28 th February 2010
Barcelona Test – Day 4
Heikki took over for the final day of testing and finished 11 th of 12, ahead of Glock’s Virgin. Hamilton was quickest for McLaren.
Chief Technical Officer, Mike Gascoyne remarked "It was a game of two halves as they say; we had a good morning where we were able to complete all our plans but a problem with the programme change on the gearbox delayed us in the afternoon, which meant we weren't able to do as much running as we wanted. Overall, however, the test has been extremely productive - in general we've had very good reliability, and the team is in very good shape going to the first race. Considering the length of time we've had to work on the project it's a fantastic effort from the whole team. Everyone has worked exceptionally hard over the two tests and we now have to work on the pace of the car and improve that, but it's been a tremendous effort from the whole team and I'm very proud of them."
The test has confirmed Lotus Racing’s belief that they have a reliable car, ready for its debut in Bahrain. Consistency and completion of races are the key goals for the first few Grand Prix, until further aero developments - scheduled for the Barcelona GP - allow the team to begin to flex their muscles and really utilise their experience and talents in the season ahead.
27 th February 2010
Barcelona Test – Day 3Jarno finished 9 th of 11 in the time sheets, ahead of Kobayashi’s Sauber and Glock’s Virgin. Nico Rosberg was quickest for Mercedes. Lotus has added several photos of the test on it’s Facebook page (Lotus Racing).
Lotus Racing says: The morning sunshine gave way to grey conditions and light rain in Barcelona as the Lotus Racing T127 completed a successful third day of testing. By lunchtime Jarno Trulli had already completed 60 laps, and went on consistently throughout the day to finish on a total of 102 laps. The team completed a full race distance and were satisfied with the timings and quality of the day’s activity.
Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer, commented “Another productive day with Jarno; over a hundred laps completed with no real mechanical issues and Jarno was able to complete the full race distance in the mix of wet and dry weather. We successfully completed our whole programme with the changeable conditions and have had two very useful days with Jarno in the car, with a very clear set up direction from him. Now we’re looking forward to further refining the balance of the car with Heikki tomorrow.”
Heikki takes the hot seat for the final day’s testing before the season starts in earnest in Bahrain.
Jarno told Autosport:
"We cannot be happy about the pace, but this is what we have at the moment so we have to deal with it. We have a lot of work to do. We are short on time and everything had to be hurried up to get the car ready for testing and for Bahrain, so we can't really ask for any more from the team. We are ready to race, but I can't say we are ready to fight. Maybe with Virgin, but the rest are out of reach at the moment." Jarno expects the situation to remain the same for the first four races of the season, but he took heart from being able to complete a race simulation today. "Once we are back in Europe it will be better.The reliability is ok, so we should be fine. I'm pretty happy with these two days, it was good to put some mileage on the car. We are here to discover the problems we have and we know we are lacking in some areas, but there is little we can do now. Things will come later." |
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26 th February 2010
Barcelona Test – Day 2
A productive day for Lotus Racing as Jarno Trulli took the Lotus Cosworth T127 challenger onto the Barcelona track and completed another 70 laps. With strong sunshine and dry weather conditions, the Lotus Racing team were again first out on track and ready to begin testing, developing and improving the car. And in the battle of the new teams, Jarno finished just ahead of Glock in the Virgin, at the bottom of the timesheets. At the other end, Hulkenberg was fastest today with Alonso second quickest.
Mike Gascoyne: “It was a productive day in terms of set up direction with Jarno. We were able to identify some problems with the set up in the car and establish clear direction to improve it. We still have a long way to go, and a lot of time to come from the car. We had a couple of minor hydraulics issues which stopped the car on track, but nothing major, so all in all it was a productive day and we’re aiming to continue in the same vein tomorrow.”
Jarno Trulli again picks up the wheel for day three of testing, and the team is looking forward to developing and progressing the car. Heikki Kovalainen then takes over on Sunday, for the final day of testing.
25 th February 2010
Barcelona Test – Day 1
76 more laps for Fairuz Fauzy on the first day of the Barcelona test marks another satisfactory day for Lotus Racing. In dry, sunny conditions the team completed all its objectives for the day and are now looking forward to seeing Jarno Trulli take over driving duties tomorrow and Saturday. Fairuz was less than a second adrift of Virgin’s Di Grassi at the bottom. At the other end, Webber was fastest for Red Bull, from Hulkenberg for Williams.
Chief Technical Officer Mike Gascoyne gave his thoughts on the day’s on track action, saying “It was a very productive day - 76 laps with no mechanical worries on the car. In the morning we conducted some engine LAMDA running which we completed successfully. We ran through a series of system set up checks, completed our first starts and evaluated a number of other control systems on the car, as well as monitoring temperatures and pressures throughout the car. All in all this was a successful day both on the track and we ticked off a lot of behind the scenes tasks ahead of the first race. Fairuz did a very good job today, with no mistakes, and we were able to complete our whole program.”
