Virgin Racing

Virgin Racing
Russia Virgin-Cosworth
Marussiavirginracing.png
Full name Marussia Virgin Racing
Base Dinnington, Rotherham, South Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Team principal(s) John Booth
Technical director Nikolai Fomenko
Website marussiavirginracing.com
2011 Formula One season
Race drivers 24. Germany Timo Glock
25. Belgium Jérôme d'Ambrosio
Test drivers Japan Sakon Yamamoto
Canada Robert Wickens
United Kingdom Adrian Quaife-Hobbs
Chassis Virgin MVR-02[1]
Engine Cosworth
Tyres Pirelli
Formula One World Championship Career
Debut 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix
Latest race 2011 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Races competed 37
Constructors'
Championships
0
Drivers'
Championships
0
Race victories 0
Pole positions 0
Fastest laps 0
2010 position 12th (0 points)

Marussia Virgin Racing, the trading name of Virgin Racing Limited, is a Russian owned Formula One racing team based in the United Kingdom and racing on a Russian licence, which made its debut in the 2010 Formula One season.[2] It was granted entry as Manor Grand Prix on 12 June 2009, as one of four new teams selected to race in the 2010 season.[3][4] On 30 November 2009, the FIA released a revised entry list that stated the team's name as Virgin Racing. Richard Branson's Virgin Group is the title sponsor of the team, which was launched on 15 December 2009.

On 11 November 2010, it was announced that Marussia had taken a controlling stake in the team that would be called Marussia Virgin Racing from 2011 onwards.[5][6] In February 2011, it was further announced that the team would compete under a Russian racing licence,[7] becoming the second Russian team in the sport after Midland. In November 2011, the team formally applied to the Formula One Commission to change their name to Marussia for the 2012 season.[8]

Contents

History

Formation

The team was formed as Manor Grand Prix as a tie-up between Manor Motorsport and Wirth Research. Initially, Virgin's Alex Tai was the Team Principal, while Graeme Lowdon was the team's Director of Racing. Manor Motorsport boss John Booth was the Sporting Director, while former Simtek team owner Nick Wirth was the technical director.[9] Less than one month after the Virgin partnership was officially launched, Tai left his position and Booth took over as team principal, with Lowdon becoming the CEO.[10]

The team will use engines supplied by Cosworth. Manor Motorsport are best known as a Formula Three team but currently running only one car in the British Formula Three Championship in co-operation with CF Racing. The team helped launch the careers of World Champions Kimi Räikkönen and Lewis Hamilton. Car preparation and racing operations is run from its headquarters in Dinnington, South Yorkshire, while Wirth Research designed, developed and built the VR-01 from its base in Bicester, before announcing a relocation to new, larger premises in Banbury, Oxfordshire in July 2010.[11]

In June 2011, the team announced that they had split with Wirth Research after a lengthy internal review led by former Renault engineering director Pat Symonds found that the team's CFD-only approach had not yielded the expected results.[12]

The team also have plans to create a driver academy, a series of racing teams starting in the new GP3 Series and advancing all the way up to Formula One.[13]

2010

Timo Glock testing the Virgin VR-01 during pre-season testing in Jerez, in February 2010.

Virgin's car for 2010, the VR-01, is the first F1 car designed entirely using CFD computer simulation technology.[14] It was later discovered that the Virgin VR-01's fuel tank was too small, resulting in the team not being able to finish any races unless the cars are driven at a reduced pace to conserve fuel. The team was given the opportunity to redesign the chassis.[15] On 17 November 2009 it was announced by the team that former Toyota driver Timo Glock would be the team's lead driver for the 2010 season. Glock was signed for two years and has a one year extension offer as well.[16] Long-time Brazilian GP2 regular Lucas di Grassi joined him, while fellow former GP2 driver Luiz Razia fulfilled testing and reserve duties. Álvaro Parente was also signed as a test driver, but left the team prior to the launch of the VR-01.[17] Andy Soucek was signed as his replacement, but left the team in August due to a lack of testing opportunities.[18] The 2010 car was officially launched on their website on 3 February 2010,[19][20] before running the car at a private event at Silverstone the following two days.[21]

The team recorded its first double finish at the Spanish Grand Prix and had another double finish, best of the new teams at the Turkish Grand Prix. Despite recording four further double finishes, the team finished at the bottom of the Constructors' Championship standings on a tie-breaker, as their best result – 14th place finishes for di Grassi in Malaysia and Glock in Japan – placed them lower than Lotus Racing and Hispania Racing in the standings.

