BMW WilliamsF1 French GP Preview
Gene in 2004
By BMW WilliamsF1 Team
June 24 2005
After the fiasco of the US GP the BMW WilliamsF1 team returns to Europe for the next round, the French Grand Prix. With the team introducing several new developments for the FW27 at this race the team is hoping to continue their tradition of success at the Magy-Cours circuit.
| French
Grand Prix: Magny-Cours |
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This year's race will be the 15th time the French Grand Prix has been held
in
Magny-Cours. The first Grand Prix was held in 1950 in Reims (which went on
to
host 11 further GPs), making this year's race the 55th Formula One race to
be
held in France. Other French tracks to have hosted the event include Paul
Ricard
(14 times), Dijon and Rouen (5 times each), Clermont-Ferrand (4 times), and
Le
Mans (once). |
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| Race
Preview: |
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Formula One returns to
European soil next weekend for the tenth round of
the championship, the French Grand Prix. Following events in
Indianapolis, the
BMW WilliamsF1 Team is eager to resume normal service and provide the
sport's fans with an entertaining race. Having won five out of the
fourteen French Grands Prix to have been staged at the Circuit de
Nevers, WilliamsF1 equals Ferrari as the most successful team ever to
have raced at Magny-Cours.
The aggressive development programme continues with significant new aero
parts for the FW27 which the team hopes will set a foundation for a
positive result in France and the ensuing Europeans rounds.
Mark Webber:
"I always enjoy going to
Magny-Cours as it's in rural France, and in a part of
the country I particularly like. The weather is usually good and the
whole feel
to the weekend is quite relaxed. The French GP is a pretty low key event
in terms
of off-track activities for the drivers as well. I enjoy being among the
French
fans and actually having the time to be able to concentrate on the job
in hand
without any distractions.
Magny-Cours is a great track. It has a good mix of high and low speed
corners and
a short pit-lane which lends itself well to several pit stops and some
good
racing. We are quite excited by the prospect of some new aero parts on
the car
which we'll be running for the first time at Magny-Cours. I hope we're
able to
get the most out of them and enjoy a good start to the return of the
European
part of the championship."
Nick Heidfeld:
"I have good memories of Magny-Cours, having won there while competing
in F3 and
F3000. Although some people don't like this Grand Prix because it's in
the middle
of nowhere, it doesn't really affect the drivers as it means we can
concentrate
on the actual racing, which I prefer. I like the track itself because
it's
challenging, especially the two quick, blind chicanes which also have
very tight
apexes. We are taking a new package to Magny-Cours, so I hope we will
make a good
step forward with it as we need to keep scoring the points to remain
competitive
in the standings."
Sam Michael Technical Director:
"We
return to Europe next week for the start of the second half of the
season, which begins in Magny-Cours. The team has been testing at Jerez,
in Spain, last week with Antonio Pizzonia and Nick Heidfeld in an effort
to further improve the FW27 and continue tyre testing for Michelin. For
Magny-Cours, we will have some aerodynamic improvements that are part of
our on-going development programme to bring performance to the car. Some
parts are more obvious, some not.
Magny-Cours has three high speed areas, the first section of the lap and
the two
chicanes, as well as some slow and medium speed corners. It is
traditionally a
very smooth circuit which has an interesting end to the lap because the
track
creates a good line into the pit lane. This means that time lost in the
pit lane
is low. The tarmac at Magny-Cours is more dependent on temperature than
normal which means lap times vary significantly during the day. Strategy
will be
interesting in Magny-Cours because of the pit lane time and typically
high tyre
degradation that we see at Magny-Cours.
.
Dr Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director):
"Over
the last few days since Indianapolis we have been busy setting things in
motion for the future beyond 2005, as well as discussing recent events
in the USA. But now we want to turn our full attention to the next race
and the rest of the 2005 season. We will be doing everything in our
power to further improve the statistics of the BMW WilliamsF1 Team.
The circuit at Magny-Cours has an average full throttle percentage.
However, we
have experienced a number of hot races there and high thermal loads
naturally
mean considerable demands on reliability. The two engines with which
Mark and
Nick will be racing in France are the same as those run in Indianapolis
and
therefore have covered a limited distance."
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