards:

“We were very quick in the race, able to catch the Williams and to fight for the podium”

“However, my team-mate’s podium is a great result for the team,” he added. “Already in qualifying, despite my mistake on the quick lap, we knew we had a good car. And in the race, the gap to the Mercedes seemed less than on Saturday.”

Winning may still be some way off, but after a dire 2014, Ferrari’s winter re-shuffle appears to already be yielding some positive results.

The second coming...19 years since another German champion moved over to Ferrari, Sebastian Vettel now carries the hopes of the Tifosi, aiming to ressurect the lame horse. DOMINIK WILDE investigates

IMAGES: Ferrari Media

5

RACING DOWN UNDER: TOP: Ferrari had a strong start to the season in Melbourne

ALL SMILES: Raikkonen has been positive

Motorsport Monthly

Ready for takeoffThe Verizon IndyCar Series looks set for an interesting year following the introduction of manufacturer aero kits for 2015. DOMINIK WILDE takes a look at what’s in store this season

6

The 2015 season will see one of the biggest changes in the Verizon IndyCar series in recent years with the

introduction of manufacturer aero kits.

Building onto the existing Dallara DW12 chassis, the bodywork from engie suppliers Chevrolet and Honda wil allow the fans to further diffentiate between manufacturers, bringing the series a step closer to days gone by when teams would construct their own cars.

“It’s getting back to the roots of INDYCAR where you have development,” said Steve Eriksen, vice president and COO of Honda Performance Development. “Now you’ll have the visual differences across the cars. It’s a huge uphill battle because of several factors; one is you know there is so much performance potential. If you look at the rate of gain of an aero kit versus an engine, it’s drastic for the aero kit. That’s part of the pressure you feel.”

After secret testing over the winter, teams got their hands on the new road/street and short oval bodywork at the beginning of March, taking to the track for the first time during an open test at Barber Motorsports Park.

Chevrolet appeared to be the early pacesetters, taking the top four spots at the initial test at NOLA Motorsports Park in Louisiana a few days prior to the open test at Barber, before taking the top seven spots during the first session of the test at the Alabama facility - Simon Pagenaud tooping the table for his new team, Penske.

“It’s really a new era,” the Frenchman said.

“As a driver I want to congratulate the manufacturers and INDYCAR

on these aero kits,” he continued. “I think it will create a lot of fan interest.

Although the aero kits are still in a development stage, already they are proving quicker that last year’s cars with Pagenaud’s fastest time at Barber sixth-tenths of a second quicker than the 2014 pole time, set by team mate and 2014 champion Will Power.

The overall track record however is still held by Ganassi’s Scott Dixon.

“The speed (at the NOLA test) was there right out of the box,” said the three-time champion. “It was pretty seamless hitting the track and getting the aero details sorted”.

“It’s been a significant change in drivability or how to attack the car with all the downforce. We’re

working with balance issues, weight distributions and just trying to feel out some of the changes with the aero kit and the loads changing significantly with the corner speeds.”

Although the aero kits are basically new body panels fitted to an existing chassis, 2012 champion Ryan Hunter-Reay said that the changes to the DW12 make it feel like a completely different car.

“It’s almost like you’re starting with a new car,” said the 2014 Indianapolis 500 winner. “To make the DW12 kit work in its format, you had to make it turn and do things a certain way. Now the aero kit puts load on the car in a certain way and its own way.

“It’s a work in progress, which

Motorsport Monthly

Ready for takeoff

IMAGES: IndyCar Media

7

is what testing and development is about.”

Following the open tests at Barber Motorsports Park, teams have the chance to test at Sebring in Florida and at NOLA once more before the season commences in St. Petersburg, Florida on March 29.

24 drivers have been confirmed for the season opener, with four rookies set to take to the track.

Colombian Gabby Chaves - the 2014 Firestone Indy Lights champion - will drive for Bryan Herta Autosport for the full season. He will be joined by Brit Jay Howard for the Indianapolis 500.

Monegasque driver Stefano Coletti moves to KV Racing. The seven-time

GP2 race winner pairs up with four-time Champ Car champion Sebastien Bordais.

Although classed as a rookie, Italy’s Francesco Dracone has previously participated in two IndyCar events in 2010, finishing no higher than 20th place. He takes Justin Wilson’s seat at Dale Coyne Racing

The final driver in the 2015 rookie class is Sage Karam. Ganassi will field the highly rated American for the opening round of the season with the team working on putting together a deal for the rest of the season - a similar arrangement to Simona de Silvestro who returns to IndyCar after an unsuccessful attempt to gain an F1 seat with Sauber. She will drive for

Andretti in round one.“I have some unfinished business

here,” she said. “I am very excited to be joining Andretti Autosport and to become part of a team with such a successful history”

Another driver returning aftera yerar away from the series is James Jakes who will partner James Hichcliffe at Schmidt Peterson Motorsports.