Jarno Trulli takes over tomorrow with more dry running ahead of the Lotus Racing team.
23 rd February 2010
HRH The Duke of York Visits Lotus Racing Factory
Just one day after Lotus Racing’s Hingham factory was officially opened by former Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir, the team played host to HRH The Duke of York. Team Principal Tony Fernandes and Chief Technical Officer Mike Gascoyne gave the Duke an official tour of the team’s facility and presented him with a commemorative set of his own Lotus Racing overalls.The Duke’s visit was a landmark occasion for Lotus Racing. It gave the team a chance to thank him personally for the pivotal role he played in the formation of the latest British team to join the Formula 1 grid, and provided His Royal Highness with an opportunity to see progress at the factory since the team's formation in September 2009.
During his tour The Duke was introduced to a number of the team’s staff, including drivers Heikki Kovalainen, Jarno Trulli and Fairuz Fauzy, together with members of the technical and mechanical departments who were honoured that their workplace was visited by such an esteemed guest.
20 th February 2010
Lotus –Jarno’s First Test Day |
It was Jarno’s first test day behind the wheel of the T127, and what a busy day it was! He did a massive 141 laps, all going according to plan on another dry day in Jerez. Jarno was slowest on the day, but now only 4.5s off the fastest driver’s pace, who was Jenson Button. Jarno said: "It was a very positive day. I’m really happy about my first day testing with Lotus Racing and I was very lucky to have everything right on the car today with no major issues. We were able to put a lot of mileage on the car and get a lot of information out of it. I had the chance to start developing a real feel for the car and it’s good to be here." Lotus Racing Chief Technical Officer Mike Gascoyne summed up the final day in Jerez, and the total four days in Spain, saying: "An excellent day today, concentrating on reliability and race pace.141 laps from Jarno is a great effort when you consider 141 laps from Jarno is a great effort when you consider it’s his first day driving this year and also a great effort from the team who |
worked all night to get the car prepared. Overall it’s been a very encouraging four days. The main aim of the test was reliability and over the last two days of dry running we have found some directions in set up that will enable us to concentrate on the pace of the car in Barcelona."
19 th February 2010
Lotus – The Third Day
It was finally a dry day and Kovalainen put another 68 laps on the Lotus T127. He had a clutch sensor problem early on, but that gave the track a chance to dry out fully. There were 5 other red flags with teams having various problems. Heikki was slowest, with Glock’s Virgin just ahead. Webber was fastest for Red Bull.
18 th February 2010
Lotus – The Second Day
The T127 completed another 30 laps in mostly wet conditions until Heikki Kovalainen had an unfortunate off track excursion which damaged the front wing, and as the spare parts have not caught up with the team yet, that was it until tomorrow when the new bits will have arrived. The lack of running left the team at the bottom of the time sheets. Barrichello was fastest for Williams.
17 th February 2010
Lotus – The First Test
Lotus Racing had a successful first day’s testing with the T127 in the hands of Malaysian test and reserve driver Fairuz Fauzy, who used the opportunity to gain his F1 superlicence! The poor guy had no power steering due to a supplier problem, and it was a mixed day for weather, but he still managed 76 reliable laps and beat the Virgin car by 0.6s. Fairuz says he could have been 3 to 4 seconds quicker with power steering, and Mike Gascoyne says it could be more! See also F1 Blog.
Lotus Thrilled With Early Reliability
12 th February 2010
Lotus Launches T127 in London
Lotus became the latest Formula 1 team to launch its 2010 challenger, as the wraps officially came off the new car in London on Friday….
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/81458
Q & A With Jarno
Q. What made you choose Lotus, when you had other offers with established teams last year?
Jarno Trulli: I had several options and obviously I had them all on the table, but at one stage there was something growing up and becoming interesting - and that was Lotus. You know better than me, you are English, what Lotus is. I only realised afterwards, but afterwards I was thinking about it. Lotus is probably second only to Ferrari in motorsport.
And there was this one man, this crazy person, who was Mike Gascoyne - who we all know and I know very well. He was getting ready to get this brand back on track. So honestly talking, I worked with Mike, who is definitely a difficult person if you don't know how to handle him, but he is someone who is very straightforward and who knows what to do in F1. So, technically, I was quite happy to have someone like him leading the team.
Obviously in these days, you never know if there is enough money to do it, so eventually I met Tony [Fernandes] and I understood that there was really something serious going on – and I was right. At the beginning, when I first visited Lotus, I had to believe that something was going to happen because there were so few people there. There was nothing!
After three months, wow, I have seen the car and it was rolling in Silverstone. It was a green and yellow car hitting the track after 16 years with the brand Lotus. I think it is something that stands out in my mind and everyone's mind when you see it on the track......
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/81471
Gascoyne Pleased With Progress
Gascoyne added that he was also excited about the prospect of working with Jarno Trulli this year – with the pair having operated together at Renault, Jordan and Toyota.
