18/11/2006
NEWS STORY
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Another unlucky day of doom for BMW-Sauber-F1 sensation Sebastian Vettel at Macau's superb Circuito da Guia on Saturday, as his Qualification Race ended prematurely in retirement with a minor crash at Faraway Corner caused by brake problems.
Continued dramatic gesticulation born of frustration again beset the Carlin Motorsport garage, as the pressure began to show on the young German post-race. With it all to do in Sunday's Macau Grand Prix from the back of the grid, Vettel was understandably downcast, "I got a good start but up to the first corner I lost a lot of places. After that it was going ok, car-wise I think we are quite good. But we are losing quite a lot in a straight-line. It was very easy for others to overtake me, but I could still overtake others. Then after I lost a couple of places, I had a big fight into the last corner. A whole bunch of us were together, I was again not in a lucky position and everyone took me by Mandarin. I was one of the leaders in the group, and after that I was the last. Then I had a fight with Kimball and passed him; but I crashed then as we had a problem with the brake as well. I was braking at the normal point, but I had a long peddle. I tried to catch it, but with all the dirt and all the rubber and pick-up, it was just impossible and I crashed into the wall. We need some luck for tomorrow."
2006 Formula 3 Euroseries Champion Paul Di Resta took a well-deserved fourth in Saturday's Qualification Race; an important step towards his goal of the 2006 trifecta - the BP Ultimate Masters, the Formula 3 Euroseries and the Macau Grand Prix. After a good start, a resurgent Hirate temporarily halted Di Resta's progress at Lisboa Corner. The remainder of the race involved an intense battle between Di Resta, Kodai Tsukakoshi and 2006 SpykerMF1 test driver Adrian Sutil, with Di Resta taking Tsukakoshi at Lisboa Corner on Lap 4. Di Resta went on to catch the tailwinds of the scampering top 3 and caught the chequered flag just three seconds down from third-placed competitor Kohei Hirate. Di Resta was focused on the task at hand, "My race was quite good. I got stuck behind Kobayashi (above) at the start and he braked early for some reason at the first corner, ended up sixth. So I had to work my way through, and then it was a matter of finishing. Tomorrow we have a good car to win. If we get a good start, it should ok."
Adrian Sutil will start tomorrow's Macau Grand Prix from a promising sixth, after a fiery weekend of dramatic shunts was put behind him with a strong battle against Di Resta and Tsukakoshi in Saturday's Qualification Race. Ever optimistic, Sutil continued to enthuse about his performance around the Macanese circuit, "the race was pretty nice to drive. I had a big fight in the beginning with Paul Di Resta, and after that with Tsukakoshi. At the beginning I was fast, however I think the tyres went. I was always so close to Di Resta on the mountainside, so I really lost a lot of grip. Then I scrubbed the tyres even more, and I had no downforce. Suddenly, the tyres really went down. I lost traction, everything, all corner grip - so then I had to defend my back. I had to really watch my back to make sure no one passed, but at the end the position was great. I'm happy."
It was mixed drinks for the Japanese, as 2007 Trident-GP2 driver Kohei Hirate claimed an excellent third place in Saturday's Qualification Race, and will start from the second row for tomorrow's Macau Grand Prix. Earned against adversity, Hirate hit the barrier on the way to the grid at San Francisco Corner and had to pit for suspension checks. Getting onto the grid with minutes to spare, Hirate passed Tsukakoshi with a banzai move at Lisboa Corner on Lap 3 and went on to catch the super-quick leading pair of Kobayashi and Asmer to secure third place. Hirate was elated; "I had a crash at San Francisco Corner. It was my mistake. So, I had to come back to the grid. The mechanics went to work on my suspension, front and rear. It was 70-75% ok, but I had a skewed steering angle on the left side so I had to hold it on the straight and when I braked it was quite difficult to control. Having said that, the car was just so good, the lap times didn't drop off so much and in the end I was catching Asmer and Kobayashi. Things are looking good for tomorrow."
Whilst his Manor Motorsport teammate Hirate was celebrating, 2007 WilliamsF1 test driver Kazuki Nakajima was languishing with a disappointing eighth place in Saturday's Qualification Race. A setup change to increase grip along the Guia Circuit's mountain section hurt Nakajima's progress along the seafront straights; and with a mid-grid slot, he will have it all to do on Sunday. Nakajima was bitterly disappointed, "I had a good start, but one car baulked me and I lost five positions into the first corner. However, my race pace was compromised as I had too much downforce, which hurt my performance in a straight-line. That was it, really."