Sponsorship

Timo Glock's VR-01 on display in partner UST Global's Trivandrum office.

Virgin purchased eighty percent of the team, as part of sponsorship arrangement.[22] The official FIA entry list for 2010 announced on 30 November 2009 showed that Manor GP had been entered as Virgin Racing.[23] The team's partners for 2010 include tyre supplier Bridgestone, IT services company UST Global,[24][25] environmental technology company Carbon Green, shampoo brand Clear, information technology firm CSC, foreign exchange traders FxPro, clothing company Kappa, the Oxigen investment group and Russian sports car manufacturer Marussia. On 13 January 2010, reports emerged revealing that Virgin had paid an extra one and a half million pounds to Cosworth to have the CA2010 unit rebranded as a Marussia, though both Virgin Racing and Cosworth have denied the story.[26]

On 14 December 2009, Lloyds Banking Group announced that it had invested ten million pounds in the team,[27] reversing the recent trend of financial institutions such as ING and RBS withdrawing sponsorship. However, it remains unclear as to whether or not the Lloyds logo will appear on the cars.

On 7 May 2010, Virgin Racing announced that it had reached a sponsorship deal with Full Tilt Poker.[28] As with further part of their plans the team annnounced on the final race of the season that they had formed a partnership with QNet. At the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, QNet logos were displayed on the cars and on the racesuit of each driver.[29]

Partnership with Marussia

Timo Glock at the 2011 Malaysian Grand Prix.

Since the team was formed, it had been in a partnership with Russian car manufacturer Marussia. On 11 November 2010, Marussia acquired a controlling stake in the team and guaranteed the team's future until 2014.[5][6] Marussia engineering director Nikolai Fomenko has stated that the team would race with a Russian licence in 2011.[30] Director Nick Wirth announced that it was a major financial boost for the team and that it will allow it to promote Formula One in Russia.[6] The team also announced that their computational fluid dynamics (CFD) facility would be upgraded, to become the third largest such facility in the world.[31]

Having previously driven for the team during Friday practice sessions at selected events in 2010, Jérôme d'Ambrosio replaced Lucas di Grassi in the team's second seat alongside Timo Glock for the 2011 season.[32] Following a disappointing start to the season, the team ended its partnership with Wirth Research. Pat Symonds has been retained as a technical consultant, as he cannot be employed directly until his "Crashgate" ban expires ahead of the 2012 season. The team has abandoned using CFD as its sole R&D tool and signed an agreement with McLaren to use their technical facilities, simulators and wind tunnel.[33][34]

Complete Formula One results

(key) (results in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Chassis Engine Tyres Drivers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Points WCC
2010 Virgin VR-01 Cosworth CA2010 V8 B BHR AUS MAL CHN ESP MON TUR CAN EUR GBR GER HUN
BEL
ITA
SIN
JPN
KOR
BRA
ABU
0 12th
Germany Timo Glock Ret Ret Ret DNS 18 Ret 18 Ret 19 18 18 16 18 17 Ret 14 Ret 20 Ret
Brazil Lucas di Grassi Ret Ret 14 Ret 19 Ret 19 19 17 Ret Ret 18 17 20 15 DNS Ret NC 18
2011 Virgin MVR-02 Cosworth CA2011 V8 P AUS MAL CHN TUR ESP MON CAN EUR GBR GER HUN BEL ITA SIN JPN KOR IND ABU BRA 0* 12th*
Germany Timo Glock NC 16 21 DNS 19 Ret 15 21 16 17 17 18 15 Ret 20 18 Ret 19
Belgium Jérôme d'Ambrosio 14 Ret 20 20 20 15 14 22 17 18 19 17 Ret 18 21 20 16 Ret

* Season in progress.

