Somerfield Secures Oulton Park Double.

Cheshire’s Oulton Park played host to the latest instalments of the 2011 Caterham Roadsport and Supersport Championships. The circuit, infamous for its gradient changes, blind crests and unforgiving corners saw Reece Somerfield secure a double victory in the Supersports.

Race 1: Somerfield Secures Dominant Victory.

The first of two Caterham Supersport races saw a few surprises in qualifying – the Championship top two, Jeremy Webb and Lee Wiggins started lower down the order than expected, in seventh and eighth while Pole Position went the way of Somerfield, ahead of Carlton Brown and Ben Whibley.

As the lights went out, Somerfield made a fantastic start from Pole Position while Ian Payne was moved up and into second at the expense of Whibley. Heading up to Shell Oils Hairpin, Whibley missed a gear and ended up running into the back of Payne, and this caused Whibley to see his race finish a lot earlier than expected. Further back, Webb and Wiggins were both on a march up the field as they were eager to join the race leaders. It was Webb who made the initial running, and he was challenging Brown for second after just three laps.

Behind, there was chaos as Sean Bryne spun at the entrance to Knickerbrook and he was facing the oncoming pack. Ray Gilliland and Richard Solomons had nowhere to go and they both collected Bryne’s stranded car. the Safety Car was deployed while the cleanup operation took place and the advantage which Somerfield had built up had been eradicated.

Once the stranded cars had been cleared away and the race was back live, Somerfield set about restoring the advantage he had before the deployment of the Safety Car. as he bolted, he left Webb, Wiggins, Brown and Steve Day to battle it out for second position. They all tried to take Old Hall corner together and it was Brown who came off worse – he spun on the exit of the corner and his race ended prematurely in the barrier.

Later in the lap, Webb also encountered bad luck as he had an out of character incident at Shell Oils which saw his race end in the gravel trap. With some of the big hitters out of the reckoning, Somerfield led Wiggins who had fought off the constant advances of team-mate day.

Payne then started to set fastest lap after fastest lap while dicing with Ben Gower for fourth position – the pair of them produced a fantastic battle but they were unable to catch the race leaders.

Somerfield brought the McMillan Motorsport car home first after a dominant drive while the podium was completed by Stancombe Vehicle Engineering team-mates Wiggins and Day. Payne set the fastest lap of the race, 1m58.111s en route to fourth while Gower and Albert Vella completed the top six – Vella came from fifteenth on the grid.

Caterham Supersports Oulton Park, Race One Results:

Position	Number	Driver	Entrant	Time/Gap
1	12	Reece Somerfield	Caterham Roadsport	31:14.109s
2	32	Lee Wiggins	Caterham Roadsport	5.639s
3	20	Steve Day	Caterham Roadsport	5.767s
4	91	Ian Payne	Caterham Roadsport	5.895s
5	16	Ben Gower	Caterham Roadsport	6.273s
6	81	Albert Vella	Caterham Roadsport	23.293s
7	44	Antony Sidney-Woollett	Caterham Roadsport	24.279s
8	6	Robert Cooper	Caterham Roadsport	25.241s
9	23	Tim Mashman	Caterham Roadsport	25.460s
10	22	Tim Abbott	Caterham Roadsport	26.017s
11	15	Ben Tompkins	Caterham Roadsport	26.177s
12	66	Michael Schorah	Caterham Roadsport	27.345s
13	45	Andrew Salmon	Caterham Roadsport	27.580s
14	88	Chris Lay	Caterham Roadsport	27.915s
15	69	Stephen Collins	Caterham Roadsport	28.281s
16	58	Richard Potter	Caterham Roadsport	31.240s
17	4	Simon Cassidy	Caterham Roadsport	31.319s
18	99	John Aitchison	Caterham Roadsport	33.626s
19	5	Gary Burke	Caterham Roadsport	40.004s
20	33	Robin Ellis	Caterham Roadsport	40.061s
21	29	Graeme Baird	Caterham Roadsport	41.728s
22	71	Martin Collier	Caterham Roadsport	46.016s
23	21	Tim Rowbottom	Caterham Roadsport	48.509s
24	2	John Reid	Caterham Roadsport	48.839s
DNF	11	Jeremy Webb	Caterham Roadsport	3 Laps
DNF	9	Carlton Brown	Caterham Roadsport	3 Laps
DNF	55	Rowan Chaplin	Caterham Roadsport	5 Laps
DNF	10	Ray Gilliland	Caterham Roadsport	12 Laps
DNF	42	Ben Whibley	Caterham Roadsport	13 Laps
DNF	18	Sean Byrne	Caterham Roadsport	13 Laps
DNF	50	Richard Solomons	Caterham Roadsport	13 Laps
Fastest Lap	91	Ian Payne	Caterham Roadsport	1:58.111s

