The 2015 MotoGP World Championship kicks off in Qatar

The MotoGP™ paddock will arrive at the Losail International Circuit this week for the start of the 2015 season. After months of waiting the first round is upon us and what a season it promises to be, as already during preseason testing a few surprises have been thrown up with some big stories making the headlines.

Ducati have dramatically come back with a competitive machine for 2015, with the Luigi Dall’Igna designed Desmosedici GP15 dominating the final preseason test in Qatar. The new machine is not only fast, but the Italian factory team seemed to have finally cured the understeer problem that affected previous versions of the bike.  While the GP15 has shown good pace since it debuted at the second test in Sepang, it will be interesting to see how it performs over the race distance under the floodlights at the Losail Circuit in the hands of the Ducati Team riders Andrea Dovizioso and Andrea Iannone.

Campeones del Mundo 2014 CircuitValencia MotoGP Moto2 y Moto3 Foto Eduardo Ripoll
Tito Rabat, Marc Marquez and Alex Marquez

Suzuki have returned to MotoGP™ with an all new factory squad, featuring riders Aleix Espargaro and class rookie Maverick Viñales. They have been developing the GSX-RR machine over the last year, and already it has proved competitive, plus the team believes there is a lot more potential to unlock in the bike throughout the season.

Valentino Rossi Cheste MotoGP Quali Valencia
Valentino Rossi

On the subject of comebacks, Aprilia have also returned to the MotoGP™ grid for 2015, although this year will be more of a season-long test for riders Alvaro Bautista and Marco Melandri, as they look to develop the RS-GP bike to be competitive in 2016.
Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez will be looking to defend his title once more, having claimed back-to-back championships in the past two seasons. The young Spaniard believing that the serious challenge for the title will not come from Ducati, but his own teammate Dani Pedrosa and the Movistar Yamaha’s.
Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo will be desperate to wrestle the title form Marquez’s grasp, and with 11 world titles between them plus a renewed determination this season, the Movistar Yamaha team will be looking to claim the Championship once more. Rossi experienced a resurgence last season, having made some changes behind the scenes, while his teammate Lorenzo ended the season brilliantly, after a disastrous start to 2014 effectively cost him any chance of the title.
There is also the interesting battle of the satellite teams with riders Cal Crutchlow on the CWM LCR Honda RC213V, Scott Redding on the factory spec Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Racing Honda, the Tech 3 Yamaha’s of Bradley Smith and Pol Espargaro plus the Pramac Ducati’s of Yonny Hernandez and Danilo Petrucci all set to do battle in Qatar.
In the Open class it was Karel Abraham who ended on top at the final preseason test, but it should prove to be an interesting season-long battle between the Drive M7 Aspar Honda RC213V-RS’s of Nicky Hayden and Eugene Laverty along with the Avintia Ducati’s of Hector Barbera and Mike Di Meglio, and the Athina Forward Racing Yamaha’s of Stefan Bradl & Loris Baz. Plus Jack Miller, the runner-up in the Moto3™ Championship last year, will be looking to impress on the Open spec CMW LCR Honda, while Alex de Angelis is on the Octo Ioda Racing ART Machine.
In 2015 the number of riders competing in the MotoGP™ class has increased to 25 – up from 23 in 2013 – and this season there will be more riders on the grid that have won Grand Prix World Championships than ever before. Twelve riders, who have won a total of 18 titles between them, will line up under the lights in Qatar to compete in the first round, along with 4 rookies to the class in the shape of Viñales, Miller, Laverty and Baz.
The schedule for the Commercial Bank Grand Prix of Qatar differs from other rounds in that it is spread over 4 days, with two days of free practice commencing on Thursday, qualifying on Saturday, and the MotoGP™ race scheduled to start at 9pm local time on Sunday night.

F3 Tests: 3 rookies on top

The second day of the FIA Formula 3 European Championship pre-season tests at Valencia represented an additional challenge for the 34 drivers involved in the action. In the morning session, rain was falling and the tests at the 4.005-kilometre Circuit Ricardo Tormo had to be contested in wet conditions. In the end, nobody was able to out-pace the rookies Charles Leclerc (Van Amersfoort Racing, 1:29.534 minutes), George Russell (Carlin, 1:30.016) and Callum Ilott (Carlin, 1:30.588 minutes). Gustavo Menezes (Jagonya Ayam with Carlin, 1:30.645 minutes) was the fastest of the experienced drivers and finished fourth on the time sheets.