References

  1. ^ "This week in F1". Autosport 202 (9): 13. 2 December 2010. "The team's second Formula 1 car – the VR-02 – is set to be ready for the start of pre-season testing in 2011." 
  2. ^ "Virgin". Formula1.com. Formula One Administration. http://www.formula1.com/teams_and_drivers/teams/191/. Retrieved 5 July 2011. 
  3. ^ "autosport.com". autosport.com. http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/76045. Retrieved 1 November 2009. 
  4. ^ "UpdateF1 >> Formula 1 News > FIA release 2010 entry list". Formula-1.updatesport.com. 12 June 2009. http://formula-1.updatesport.com/news/article/1244801351/formula_one/F1headlines/FIA-release-2010-entry-list/view.html. Retrieved 1 November 2009. 
  5. ^ a b Noble, Jonathan (11 November 2010). "Russian car maker takes stake in Virgin". Autosport (Haymarket Publications). http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/88125. Retrieved 11 November 2010. 
  6. ^ a b c Holt, Sarah (11 November 2010). "Russian supercar firm Marussia takes over Virgin Racing". BBC Sport (Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi: BBC). http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/9178539.stm. Retrieved 11 November 2010. 
  7. ^ "F1 Marussia Virgin Racing team to compete under Russian flag". RIA Novosti. 3 February 2011. http://en.rian.ru/sports/20110203/162439472.html. Retrieved 3 February 2011. 
  8. ^ Noble, Jonathan (1 November 2011). "Virgin applies for name change to become Marussia". Autosport (Haymarket Publications). http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/95840. Retrieved 1 November 2011. 
  9. ^ "autosport.com". autosport.com. http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/76058. Retrieved 1 November 2009. 
  10. ^ Noble, Jonathan (12 January 2009). "Booth replaces Tai as Virgin Racing boss". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/80823. Retrieved 12 January 2009. 
  11. ^ Sport "Wirth Research to Relocate Next Year". 16 July 2010. http://www.motorsport.co.uk/formula-1/wirth_research_to_relocate_next_year_rss973925.shtmlwork=Motor Sport. Retrieved 14 October 2010. 
  12. ^ Straw, Edd (1 June 2011). "Virgin parts company with Wirth". Autosport (Haymarket Publications). http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/91924. Retrieved 3 June 2011. 
  13. ^ Buxton, Will (15 December 2009). "Virgin Racing to launch Driver Academy". http://willthef1journo.wordpress.com/2009/12/15/virgin-racing-to-launch-driver-academy/. Retrieved 16 December 2009. 
  14. ^ Edd Straw, (18 June 2009). Autosport (p. 10)
  15. ^ "Virgin Racing admit their fuel tank may be too small to last the race". The Guardian (UK: Guardian Media Group). 26 March 2010. http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2010/mar/26/virgin-racing-f1-fuel-tank. Retrieved 28 March 2010. 
  16. ^ "Glock to lead new Manor F1 team". BBC Sport (BBC). 17 November 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8363770.stm. Retrieved 27 November 2009. 
  17. ^ "Virgin Racing com carro e sem Parente" (in Portuguese). desporto.autohoje.com (Motorpress Lisboa). 3 February 2010. http://desporto.autohoje.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5084&Itemid=51. Retrieved 6 February 2010. 
  18. ^ "Soucek to quit Virgin over breach of contract". en.espnf1.com (ESPN). 10 August 2010. http://en.espnf1.com/virgin/motorsport/story/25753.html. Retrieved 11 August 2010. 
  19. ^ "Virgin 'virtual' Formula 1 challenger becomes reality". BBC Sport (BBC). 3 February 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8495435.stm. Retrieved 1 October 2010. 
  20. ^ "Virgin to launch car online". Autosport (Haymarket Publications). 29 January 2010. http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/81131. Retrieved 31 January 2010. 
