Formula One news

Jaguar chiefs predict most interesting race yet

Jaguar Racing chiefs Mark Gillan and David Pitchforth have predicted the Barhain Grand Prix will be one of the most exciting yet when F1 hits the new track at Sakhir this weekend.

"As this is a new track for everyone the FIA have supplied us with some data that we are completing simulations from. It's very difficult to know how accurate our data will be but of course we are in the same situation as the majority of teams so it should be a level playing field from the start in terms of circuit and tyre information," explained head of vehicle performance Dr Mark Gillan. "From the simulations we have been working on our set-up on the car and of course our aerodynamics package. Braking and fuel levels are additional factors that we need to consider and although we are doing what we can in simulation we really need to get out on track on Friday and test as much as we can."

Dr Mark Gillan

"Having the third car at the new races really pays dividends for us," he added. "We will be using Bjorn to work on tyres on the Friday, as this will help us in making our decision in time for Saturday. Our cooling system worked very well in Sepang and again this is vital especially in the extreme heat of Bahrain."

"I think that the race is going to be really exciting and as this is our first new track in some time, it's going to add some excitement and no doubt there will be a few surprises over the course of the weekend and especially during the race," he explained. 

Team Managing Director David Pitchforth added, "The third race is probably going to be one of the most interesting yet. It is going to be one of the few times that just about all of the teams have no real track data to work from. We have been working hard on the data that we were supplied with by the FIA but this is never as good as your own records from previous years. I understand that the track is going to be quite dusty and it will be interesting to see how it cleans up over the weekend and how this affects the tyres. The surface is the biggest unknown but we like a challenge!"

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