Charles Leclerc
Charles Leclerc

Despite having finished behind the three newcomers, Menezes was happy: “I can’t complain about today,” the US-American said in the evening. “In the closing stages, I did without going out on a fresh set of tyres. In addition, I was hampered by traffic but with up to 34 cars on the track, many others arguably will have had the same problem. Compared to last year, I feel a major improvement and think that I’m on the right track. And we have not yet made full use of our potential.”

Alexander Albon (Signature, 1:30.838 minutes) also was generally happy – but this didn’t apply to his performance on the wet track of the morning session. “But the afternoon was fine,” said the Lotus Formula 1 Junior who finished fifth on the time sheets, thus confirming the good performance he had delivered on day one. Behind the rookie from Thailand, Antonio Giovinazzi (Jagonya Ayam with Carlin, 1:31.064 minutes), Maximilian Günther (kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport, 1:31.099) and Sean Gelael (Jagonya Ayam with Carlin, 1:31.205) finished sixth, seventh and eighth respectively. “In the closing stages, when the track was at its best, I unfortunately made a small mistake,” admitted Giovinazzi. “I was the quickest on day one and sixth on the second day of testing. I really can live with these achievements and will travel to the season kick-off at Silverstone with boosted confidence.” The top 10 were completed by Santino Ferrucci (kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport, 1:31.320 minutes) and Fabian Schiller (Team West-Tec F3, 1:31.654).

For Schiller, the morning session in wet conditions represented the highlight of the two days of testing as he finished third behind Leclerc and Ilott. Matthew Solomon (Double R Racing), George Russell and Alessio Lorandi (Van Amersfoort Racing) also proved to be quick in the wet, thus securing top-six positions in the morning session. Markus Pommer (Motopark) was the fastest driver with Formula 3 experience under his belt and finished seventh, on the time sheets of the morning session. “We were slightly late out there on the track and so, we hadn’t the chance of making optimum use of the best conditions. Nonetheless, I’m rather happy with our performance in wet conditions,” Pommer revealed

Antonio Giovinazzi leads F3 Valencia Tests

On the first day of the FIA Formula 3 European Championship pre-season tests at Valencia, the 34 young drivers involved in the tests provided a foretaste of what you may expect to witness in the coming European Championship season. The fastest lap time on the first day of testing at the 4.005-kilometre Circuit Ricardo Tormo was set by Italy’s Antonio Giovinazzi (Jagonya Ayam with Carlin, 1:24.755 minutes), followed by the fastest rookie, George Russell (Carlin, 1:25.005 minutes). With Charles Leclerc (Van Amersfoort Racing, 1:25.141 minutes), Maximilian Günther (kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport, 1:25.236) and Alexander Albon (Signature, 1:25.245) another three newcomers completed the top five.

In dry conditions, the young guns used the seven hours of track time to optimally prepare for the things to come. And the quickest, Antonio Giovinazzi, who once again is going to contest the season for Team Jagonya Ayam with Carlin, kept his cool: “You shouldn’t overestimate this result,” he said. “The first joint day of testing mainly is used to increase your self-confidence and to familiarise yourself with the car. It’s the season kick-off at Silverstone where it counts. Nonetheless, I’m happy to have achieved this fine result.”

Antonio Giovinazzi
Antonio Giovinazzi

Close behind the Italian, Englishman George Russell finished his first official appearance at the wheel of an FIA Formula 3 European Championship vehicle in second position. “On used tyres I even was the quickest,” he revealed, “But other than Antonio, I wasn’t able to make maximum uses of the fresh set of tyres. But I also am delighted with having finished second. I couldn’t have expected far more.” Charles Leclerc, another rookie, also was happy with his achievements. “Having secured third position on the time sheets represents a good start in my maiden Formula 3 season,” the Monegasque said. “I already knew that the team was happy with my performances displayed in our independent tests. But I didn’t know where I would be standing compared to the competition. Nonetheless, we have to keep on working on our performance and mustn’t rest on this result.”

