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GT5_2

GP2 Driver Max Chilton's Blog

Rain, Sun and Visor Changed

Thursday, August 12, 2010
Hi VisionRacer Fans!



Over the last fortnight I have been racing in Hockenhiem, Germany and Hungaroring, Hungary.
There have been some highs and lows, which made for two eventful weekends.

First of all at Hockenhiem we had a lot of rain on the Friday which includes practice and qualifying.
 In practice I was very pumped-up as I like the wet conditions as it’s more down to driving skill rather than the car’s set-up, unlike the dry. I finished free practice in 11th place which was more promising than any previous session this year. After this I was doing a rain dance for it to stay the same for qualifying as I knew I had a lot more left in myself.


I was very happy when it stayed wet for qualifying later in the afternoon. I went out first and set the fastest lap initially. I was never lower than 4th for the first half of the session until unfortunately I spun. I kept the engine running, but couldn't manage to get it into first gear, so had to attempt to pull away in 4th. Sadly it stalled and I was wheeled back to the pits but not allowed to continue the session.

I was truly gutted as I knew it was going to slightly dry up and people would go faster.
Sure enough, in the last five minutes of the session I dropped from 4th place to 15th!
Everyone was still impressed and told me not to be disheartened, but happy that I had the pace.
The races over the following days were both dry and I didn't have the advantage as I did in the wet and I could only manage 19th and 16th place finishes in the feature and sprint races respectively.

The following weekend we were racing in Hungary at the twisty Hungaroring circuit situated just outside of Budapest. In practice my pace was in the bottom half of the field, but I had never actually seen the circuit before. Luckily I was able to use the VisionRacer, or I probably would have been right at the back!


In qualifying on the first set of tyres I was 12th, which I was very happy with, but due to the circuit layout I got traffic on my next set of tyres and didn't improve, so I dropped dramatically down the order and ended up 23rd on the grid.

In the races I was stuck in a group of slower drivers but didn't have enough pace to be able to overtake. Basically we were struggling for traction all weekend and that limited my results to 17th and 16th place.

Next up for me is Spa and the Belgian Grand Prix. This is a circuit I know well from my years in Formula 3, so I’m hoping for better results there in two weeks time.

 Until next time keep lapping on the VR! 

Max

The Good, Bad and Ugly.... thats racing!

Wednesday, June 02, 2010
Hi VisionRacer fans,

The last month has been pretty hectic for me!  I’ve had the first three events in this season’s GP2 Series and I guess it’s been a case of the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly!

Let’s start with the good. I had my best performance and results of the season so far at Istanbul Park in Turkey. This was my first ever time at this track and it was a great help to use the VisionRacer to learn the circuit before I had to drive it for real.

I qualified within a second of pole and just missed out on scoring some points with a 9th place finish in the feature race. I got 11th place in the sprint race on Sunday as well, so all in all it was progress from the earlier rounds and will help my confidence going through the rest of the season.

Now the bad - Barcelona back at the beginning of the month. These were the first races in the championship and I was disappointed to only get 16th and 18th place finishes there. I never got the car to feel right all weekend and although I worked hard with the Ocean Racing Technology engineers to find a good set-up, we didn’t achieve it. It certainly wasn’t a question of not knowing the track – I’ve done hundreds of laps of Barcelona both real and simulated on the VisionRacer, so I know where it goes!

And as for the ugly, well hardly a word you associate with Monaco, but that’s how I should describe my first race there this year. I found my picture spread across the pages of several European newspapers, but not for the reasons I’d hoped. Basically I had a big shunt – hit the back of a car in front and was launched spectacularly through the air and into the barriers!


It doesn’t hurt when you experience that on the VisionRacer, but it does in real life! I got over my pains and embarrassment for the Sunday race though and came through from my start at the very back of the grid to finish in 14th place, not too shabby round the very difficult Monaco street track and I did actually enjoy the race in the end.

Now I’m seeing out the rest of May in Italy at a training camp. My Ocean team mate, Fabio and I are here with our trainer for some hard work. I will be cycling up mountains, running on the coast and doing other things the coach dreams up. All in the cause of physical fitness.

June will be a much quieter month; I’ve only got the one event at the European Grand Prix around the street circuit in Valencia, Spain. Again I’ll be trying to learn it with many sessions on the VisionRacer!

Hopefully I will be able to report on some good results in my next blog. Cheers for now.

Max Chilton.  

More Racing News from Max

Friday, April 16, 2010
Hi VisionRacer fans,
 
I have just returned from three days driving at the final official pre-season GP2 test at Barcelona. A fortnight before that, I also had a three day test at Paul Ricard in the South of France, so I’ve been pretty busy behind the wheel of the real thing!

I used the VR3 to get myself familiar with the Barcelona circuit as I had never been there before. This helped me massively to get used to the circuit layout, the braking points and apexes and all the gradients.

Both tests were very character building as we struggled to find a good set-up for the uncharacteristic conditions to start with. Both tests were held in unusually cold weather and particularly at Barcelona we struggled to get the necessary heat into the tyres. We eventually managed to find solutions, but it took a lot of hard work as a team to get the car up to speed and find set-ups that both myself and my team mate could be competitive with.


In three weeks time we have the GP2 season opener at Barcelona with the F1 Spanish GP. I am very excited to be racing at an F1 event again, as it was a brilliant experience last time in Bahrain. That was the first of many for this season, as the GP2 Championship supports all the European Grand prix as well, and then finishes with the final round at Abu Dhabi in November. So it is going to be a long, tough season!

I am currently using my days before the Barcelona race to continue with my physical training and get focused on doing the best job I can. I’ll also be using the VisionRacer to keep things fresh in my mind.
       
I will keep you posted on how the season opener at Barcelona goes as well as the Monaco GP event which follows straight after on the next weekend.

-- 
Max

Learning the Bahrain International Circuit

Saturday, March 06, 2010
Hi Everyone,

As an up and coming racing driver one of the biggest difficulties I face is getting track time in the car. For me this year, that means a GP2 car where testing and real track time is severely restricted.

Thanks to VisionRacer's new creation, the VR3, I've been able to maximise the advantage of having a static race simulator at home.  

It's been incredibly useful recently, and great fun as I spent hours on it learning the Bahrain International Circuit which I raced on for the first time last week. They were the latest races in this year's GP2 Asia Series and it was fantastic to go out and drive the real track knowing where it went, and I realised how much the VisionRacer had been an advantage to me in the lead up.
 
I’d recommend the VR3 to any racing driver or enthusiast who wants the feel of the real thing in the comfort of their living room. One of the important things for me and probably any serious player, is the feedback you get which is excellent, and also the comfort. I spend many hours in the VR3 learning new circuits, so it has to be comfortable. The ergonomics of this design are perfect.

The real races in Bahrain were quite hard work for me. In the first one I got pushed wide at the first corner and damaged the underside of my car when I re-joined the track.


That limited my result and meant I had to start the second race from near the back of the grid. I fought hard and managed to get back up through the field to finish in 12th place. Thanks to my VR3 I knew where the good overtaking opportunities were!




The next circuit I have to learn is the Barcelona track ready for the Spanish Grand Prix event in May. More hours in the VR3, not that I need an excuse!

Max Chilton