2006 British International Formula 3 Champion Mike Conway set the fastest lap in Saturday's Qualification Race and made up a number of important places from his combined-qualifying grid slot to start tomorrow's Macau Grand Prix from seventh place. With the opening-lap run from Mandarin to Lisboa Corner characterised by a weaving writhing mass of cars, Conway lost a number of places in the funnelling mayhem. Sniffing the opportunity of a good race result, Conway picked off rivals furiously and ended only half a second adrift from sixth placed combatant Adrian Sutil.
Conway was pragmatic about the race, "It was good. It was just the start, I still got a good start but two cars got by me and it was just mayhem going through the first left at Mandarin. Everyone was doing their own thing. You didn't know where to go. You went into the middle because it was clear and then everyone just shot back across again and so you tried the other way. It was pretty crazy. But we deserved the improved position. I think we lost two places and then we gained one back at the first corner. We gained another going into the second corner, and then I managed to pass three down the straight. That was when I set the 13.457, which was then fastest lap. I was then approaching the guys at the front; I was all over them in the mountain section. However, in the last corner, they just seemed to have the edge and I just couldn't pass on the main straight. Bit of a shame, we could have picked up another position. We could have been sixth, which would have been ideal for Sunday. Anyway, we'll do our best tomorrow."
With the established 2006 Macau front-runners up front; and Vettel starting at the very back of tomorrow's Macau Grand Prix - the action should be fiery at both ends.
Stewart Bell – Live from Macau’s Guia Circuit
| Pos | Driver | Nat | Car | Laps | Time |
| 1 | KOBAYASHI | JAP | Dallara Mercedes-HWA | 10 | 22:45.199 |
| 2 | ASMER | EST | Dallara Mercedes-HWA | 10 | 3.333 |
| 3 | HIRATE | JAP | Dallara Mercedes-HWA | 10 | 3.935 |
| 4 | DI RESTA | GBR | Dallara Mercedes-HWA | 10 | 6.715 |
| 5 | TSUKAKOSHI | JAP | Dallara Mercedes-HWA | 10 | 9.714 |
| 6 | SUTIL | D | Dallara Toyota-TOM'S | 10 | 10.328 |
| 7 | CONWAY | GBR | Dallara Mercedes-HWA | 10 | 10.892 |
| 8 | NAKAJIMA | JAP | Dallara Mercedes-HWA | 10 | 12.686 |
| 9 | ANTINUCCI | USA | Dallara Mercedes-HWA | 10 | 15.517 |
| 10 | KIMBALL | USA | Dallara Mercedes-HWA | 10 | 15.950 |
| 11 | JARVIS | GBR | Dallara Honda-Mugen NB | 10 | 17.756 |
| 12 | BUEMI | SUI | Dallara Honda-Mugen NB | 10 | 19.495 |
| 13 | JELLEY | GBR | Dallara Mercedes-HWA | 10 | 20.181 |
| 14 | IKEDA | JAP | Dallara Toyota-TOM'S | 10 | 21.526 |
| 15 | GROSJEAN | FRA | Dallara Mercedes-HWA | 10 | 22.476 |
| 16 | OSHIMA | JAP | Dallara Toyota-TOM'S | 10 | 35.924 |
| 17 | MASSIRONI | ITA | Dallara Honda-Mugen NB | 10 | 42.497 |
| 18 | CORTES | ESP | Dallara Mercedes-HWA | 10 | 42.802 |
| 19 | WINSLOW | GBR | Dallara Toyota-TOM'S | 10 | 45.174 |
| 20 | JAKES | GBR | Dallara Mercedes-HWA | 10 | 45.486 |
| 21 | RODRIGUEZ | ESP | Dallara Mercedes-HWA | 10 | 46.310 |
| 22 | CARBONE | BRZ | Dallara Nissan | 10 | 1:09.008 |
| 23 | HO | MAC | Dallara Honda-Mugen NB | 10 | 1:19.886 |
| 24 | AVILA | MAC | Dallara Honda-Mugen NB | 10 | 1:30.749 |
| 25 | CHEONG | MAC | Dallara Honda-Mugen NB | 10 | 1:50.156 |
| 26 | LEI | MAC | Dallara Opel-Spiess | 10 | 2:16.132 |
| 27 | MERSZEI | MAC | Dallara Toyota-Tom's | 9 | 1 LAP |
| VETTEL | D | Dallara Honda-Mugen NB | 8 | DNF | |
| KENNARD | GBR | Dallara Honda-Mugen NB | 8 | DNF | |
| BUURMAN | NED | Dallara Mercedes-HWA | 8 | DNF | |
| STREIT | BRZ | Dallara Mercedes-HWA | 1 | DNF | |
| ENGEL | D | Dallara Honda-Mugen NB | 1 | DNF | |
Fastest Lap: Conway 2:13.457 = 102.58 mph (Lap 4)