Maximilian Günther also refused to be to euphoric following his fourth place in his first official day of FIA Formula 3 European Championship testing. “Yes, it was a good day. But first of all we had the opportunity to try and test a lot and did a really good job. We learned a lot and I feel more and more comfortable in the car. We are making progress step by step and while we are doing so, we mainly focus ourselves,” said the German.

FIA Formula 3 European Championship
FIA F3 European Championship Cars

Alexander Albon, fifth on the time sheets, was happy with his achievements. “I didn’t expect to secure such a good result,” the Lotus Junior from Thailand admitted. “We tested at Valencia in late 2014 and in those tests we encountered several problems. Afterwards, we kept on working and now, we suddenly are among the front runners, on this track. Both the team and the driver have made a major step in the right direction.”

F3 old hand Felix Rosenqvist (Prema Powerteam, 1:25.267 minutes), followed in sixth place, just fractions ahead of rookie Callum Ilott (Carlin, 1:25.295). Arjun Maini (Van Amersfoort Racing, 1:25.296 minutes), Mikkel Jensen (kfzteile24 Mücke Motorsport, 1:25.301) and Sérgio Sette Câmara (Motopark, 1:25.474) completed the top 10.

Tomorrow, the official FIA Formula 3 European Championship pre-season testing at Valencia will be continued with day two.

FIA Formula 3 European Championship testing in Valencia

In four weeks, the FIA Formula 3 European Championship will kick off its new season but the twelve teams already are working flat out on preparing for the first races at Silverstone. In the coming week, a total of 36 drivers will travel to Spain for the traditional pre-season tests at Valencia’s Circuit Ricardo Tormo. On 16th March, the programme features photo shoots and preparations but on 17th and 18th, the greedy young-guns will go out onto the track to prepare themselves and work on their cars, at the 4.005-kilometre circuit.FIA Formula 3 European Championship, round 11, race 3, Hockenheim (GER)

The pre-season tests is the first official clash of the rivals in the 2015 season.

Also involved will be Indonesian Sean Gelael who plans to make several F3 guest appearances, this year and will be testing at Valencia in the cockpit of one of the Jagonya Ayam with Carlin single-seaters.

The two Fortec drivers Hongwei Cao and Zhi Cong Li will alternate at the wheel of one vehicle, at Valencia, with Cao testing on Tuesday and Li on Wednesday.

As usual, we are going to keep you updated on what is going on, during the tests and provide you with the latest developments and results. And those who are particularly interested even will have the chance of following the test action at www.fiaf3europe.com in real time via live timing.

Accreditations

Accreditation applications should be sent to the Circuit’s Communication Department bearing the official header or official e-mail of the applying media one month before the event date in the case of the Gran Premio de la Comunitat Valenciana and one week before for all other races.

Contact the communication department via this form or by telephone on +34 96 252 52 20.

Roberto Merhi will drive the Manor F1 in Australia

  • Roberto Merhi will be the second valencian driver in Formula 1 after Adrian Campos 

    After an eight year journey in motorsport and after many years of karting, Spaniard Roberto Merhi will achieve this weekend, in Australia, one of his greatest dreams: competing in his first Grand Prix. It will be at the wheel of of the more modest car’s on the grid, Manor, a team that has relied on the Castellon-born driver for their re-entry into the Grand Prix Circus.

    Roberto Merhi
    Valencian Roberto Merhi

    In fact, Roberto is not unknown to John Booth’s team since this was his team in 2009, when they joined forces to compete in the F3 Euroseries. Then Roberto surprised everybody with his great performances despite his lack of experience, including a podium in his career debut at Hockenheim. Later Merhi would end up taking the Championship win and then spending two years in the DTM as an official driver for Mercedes, before returning in 2014 to his successful career in single-seaters. Six years later, team and driver meet again to write a new chapter of their history. In principle, Roberto will be in the opening Grand Prix of the season, but a sponsor that will help the team is essential to be able to continue with the team in the medium term,.

    Roberto, who is already in Australia, will begin today to prepare for the race at Albert Park with a seat fitting, he will be the fourteenth Spanish driver in the Formula 1 Grand Prix story.

