BMW Sauber F1 Team - GP Europe - Preview
5th of 18 World Championship rounds
Munich/Hinwil, 28th April 2006. The BMW Sauber F1 Team looks
forward with heightened anticipation to its home race, the
European Grand Prix at the Nürburgring. Before the fifth
race of the 2006 FIA Formula One World Championship gets underway,
there are a number of items on the agenda to be ticked off:
the BMW Sauber F1 Team Pit Lane Park is to be opened, fans
will be offered taxi rides around the grand prix circuit courtesy
of F1 drivers, and Formula BMW Germany will once again turn
the spotlight on its young racing talent under the gaze of
their F1 heroes.
Meanwhile, test drives at Silverstone in the week following
the San Marino Grand Prix saw the team focus on the technical
preparation of the BMW Sauber F1.06. All three drivers - Nick
Heidfeld, Jacques Villeneuve and Robert Kubica - were out
clocking laps of the English circuit.
Nick Heidfeld:
"Driving on the Nürburgring is always something
very special for me. The race is my personal home grand prix.
The Ring is the circuit nearest to Mönchengladbach, where
I was born and grew up. As a three-year-old I learnt to ride
a bike on the Nürburgring. My father used to take me
and my two brothers to the Ring quite often, and in winter
we even went tobogganing on the Nordschleife. At the age of
eight I had my first go-kart experience on the Nürburgring
- great childhood memories. I've also done a lot of races
on the Nürburgring - in Formula Ford, Formula 3, Formula
3000 and, ultimately, Formula One. I've really enjoyed every
single race in the Eifel and also won a few. Last year I gained
my first ever Formula One pole position there and came second
in the race. Of course that kind of success before a home
crowd was fantastic. I don't feel my home race puts unwanted
pressure on me in the least. On the contrary, I'm really looking
forward to the support I'll get there. Nowhere else will I
see so many fans."
Jacques Villeneuve:
"The Nürburgring is not one of my favourite tracks,
although in the past I have done well there: I won my first
and my last grand prix there in 1996 and 1997. Last year the
European Grand Prix was one of the most difficult races of
the season. Since they put the new layout in the first part
of the circuit, I really don't like the Nürburgring any
more, so it is probably my least favourite Formula One track.
Still, I hope we can get some good results there especially
as the race is in Germany, and for BMW that makes it important.
I have always wished we could race on the Nordschleife. I
have not had a chance to go round it yet, but that really
would be mega."
Robert Kubica:
"I'm looking forward to the second European track and
I know the Nürburgring, especially the GP version, although
I have driven the Nordschleife once or twice. It should be
a good weekend, especially as it is the first grand prix of
the year in Germany. It's good for the team to be racing in
BMW's home country. The Pit Lane Park will be opened at the
Nürburgring, which means that, in addition to my free
practice sessions on Friday, I will be busy with this on Saturday
and Sunday. I will enjoy the whole weekend, but hope our results
turn out better than at Imola.
I don't really like the track that much, but there are some
nice parts, particularly the quick corners. It's important
to have a car that is very good overall - in the quick corners,
the slow corners and the chicanes. The Nürburgring demands
that kind of versatility."
Mario Theissen, BMW Motorsport Director:
"Needless to say, the two Formula One events in Germany
are of special significance to BMW. Over the decades, BMW
has celebrated spectacular racing triumphs on the Nürburgring.
It is a textbook example of how to preserve a historic race
track while at the same time implementing modern circuit architecture,
and it offers a very special racing atmosphere.
The Nürburgring ranks somewhere in the middle of GP
circuits in terms of full-throttle percentage and maximum
speed. Its altitude of a good 600 metres affects all the engines.
Due to the thinning air, engine output is reduced by around
one percent for every hundred metres above sea level. Because
both engines made it to the finish in Imola after two race
weekends, Jacques and Nick will be lining up with fresh, modified
BMW P86 engines. The basic pace of the cars is there. If we
succeed in converting that, we will have a chance of earning
points in the Eifel.
We've also got something special lined up for the Nürburgring:
the BMW Sauber F1 Team Pit Lane Park will be celebrating its
debut there. You could say this high-tech adventure park brings
a piece of the pit lane right to the spectators: it's an adventure
complex where fans can experience Formula One close at hand,
and it's going to be something very special - something fans
have never seen before in F1."
