2006 EUROPEAN GRAND PRIX NÜRBURGRING
The Honda Racing F1 Team heads to the historic Nürburgring
in Germany this week for round five of the 2006 FIA Formula
One World Championship. After a challenging race in Imola,
the team has been working hard at the Operations Centre in
Brackley and on the test track at Silverstone to further develop
the RA106 race car and improve its competitiveness.
A successful three-day test with race drivers Rubens Barrichello
and Jenson Button, plus third driver Anthony Davidson, has
left the team feeling positive as it heads towards the back
to back European and Spanish Grands Prix.
RUBENS BARRICHELLO
"I always enjoy going to the Nürburgring, particularly
as it is one of the tracks where I achieved a win, in 2002.
It is a challenging circuit for the drivers and has some interesting
characteristics like great high-speed corners and interesting
undulations. It's normally very cold when we go there so we
are expecting all the efforts that we have made on our tyre-warming
issues over the last few tests to pay off. We also worked
really hard at Silverstone this week on the set-up of the
car, and seeing the results, we are hoping for a strong performance
at the Nürburgring."
JENSON BUTTON
"We had a positive test at Silverstone this week in which
we made good progress and took another step closer to the
competition. Apart from a podium at the Nürburgring two
years ago, I haven't had that much success at this track.
It's a very low grip circuit with a lot of corners off-camber
so when you arrive into the corner, it's vital to get the
correct line. I think we are starting to see our race pace
improve relative to our strong qualifying pace and we should
feel positive as we head to Germany."
GIL DE FERRAN Sporting Director
"We had a productive test at Silverstone which we hope
will improve our performance for Nürburgring. As a result
of this test and despite the disappointing end result in Imola,
the team is going into the weekend feeling positive. Of course,
the true measure of our competitiveness will only emerge on
Sunday."
SHUHEI NAKAMOTO
Management Board Member - Honda Racing F1 Team, Engineering
Director - Honda Racing Development
"We made our F1 debut at the old Nürburgring in
1964 and we are determined to demonstrate the true strength
of the RA106 chassis and engine package next weekend."
Nürburgring, Germany
Race Distance 60 laps
Circuit Length 3.199 miles (5.148 kms)
Germany's Nürburgring is decidedly tame by comparison
to its intimidating 14 mile, 174 corner predecessor. Further
changes to the old track came in 2002 when the first turn
was reprofiled to cut into the infield and around a new stadium
section, slowing the track even more, but yielding another
overtaking spot.
The circuit remains a fairly high downforce track that is
light on both brakes and tyres. To achieve a competitive lap
time here requires all the normal chassis attributes: good
traction (particularly out of the hairpins), good chassis
balance and stability under braking, and the best possible
compromise between downforce and straight-line speed.
The Nürburgring has the full mixture of slow through
to high-speed corners, from the revised first turn, hairpin
and chicane, to the double medium-speed 'S' bends and the
very high speed 'S' after the hairpin. It also features a
lot of undulation change, which is unusual for most modern
circuits. As the circuit is situated close to the Eifel Mountains,
weather can often play a major role in the outcome of races.
|