2014 champion Will Power goes to Florida as not only the defending champion but also the defending St. Petersburg Grand Prix winner

CHEVROLET: The American manufacturer were first to unveil their design

HONDA: The series’ other manufacturer showed off their aero kit later on

Motorsport Monthly

A new year means a new racing season, new expectations and new challenges. For some,

it also means a new team, and that’s exactly the case with James Hinchcliffe. After three years with Andretti Autosport, the likeable Canadian has moved across to Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, returning to the team that gave him his Indy Lights début in 2009 .

Since 2012, SPM has consistently finished in the top five of the championship with Frenchman Simon Pagenaud. Now with Pagenaud moving to Penske, Hinchcliffe hopes achieve what his predecessor came so close to - winning the title.

“For sure that’s the goal,” he told me. “This team has done an incredible job the last three years and they want to keep growing.”

Although producing strong form and remarkable giant killing acts against the likes of Penske, Ganassi and Andretti, the team has suffered during the off season with a series of high profile departures. As well as Pagenaud, his race engineer Ben

Brentzman and team manager Rob Edwards have both left the team.

Despite this, Hinchcliffe remains confident the team will stay at the front of the field.

“It might not happen over night” he concedes, “a lot has changed with but I think that we can really be as competitive as anyone.”

Before his move to SPM, Hinchcliffe scored three wins for Andretti Autosport, claiming a best finish of eightth in the final standings in both 20120 and 2013, although he slipped down to 12th last year.

Reflecting on 2014, ‘The Mayor of Hinchtown’, said “It was very frustrating, largely because we were in a position to win at a bunch of races but they didn’t play out, for a variety of different reasons,” he says. “I think we accomplished a lot as a team but obviously not with the results that we wanted.”

“It’s bittersweet for me,” he added. “I think we accomplished a lot as a team but obviously not with the results that we wanted.”

“I took a lot out of the season personally,” he continues, “I think

that I developed as a driver and that is what I carry into ’15 and beyond.”

Looking ahead, a change of team wont be the only thing different with the introduction of aero-kits also coming, something he thinks will have a big effect.

“I think it’ll have a big impact. I think we are going to see very different looking cars, faster speeds and hopefully still good racing,” he predicts. “No doubt, this is going to be a season of change.”

After a bitterly long off-season, in which Hinchcliffe has filled with testing, media and sponsor appearances, and an appearance at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, that ‘season of change’ is almost upon us.

‘A season of Change’IndyCar star James Hinchcliffe talks to DOMINIK WILDE about his move to SChmidt Peterson Motorsports and the 2015 IndyCar season

ABOVE: Hichcliffe had wins for Andretti TOP: Preparing for 2015

IMAGES: IndyCar Media


Over the last decade no manufacturer has won more World Rally Championship events

than Citroën. Since 2004 the Versailles based

team has scored an incredible nine world drivers titles with Sebastien Loeb behind the wheel; the team taking seven constructors titles and 76 of their 93 rally victories in that time - seeing them cement their place as one of the sport’s all time great teams.

2014 however saw Citroën embark on a new challenge in the World Touring Car Championship.

In what was their first season in

racing, ever, Citroën Racing saw the year very much as ‘une année pour apprendre’ - a year to learn.

Learn they may have done, but Citroën also did what they do best - win.

The WRC stalwarts announced their WTCC project on June 13 2013 with sights firmly set on a 2014 début, coinciding with the introduction of the new TC1 regulations.

Following some initial tests with an interim ‘laboratory’ car based on

the DS3 WRC challenger, Citroën revealed the C-Elysée WTCC in July 2013. An extensive testing programme followed, which saw the team visit circuits in France, Spain, Italy, Hungary and Abu Dhabi.

Testers Sebastien Loeb and Yvan Muller would become the team’s first two confirmed drivers, later being joined by one-time USF1 hopeful Jose Maria Lopez as well as Ma Qing Hua in a part time entry to give Citroën an all star driver line up for their first season in the WTCC.

While the team may have been heading into a new world going into the WTCC season, what the rest of us saw was very familiar.

At the first round of the season on the streets of Marrakech, Citroën secured pole position courtesy of Lopez before sweeping the podium and claiming fastest lap in race one.

There was more of the same in race two with contact for Muller the only thing preventing a double podium sweep in their first race weekend.

Loeb’s comments after that second race - which he won- served to confirm just how far ahead Citroën were.

“We were dominating” he explained, “our fight was more with our team mates than with other cars”.

Marrakech set a precedent for the rest of the season with Citroën going on to win a remarkable 17 out of 23 races, wrapping up the team’s title with two race weekends remaining and Lopez clinching the driver’s title with one race weekend to go.

After winning a record nine word

rally titles with Citroën, Sebastien Loeb ended the season in third place. Incredibly this was his lowest world championship standing since finishing the 2002 WRC season in tenth!

Yvan Muller meanwhile went into 2014 as the reigning WTCC champion and ended the season as runner up.

In the WRC, Citroen finished best of the rest as runner behind a dominant Volkswagen effort with drivers Mads Østberg and Kris Meeke finishing fifth and seventh respectively in the driver’s championship.