"I think we get on well personally together, and the one thing over my career is that over one lap Jarno is the most sensitive and quickest guy I have ever worked with. I think that is invaluable for any team. But for a new team, where you are struggling to find your feet, to have a guy who is experienced and controlled – and I've seen Jarno do it many, many times and at the times I've given him cars that aren't very good – he still can get the best out of it.
"He doesn't panic. He works through his programme and at times you wonder what he is doing, but then come 3pm on a Saturday, he has done a laptime that you know is as quick as it can do. To be honest, he was always number one on the list. That was, from my point of view and also from Tony's [Fernandes], important."
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/81472
The Team Mate
Heikki Kovalainen:
Q. How do you see the challenge to Jarno Trulli compared to that you faced against Lewis Hamilton?
HK: First of all over the last two years people have asked me these questions many times, and some of the stuff has been taken out of context so I am not going to go there. So let's go for the future. I'm really looking forward to working with Jarno. He is obviously a very quick driver and I think we can push each other and also we get on well on a personal level. I think we can push the team forward and that is crucial from the beginning.
Mike is demanding a lot from us and I have spent already a few weeks at Hingham, just everyday talking to the engineers. They ask me questions and I try to answer them in a way that gives me a clear direction, and this is what we have to do with Jarno. I'm not worried about my team-mate – I've never been worried about my team-mate we push each other and that is what we try to do.
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/81475
10 th February 2010
Jarno and the Lotus Evoro Cup Test
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Jarno took part in the Lotus Evoro Cup test at Snetterton (left)on the Thursday before the Lotus F1 launch
Thanks to Michael Hipperson for the photo. |
8 th February 2010
Lotus Delighted After Early Fire-up
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/81345
29 th January 2010
Lotus “Can Be As Effective As Toyota”
http://www.crash.net/f1/news/156194/1/trulli_lotus_f1_can_be_more_effective_than_toyota.html
21st January 2010
Lotus Exceeding Jarno’s Expectations
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/81007
Lotus line-up is “statement of intent”
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/80786
Lotus Will Join Second Jerez Test
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/80763
14th December 2009
Lotus Announce Jarno and Heikki
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/80563
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/80564
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/80566
ABRUZZO IN THE HEART Following the Italian earthquake in L’Aquila on 6th April 2009, Jarno has set up a charity to help those affected. If you would like to help with a donation to Abruzzo nel Cuore, Jarno has now set up a website http://www.abruzzonelcuore.org/ You can donate directly through Paypal, or the bank details are on the site for a bank to bank transfer. Thank you. |
Jarno Forum and Fan Page Remember the Jarno Forum? Well, there is a now a website to go with it! Visit at http://www.frozen-dreams.sk/jarno/ There is also a link to the original forum from the site or go straight to http://s15.invisionfree.com/trulli/ to talk about our driver. Registration is required but is quick and easy. Happy talking! Now also on http://s15.zetaboards.com/trulli/index/ |
Jarno’s Wine Jarno’s wine from his Alanno vineyard, Podere Castorani, is available in the UK. For info on the wine itself, visit http://www.poderecastorani.it/. The UK importer is now HallgartenDruitt, who are importing nine of the different vintages from Podere Castorani and it is being sold to the public through http://www.wineman.co.uk/ (Kevin O’Rourke Wines) with a delivery price of £11.50 for one or two bottles or any size order. Visit their website, call them on 01908 337975 or Kevin on 07738 195225. You can also buy one, two or more bottles from http://www.averys.com/ for just £6.99 delivery charge on any order. (If the wines are not showing right now, Averys are in the process of restocking and the wines should show within the next week.) American fans should now contact U.S. importer Marco Vivona at marcovivona@marcoandsonwine.com or call 813 621 5304. The Wine Tasting Club also has Jarno’s wine in stock in the US: call 863 605 0804 or email finevineclub@gmail.com |
Boxer Welfare Scotland Jarno supports Boxer Welfare Scotland!!! This is a charity that rescues and rehomes unwanted Boxer dogs and is desperate for funds. Jarno’s family keeps Boxers and Jarno loves them, so has given a statement of support, which you can see here,or going through the link under Celebrity Auctions. They do have an online shop for original gifts or would welcome any donation however small. |
YourRacingCar.com Motorsport fan? Want to be involved in a racing team? Your Racing Car was s a new idea to run a team in the Ginetta Cup, support race to the British Touring Cars. Now Fulvio Mussi drives in the Renault Clio Cup, sponsored by fans. You can visit the team at the race tracks! And have your name on the car! For just £25!! Visit http://www.yourracingcar.com/ for more info. If you want to be part of history in the making of the fan-funded car go to http://www.joinyrc.com/ |
Jarno on You Tube Have you looked for Jarno on You Tube? There are a couple of nice snapshot video on there at the moment. Search for “Audemars Piguet – Jarno Trulli”, a sponsor commercial, and “Jarno Trulli through the years”, a Toyota video. www.youtube.com
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