  21. ^ Beer, Matt (31 January 2010). "Virgin set for Silverstone shakedown". Autosport (Haymarket Publications). http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/81143. Retrieved 31 January 2010. 
  22. ^ Noble, Jonathan (3 July 2009). "Virgin set for Manor GP move". Autosport (Haymarket Publications). http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/76653. Retrieved 1 October 2010. 
  23. ^ "Twelve teams – including Virgin – on FIA’s 2010 entry list". formula1.com (Formula One Administration). 30 November 2009. http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2009/11/10251.html. Retrieved 28 February 2010. 
  24. ^ "Virgin Racing Formula One Team Selects UST Global as its IT Services Partner". EuroInvestor (Euroinvestor A/S). http://www.euroinvestor.co.uk/news/story.aspx?id=10897667&bw=20100219005676. Retrieved 16 October 2010. 
  25. ^ "UST Global to partner Virgin Racing for F1". The Times of India (India: The Times Group). 19 February 2010. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/infotech/ites/UST-Global-to-partner-Virgin-Racing-for-F1/articleshow/5593392.cms. Retrieved 28 February 2010. 
  26. ^ "Marussia to brand Virgin engines". GrandPrix.com. 13 January 2010. http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns22026.html. Retrieved 13 January 2010. 
  27. ^ Beer, Matt (14 December 2009). "Lloyds invests in Manor F1 team". Autosport (Haymarket Publications). http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/80571. Retrieved 14 December 2009. 
  28. ^ "Virgin Racing goes Full-Tilt". Virgin Racing (Virgin Group). 7 May 2010. http://www.virginracing.com/news/105/virgin-racing-goes-full-tilt. Retrieved 22 August 2010. 
  29. ^ "Virgin Racing welcomes QNet into F1". Virgin Racing (Virgin Group). 10 November 2010. http://www.virginracing.com/news/219/virgin-racing-welcomes-qnet-into-f1. Retrieved 14 November 2010. 
  30. ^ "Команда "Ф-1" Marussia будет выступать под российским флагом – Фоменко" (in Russian). http://sport.rian.ru. RIA Novosti. 3 February 2011. http://sport.rian.ru/sport/20110203/329909624.html. Retrieved 3 February 2011. 
  31. ^ Noble, Jonathan (11 November 2010). "Virgin: CFD boost will set F1 benchmark". Autosport (Haymarket Publications). http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/88129. Retrieved 11 November 2010. 
  32. ^ "The new face of Marussia Virgin Racing". Virgin Racing (Virgin Group). 21 December 2010. http://www.virginracing.com/news/241/. Retrieved 24 December 2010. 
  33. ^ Straw, Edd (1 June 2011). "Virgin parts company with Wirth". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/91924. Retrieved 1 June 2011. 
  34. ^ Noble, Jonathan (4 July 2011). "Virgin enters into technical partnership with McLaren". Autosport (Haymarket Publications). http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/92832. Retrieved 29 July 2011. 

External links


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  • Virgin Racing — Полное название Virgin Racing База …   Википедия

  • Virgin Racing — Marussia Virgin Timo Glock pilotando el Virgin MVR 02 en Mal …   Wikipedia Español

  • Virgin VR-01 — Virgin VR 01 …   Википедия

  • Virgin MVR-02 — Virgin MVR 02 …   Википедия

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  • Virgin VR-01 — Timo Glock au Grand Prix de Bahreïn 2010 Présentation Équipe Virgin Racing Constructeur …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Virgin MVR-02 — Timo Glock sur la MVR 02 au GP de Malaisie en avril 2011 Présentation Équipe Marussia Virgin Racing Constructeur …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Virgin VR-01 — Virgin en el Gran Premio de Bahréin de 2010. Categoría Fórmula 1 Construct …   Wikipedia Español

  • Virgin Group — Rechtsform Ltd. Gründung 1970 Sitz London …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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