Race 2: Somerfield Doubles Up – Just.

The second race for the Supersports saw the front running cars produce a nail biting encounter, as the top six cars running ‘as one’ for lap after lap around the Oulton Park Grand Prix circuit.

Although they were a tight bunch of cars and they constantly swapped positions, each time they completed a lap, the order remained the same; Somerfield, Payne, Wiggins, Day and Gower.

It was like they were stuck together like glue or someone had invented a twenty wheel Caterham – chancing late braking moves or dives down the inside heading into Old Hall, desperate to secure a podium finish at the Cheshire circuit.

Just as in the first encounter, race two had the intervention of the Safety Car after Andrew Salmon rolled his car end over end following heavy contact with the barrier after getting Island bend wrong. Salmon was able to walk away unharmed but the Safety Car was needed for the clearance of the debris and the fuel which had been left from the accident.

Once the Safety car was withdrawn, the leaders stuck together as the majority of the pack spread out. Somerfield didn’t have an easy time in securing his second victory of the weekend, but he was able to hold off Payne and Wiggins.

Payne managed to secure second while Wiggins had another reason to celebrate – as well as coming third overall; he had also set a new lap record for the circuit – a 1m57.820s.

Starting at the back of the grid were two championship contenders, Webb and Whibley. They both did as much as they could to restrict the damage to their Championship chances and ultimately, Webb made up nineteen places to finish sixth while BWR team leader, Whibley, made up twenty two positions to record seventh. Both drivers drove epic recovery drives.

Heading away from Oulton Park and on to Anglesey over the 24/25 September, Wiggins now has 196 Championship points and the advantage by a point from Webb. Somerfield has moved himself into third with 186 points, while Day is a couple of points behind in fourth. Gower sits fifth while Whibley rounds out the top six.

Caterham Supersports Oulton Park, race two result:

Position	Number	Driver	Entrant	Time/Gap
1	12	Reece Somerfield	Caterham Roadsport	30m36.581s
2	91	Ian Payne	Caterham Roadsport	0.041s
3	32	Lee Wiggins	Caterham Roadsport	0.222s
4	20	Steve Day	Caterham Roadsport	2.666s
5	16	Ben Gower	Caterham Roadsport	2.822s
6	11	Jeremy Webb	Caterham Roadsport	3.831s
7	42	Ben Whibley	Caterham Roadsport	4.979s
8	6	Robert Cooper	Caterham Roadsport	5.554s
9	22	Tim Abbott	Caterham Roadsport	5.751s
10	44	Antony Sidney-Woollett	Caterham Roadsport	5.899s
11	81	Albert Vella	Caterham Roadsport	5.953s
12	15	Ben Tompkins	Caterham Roadsport	7.925s
13	66	Michael Schorah	Caterham Roadsport	18.182s
14	88	Chris Lay	Caterham Roadsport	18.259s
15	5	Gary Burke	Caterham Roadsport	18.404s
16	2	John Reid	Caterham Roadsport	22.773s
17	71	Martin Collier	Caterham Roadsport	22.873s
18	99	John Aitchison	Caterham Roadsport	22.976s
19	23	Tim Mashman	Caterham Roadsport	25.832s
20	33	Robin Ellis	Caterham Roadsport	25.966s
21	58	Richard Potter	Caterham Roadsport	26.237s
22	29	Graeme Baird	Caterham Roadsport	26.977s
23	21	Tim Rowbottom	Caterham Roadsport	29.530s
24	55	Rowan Chaplin	Caterham Roadsport	29.744s
25	10	Ray Gilliland	Caterham Roadsport	30.410s
DNF	9	Carlton Brown	Caterham Roadsport	2 Laps
DNF	69	Stephen Collins	Caterham Roadsport	8 Laps
DNF	4	Simon Cassidy	Caterham Roadsport	9 Laps
DNF	45	Andrew Salmon	Caterham Roadsport	9 Laps
DNS	18	Sean Byrne	Caterham Roadsport
DNS	50	Richard Solomons	Caterham Roadsport
Fastest Lap	32	Lee Wiggins	Caterham Roadsport	1m57.820s

