Novinky
Na letošní druhé oficiální testy Světové série F Renault 3.5 nebude jezdec týmu ISR Filip Salaquarda rád vzpomínat. V rychlosti 240 km/h mu přestaly fungovat brzdy na zadních kolech. Stalo se tak na konci dlouhé rovinky. Následoval průjezd únikovou zónou a pak náraz do zdi. Štěstím v neštěstí bylo pro Filipa to, že zeď byla obložena třemi řadami pneumatik, které náraz částečně utlumily. Český jezdec navíc zachoval chladnou hlavu, díky brzdnému účinku předních kol snížil nárazovou rychlost a zbytečně netočil volantem. Čelní náraz, kdy se formule zabořila na metr do bariéry z pneumatik, přestál Filip Salaquarda bez zranění, naštěstí jen s potlučeninami prakticky po celém těle. A přitom se vše zpočátku vyvíjelo podle představ týmu i jezdce.
„První den dopoledne jsem ujel asi pětadvacet kol. Auto fungovalo výborně, přestože jsme použili starší pneumatiky. Nové gumy jsme šetřili na odpoledne, protože trať se stále zrychlovala,“ připomíná úvodní část testování Salaquarda. „Zajeté časy slibovaly pro odpolední část testů další zrychlení. Bohužel kvůli závadě na převodovce jsme ujeli jen pár kol. A na neděli je lepší zapomenout.“
Druhým jezdcem, který se v Jerezu objevil v barvách ISR, byl domácí Sergio Canamasas. Nevedl si nijak špatně, když v konkurenci čtyřiadvaceti jezdců obsadil 9. místo, což je oproti Barceloně, kde testoval s jiným týmem, posun o třináct míst kupředu.
Tým teď čeká oprava Filipovy formule a pak cesta do španělského Motorlandu Aragon na poslední testy před ostrým startem Světové serie F Renault 3.5.
28. 08. 10 - New Energy
Preparations for the upcoming round of the World Series by Renault are culminating in the seat of the ISR Racing Team at Čestlice near Prague. The event will take place at Hockenheimring, Germany on September 4–5.
“The two cars have already returned from their manufacturer, Dallara. They have been completely repaired and painted. The chassis underwent a stiffness test with the result that everything was all right,” says Team Principal Igor Salaquarda. “It’s a shame that we have no possibility to make a shakedown. This means that we will not be able to fine-tune any possible minor defects before the practices at Hockenheimring,” Salaquarda explains.
The team is looking forward to the circuit situated on the banks of the Rhine River: “Although it hasn’t been the venue of the World Series so far, the two drivers, Filip Salaquarda and Esteban Guerrieri, know the local circuit perfectly from the F3 Euroseries. That’s why we believe in a good result,” adds Igor Salaquarda. The team principal is now occupying himself with quite pleasant concerns: As a result of excellent results, there are numerous drivers interested in the team’s cockpit for the next season. They are planned to be tested during test days after the end of this season.
The two current drivers have been busy in recent days. After the preparatory stay in Viareggio, Italy, Esteban Guerrieri headed for his native Argentina where he negotiated with potential sponsors. Filip Salaquarda has made an important step in his personal life entering into a marriage with his long-term girlfriend, Petra Vojáčková.
22. 08. 10 - Decisive events
This time we are going to make a bit detailed presentation of the remaining three events of this year’s edition of the World Series by Renault, entered by Filip Salaquarda and his team, ISR Racing. It is necessary to point out that all of these races will take place at famous circuits – some of the current venues of Formula One Grand Prix.
The first of them will be held at Hockenheimring in Germany on September 4–5. The formerly high-speed track went through a major reconstruction under the control of architect Hermann Tilke in 2001, which resulted in leaving out the dangerous forest section and reduction in length by almost two kilometres to the present-day 4,574 metres. The capacity of the racing circuit grandstands is 120,000 spectators, and now a full house is expected.
The World Series by Renault is going to visit Hockenheimring for the first time (although its events have already been run in Germany before: at Nürburgring and Oschersleben).
