ORANGEARROWS PREVIEW
Brazilian Grand Prix, Sao Paulo (Interlagos)
After two tough flyaway races, the Formula One circus travels to the
other side of the world, to Brazil, for the final long-haul Grand Prix
before the start of the European season. Interlagos, in the city of Sao
Paulo, hosts the 2002 Brazilian Grand Prix; round three of the Formula
One World Championship.
THE RACE
Built in 1940, Interlagos has been on the Formula One calendar since the
World Championship began back in the fifties and owes much of its success
and history to its country's drivers. The crowd had much to cheer
for with local heroes Carlos Pace and Emerson Fittipaldi racing in the
seventies and Ayrton Senna in the eighties and nineties. Renowned for
excellent racing and an electric atmosphere, OrangeArrows driver Enrique
Bernoldi will enjoy being the local boy again.
Race Information
Lap Distance: 4.309km
Race Distance: 305.909km, 71 laps
2001 Winner: David Coulthard, McLaren
Website: www.gpbrazil.com
THE TRACK
The Interlagos circuit a demanding one, made up of fast corners and long
straights, with a combination of slow corners in the infield section that
often forces a compromised set up for the cars. Unusual for running in an
anti-clockwise direction, it will put extra strain on the drivers’
neck muscles as every other track (bar-Imola) runs the opposite way.
Changeable weather is always a factor over the weekend as the bright
skies can change to thunderstorms in a matter of minutes.
THE DRIVERS
Enrique Bernoldi's racing roots began at an early age and it is
hardly surprising as he was surrounded by the Brazilian Formula One
greats such as Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna. Starting in kart racing,
his career took off at just the age of nine at the local track. In his
first year taking part, Enrique won the local karting championship and,
seeking a greater challenge, he moved to Sao Paulo to take on
Brazil's best kart racers. In three years, he had won two Sao Paulo
Championships and two national Championships defeating rivals such as
Helio Castro-Neves and Tony Kanaan.
Enrique Bernoldi
"I will always enjoy the Brazilian Grand Prix as it is in my home country
but the flip-side is that there is greater pressure to perform in front
of the home crowd. I was having a good race in Malaysia before I had to
retire so I am really looking forward to having a full run in the A23 as
the pace is there for us to challenge for points. The track itself has a
good mix of corners and a few overtaking spots and can be demanding due
to the bumpy surface."
Heinz-Harald Frentzen
"Interlagos is a good circuit for me as I have had some good
experiences there and many happy memories. We are making good progress
with the A23 and should have another step forward for Brazil. After
Malaysia we can look forward to challenging for a top ten position in
qualifying. More than anything I am looking forward to getting a good
start!"
THE TEAM
Mike Coughlan, Technical Director
"The team is really looking forward to Brazil. Obviously after the
difficulties we had in the first two races, we're keen to get out
and show our true potential. We only really got a glimpse of it in
Malaysia, but the pace is clearly there. I know that both drivers enjoy
racing at Interlagos and it's Enrique's home Grand Prix so
that will give him an extra boost as well as to the team. We should be
aiming for another good qualifying position with the speed that we have
and that should put us in good stead for the race."
THOSE STARTS
The OrangeArrows team had problems starting in both of the first races
this season. In Melbourne, both cars stalled on the grid and in Sepang,
Heinz-Harald's car had a launch control failure, which meant his
car had to be started in the pit lane. The OrangeArrows team has been
working very hard to solve these problems as Mike Coughlan, Technical
Director explains.
"In Melbourne with the cars sitting on the grid, the power
consumption from the battery to the car exceeded the power being
generated with the engine running at idle. That meant that the car ran
the battery flat, causing the problem. After Australia, we did a number
of grid simulations to check the systems and we know we've sorted
the problem. Heinz-Harald's 11th place on the grid was wasted due
to the launch control problems we had with his car. Once we had reset all
the systems and sent him back out, he actually had a lot of pace. We
calculated, running at the pace he was, he would have been in sixth place
and picked up a point, so that was obviously particularly painful for us,
but goes to show the A23 has great potential."
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