Fox and Hart share Oulton Park Caterham Roadsport Spoils.

Oulton Park saw Wesley Fox secure his sixth win of the Caterham Roadsport Championship while Mike Hart showed that the Championship leader can be beaten on the track as he beat Fox to secure his first victory of the 2011 season.

Race One: Fox Seals Win Six of 2011.

The grid for the opening Roadsport race at Oulton Park saw the top seven cars covered by just over half a second, with Fox securing Pole Position on final flying lap – he had been sixth fastest – while Jon Mortimer lined up second and Aaron Head third.

The start of the race saw chaos at Old Hall as Sean Raftery spun after running wide and as he came back onto the track, he went straight into the side of Matthew Whate. Whate had started the Oulton Park race weekend lying third in the Championship but had qualified lower down than normal.

Trying to avoid the carnage was Duncan Harris but he was left with nowhere to go and he ended up airborne as he hit the side of Whate. As a result of this, Raftery and Whate retired – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aT-_TNrEkS8 – on board footage of the Old Hall accident.

While the mid pack sorted themselves out, up at the front, things were starting to hot up. Fox had pulled out a slight lead but was unable to shake off the attentions of Mortimer, Head, Mike Hart and Kurt Brady. All four drivers were squabbling for position but on the approach to Shell Oil Hairpin, Head got out of shape and kissed the barrier – he recovered but had dropped right down the field.

This left a four car scrap for the race lead while in fifth, and looking for a special 40^th Birthday present was local racer, Chris Bingham. He was right on the tail of James Needham, who was sitting in fifth.

The lead quartet of cars was never in a settled order – as they slid down the side of one another into Knickerbrook, looking for the advantage up the hill towards Druids. Brady had practised the round the outside of Old Hall approach a few times as well, a couple of times it paid off but when it was safe to do so, Fox closed the door.

Chancing his arm one final time on the final lap, Brady tried again but going over the rough kerbing unsettled his car and he spun out of contention. Having spent the majority of the race sitting second, he ended up down in sixth.

After an exceptionally close and exciting opening race at Oulton Park, it was Fox who secured the honours from Mortimer while Hart rounded out the podium. Head secured the fastest lap of the race with a 2:00.403s but he finished down in fourteenth and faced an uphill task in the second encounter.