Filip says: “It’s still possible to drive like hell along the Baden circuit, which is why I’m in my element there. In many cases, the entry into the first curve after the start is decisive.”
A fortnight later, the Series will move to Silverstone in Great Britain, which, by contrast, has belonged to the mainstays of the calendar for a long period. All the same, the former Royal Air Force war base, where races have taken place since 1948, is supposed to prove a hard nut to crack even for old warhorses. The track has undergone rather radical construction changes to the second sector, which has met with ambiguous reactions so far. Dramatic moments are to be expected in the first corner after the start, Copse, as well as in the subsequent legendary combination of curves called Maggots, Beckets; and Chapel.
Last year, it was Marcos Martínez and Charles Pic that stood on the top of the rostrum there with second-placed Albert Costa in the Eurocup F Renault 2.0 race being the best out of the present-day participants in the World Series.
Filip says: “This is a matter of the heart for me. It’s a superfast while at the same time technically difficult track that will make you give all of yourself – thanks, in part, to an enormous G-force. The icing on the cake is cornering through the Maggots curve.”
The final round will traditionally take place in Spain on October 9–10, this time at the Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona. The site near the village of Montmelo, situated thirty kilometres from the centre of the city of 1.6 million souls, came into existence in 1991, and since then, it has been the scene for Formula One Grand Prix as well as a popular location for Formula One teams’ testing sessions. The one kilometre long finish straight has witnessed many fantastic battles, especially a duel waged between Ayrton Senna and Nigel Mansell.
The Circuit de Catalunya has hosted the World Series by Renault events since 2006. In 2009, the most successful driver was Marcos Martínez there with Salaquarda’s current big rival, Sten Pentus, taking a surprise second place at that time.
Filip comments: “I prefer the longer version of the circuit. Qualifying will be demanding pretty much because the car works no more than one or two laps.”
12. 08. 10 - Approaching the final stages!
There is the proverbial calm before the storm in the World Series by Renault 3.5. The weekend of 4–5 September when the final stage of the Series will start at Hockenheimring in Germany is approaching very fast. But in the meantime, there is still time to recap the course of the season hitherto.
The Czech ISR Racing Team has entered its drivers Filip Salaquarda and Esteban Guerrieri with the latter having been replaced by Alexander Rossi just for the Monte Carlo event. Their results have exceeded all expectations.
After a bit embarrassing start when the team left Motorland Aragón, Spain empty-handed, Argentinian driver Guerrieri literally caused a sensation at Spa-Francorchamps where he managed to win race two. They had also been doing well in Monaco for a long time with Rossi finishing third and Salaquarda fourth in qualifying. However, the American overdid himself in his effort crashing out of the race while Salaquarda scored his first points of the season for his eighth place.
Then a dreamy event followed in Brno. At the successful and well-attended inaugural race of the World Series at the Masaryk Circuit in Brno, the ISR Racing Team trounced the opposition. Guerrieri outclassed his rivals on both days. Having retired unluckily on Saturday, Salaquarda finally breached a series of bad luck on Sunday climbing onto the third step of the podium.
The South American almost completed a hat trick at Magny-Cours where he was beaten by the only opponent in race one: Aleshin, the actual championship leader. Although he was not that successful in race two, Salaquarda put on a great performance again repeating his podium finish from his home track.
Unfortunately, the fantastically running team based at Čestlice near Prague was then inhibited by “force majeure” – rather controversial disqualification from the event held at Hungaroring, Hungary. All the same, Esteban Guerrieri is now occupying a brilliant fourth place overall with Filip Salaquarda holding twelfth position.
Apart from Hockenheimring, there are two more events on the calendar this year: Silverstone (18–19 September) and Barcelona (9–10 October).
05. 08. 10 - Technical Traps
This time, we want to pay attention to two technical aspects that play an important role in this year’s edition of the World Series by Renault.
