Bruno Senna to coach and mentor drivers in the 2015 McLaren P1 GTR Driver Programme.

• Ex-Formula 1™ driver Bruno Senna to consult drivers at each track event
• Senna to bring a unique knowledge of the highest levels of international racing in single seat and GT championships
• McLaren P1™ GTR Driver Programme calendar confirmed at some of the world’s most iconic circuits as the build of the first customer car is completed

Former Formula 1™ and current McLaren GT factory driver Bruno Senna has joined the McLaren P1™ GTR Driver Programme and will act as mentor at each of the exclusive events. 

Senna, who was announced as a McLaren GT factory driver earlier this year, will work closely with each of the tailored programmes, ensuring optimum performance for each of the cars and drivers around some of the world’s most iconic and challenging, circuits.

Members of the McLaren P1™ GTR Driver Programme will take part in a bespoke training and preparation schedule, designed to fully prepare them before taking to the circuit. 

Initial consultations at the McLaren Technology Centre (MTC) will include a race seat fitting, a Human Performance Centre assessment, and final discussions around design and livery. From here, and ahead of each event, drivers will have access to the McLaren racing simulator to familiarise themselves with the circuit.

Commenting on the new role, and the Driver Programme, Senna explained: ‘The McLaren P1™ GTR is a phenomenal machine, and is designed for one purpose – to be the ultimate drivers’ car around any given track. 

With more power and torque, optimised aerodynamics and increased grip over the already very impressive McLaren P1™, the levels of performance are at the next level. Significant focus has been put on ensuring drivers can access and exploit the extra performance.

‘The bespoke Driver Programme has been designed to ensure each driver is prepared, mentally and physically, to make the most of the car and the track. 

The stages are the same as a professional racing driver would go through for a race weekend, whether it is a GT race or in Formula 1, and the team on the ground at each event will be working closely with the drivers to hone skill levels and push them beyond what they believe is possible.’

The first customer example of the McLaren P1™ GTR has now rolled off the line in the McLaren Production Centre (MPC). From here, it will now complete its build with the team at McLaren Special Operations. 

This milestone comes as further details of the first year of the McLaren P1™ GTR Driver Programme are confirmed. The provisional nine date calendar will visit are :-

• Circuit de Catalunya (Spain), 
• Sepang International Circuit (Malaysia), 
• Circuit of the Americas (North America),
• Silverstone (UK), 
• Autodromo Nazionale Monza (Italy), 
• Red Bull Ring (Austria), 
• Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium), 
• Bahrain International Circuit (Bahrain), 
• Yas Marina (Abu Dhabi).

Sebastian Vettel - Sportsman of the year !

The main work on the weekend starts tomorrow here at Sepang but Seb has already picked up a prestigious award in Kuala Lumpur this week.

Sebastian was named Sportsman of the Year at the Laureus World Sports Award, held at Kuala Lumpur's Istana Budaya (Palace of Culture). Since its founding 15 years ago the awards have come to be known at the Oscars of the sports world. To win this year, Seb bested an all-star  nominations list composed of Usain Bolt, Mo Farah, Lebron James, Rafa Nadal and Cristiano Ronaldo.

"I have massive respect for the other athletes here," said Seb.

"When I was on stage and saw so many of the greats, it was truly a very special moment. All the Members of The Academy are true greats – heroes, legends and to see some of them on stage, others in the room and on the red carpet, makes this night very special."

Seb was handed the trophy by double F1 World Champion Emerson Fittipaldi, the Brazilian being one of the 46 sporting legends who make up the Laureus Academy judging panel.

American swimmer Missy Franklin won the Sportswomen of the Year award. Bayern Munich were named World Team of the Year. Marc Marquez was awarded the Breakthrough of the Year prize for his exploits in MotoGP, while Rafael Nadal took the Comeback of the Year award. BMX Freestyler Jamie Bestwick won the award for World Action Sportsperson of the Year, and French Paralympic skier Marie Bochet was named Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability.

The evening took on a more somber tone than usual with tributes being paid to those who lost their lives aboard Malaysian Airlines flight MH370.

Ducati releases pictures of 2014 MotoGP bikes and leathers livery.

After the Ducati Team press conference at the Audi Forum, Munich Airport this afternoon, the new Desmosedici GP14’s livery was unveiled to international media and Audi Group management in an evening event, the day before the Audi Annual Press Conference for the Audi Group’s 2013 financial year at Ingolstadt.

The sporting activities and product innovations of the Audi Group were presented in a spectacular environment at the Audi Zentrum in Eching (Munich). Two Desmosedici GP14 machines, in an exciting new matte colour scheme, entered the stage ridden by Andrea Dovizioso and Cal Crutchlow, in front of over 300 international media, invited to Munich and then to Ingolstadt by Audi for the Annual Press Conference.

Ducati MotoGP team presents at AUDI Forum in Munich.

