Formula BMW Pacific at the Singtel Singapore Grand Prix Formula One Road
Course
Once again Atlantic Racing Team (ART) of Halifax Nova Scotia, Canada, played
an important role in the 12th and 13th Formula BMW Pacific Rounds.
With
ART's youngest driver Gabby Chaves (15) of Columbia, the team propelled
itself to the forefront in it's single qualifying effort for the two races
at the first and newest F1 night course through the historic Singapore
Downtown area. A fourth and fifth starting place was secured by Gabby even
though the vitally important 20-minute qualifying session was interrupted
due to a malfunctioning ignition harness on his car. Gabby lost two
preciously important laps but as he said "it's racing and we have to get on
with our performances".
Saturday's start was not as good as the team would have liked to see and
consequently Gabby went into Turn One in a very difficult position - right
between his two most important points and podium chasers. A slight knock on
the right front wheel of his car from one of the fellow competitor meant a
180 degree spin and Gabby had to wait, until all other cars passed him, to
return to the right direction. Then his chase began - and what a drive he
put on; until in lap 6 the fire extinguisher went off, for no reason, which
meant that Gabby was soaked in fluids and his vision was impaired. But
thanks to Gabby's excellent "under stressful circumstances" performance, and
a couple errors by some other drivers, ART's car ended up in a well-deserved
8th place.
Sunday would be a day of reckoning. Having seen what could be done here in
Singapore, the Atlantic Racing Team's crew was eager to show that this car
and it's setup was the one to beat. Starting from 5th place Gabby right away
made it clear to all the competitors that he would not be held prisoner and
showed from the green light onwards that he would not be satisfied without a
podium place. Lap One showed him in P3 and from then onwards it was just a
cat and mouse game - trying to get closer to P2 while contending with
pressure from the P4 Japanese driver, R. Nara - and Gabby was able to secure
a third-place podium finish.
Finishing times between the first driver and Gabby were a mere 7 seconds
after the 10 lap, 50 km race, conducted in 38 C heat under sunny skies, but
with lots of towering clouds warning of coming thunderstorms.
Gabby Chaves and Atlantic Racing Team, after 13 races so far, sit in 6th
position in both the driver and team standings. "With the Formula One
Shanghai's 14th and 15th race rounds as well as the final and 16th race at
the Macau Grand Prix, both in China", says Ingo Strackerjan, Team Owner,
"Atlantic Racing Team and Gabby will have a good chance of ending our first
Pacific race year on a very high note. It is quite hard for the driver and
engineer to find the right set up within the short allowable times during a
F1 event, especially for us this year with only having one car on the grid.
All other teams have at least two if not 4 cars and drivers. The
accumulation of Data and driver inputs are crucial, therefore so more
drivers you have so more data comes to you. But, and especially for the
foregoing reasons I think that drivers from all over the world are now
recognize us more than ever before as one of the top teams. Our plan is to
grow in this vibrant area to 3 cars next year. We're already planning test
sessions for potential drivers in Sepang, Malaysia, as well as here in
Canada until the weather becomes too cold. We have cars available for
testing in Canada and in Sepang."
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