First up is the so-called light-weight setup. This one is used for Saturday races (when there are no mandatory pitstops). In practice this means that the rear wing is smaller and aerodynamic downforce drops by about twenty per cent. This makes the importance of engine power increase significantly at the expense of aerodynamics. “It is necessary to find two different setups during the weekend. Many teams have experienced no small problems especially with the light-weight setup up to now. Of course, we also have to modify our driving style as it is more difficult to handle the car in a light configuration,” Filip Salaquarda explains.
As is the case with all the other formula series, the World Series by Renault has also seen tyres or, in case of uncertain weather forecast, the correct tyre choice determining the results. Understandably, the French company Michelin is the sole supplier of tyres for the series. The competitors have the choice of dry compounds (designated FR 3.5) and wet-weather compounds (FR 3.5 R). Like any other team, Salaquarda’s ISR Racing Team can use a total of four sets of tyres per driver and event. Two sets are available for Friday free practices (two 75-minute sessions) while the other two sets must endure two qualifying sessions and two races. Besides, it is necessary to pull into the pits and have at least two tyres changed during the Sunday races. These pitstops are allowed to be made only within the span of prespecified laps (any pitstop outside this “window” may result in a 20-second penalty or, when ignored, even a 60-second penalty). No more than six mechanics are allowed to work on the car during the pitstop.
29. 07. 10 - Filip just off the ground
Filip Salaquarda has not abandoned his steering wheel even in a period during which the World Series by Renault regulations prohibit its participants from driving on circuits. The ISR Racing team driver just replaced his Formula cockpit with a kart seat.
“Thanks to Josef Kališ’s understanding, we’ve got a really good-quality machine with a Birel chassis that had appeared in the European Championship,” says the Prague-based driver. Although the original plan to take part in several races during the holidays had been cancelled, the harder he trained in the kart.
He headed for a new track in Cheb as well as the “classic” one at Vysoké Mýto. “I was quite surprised to see how I got used to it again immediately even though I had driven a go-kart in about 2006 for the last time. It was a considerable number of commercial visitors that annoyed me a bit in Cheb while it was visibly better at Vysoké Mýto in this respect. I even met some boys who have taken part in the European Championship. The achieved times were very respectable considering that we hadn’t tuned up the kart very much and had run a richer set-up. At first, I preferred learning the track, which has been changed a great deal, and was running in the engine. But towards the end, I pushed harder. I feel good about my performance. In any case, it was a good training run,” Filip concludes. Now he faces another kart test work at Sosnová and then an important step in his private life: he is going to enter into a marriage.
22. 07. 10 - Drudgery in Italy
The present mid-summer holiday break in the World Series by Renault does not mean that the participants in the series may enjoy pleasant idleness. For example, the two ISR Racing Team drivers, Filip Salaquarda and Esteban Guerrieri, have made the most of the break staying in the Formula Medicine specialized centre in Viareggio, Italy for a week.
“Ninety per cent of the clients are racing drivers,” said Filip Salaquarda after his return. “The colleagues we met there included Robert Kubica who lives in Viareggio and is a regular visitor to the centre. The training itself consists of two parts: the first one is aimed at the driver’s mental condition while the second one, at his stamina. As part of our mental training, we have completed a number of stress tests focussing, above all, on examination of our reflex capacity, but also our memory. As far as fitness is concerned, attention was focussed particularly upon those areas that are most strained, which means the back, shoulders, and especially neck and the back of the neck. We’ve also undergone a general medical check-up.”
The number-one priority was to get methodical instructions on how to precisely proceed when further developing and strengthening the drivers’ mental and physical abilities. But this does not mean that Filip and Esteban did not get a hard workout. “I will remember how we were crossing the local river as a practice. We’d been trying to scramble up its steep bank for about three hours; we had to swarm up a rope in some sections. And the temperature was thirty-five degrees in the shade!”
In spite of this horrible experience, Filip Salaquarda was extremely happy as he returned home from the Apennine Peninsula. “I brought a training plan, which I’m going to follow in coming months. I’ve also received valuable advice as regards the general regimen. That’s why I’d like to go to Viareggio at least once more during the course of this year.”
