Driver Database News

Great Race 1 for Scuderia Coloni in Monaco: Kevin Ceccon and Michael Herck both boasted an impressive recovery, finishing respectively in P11 and P14, after starting from 11th and 12th row of the grid. Starting behind on a track were overtaking is nearly impossible as Monaco the key aspects were a flawless performance by the drivers and a good team strategy, and Scuderia Coloni had both: the team chose to split the drivers’ strategies and opted for an early pit-stop with Herck and a late one with Ceccon. The Italian driver showed an amazing performance, managing tyre wear in the first half of the race and being able to extend his stint until lap 21. This allowed him to have fresher rubber in the final stages, while his rivals were struggling with worn tyres. In the last ten laps Kevin lapped as fast as the leaders and in doing this he passed his team-mate and Fauzy, then taking advantage of the mistakes from other drivers to clinch P11, an incredible result for a 17 year-old driver at his debut in Montecarlo.

Also Herck contested a great race, and as his team mate he did no mistake at all in a very difficult race. Anyway, his early pit stop strategy meant that in the final laps his Pirellis were suffering a lot, and so he couldn’t attack.

Kevin Ceccon: “Eleventh on my debut in Montecarlo starting from P21 is way beyond my expectations. I think I did a good job in the first half of the race, coping with traffic and managing my tyres, and I’m really satisfied with the second part, as I had a great pace after the pit-stop. As soon as the track was clear in front of me I improved my laptimes a lot and catching the guys in front was quite easy. With this pace I can have good hopes for tomorrow, if we stay out of troubles as today.”

Michael Herck: “In Monaco being quick is just half of the job, the other half is making no mistakes and I managed to do that brilliantly. I’m happy for the positions I gained, things are looking better for tomorrow now, but we have to work a bit on both pace and tyre wear to be really competitive.”

It’s been twenty-seven years since the last time a New Zealander sat on the grid about to take part in a Formula One Grand Prix, and many believe that’s too long since a kiwi has flown the flag in the glamorous world of Formula One.

Rotorua born, Richie Stanaway, aims to bring an end to the drought, and has recently come significantly closer after signing a multi-year contract with the Lotus Renault GP Formula One team principal, Eric Boullier, who also heads the Luxembourg based, Gravity Sport Management group.

After winning Germany’s ADAC Formula Masters championship in a show of dominance, the youngster was put through a thorough evaluation process with Gravity, and subsequently was offered the deal which has lead to a drive in the 2011 German Formula 3 Championship.

In 2007, Stanaway was picked up as an underdog after being selected for the New Zealand SpeedSport Scholarship, and since then has established himself as a race winner in New Zealand, Australia, Germany and the United Kingdom on his way to winning two championships over the past three years.

“Signing with Gravity has been a crucial break for me, and their support has enabled me to continue my racing career in Europe. I’m confident now that they can provide the pathway to the top and help me to achieve my goals,” said Stanaway.

Round one of the 2011 German Formula 3 championship gets underway this weekend, with races streaming live on Internet TV at www.formel3.de.

Gravity Sports Management have signed an agreement with young Kiwi, Richie Stanaway (18), which states that they intend to sign him as a works Gravity driver for 2011 and beyond – a sensational breakthrough for the 2009 New Zealand Formula Ford Champion, then this year’s German ADAC Formula Masters champion.

“This is great news and a huge step towards my goal of reaching the top ranks of motorsport. It is wonderful to be able to repay the faith and funding that a group of Kiwi business people, friends and family have had in me. Over the next few weeks, I will have more details of what series etc the Gravity people will want me to compete in next season, but in the meantime, I have plenty more testing on tracks and simulators to do, and then the next round of the Formula Renault UK Winter Cup at Pembrey this weekend.”

Since the conclusion of the 2010 ADAC Formula Masters championship, Richie has been very busy being involved in winter testing programmes for various teams. Starting with a brief stint in a Formula 3 car, Richie went to the F1 circuit at Barcelona, Spain, for a test day in a Formula Renault 2.0 with championship-winning team, Koirannen Bros Motorsport, and then underwent a thorough evaluation programme with Gravity Sports Management, the organisation that runs what is the Renault F1 team’s junior/development programme. (The Chairman of Gravity Sports Management is Eric Bullier who is also the Renault F1 Team Principal). This involved four test days in France with Tech-1 Racing in a Formula Renault 2.0, matching him against numerous other ‘hopeful’ drivers, the result of which has led to his participation in the 2010 Formula Renault UK Winter Cup.

The first round of the Winter Cup was held this past weekend with Richie driving for Atech Grand Prix, after three days of testing.

“The seat/driving time I have had since the ADAC Formula Masters Championship has been great for me and I know I have improved my driving a lot, learning all the time, working with different teams at different circuits – something like 12 test days over five weeks which is well over 1,000kms of intensive driving. Then, when it came to the first round of the Winter Series, I don’t think I have ever raced in a more competitive field with many experienced locals who were front runners in the UK Championship as well as many other international drivers including the two Red Bull junior team drivers, Carlos Sainz’s son and Danil Kyvat.

