Racing Engineering and its drivers are looking forward to racing at Barcelona

11/05/17 Racing Engineering and its drivers are looking forward to racing at Barcelona.

The F2 teams are assembling this weekend at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in Spain for round two of the 2017 FIA Formula 2 Championship.

The first round took place three weeks ago at the Sakhir International Circuit in Bahrain where the results for the Racing Engineering drivers, Louis Delétraz and Gustav Malja, were not what they and the team were hoping for. However, the team learnt a lot and both men are confident that, as they get used to working with the very successful Spanish team, they will be able to be much more competitive. The March pre-season testing at Catalunya saw both Louis and Gustav setting some quick laps and they will both be looking to carry this into the weekend’s two races.

The Barcelona-Catalunya track has been a competitive venue in the past for Racing Engineering numerous point-scoring finishes. The last two years have been particularly successful for the Spanish team at this circuit taking a 3rd and 4th in 2015 and a win and another 3rd in 2016.

The Barcelona-Catalunya circuit rewards a good high downforce set-up and careful management of the Pirelli tyres as the quick corners and abrasive surface of the circuit mean that tyre wear is a very important factor in achieving a good result.

Timetable:
Practice: Fri 12 May 2017, 12:00 (GMT+2)
Qualifying Session: Fri 12 May 2017, 15:55 (GMT+2)
Race 1: Sat 13 May 2017, 15:40 (GMT+2)
Race 2: Sun 14 May 2017, 10:35 (GMT+2)

©FIA F2 Championship

©FIA F2 Championship

©FIA F2 Championship

Length of lap:	4.665 km

2016 best Racing Engineering:	P2 in Qualifying - P1 in R1 – P3 in R2

Tyre Wear:	Medium

Brake Wear:	Medium

Downforce:	High

Throttle Average:	62%

Fastest turn:	T9

Hardest Braking Point:	T1

Gear shifts per lap:	31

Top Speed:	310 km/h

Average Speed (Qualifying) 2016:	190,850 km/h

Average Speed (Race) 2016:	165.480 km/h

Pole Position Time 2016:	1:27.807

1. The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is located approx. 20km northeast of Barcelona.

2. Last year, Racing Engineering's driver Norman Nato won the feature race in Barcelona.

3. The main grandstand was designed by Herman Tilke and can accommodate 9,580 spectators. In front of it, a gigantic electronic scoring board dominates the end of the pitlane.

4. Racing Engineering’s Jordan King finished on the podium in 2016 thanks to a third place in the GP2 sprint race.

5. The longest amount of time at full throttle is on the main straight, which is 1.047m.

6. Due to the combination of corners, overtaking is very difficult in Barcelona.

7. This circuit has very fast corners, with a heavy load on the front left wheel, which does most of the work.

8. The 4,655m track contains 16 corners: 9 right and 7 left.

9. The wind direction at the circuit can change drastically throughout the day, a significant factor given the importance of aerodynamics.

10. Barcelona has been a fixed venue on the Championship’s calendar since its inaugural season in 2005.

• F1 top speed is 335 km/h and F2 is 300 km/h.

• F1 drivers will change gear 44 times per lap while F2 drivers have to do so 31 times.

• Race distance is different: F1 go around the circuit for 66 laps and F2 does a total of 62 laps during two days- 37 laps in the Feature Race and 26 in the Sprint Race.

• F1 pole position was set at 1:22.000 in 2016 – GP2 pole position was set at 1:27.807 in 2016.