    Roberto Merhi: “Today, finally, I can announce something that I have dreamt about many times, and that has seemed so far away: racing in Formula 1, up until now I have only been able to run in the Free Practice sessions. Within five days, I will be F1 driver and it is time to thank the many people who have spent many years supporting me, both inside, and outside racing, and of course the Manor team who are old friends who have trusted in my to start this new stage that I hope I will bring them many successes. I know that we won’t have the means to fight with other teams on equal footing, using a 2014 car and power unit but, with all humility, I’m sure we will strive to give the best of ourselves. I don’t want to forget Jules Bianchi, he drove this car last season, and he is a driver for whom I have great respect. Finally, I hope that this race will open the door to continue during the season. I need a sponsor if I want to continue, but unfortunately in Spain, I am not finding support. Hopefully this will help me to change this situation and face the future with more security.”

Valencia American Fest

25th and 26th de april Valencia Circuit will host the only Whelen NASCAR Euroseries Spanish Round toghether with the Nations Trucks Grand Prix

Tickets are now on sale from 20 euros for the cheapest ticket with access to Circuit Tribunes and NASCAR paddock. The most expensive one will cost 35 euros and gives access to Boxes Tribune de boxes and Trucks Grand Prix paddock.

Acción barrido Valencia NASCAR Fest
Valencia Nascar Fest 2014

The NASCAR Whelen Euro Series was founded in 2008 by Team FJ, a Motorsport company based in Blois. It was named NASCAR official Series in January 2012 thanks to a long-term partnership signed with NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing), and Whelen Engineering as title sponsor of the Series.The season is made up of 24 races, equally split among ELITE 1 and ELITE 2 division, on the best European tracks. Team FJ introduced a stunning innovation on July 7-8, 2012 by organizing the first NASCAR Touring Series race on an oval track in Europe. An half-mile circuit was built in the centre of Tours (France) with an all new 9° banking, identical to the one in place at the legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway. With four races in two days, these 400 HP V8 monsters are sure to provide thrilling bumper-to-bumper racing and a lot of family fun around the track! In the pure NASCAR tradition, race fans can get closer to the action than ever and feel the unique in Europe paddock atmosphere thanks to drivers, teams and cars always available for the spectators.The series attracts drivers from all over the world, all willing to fight on track for the win and take the first step towards becoming a NASCAR star in the U.S.

TIME TABLE

Tickets Rate Price
BOXES SAT & SUN GENERAL 35,00 €
BOXES SAT & SUN JUNIOR 10,00 €
GENERAL SAT & SUN GENERAL 20,00 €
GENERAL SAT & SUN JUNIOR 10,00 €
PADDOCK TRUCKS GP SAT GENERAL & JUNIOR 10,00 €
PADDOCK TRUCKS GP SUN GENERAL & JUNIOR 10,00 €
VIP LOUNGE SAT & SUN GENERAL 200,00 €
VIP LOUNGE SAT & SUN JUNIOR 200,00 €
VIP LOUNGE SUN GENERAL 120,00 €
VIP LOUNGE SUN JUNIOR 120,00 €

Roberto Merhi joins Pons Racing for 2015 WSR 3.5 season

Roberto Merhi will drive for Pons Racing in the 2015 World Series Renault 3.5 in an all-Spanish combination Pons Racing announced the agreement reached with Roberto Merhi for the 2015 World Series by Renault 3.5. The relationship between the 23-year-old driver from Castellon (Valencia) and the Spanish squad will begin with the upcoming preseason test set for March 5th and 6th at Jerez. Then the team will move to Alcañiz for the next collective session on March 30th and 31st. The Aragon venue will also host the opening round of the 2015 season on the 25th and 26th of April.

Roberto Merhi
Roberto Merhi

Mehri won three races and three pole positions en-route to a runner-up spot in last year’s Formula Renault 3.5 championship. He also made his Formula 1 debut, driving for Caterham in the Friday practice sessions for the Grand Prix of Italy, Japan and Russia. Between 2012 and 2013, he served as a manufacturer driver for Mercedes in DTM, after winning the European F.3 championship in 2011.

Pons Racing is proud to field an incredibly skilled racer like Merhi, and to form a powerful all-Spanish combination to chase the 2015 honours.