Willy Rampf, Technical Director Chassis:
"The last two races have shown how crucial it is to make
optimum use of the tyres so as to exploit the full potential
of the car. The Nürburgring track offers plenty of grip,
and rubber wear isn't too extreme, which means we will be
using a relatively soft compound. Cars tend to suffer understeer
on this track, and that will be the main consideration when
it comes to the car's set-up. It can be offset by the right
aero balance or through mechanical modifications. That's what
we have been working on this week during testing at Silverstone.
In view of the close competition in the middle of the field
at the moment, everything has to be just right, especially
if we want to achieve a good position on the grid."
BMW Sauber F1 Team Pit Lane Park:
On the occasion of this year's grand prix at the Nürburgring,
the Pit Lane Park will throw open its gates for the first
time. The 5,400-square-metre complex (120 x 45 metres) with
a 90-metre stretch of track offers the public a hands-on experience
of Formula One. Disney World acted in an advisory capacity
during the design of this high-tech visitor theme park. Capable
of taking in up to 16,000 visitors a day, the complex comprises:
- show cars on display in the pit lane garages,
- a photo opportunity in racing overalls,
- numerous technical exhibits,
- participation in an interactive Formula One quiz,
- lining up teams to allow the public to test their skills
in the Pit Stop Challenge,
- driving in the simulator,
- a BMW Sauber F1 Team merchandising shop,
- Speaker's Corner, where fans can put questions to the drivers
several times over the weekend,
- repeated starts by the Formula One race car and a Formula
BMW - with Dirk Müller and Sebastian Vettel respectively
behind the wheel.
- Admission is free and open to anyone with either a ticket
for the relevant event day at the Nürburgring or a BMW
vehicle registration document together with the car key.
- The official opening ceremony of the Pit Lane Park starts
at 19.00 hrs on Thursday in the presence of BMW Motorsport
Director Mario Theissen and the BMW Sauber F1 Team drivers.
The media and anyone with an FIA Formula One pass are also
invited to attend.
- There are plans to set up the Pit Lane Park in Barcelona,
Silverstone, Montreal, Monza and Shanghai as well.
Opening times of the Pit Lane Park at the Nürburgring:
Thursday - 10.00-14.00 hrs
Friday - 10.00-19.00 hrs
Saturday - 10.00-19.00 hrs
Sunday - 10.30-14.30 hrs
History and background:
Many chapters of success in BMW Motorsport history have been
written on the Nürburgring. They include 18 overall victories
(among them eight one-two wins) in the Nürburgring 24-Hour
Race, the last in this long line being claimed in 2005 with
the BMW M3 GTR. 2003 saw BMW celebrate a one-two Formula One
finish in the Eifel in partnership with WilliamsF1.
As a partner of the Nürburgring GmbH, BMW runs a test
centre at the foot of the legendary Nordschleife which, after
a three-year refurbishment, is one of the most advanced around.
Probably the best known of BMW's Driver Training centres is
also based at the Nürburgring, offering a wide range
of courses in safe and sporty driving. The Nürburgring
Erlebnis Welt (adventure world) next to the start/finish area
boasts the world's only permanent BMW racing car exhibition.
Meanwhile, visitors can keep pace - literally - with the fascinating
experience of the Nordschleife as a passenger in the BMW Ring
Taxi, a 507 bhp M5 driven by seasoned racers such as Hans-Joachim
Stuck, Sabine Schmitz and Claudia Hürtgen.
2006 sees the 36th Formula One Grand Prix staged at the Nürburgring.
The first track variant was opened on 18th/19th June 1927.
On 29th July 1951, Formula One made its first appearance in
the Eifel for the German Grand Prix. In the late 1950s and
early 1970s the German GP temporarily moved to the Berlin
Avus track and Hockenheim respectively. The horrific accident
in which Niki Lauda was involved on 1st August 1976 marked
the end of the legendary Nordschleife as a Formula One circuit.
On most days of the year the public can pay to drive around
the Nordschleife with their own car or motorcycle.
The new Nürburgring was inaugurated on 12th May 1984.
Since then, Formula One has stopped off in the Eifel ten times
for the European Grand Prix, twice for the Luxembourg GP (1997
and 1998) and once for the German Grand Prix (1985).
Between 1999 and 2001 the start/finish area underwent modernisation,
including the construction of a new pit building and press
centre.
2002 saw the completion of the Mercedes Arena, a stadium-like
section that extended the course by some 600 metres.
As part of the support programme for the 2006 European Formula
One GP, Formula BMW Germany will be running its fifth and
sixth races here. Formula BMW - now comprising four championships
(Asia, Britain, Germany, USA) - allows teenagers to drive
highly advanced single-seaters powered by 140 bhp BMW engines.
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