Caterham Roadsport, Oulton Park Race Result 1:

Position	Number	Driver	Entrant	Time/Gap
1	10	Wesley Fox	Caterham Roadsport	20m24.643s
2	46	Jonathan Mortimer	Caterham Roadsport	0.142s
3	11	Mike Hart	Caterham Roadsport	0.387s
4	40	Chris Bingham	Caterham Roadsport	3.570s
5	33	James Needham	Caterham Roadsport	5.068s
6	99	Kurt Brady	Caterham Roadsport	11.883s
7	4	Ian Davis	Caterham Roadsport	12.216s
8	18	Peter Bassage	Caterham Roadsport	12.616s
9	22	Alexander Ross Macindoe	Caterham Roadsport	13.480s
10	87	Adam White	Caterham Roadsport	16.557s
11	13	Joel Wymer	Caterham Roadsport	17.907s
12	3	Andrew West	Caterham Roadsport	27.384s
13	69	Lee Furness	Caterham Roadsport	27.610s
14	19	Aaron Head	Caterham Roadsport	27.870s
15	12	Spencer Horgan	Caterham Roadsport	28.083s
16	14	John Toshack	Caterham Roadsport	28.297s
17	6	Nick Powell	Caterham Roadsport	29.725s
18	45	Paul Mortimer	Caterham Roadsport	35.059s
19	56	David Szymanski	Caterham Roadsport	49.253s
20	23	Duncan Harris	Caterham Roadsport	1m02.834s
21	8	Bob Pearson	Caterham Roadsport	1m13.033s
22	26	Roy Gray	Caterham Roadsport	1m13.792s
DNF	9	Matthew Whate	Caterham Roadsport
DNF	16	Sean Raftery	Caterham Roadsport
Fastest Lap	19	Aaron Head	Caterham Roadsport	2m00.403s

 

Race 2: Hart Masters the Wet for Win Number One of 2011.

The second Caterham Roadsports race saw black clouds open just as the field formed up in the assembly area – thus the first wet race of the weekend was about to commence. On went the rain lights and the race was underway.

Fox led the field away with Hart just behind while Mortimer, who finished second in the opening race played safe on the side of caution as he chased down the two race leaders while in forth was Bingham.

Hart soon snuck past Fox for the race lead, and he made it stick before pulling away and put daylight between him and Fox. The top four drivers all started to pace out a bit which meant that the action was further back – and the battle for fifth was keeping the crowd entertained.

Brady was at the head of the next gaggle of cars and as they headed into Old Hall corner, two abreast and line a stern – they all emerged from Old Hall unscathed and this bravely resulted in a wonderful battle for fifth position, behind the top four who had made a break.

Having started from fourteenth after his race one problems but he is one to watch in wet conditions – the Schumacher of Roadsports. He must have performed a rain dance before the start of the second race as he started to pass several cars per lap and soon, he had caught up with the battle for third.

Bingham was right on the tail of Mortimer and he was determined to dispose Mortimer of third but Mortimer defended very well on each attack. On the final lap, however, Head caught them napping as he stole third position away and the final step on the podium – he also posted the fastest lap of the race en route to the podium.

Hart took the chequered flag first to secure a long awaited first victory of the 2011 campaign, Fox backed up his race one victory with a solid second while Hart was a delighted third after his recovery drive.

Heading to Anglesey International over the 24/25 September, Fox remains on top of the points and has a commanding forty eight point advantage over his nearest rival, Brady. Hart has moved into third, ahead of Whate.

Caterham Roadsports Race Two Results:

