REPORT MONACO gp - Mundo Motorizado

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DTM
Hall drove Pesca
to fourth in 2007
LE MANS
Pair have shared
DTM wins in 2012
Stuart Hall will race tHe new
Judd-powered Pescarolo 03 at the
Le Mans 24 Hours next month.
The Briton, 27, replaces Julien Jousse
in the line-up alongside Emmanuel
Collard and Jean-Christophe Boullion
at the behest of Roald Goethe, who
owns the Aston Martin AMR-One around
which the Pescarolo is being built.
The deal follows increased financial
involvement in the project from Goethe,
Paffett pushed
by Spengler
paffett: Spengler my chief rival
DTM points leader says BMW ace will be his biggest threat for the 2012 title
dtm SerieS leader gary paffett
has pinpointed bruno spengler as his
main rival for the title following bmW’s
strong start to its comeback campaign.
mercedes driver paffett holds a
25-point lead over canadian spengler
after wins in two of the first three races,
at hockenheim and brands hatch.
spengler, 28, is the only driver to have
defeated paffett this year. he beat the
briton to victory at lausitz in bmW’s
second race back in the series after a
20-year absence. he was also fighting
for victory at brands last time out
until splitter damage forced him
to settle for second position.
paffett and hWa mercedes team-mate
Jamie Green have appeared to be the
fastest drivers on a clear track this year,
but despite this the 2005 champion
believes that it is spengler, rather than
his countryman, who will push him
hardest over the course of the season.
“at the moment, yes, it looks like
it [that spengler will be his main
rival],” said paffett of his former
mercedes team-mate.
“in the past two races he’s had a
win and a second place, and that’s
the same as me.
“You know that Jamie’s always
going to be quick, and he’s shown
that this year, even if for whatever
reason he qualified 10th at brands.
“You can’t really discount anyone
at this point, although you can work
out who the top two drivers for each
manufacturer are going to be. plus it’s
so close at the moment. but on current
form bruno looks like the closest rival.”
the championship continues with its
fourth event of the year at the red bull
ring in austria this weekend.
hall seals pescarolo lm drive
who shares a McLaren MP4-12C with Hall
in the Blancpain Endurance Series.
Hall, who finished fourth at Le Mans
in a Rollcentre Pescarolo in 2007, said:
“It’s all come about very late, but I’m
happy to be back at Le Mans.”
The new Pescarolo ran for the first
time at Chateauroux last Saturday in
Boullion’s hands. The car’s only other
outing before Sunday’s Le Mans Test Day
was set for Magny-Cours on Tuesday.
news
Pit & Paddock
IN BRIEf
RoC is on the move again
RoC MOVES TO THAILAND
the race of champions will mark its
25th running by moving from Germany
to thailand this winter. No date has been
confirmed for the event, which will be
held in bangkok’s rajamangala stadium.
fORD’S WTCC WEIGHT BREAK
World touring car championship
organisers have allowed the Ford Focus
s2000 to lose 10kg for this weekend’s
round at the algarve circuit. the sEat
leon Wtcc has also shed 10kg under
the series’ compensation-weight rules.
SUPERSTARS AUDIS PEGGED BACK
superstars organisers have pegged back
the performance of the audi rs5s ahead
of this weekend’s mugello round. the
cars will run with an air restrictor
and 100kg heavier in italy.
LOTUS RACER fOR LE MANS
occasional international Gt racer steve
Quick, who won the 2011 lotus UK cup,
will make his le mans 24 hours debut
with the Gulf racing lmp2 squad. Quick,
53, will share its Nissan-powered b12/80
with Jean-denis deletraz and Keiko ihara.
LOLA REDUNDANCIES ANNOUNCED
the administrators for lola composites
and lola cars international have revealed
that 73 of the 176 staff were laid off with
immediate effect last week.
JC-W TO RACE McLAREN
Former Fia Gt champion Jamie
campbell-Walter will return to the cockpit
at this weekend’s silverstone blancpain
Endurance series round. the briton will
share a Gulf racing UK mclaren mp4-12c
Gt3 with roald Goethe in place of stuart
hall, who is on le mans test day duty.
VERNAY GETS LOEB TEST ROLE
Ex-peugeot reserve Jean-Karl Vernay will
drive at the le mans test with sebastien
loeb racing. the Frenchman, who races
one of slr’s carrera cup cars, will share
the lmp2 orEca, which is not entered for
the race, with loeb and Nicolas marroc.
Vernay to drive Loeb car
May 31 2012 autosport.com 27