DeTomaso Mailing List: April 99, Message #70

--------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Bitar, Sami (S.)" <sbitar@visteon.com>
To: "'brockctella@juno.com'" <brockctella@juno.com>
Cc: "'nbitar@nanogen.com'" <nbitar@nanogen.com>
Date: Fri, 2 Apr 1999 13:04:39 -0500 
Subject: Official Stewart-Ford Brazilian GP Preview
Message-ID: <199904021804.NAA25739@mailfw1.ford.com>


STEWART-FORD NOTES & QUOTES
Brazilian Grand Prix: Preview
The Stewart-Ford team is approaching the Brazilian Grand Prix in
confident
mood after a solid opening to the 1999 Formula One season in Melbourne
and
impressive performances in the test session in Barcelona following the
Australian Grand Prix.  Rubens and Johnny were first and second
respectively
over the three days of testing and Rubens' best lap time of 1:20.48 was
the
quickest by a 1999 Formula One car at the Circuit de Catalunya this year.
Rubens obviously knows Interlagos well, having spent his childhood close
to
the Sao Paulo circuit. His best finish in the Brazilian Grand Prix was
4th
in 1994 while his best qualifying performance was 2nd in 1996.
Johnny finished 4th on his Formula One debut in 1989 in Rio de Janeiro.
He
was also 4th in 1993 at Interlagos. His best qualifying position was 4th
in
1995.
RUBENS BARRICHELLO  Car No.16 (SF3-04)
'Naturally, the Brazilian Grand Prix is very special for me. Apparently
all
tickets are sold out and that means the home support will be fantastic. I
am
feeling very relaxed at the moment. The car ran brilliantly in Melbourne
but, more importantly, we were able to improve on that in the Barcelona
test. I am confident we can beat our qualifying times from 1998 by at
least
a second. I am looking forward to having a good weekend for me, the team
and
my people if we run reliably. I have some great memories of Interlagos
and I
enjoy the circuit a lot. Turn one is extra special for me; firstly
because
of the name Senna, and secondly because as you enter the first part of
the
bend the spectators can get a great appreciation of the cars because they
are so close and the braking point is so late. The area between the Reta
Oposta and Descida do Lago is also dear to my heart. It is where I
learned
to race karts. As a young boy I would ride my bicycle up from the karting
track and sit there watching my Formula One heroes drive past. My best
moments at this turn come from the formation lap when I can read the
banners
saying: 
'Go Rubinho Go'. It's then that I realise that I'm at home.'
JOHNNY HERBERT  Car No.17 (SF3-05)
'Interlagos has a good variety of corners, fast and slow so the car
should
be suited because it has proven that it can adapt pretty easily to the
various demands of cornering. The bumps would normally be a problem but
once
again I'm confident the car will perform well. Barcelona was a bit mixed
though we did make a step forward which hopefully will move us closer to
McLaren. I think our chances in Brazil are just as good as they were in
Melbourne if not better. Looking back at Melbourne, Rubens could have won
and I probably would have finished in the points seeing how the race
panned
out. If we have the same type of race in Brazil, our chances are looking
very good.'

GARY ANDERSON, SGP Technical Director
'We head to Brazil with high hopes. It's Rubens' home track which gives
us a
bit of added momentum but what we need to concentrate on is getting both
Johnny and Rubens in the ball park. Obviously we would have liked to have
Johnny qualifying higher up than he did in Melbourne and there's no
question
that with a trouble-free session he would have done so because he was
comfortably in the top five on Friday.  We will be aiming to get both
cars
up near the front of the grid and I'm confident that we can do that. In
Brazil you run a high downforce setting on the car but because of the
high
altitude you lose about 10 per cent of the downforce. It's the same for
everybody but because we will be running a similar aerodynamic
configuration
to Melbourne, where we undoubtedly had the edge over a number of the
other
cars in overall performance, we should expect to be outpacing our closest
rivals again.  The testing in Barcelona has underlined what a good
package
we have, good traction, good brakes, a strong engine performance-wise, we
just need to hit on a streak of reliability. Rubens knows the track
better
than anyone and he's convinced the new car will be suited to it.'
MARTIN WHITAKER, Director, Ford Racing, Europe
'A lot of work has been done since the Australian Grand Prix and we know
we
are further down the road relative to where we were in Melbourne. We have
made several modifications to the engines to overcome the problems seen
on
the grid in Australia and having successfully completed simulated starts
at
the test in Barcelona we will be looking for two race finishes in Brazil.
Our competitiveness was confirmed by the three-day test in Barcelona
where
we were fastest. The test also illustrated that there is still some way
to
go with respect to engine reliability. We suffered several similar
failures
which, although difficult to prove conclusively, look like they were
related
to a manufacturing problem which tipped an already difficult area of the
engine over the edge.
For Brazil these issues have been addressed, but the fact remains that we
are still at the very early stages of the engine's development and need
to
complete more race distances before we can be really confident in the
engine's reliability.  However, it should be clear from our performances
so
far that we have a good chance of another points finish in Brazil and in
particular Rubens must feel he has a better opportunity than ever of
doing
well in his home event.'
FAST FACTS - INTERLAGOS
  Pit Stop Strategy:				1 stop	
  Highest Engine Revs:				17150
  Amount of downforce:				High
  Overtaking possibilities:				Entering 'Senna S'
						Entering Descida do Lago
  Average no of gear changes per lap:		36
  Top Speed:					290 km per hour
  Typical Fuel Consumption:			1.95kg/lap - 140kg/race



Sami Bitar
VISTEON Powertrain Control Systems
Tel. (313) 24-88890   FAX (313) 33-79671
PROFS: SBITAR         E-MAIL: sbitar@visteon.com



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