Position	Number	Driver	Entrant	Time/Gap
1	11	Mike Hart	Caterham Roadsport	20m18.209s
2	10	Wesley Fox	Caterham Roadsport	8.661s
3	19	Aaron Head	Caterham Roadsport	22.751s
4	46	Jonathan Mortimer	Caterham Roadsport	23.196s
5	40	Chris Bingham	Caterham Roadsport	24.060s
6	9	Matthew Whate	Caterham Roadsport	32.257s
7	4	Ian Davis	Caterham Roadsport	33.646s
8	3	Andrew West	Caterham Roadsport	35.438s
9	33	James Needham	Caterham Roadsport	35.532s
10	99	Kurt Brady	Caterham Roadsport	36.217s
11	22	Alexander Ross Macindoe	Caterham Roadsport	36.301s
12	87	Adam White	Caterham Roadsport	39.531s
13	12	Spencer Horgan	Caterham Roadsport	48.123s
14	13	Joel Wymer	Caterham Roadsport	48.205s
15	14	John Toshack	Caterham Roadsport	52.088s
16	18	Peter Bassage	Caterham Roadsport	1m22.232s
17	69	Lee Furness	Caterham Roadsport	1m22.777s
18	56	David Szymanski	Caterham Roadsport	1m39.350s
19	45	Paul Mortimer	Caterham Roadsport	1m54.638s
20	8	Bob Pearson	Caterham Roadsport	1m55.360s
21	26	Roy Gray	Caterham Roadsport	1m55.715s
22	6	Nick Powell	Caterham Roadsport	1 Lap
DNF	23	Duncan Harris	Caterham Roadsport	7 Laps
DNS	16	Sean Raftery	Caterham Roadsport
Fastest Lap	19	Aaron Head	Caterham Roadsport	2m08.189s

Lloyd Encounters Tough Brands Hatch Race.

Daniel Lloyd saw his hopes of a home victory in the 2011 Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup dashed at Brands Hatch last Saturday, 3 September as he could only secure an eighth place finish during round seven of the DTM Support series.

Feeling disappointed that he was unable to secure a home victory in front of his sponsors, guests and family at Brands Hatch, the Huddersfield racer still produced a good showing as he salvaged some vital Championship points which ensures he is still inside the Championship top three.

The problems for Lloyd started off in qualifying after gambling on waiting for the Brands Hatch Indy circuit to dry out. The decision backfired on Lloyd and he was only able to finish the session on the fourth row of the grid.

“It started with the mistake to go out later in qualifying”, said Daniel, “We sat in the pits for the first 10 minutes expecting the track to be quicker at the end but it turned out that the fastest times were set at the start so we missed the track at its best – that meant there was a very mixed-up grid.”

At the start, he made a good start and worked his way into fifth during the opening tour and he avoided an incident at Graham Hill Bend, the incident there saw the race stopped and there was a lengthy delay before the race was restarted under the Safety Car.

He added on the delay due to the Graham Hill Bend incident: “I had a really good first lap, got up into fifth, but then the race was red flagged after a few cars came together. We sat for a long time so lost all of the temperature from the tyres and then on the first lap of the re-start, at Graham Hill Bend, the back end got away – I think it was just the rear tyres being too cold. It was a huge moment but I managed to recover in eighth and stayed there to the end.”

Once the race had restarted, there was a single lap behind the Safety Car and once it had been withdrawn, he maintained his fifth position – that was until, at Graham Hill Bend, the back of the #11 Scirocco snapped away from him, most likely down to not having the rear tyres fully up to temperature. He was able to save the car but he had lost three positions and resumed in eighth.

He then held the position until the chequered flag on lap twenty, but he was disappointed not to have been in the fight for a podium finish at home. He knew that the points for eighth could be crucial come the season end.

He added: “It’s been a really disappointing weekend as I came here wanting to win my home race, or be on the podium at the very least. I know it could have been worse, at least we have taken some points away, but I am really gutted. I do want to thank all of the guests and sponsors who came along this weekend to support me though, without them I wouldn’t be racing – their support was fantastic.”

Next up for Lloyd is a trip to Oschersleben over the 17/18 September for the penultimate event of the 2011 Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup campaign and the second double header event of the season.

In the meantime, replays of this weekend’s racing at Brands Hatch Indy Circuit will be screened on digital satellite and cable channel Motors TV throughout the coming days and weeks – please check www.motorstv.com for listings and full details.

To keep up with all the latest news regarding Daniel’s participation in the VW Scirocco R-Cup, please visit his official websitewww.daniellloydracing.com

 

Nelson Panciatici Reviews his Career to date.