In 2015, despite Honda and LADA preparing new cars, the new WTCC season saw a continuation of Citroën’s dominance as the team took two

wins and two fastest laps out of two in the opening round of the season, courtesy of Lopez and Loeb, as well as clinching five out of a possible six podium positions

Come the end of the 2015 season be sure to find Citroën Racing at the top of the table once more. If they’re not at the top, you can bet your house they wont be far off.

New challenges, same results for Citroёn

WRC: Citroën had tremendous success in rallying

WINNING: Citroën started 2015 as they did 2014 by dominating the opening round

By DOMINIK WILDE


9Motorsport Monthly

IMAGES: Nissan NISMO Media

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Nissan caused a stir during January’s Superbowl XLIX when they unveiled their new Le Mans

Prototype race car, the GT-R LM Nismo.

Going in a direction vastly different to what you’d expect from an LMP car, Nissan’s new car, which will compete in the 2015 World Endurance Championship from le Mans onwards is front engined and front wheel drive as opposed to the mid engined-rear drive norm.

The power comes from a 3 litre twin turbo V6 complimented by a hybrid system for a combined total of 1250 horsepower.

“The regulations have allowed us the freedom to create a significantly different looking car” said the car’s chief designed Ben Bowlby.

“Nissan are bold challengers who are prepared to innovate in order to get a high performance outcome so we’ve turned the whole concept of the conventional LM P1 car of 2014 on its head.”

The result is that our car looks

Nissan back in styleNissan return to world sports car racing in 2015 with a radical new prototype, the GT-R LM NISMO. DOMINIK WILDE takes a look inside the new team

different as the cockpit has been moved significantly rearwards to accommodate the engine at the front of the car.”

Speaking of the car’s Superbowl unveiling, Roel de Vries, Global Head of Marketing and Brand Strategy at Nissan said:

“The combination of the Super Bowl and the Le Mans 24 Hours – two of the most watched sporting events in the world – presented us with a unique opportunity to showcase our most ambitious motorsport programme in recent times.”

Ferrari F1 test driver and 2009 Le Mans 24 Hours winner Marc Gene was the first driver to be confirmed.

“I am delighted and very excited to drive for Nissan. I have always looked closely at Nissan and it’s motorsport programmes,” said the Spaniard. “Now to be competing with Nissan in the LM P1 GT-R in the most demanding and prestigious race in the world is something I am very proud of.”

Brits Jann Mardenborough and Max Chilton will line up alongside Gene with Harry Tincknell, Olivier Pla and Michael Krunn in the manufacturer’s other full-time entry.

Japanese driver Tsugio Matsuda, Spain’s Lucas Ordóñez and Britain’s Alex Buncome will drive a third entry for Le Mans.

GENE: Ex-Peugeot and Audi man was the first driver to be confirmed for Nissan

TEAMWORK: Nissan’s all-star driver line-up at a recent test at Sebring in Florida

Motorsport Monthly


11Motorsport Monthly

Two-time Red Bull Global Rallycross champion tanner Foust will return to the series in

2015, once again campaigning a Volkswagen Beetle for Andretti Autosport.

The Top Gear USA host will be looking to bounce back from a tough first season with the legendary outfit which yielded just one win after a run of bad luck and the decision to focus development on the new Beetle platform later on in the season.

“Volkswagen and Andretti are a winning combination,” said Foust at the announcement of his 2015 plans. “It’s exciting that in our first season we were able to get so much real-world GRC testing with the Beetle. The Volkswagen Motorsport and Andretti engineers have continued with development this off-season and I can’t wait to show off all the hard work when we get back on track

in May.”Alongside his continued

rallycross exploits in the US, which will also involve a return to the X Games in June, Foust will also compete a part time schedule in the European based FIA World Rallycross championship, driving a Marklund-built Volkswagen Polo in four rounds of the championship.

Foust will also return to the Formula Drift championship, a competition he has been champion of twice. It will be the first time since 2010 that the Colorado native has competed in the US’s premiere drifting competition.

“My competition focus is on winning the Global Rallycross Championship for Volkswagen and Rockstar Energy Drink in 2015 but I’m also excited to be able to get back into drifting,” Foust commented. “The fans, the tracks, and the driving in Formula

Drift are really something unique in the world of motorsports and I’ve missed being part of it.”

The first event of Foust’s Formula Drift return will be the first round of the season on the streets of Long Beach on April 10 and 11. He will behind the wheel of a purpose-built 900 horsepower Volkswagen Passat drift car during the event.

Finally, Foust intends to compete in selected events in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, capping off a busy year for the 41-year-old.

“I’m going back to my roots with drifting, racing in rallycross, scraping the rust off some road racing skills, and continuing to learn more about off-road racing,” said Foust. “For me, it’s important to stay in touch with these different disciplines -- especially as I’m working with Volkswagen on developing some exciting new project cars.”

Keeping BusyMotorsport legend Tanner Foust returns to GRC and Formula drift as part of a packed 2015. By DOMINIK WILDE

Red Bull gives you wiiings.


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