Daniel set for Austin, Texas
Posted on October 19, 2023 Tags: Austin Texas
Red Bull – The Master Showman
And Jordan Love is ’23 European GT Silver Cup Champ
DANIEL RICCIARDO has developed a massive profile with the American market, so it’s no surprise the 34-year-old Aussie has been given every conceivable opportunity to overcome his Zandvoort wrist injury to be ready for Austin, Texas.
Given the heavy toll Qatar’s ultra-high humidity took out of drivers during the race at the Lusail circuit, Daniel is perhaps fortunate he wasn’t ready for steamy Doha!
Last Friday the Perth superstar stopped off in Nashville, Tennessee on his way to Austin, helping Red Bull host a promotional ‘showrun’ up and down Lower Broadway – driving the RB7, the team’s 2011 car -thrilling a 30,000+ crowd of adoring fans
Seriously, it’s little wonder Christian Horner seems hellbent on getting Daniel behind the wheel of a Red Bull beast in 2024. His fan power is simply extraordinary!
Yeah, I’m back!
“Yeah, I’m back,” he said, that grin bigger than ever.
“I’m excited.
“Little update: simulator’s been going well; hand is feeling good to drive. Austin – everyone knows I love Austin.
“I wouldn’t miss that one for the world.
“See y’all in Austin.” Daniel Ricciardo
Check out Daniel’s antics in Nashville
Austin Texas
Daniel’s long-awaited return fires up with this weekend’s United States Formula One Grand Prix in Austin, Texas.
It’ll be only his third race since his return to the grid at the Hungarian Grand Prix in July. The eight-time winner had started the season as Red Bull’s reserve driver.
Daniel and his plucky AlphaTauri teammate Yuki Tsunoda are in Austin, which kicks off a series of four F1 races – three of them run consecutively – on the American continent.
It’s a land steeped in motorsport tradition but has truly made its F1 presence felt only in the past few years, thanks to all the different initiatives implemented by Liberty Media in a number of different areas.
COTA – F1’s “Complete Track”
The Circuit of the Americas has hosted the United States Grand Prix every year since 2012, with the exception of a COVID cancellation in 2020.
COTA is often described as a complete track, with medium to high levels of downforce.
Turn 1, a left-hander, is particularly distinctive at the end of a 22-metre climb, covered within just 200 metres of track distance.
It makes the start particularly interesting, with drivers heading in a number of different directions to find the best line. That corner leads into a flowing first sector, characterised by a series of medium to fast corners all the way to the hairpin that is Turn 11. That’s then followed by a long straight leading into the final part of the track, which is instead typified by a series of slower and 90-degree corners.
Some corners on the Herman Tilke-designed Circuit of the Americas are inspired by famous turns at other renowned tracks.
Turns 3 to 6, for example, are reminiscent of the Maggotts-Becketts complex at Britain’s Silverstone, turns 12 to 15 are inspired by a section of Germany’s Hockenheimring, while turns 16 to 18 take after the celebrated turn 8 at Turkey’s Istanbul Park.
Lateral Forces at Austin
According to Pirelli’s Mario Isola, the forces at work on the tyres are mainly lateral.
“They are quite well balanced between front and rear, without a specific corner of the car being subjected to particular stress. “It’s also important to have good traction in the slow corners. “The asphalt is still quite bumpy, despite the partial resurfacing that took place last year. “This can lead to the tyre sliding very slightly, which is a potential cause of overheating. “The degradation seen at Austin is mostly thermal, while graining is quite a rare occurrence.” Mario Isola, Pirelli’s Head of Motorsport.
Austin, Texas, USA
The race has always been held around this time of year when the weather can be very changeable, even within a very short time span.
It’s not uncommon to see alternately sunny and rain days, with a wide range of temperatures.
However, this year the forecast in Austin is for very warm weather throughout the weekend!
• Drivers at the Circuit of the Americas have the C2 as P Zero White hard, C3 Yellow medium and C4 Red soft.