“In qualifying which started on a damp track, I was on pole for virtually the whole session with the track drying, but for the last two laps I came across traffic and was held up, seven drivers capitalizing on the drier track to better my earlier fastest time – so I was bumped back to eighth. In the first race I got a flying start and managed to finish third, wondering what might have been the result if I had qualified nearer the front of the grid. I started the second race from sixth position and again got an excellent start and swiftly moved up to second and began pressuring the leader. However, I touched a wet patch of tarmac in a fast corner and slid off onto the grass and wasn’t able to continue in the race. My mistake – and another lesson learned,” said Richie.

During this week, Richie will visit the Renault F1 Human Performance Centre followed by some simulator testing and then track testing prior to the next round of the Winter Cup at Pembrey this coming weekend.

New Zealand’s top young racing driver, Richie Stanaway (18) recently took part in the official end of season Formula Renault 2.0 test day on the Monday following the last round of the World Series by Renault at the well-known Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain. Richie was invited to the test after winning this year’s ADAC Formel Masters championship in Germany, and took part with Eurocup Championship-winning team, Koiranen Bros Motorsport.

Many drivers from all over the world were invited to the test, with the format featuring two 90 minute sessions. In the first session Richie finished third quickest, with the two quicker drivers having experience with the circuit or car beforehand. In the final session the drivers set times on a new tyre run, and Richie was sitting second quickest in the early part of the session before most of the other drivers did a second new tyre run at the very end of the session bumping Richie further down the order.

Reflecting on his test day, Stanaway says it was a great experience. “It was fantastic to drive the new style Formula Renault 2.0, especially on such an amazing venue as the Circuit de Catalunya. It was a very valuable experience for me as a driver”

Young Tauranga race driver, Richie Stanaway (18), was given the opportunity recently to test with front-running German Formula 3 team, Van Amersfoort Racing, on the Monday following the final round of the ATS-German Formula 3 Cup held at Oschersleben. The test was awarded to the top three finishers of the 2010 ADAC Formula Masters Championship, being Stanaway who dominated and won the Championship with a round to spare after taking 12 race wins, along with second placed Patrick Schranner, and third placed Mario Farnbacher. However Farnbacher unfortunately missed out on the test due to the third Van Amersfoort car being too badly damaged in the final race of the weekend, meaning he will get his first Formula 3 experience in the next few weeks.

Richie got his first taste of Formula 3 driving a Dallara F307 powered by Volkswagen, the #2 Van Amersfoort entry driven by Daniel Abt to second place in the 2010 ATS-German Formula 3 Cup. The test ran smoothly and Richie was quickly up to speed, setting the quickest lap time right from the very first morning session against other more experienced Formula 3 drivers, and setting the fastest lap time in every session throughout the day.

“I thoroughly enjoyed driving an F3 car for the first time. The guys at Van Amersfoort did a great job with teaching me what I needed to learn and work on, which enabled us to progress well throughout the day, but of course there is still a lot for me to learn. Optimising the braking performance, getting a feeling for the differential during the mid corner and power down phases, as well as utilising the downforce in high speed corners were all new experiences for me, as well as many other components that come with driving a Formula 3 car” said Stanaway.

Richie would like to thank ADAC and Volkswagen for making the test possible.

Next on the agenda for Richie is a Formula Renault 2.0 test in Barcelona, Spain, at the famous F1 Circuit de Catalunya on Monday October 11 with Formula Renault Eurocup Championship winning team, Koiranen Bros Motorsport.

More on Richie’s plan for 2011 will hope to be known by the end of the month.

Photo by Suzanne Rossbach.

A perfect weekend with pole position and three race wins in the penultimate round of the German ADAC Formula Masters Championship at the Nurburgring circuit has seen young Kiwi (Tauranga) driver, Richie Stanaway (18) win the seven-round German ADAC Championship with one round (three races to go).  Following the Nurburgring round his total of 315 points cannot be beaten, no matter what happens in the final round at the Oschersleben circuit in October.

“What a fantastic way to win this championship. I must give huge thanks to my Ma-Con team for giving me a perfect car for this round, and the great job they have done all season, and with that I was able to win 12 of the 18 races. I also have to thank all those people in Europe and New Zealand who have helped and supported me to win this championship,” said Stanaway.

Richie won each of the races comfortably, the first race from his team-mate and flat-mate, William Vermont (France) and Dominik Baumann (Austria), the second from Vermont and Patrick Schranner (Germany) and the third from Schranner and Vermont.

Points: Stanaway 315, Schranner 239, Farmbacher (Germany) 171, Vermont 146, Wehrlein (France) 131, Tweraser (Austria) 117.

As of now Richie has lead the most distance, won the most races, and finished on the podium more times than anyone else in the history of the series.

Next (final) round: October 2-3 Oschersleben.?