Nelson Panciatici is currently racing in the 2011 Formula Renault 3.5 Series for KMP Racing alongside Anton Nebylitskiy. After the race race weekend at Silverstone, Frenchman Panciatici lies eighth in the Championship standings with 48 Championship points, having secured a best result of third during the season opening race.

With the series on a short break before his home race at Paul Ricard HTTT over the 17/18 September, Panciatici took some time out to speak with Back Of The Grid.co.uk about his career to date, which has been him compete in GP2 for a season.

For Panciatici, he was brought up with Motorsport in his family – his dad from a professional rally driver while his Mother competed in a number of Paris to Dakar events: “My father was a professional rallyeman and my mother made several Paris Dakar.”

When he was growing up as a youngster, watching Motorsport on TV or at the circuits live, who did he say were his idols?

“When I was young, I did not really have idols, it was rather young kart drivers who won races” explained Panciatici.

His racing debut came in 1998 at the Angerville circuit near Paris but where did he secure his first racing victory? “It was on the Soucy circuit and I won on my third race.”

After his karting career, he moved into the French Formula Renault 2.0 as well as the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 series, and he has two specific memories which will stick with him from his time in the French and Eurocup series, as he explains: “My best memory will remain my first win on the Albi circuit in French championship and my first podium in Eurocup on the Le Bugatti circuit.”

What would he say was his favourite circuit to race at during his time in the French Formula Renault 2.0 or the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0: “Magny-Cours and is now one of my favorite circuits.”

After competing in France in their French Formula Renault 2.0 and Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 series, he moved into the Spanish Formula 3 Championship ahead of the 2008 season.

Looking back at his time in the Spanish series, where did Panciatici make his debut to, and his best memory of his experiences in Spain?

“It was in Valencia in the rain and I had the best time in a single lap because I stayed in the pits all morning due to a technical problem, it’s a good memory because after I joined the Hache Team of David Carbajo.”

After a single season in Spanish F3, he moved into GP2 for the 2009 campaign alongside Davide Valsecchi/Stefano Coletti in the Durango outfit – but between them, they couldn’t help the team improve on their eleventh place finish from the previous season.

Looking back at his single season in Spanish F3, Panciatici said: “Spanish F3 is a beautiful memory in sports but also human, with my engineer “Papy” and the boss David Carbajo, which has since become a friend, we accomplished great things with a car of the older generation but with a spirit strong team. A great moment!”

Summing up his season in GP2, which he says it was impossible do to well due to qualifying problems, he added: “For my failed year in GP2, it’s totally the opposite!  With technical problems during all the qualifications it was impossible to do well. I will keep good memories of some great battle in the race but my car was too bad for taking pleasure.”

Rounding off his GP2 experiences, who would Panciatici say his toughest on track rivals were?

“In my position, all the GP2 drivers were my rivals!” said Panciatici.

After his single season in GP2, Panciatici moved into the Formula Renault 3.5 Series for 2010, driving for the Lotus Racing Junior Team – before moving to KMP Racing for 2011.

Having competed in both series, Panciatici was able to explain the main differences between the two series: “GP2 is the opening of the F1 and everything is fragmented, while the Formula Renault 3.5 Series is open to the public, they can go almost everywhere, they are the kings of the “party”,” explained Panciatici. “On a technical level, the GP2 has more powerful brakes and a more powerful engine but the driving of two cars claiming the same qualities and poses the same problems to go fast. This year the level is very high and is comparable to GP2.”

Next up for Panciatici is a trip to the Paul Ricard High Tech Test Track over the 17/18 September. Speaking about the forthcoming trip to the circuit, Panciatici said: “It’s always nice to take the track in front of his public, in addition there will be all my family who lives in the south of France, and It will be great. But the problem remains the same as on another circuit, it will work well to hope to win. Let’s say it will be a little extra that will beneficial!”