• The Medium and the Hard were used during last year’s race. Race winner Max Verstappen did his first and his final stint on the Mediums, with the middle stint run on the Hard. There were two neutralisations with safety cars.
• Remarkably, this weekend’s race is the 75th Grand Prix to take place in the United States.
Of the 11 different venues to have hosted world championship races, with Watkins Glen staging the most Grands Prix – 20 in total – followed by Indianapolis on 19.
• Austin has hosted the race on 10 occasions previously: five of them have been won by Lewis Hamilton, most recently in 2017. Ten years previously, at the 2007 United States Grand Prix, Lewis won his very first F1 race: held at the time in Indianapolis.
Marta Leads Charge at Austin F1 Academy
Prema Racing’s Marta Garcia
The F1 Academy makes an appearance alongside Formula 1 this weekend, for the first time at Austin, to mark its final race of the season.
The Pirelli-equipped series for young female drivers hosts three races at the Texan track and will crown its inaugural champion.
Prema Racing’s Marta Garcia currently leads the championship with 235 points, followed by ART Grand Prix driver Lena Buhler on 187 points and MP Motorsport’s Hamda Al Qubaisi on 179 points.
Jordan Love Wins Coveted European GT Crown
To the Victors go the Spoils!
Perth’s Jordan Love has achieved a career high after he was crowned the Sprint Silver Cup champion in the final round of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe at Zandvoort.
“I’m over the moon, it’s a fantastic feeling to end the season on the top step and take home the championship.
“It has been a real team effort and has been a pleasure to share the car with Frank and Alain.
“2023 has been a brilliant year for myself, getting to work with the ultra-professional Haupt Racing Team and I’ve been proud to represent Mercedes-AMG as a Junior Driver this season.
“This season has certainly been a busy one and I’m looking forward to a bit of a rest, but I can’t wait to get back out there in 2024!” Jordan Love
It was another brilliant display from Jordan, his British teammate Frank Bird and the Haupt Racing Team, this time at the classy Dutch circuit through the North Sea dunes.
The 2023 season has seen the Mercedes-AMG Junior Driver and HRT become front runners in the closely contested Silver Cup class from the outset.
With Jordan behind the wheel of the blue #77 HRT Mercedes-AMG GT3, and Frank back replacing Swiss driver Alain Valente for this crucial race, the team entered last weekend’s final round trailing the #99 Audi by just one point.
Jordan has showcased excellent speed at the helm this for HRT to claim four class wins, nine class podiums and four pole positions on his way to securing the Silver Cup honours by 17 points and with it, the drivers and teams championship.
After utilising Friday’s free practice and pre-qualifying sessions to familiarise himself with the challenging circuit, ending the day P3 overall in pre-qualifying, the young Aussie was elected for qualifying on Saturday morning.
Early Rain
A red flag stoppage to the session prevented Jordan from recording a lap to challenge for pole. The team settled for P2, six places behind the championship rival they had to outscore.
Jordan started on slicks due to earlier rain, making a great start gaining several places, and handing the #77 over to teammate leading the class. Frank remained clear of trouble to cross the line as Silver Cup winners, recording their third victory of the season. Moreover, in doing so the pair claimed a remarkable sixth place in the overall race order.
The HRT team began the final race day Sunday with a slender lead at the top of the championship.
Frank took advantage of slick tyres in rapidly drying conditions to put the blue Mercedes-AMG GT3 #77 on pole position in the Silver Cup, good enough for P5 overall – changed to P3 overall following penalties for other competitors.
Frank began well with the changing conditions and handed over to Jordan, with rain again beginning to fall once more, and the pair running P2 overall and on course for victory in the Silver Class.
Jordan managed the drying conditions well to take the chequered flag. And with it a fourth class win of the season and yet another sixth place overall.
FOLLOW JORDAN (https://www.jordanlove.com.au/
Images courtesy of Haupt Racing Team
My thanks to Michael Pearce and MB Partners’ PR and Communications:
michael@markblundellpartners.com
EDITED by AC
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