• Andrea Dovizioso and Cal Crutchlow will take part in the MotoGP World Championship with the Desmosedici GP14 in Open configuration
• Ducati Team sporting programmes and Desmosedici GP14 technical content presented at Audi Forum
• The new GP14 livery to be revealed in a second event at the Audi Zentrum in Eching, in the “pre-night” before tomorrow’s Audi Annual Press Conference in Ingolstadt

The Ducati Team for the 2014 MotoGP World Championship was presented today in an original location in Germany. Confirming the close ties and synergy between the Bologna-based manufacturer and the Audi Group, the official presentation of the Ducati Team was held at the Audi Forum inside Munich Airport. 

In the presence of a carbon black Ducati Desmosedici GP14, which had just returned to Europe following the recent tests in Malaysia and Australia, Claudio Domenicali (Ducati Motor Holding CEO), personally introduced the team, represented on the stage by Luigi Dall’Igna (Ducati Corse General Manager), by Paolo Ciabatti (Ducati Corse Sporting Director) and by the two riders, Andrea Dovizioso and Cal Crutchlow. The sporting activities for the new season and the technical details of the new Desmosedici GP14 were illustrated, in the light of the recent tests and the decision to take part in the championship in Open configuration (as announced last week in Sepang).

“As I have said recently” declared Claudio Domenicali at the start of the press conference, “in MotoGP we also want to find again those values that have led us to obtain successful results in the past. We are ready for the new MotoGP season, firmly convinced that the enthusiasm, the passion and the technical competence of our team, together with the support of our sponsors and partners and all of our ‘tifosi’, will enable us to tackle this commitment with determination. Cal and Andrea are very talented riders, and Luigi Dall’Igna will surely be able to manage the resources available in the best possible way. The new technical and sporting decisions that the company has decided to take will allow us to compete once again with the spirit that has always characterized the women and the men who work in Ducati, capable of producing dream bikes that are in the forefront for technology and design.”

Claudio Domenicali then invited onto the stage Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, Member of the Board of Audi AG for Technical Development. The German manager underlined that Audi and Ducati share the same passion for racing, have many values in common and both represent excellence in the field of technology and innovation. Following this introduction, as a true enthusiast and fan of Ducati, Dr. Hackenberg passed on his best wishes to the Ducati Team on behalf of the entire group.

 

Then it was the turn of Luigi Dall’Igna, Ducati Corse General Manager, who presented the Desmosedici GP14. “Coming to work in Ducati Corse is probably the most important challenge of my life: working in MotoGP as General Manager for one of the most famous and prestigious manufacturers in the world – Ducati – is an important achievement but also a great responsibility. I am very proud of the choice that I have made and just as motivated by the results of testing at Sepang and Phillip Island. At the moment the most important thing is to continue with the development of the bike, and the choices that we have made will allow us to move forward and improve. We are satisfied with the lap times in the last tests, but also the consistency of the times, which are backed up by the riders’ comments. Ducati has significantly reduced the gap to its rivals and we are confident we can make further steps forward during the season.”

Paolo Ciabatti, Ducati Corse Sporting Director, as well as MotoGP Project Manager, declared: “After three difficult seasons without any significant results, the changes in organization that we have made in our structure for this season are producing their first results. The entire Ducati Team is very motivated and united, and the encouraging results we obtained in the last tests give us hope for the championship that is about the start. We know that we still need to do a lot of work to further reduce the gap separating us from the frontrunners, but we are convinced we have made the right decisions and so we are very optimistic”.

For Andrea Dovizioso 2014 will be the second season in MotoGP with the Ducati Team. After an eighth place last season, the 27 year-old Italian will be hoping for better luck this time around and first impressions from the tests are positive. “I am very happy with the way the pre-season tests went because we managed to improve more than expected, and this gives me a lot of confidence. Thanks to the work of Gigi, and by making a few balance changes, the bike is now more manageable, goes better and we succeeded in doing the times we did in the recent tests. Losail is a very difficult track but I think we will be quite competitive, even though we still have a few doubts about our effective race pace. In any case, we have reduced the gap from last year and today we are much more competitive. We still have to improve to arrive at the positions where we want to be, but I think that in the first race we will manage to start close to the front.”

The 2014 season will be Cal Crutchlow’s fourth year in MotoGP, and the first as factory rider for the Ducati Team. The occasion initiates an exciting new chapter in the career of the British rider. “I’m excited about the season ahead and I think Qatar is going to be good for us. The team have been working well, and especially in Australia I felt we were doing a good job. We still have some things to try with the bike, but I’m excited to start the season in what I feel is not too bad a shape. I think we will be at a disadvantage because we never tested there, but we’ll still be giving 100% in the race.”

The Ducati Team will be on track at Losail (Qatar) starting from Thursday 20 March, with the first practice sessions, while the race is scheduled for the evening of Sunday 23 March at 10 pm.

Press kit and photos of the Ducati Team riders are available on Ducatipress.com (subscription required) [here]

Photos of the Ducati Team Desmosedici GP14 plus video will be available on Ducatipress.com from 19.30 GMT onwards.

The Ducati MotoGP Team will be waiting for you at World Ducati Week at Misano from 18-20 July, click on http://wdw.ducatiuk.com for further information