UNITED KINGDOM: MOTOR RACING - Virgin Racing is first of new F1 teams to display car

Record ID: 829937

  • Title: UNITED KINGDOM: MOTOR RACING - Virgin Racing is first of new F1 teams to display car
  • Date: 4th February 2010
  • Summary: LEIGHTON BUZZARD, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (FEBRUARY 3, 2010) (REUTERS) VIRGIN RACING VR01 IN PHOTOGRAPHER'S STUDIO VARIOUS OF CAR AND FRONT WING VIRGIN RACING TECHNICAL DIRECTOR NICK WIRTH BEING INTERVIEWED (SOUNDBITE) (English) VIRGIN RACING TECHNICAL DIRECTOR NICK WIRTH SAYING: "Yeah, we set this target of launching the car this date, running the car this week 10 m
  • Embargoed: 19th February 2010 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: United Kingdom
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVADK0MNZRQ9G4LVAEVRLJFWED5G
  • Story Text: Virgin Racing on Wednesday (February 3) became the first of the new Formula One (F1) teams to present their car.
    The British-based team have opted for an entirely digital approach, relying on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) rather than the familiar, but expensive testing of scale models in a wind tunnel.
    The team's technical director Nick Wirth is behind the innovation and when showing the car at Leighton Buzzard in England on Wednesday, he said everything was running to schedule.
    "Yeah, we set this target of launching the car this date, running the car this week 10 months ago, or something like that, so to achieve that is wonderful and not only that but we had a wonderful piece of news as this thing was being unloaded from the truck yesterday, that we have passed our final, major homologation (official confirmation) test -- another crash test we did -- so now the car is completely ready, there's nothing stopping us to go to Bahrain and we are super-excited and very proud to have got to where we have, being a new team," he said.
    Next stage is shake-down testing at Silverstone, before formal Formula One testing with other teams at Jerez in Spain.
    Team principal John Booth said the car already had various stages of improvement scheduled and the team would be looking at what others were doing too.
    "I think you have to react constantly. I am sure Nick has already studied the photographs from Valencia with yesterday's tests and we'll be studying each possibility. But with Formula One you have to have almost have a new car every race, the development rate is that fast," said Booth.
    Brazilian driver Lucas di Grassi commented: "The first time we see it complete. We have been to the factory many, many days, but always pieces and bits of the car around. And now that it's complete she is gorgeous, looks really, really nice."
    Germany's Timo Glock will start the shakedown at Silverstone.
    "...I am really looking forward to going testing and to develop the car with the team because we have a great opportunity with the CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) programme what Nick Wirth is doing. He proved that he can build a car with CFD successfully and that is what I am really looking forward to," said Glock.
    He also eagerly anticipated updates.
    "I think we have a solid basis for the start. I am looking forward for the new updates that will be coming, because we have other improvements in the pipeline for the season," said Glock.
    Virgin's test driver is another Brazilian, Luiz Razia.
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