2007 SPANISH GRAND PRIX
BARCELONA
11-13 MAY
PREVIEW
The Formula One European season begins next weekend in Barcelona
with Round Four of the 2007 FIA Formula One World Championship
- the Spanish Grand Prix.
After a four-week break following the flyaway races, the
Formula One teams return to Europe and look forward to the
challenge of the more traditional circuits on the calendar.
The Circuit de Catalunya is familiar to the Honda Racing F1
Team as a regular testing venue and hosted a four-day test
this week as the Honda team prepared for the event.
SHUHEI NAKAMOTO - Senior Technical Director
"In preparation for the Spanish Grand Prix, we have
had the test session in Barcelona this week to evaluate various
specifications, particularly the latest aerodynamic parts
for the RA107. We had gathered a great deal of data and believe
that we have found a good set-up combination and made progress
with the aerodynamics. The car seems to be working better
with the tyres now and our pace and reliability is steady.
So a small step forward but there is much work still to do."
JENSON BUTTON
"The fact that we test here so much makes the Grand
Prix weekend feel very familiar and of course we know the
track inside out. The key to a really quick lap at the Circuit
de Catalunya is having a car with good downforce, you need
to feel confident when you commit to the very high speed corners.
Overtaking can be a real challenge here and one of the best
opportunities is going into the first corner after the start.
You can squeeze by there once the race has settled down but
it is very difficult. The new chicane can also be tricky as
it is extremely slippery and so very slow. One little mistake
could cost you a lot of time there. It's also slowed the approach
to the old final corner which was a great challenge. "
RUBENS BARRICHELLO ON THE CIRCUIT DE CATALUNYA
"The Circuit de Catalunya is almost like a home circuit
now because the F1 teams conduct most of their European testing
there and like all of the drivers, I know the track like the
back of my hand. A lap around here feels something like this:
When you exit the fast right-hand turn thirteen onto the
long main straight for the start of the lap, the engine noise
echoes through the vast and towering grandstands which gives
a feeling of real exhilaration, I love that noise!
Then it's downhill towards turn one where you brake hard
down to second gear from 310kph, throwing the car hard right,
then left and straight into turn two. Then you accelerate
hard into the long right-hand turn three which can be taken
at full throttle with the grip of new tyres.
For the short drag down to turn four, you are back up to
300kph, then into the slow right-hander taken in second gear
from where the track falls downhill into the hairpin left
of turn five. Here you have to be careful not to lock your
wheels on the undulating track.
Accelerating hard once again towards the medium-speed left-hand
turn six, running hard over the kerb as you push uphill to
the fast right-hander turn seven which leads on to the back
straight. Again you are again at over 300kph approaching turn
eight, braking hard down to second gear and negotiating the
slippery new track surface through the right-hander. Then
it's into the long right-hand turn nine which is taken in
second gear.
After a short straight, there is now a new complex of right-left-right
turns, which in contrast to the old fast right-hander that
it replaces, seems so slow. Exiting the last of this series,
being careful not to hit the high kerbs, you accelerate hard
to the fast right-hand turn thirteen and back on the pit straight
to enjoy those amazing grandstand acoustics once again."
CIRCUIT DE CATALUNYA, BARCELONA
No of Laps 66 laps
Circuit Length 4.655 km
Race Distance 307.104 km
Built as part of Barcelona's Olympic development programme,
the Circuit de Catalunya is located 20km north of the Calatan
capital on land purchased by the Real Automóvil Club
de Catalunya. It was finished in time for the 1991 Spanish
Grand Prix and has hosted the race ever since.
Former Minardi driver Luis Perez Sala advised on the layout
of the track and it follows the principles of many modern
circuits with a long straight and a number of high-speed corners,
making the aerodynamic efficiency of cars particularly important.
The nature of the track is such that it "loads"
the left front corner of a car particularly heavily, causing
understeer problems. The circuit was modified at the start
of this year for safety reasons with a new chicane replacing
the two very quick corners at the end of the lap.
The Circuit de Catalunya hosts many pre-season tests so it
is one of the most familiar venues on the F1 calendar. However,
its high-speed nature makes it a physically tough challenge
for drivers, although by this stage of the season, they will
have reached a good level of race fitness. For the huge amount
of spectators who flock to the circuit on race day, it is
a well laid-out circuit with easy access and good viewing
positions that give a stadium-style ambience.
HONDA IN SPAIN
· Honda Automóviles España was founded
in 1988
· Honda sold 20,740 units in Spain during 2006 giving
a 1.25% market share · Honda employs 640 employees
in Spain and has 101 automotive dealers · Honda facilities
include Honda Spain, Montesa factory, Honda Logistics Centre
& Greens Power Products
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