Hispania Racing Team (HRT) aims to win at home in Valencia Grand Prix 2010
Hispania Racing Team (HRT) is looking forward in anticipation for the upcoming race this weekend in Valencia, Spain. The team hopes to give a good performance on the track, as HRT will run at their home track for the second time this season. The team has its base at Madrid, Spain which is why expectations from HRT will be much higher. The confidence of the team has kept increasing after every race all through the season but as they move towards Spain, the spirit of the team has solidified.
The circuit in Valencia is a mixed one with patches of street circuit along with a purpose built race circuit. Besides, the circuit is beautifully crafted at places where it runs alongside the harbour of the city, providing a scenic view of the surroundings. It is a comparatively new circuit which was officially launched in 2007. The circuit passes through streets, markets as well as near the shores of Valencia which is why it encompasses some wide long straights.
For HRT, this is their first season in Formula One competitions. However, the team is thought to be a good addition to the Formula One family. The team did not get much of an opportunity to have any pre-race testing due to lack of time. However, both Bruno Senna from Brazil and Karun Chandhok from India are confident to prove their mettle.
The team was originally created by the former Formula One racer Adrian Campos, who named the team as Campos Meta. He was not able to continue with the team for a longer duration and soon, the team was taken up by investor Jose Ramon Carabante along with team principal Colin Kolles, who was previously working with Force India. Adrian Campos now runs a team in the European F3 Open Championship. Previous to his HRT association, he used to run a GP2 Series team which is now called Team Addax.
Team driver Senna, who showed some real good performances at the same track in 2008, said that the track in Spain is interesting and that he is looking forwards to show some great driving on this weekend. He added that the Spanish track had some technical difficulties, especially at the part where bridge driving could become challenging as it is narrow and bumpy and one needs to be extra vigilant.
Indian racer Chandhok added that due to its newness, the grip of the road is poor at certain places. He has already raced at the same track with the GP2 series as well which is why Chandhok thinks that the atmosphere at the venue will be excellent. He also told that since it is the home town for the team, HRT will try their best to get the maximum out of their cars.
Team Principal Dr. Collin Kolles was very excited for the upcoming race. He thinks that the team had performed very well at the Canadian Grand Prix and that he hopes that HRT will enter Valencia with the same spirit and confidence. He further added that the atmosphere in Valencia had always been excellent, especially because it is situated by the harbour. He also said that driving will not very easy because one needs to find the right set-up for the car as there are several high speed straights. This is where one needs to keep the down force low and there are other low speed corners where a high down force is required. Moreover, due to Valencia’s close proximity to the coast, the strong breeze of the shore could also disturb the balance of the car, which becomes a real test of the driver’s skills.
Besides the fact that the team is very new as compared to many of the other Formula One teams and also that the track has its own challenges, Team HRT is optimistic and is looking forwards to a challenging race. It is only a few more days and the action would unfold at the European Grand Prix on this weekend.
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