Looking back at the first thirteen races of the season, in which he has secured a top three finish in the very first race of the season at Motorland Aragon, Panciatici said: “KMP Racing is a young team but with good potential. My engineer is very good but lacked success and we lost many points in the championship. We also had some ups and downs in our performance, which we also penalized. It is a very competitive Championship where a tenth won changes your race and there the experience performs!  Our classification does not reflect our level of performance and there are two races to prove it.”

The 2012 season will see the next generation Formula Renault 3.5 Series car introduced. Panciatici can see both positives and negatives for its introduction, as he explains: “It’s a beautiful car with interesting technical developments. The positive points its new engine with more power and DRS. This new version of the car will help young drivers become familiar with different technologies they will meet in F1. The new Renault was 2.5 seconds quicker than the current version. But the teams announce larger budgets and I don’t know if in a difficult global economic environment will not be a handicap.”

Throughout his career to date, Panciatici has raced on some street circuits but apart from the ones he has visited already, there aren’t any others he would fancy tackling.

“Yes, it was the first time on the Pau circuit in Formula Renault 2.0 and then to Valencia Street in F3 and Monaco in GP2 and WS 3.5,” he explained when asked what street circuits he had previously raced on before adding “No, not particularly” when asked if there were any others he’d like to visit.

Giving Panciatici some creative freedom for his dream street circuit, where would he like to build one and why?

“I would build it in Paris, it would be magical to see the F1 cars on the streets of the capital of France! But it’s something that seems extremely difficult to realize. It’s the shame because the show would be great!” was his response when asked where he would build a street circuit to.

What does he feel can be done to improve the safety of street circuits, in light of the two big Formula 1 accidents in Monaco as well as the recent Will Power incident in Baltimore?

Panciatici said: “We should improve the disengagement zone as for example, after the tunnel in Monaco, but it’s difficult to improve security and a street circuit will always be more dangerous than a conventional circuit.”

What, in Panciatici’s opinion, makes street circuit racing more special than racing on a purpose built race circuit?

“It’s completely different, there is a special atmosphere and the races are always animated and uncertain until the last lap because an error is always possible.
The smallest mistake is paid cash, the safety rails are close and the adrenaline is up for drivers and spectators. The show is often present!”

When asked what his favourite street circuit memory is, he said: “I have no special memories but I do not miss often Monaco Grand Prix because it has action and it’s always interesting to follow.”

Looking back at all of the cars which Panciatici has raced in his career to date, which would he say is his favourite?

“The Formula Renault 3.5 but also the F3 because it was my first real race car with a important aerodynamic.”

Panciatici, like most drivers, keep an eye on the Championships they used to compete in – he tries to watch as many of them on TV as he can, as he explains: “Of course, I look at all the results and I watch the races on TV. Except passion, its part of my job to keep me informed.”

Looking back at all of the drivers he has competed against in his career to date, who does he feel was his toughest on track rival?

“In each Championships there are several potential rivals. In Eurocup example there was Alguersuari, Hartley, Pic, Merhi, Coletti, Leimer, Turvey, Caldarelli…” explains Panciatici before going on to add: “The races were highly competitive and the direct rivals changing in every race. It’s the same in the most championships monotypes.”

Given the chance to have a one off team-mate for a one off race weekend at any circuit, which driver would Panciatici choose and at what circuit?

“I would like Jenson Button as teammate in F1 to Magny-Cours!” explained Panciatici.

And finally, when asked to give Back Of the Grid one interesting but non Motorsport fact about himself, what did he say?

“My life is completely focused on racing, but my close friends are not in sports car except for a few exeptions. I need to speak other things and to cut with the community. I make very much sport every day but I like to play a football game with my friends. I like Italian food and sushi and movie comedies. But I especially like driving any motorized vehicle with four wheels!”

Everyone connected with Back Of The Grid would like to thank Nelson for taking time out to speak with us and we wish him all the best for the rest of the 2011 season and for future seasons.

Panciatici and the KMP Team will be back on track over the 17/18 September at Paul Ricard in France, before closing the season at Barcelona over the 8/9 October.