Kovy Tops Valencia Tests

McLaren had a not so very good season last year.  Although they had two drivers in the top three at the end of the season, they were disqualified from the constructors’ championship and rookie sensation Lewis Hamilton failed to become the only rookie t win the championship. And then, two-time world champion Fernando Alonso left the team after only a year after he had a hard time dealing with Hamilton.

With Alonso going back to Renault, he wanted a teammate that will not be a threat to him so Kovailanen was let go by Renault and McLaren took the Finn. And now, the Finn is showing what he is all about by posting the fastest lap time during the tests in Valencia.

“It feels fantastic,” said Kovy.  “I’m really, really happy here, enjoying working with these guys. They are motivated, pushing hard. This is what I like.”

Kovailanen said that he knows that he is in Lewis Hamilton’s territory.  “I need to take it over and make it mine, don’t I. Lewis has been here 10 years already. He has a strong bond with the team. I just need to make my relationship work, to take my place. I feel already part of the family,” said the Finn.

“I don’t know what went wrong last year. I think I can bring things to this team. And I can learn a lot. I can’t see myself getting into trouble politically. It’s not my business. I’m not interested too much in that side of things. I drive the car as fast as I can and try to beat everybody. If I can’t do that I’ll work with my engineers to be stronger. I like to keep things simple.”

Renault R28 Shakedown At Valencia

The ING Renault F1 Team just rocked the racetracks at Jerez as they finished and came out successful in their test last week in preparation for the upcoming 2008 F1 World Championship season. Today, the team shifted to Valencia to test the R28 this week. At the end of the month, the team will officially launch the R28 racecar to the public.

According to MotorSport.com, in Renault’s F1 history, Fernando Alonso is the first ever driver to try the new car. Alonso used up the hours during the opening day focusing on inspecting the common functions of the car and checking all the systems if they were functioning properly.

“When you have your first day with a new car, you always have to take your time to check that all the systems are functioning correctly, and that is what we did today. We were able to lengthen our runs little by little and ended the day with a 17-lap stint. Everything went well, but it is still too early to try and compare our performance with that of other teams, and that was not the objective today. The good news is that we encountered few problems, and we will be able to continue our work tomorrow,” says Fernando Alonso.

“It was a good first day of work, which is always important with a new car. The whole team is very enthusiastic about working with the R28 and it is clear that everyone has given their all to get this new car on track. We were able to follow our programme without any difficulties and there were no big surprises with the new car. It is a solid basis on which we can build in the days to come,” Christian Silk, Renault F1 Test Chief Engineer, mentioned.

“Today has been very successful. We completed just under 40 laps and the car ran pretty much trouble-free – that is about as good a first day as you can expect with a new car. We would have completed our first run pretty much on time if it had not been for the weather, and I think that’s a real tribute to the whole factory and all the hard work that has been put in to get this car here today. Overall, a really positive first day’s work,” says Bob Bell, ING Renault Technical Director, Chassis.

Is It Time For Dennis To Quit F1?

One of the hottest F1 honchos in 2007 is Ron Dennis. And this year, Mercedes-Benz reportedly is ‘on the verge’ of buying a majority shareholding in McLaren – a move that is bound to precipitate Ron Dennis’ withdrawal into retirement.

It can be recalled that 2007 was injurious to the reputation of Dennis and the McLaren team. Those are the reasons why watchers predict the honcho will withdraw from F1. The rumors intensified when the team unveiled the MP4-23 on Monday at Mercedes’ headquarters in Stuttgart.

Earlier, The Times reported that the honcho ‘looked uneasy and confined himself to a short introduction’ and it was noticeable that Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren’s chief executive, who took center stage.

The Guardian, meanwhile, noted that “It was the first time in their 13-year partnership that McLaren had unveiled their new formula one car on Mercedes’ home turf and, although the unexpected presence of Bernie Ecclestone, the formula one commercial rights holder, may have signaled formal absolution for the British team after their involvement in the last season’s espionage scandal, the fact that Dennis took very much a back seat at the formal press conference fuelled speculation that the 60-year-old McLaren chairman might be considering a dignified retreat into semi-retirement.”

Asked if he will be taking a back seat, Dennis told Planet-F1: “We are formulating the future in lots of ways. But there is absolutely no decision on anything that relates to people’s positions within the company. We’re very focused on the future; we know what we are doing and where we are going. It’s as simple as that. There’s no real change in any way shape or form.”

“It’s not a question of even spending time thinking about the past. I’ve spent too much time in that period, so I’m just very focused on the future. Our company has a fantastic history, a great partnership with Mercedes Benz, and we are forward-thinking. We wanted to put ourselves in a position of looking forward and concentrating on doing what we do best, which is win races,” he added.

“I’m a racer at heart,” he concluded. “My enthusiasm is as strong as you would expect it to be having done this for the best part of 40 years.”

Mercedes currently owns a 40% stake in the team with Dennis in possession of a 15% shareholding with which the car manufacturers would become majority shareholders, reported Planet-F1.

Ford’s Sync Attracts Buyers

The Ford Sync was developed by Microsoft and Ford for consumers like you and me. The automaker needs customers and it is a good thing that they have the Sync as it is reportedly dragging customers into dealerships.

Ken Venema, a sales consultant at Pfeiffer Lincoln Mercury in Grand Rapids Michigan had this to say according to The Auto Channel:  “I must have a half-dozen sales because of SYNC. I strongly believe that.  I’m sold on it. And I’m sure glad Ford’s got it.”

Kim Winkler, new car sales manager also of Pfeiffer Lincoln Mercury added:  “I am using (SYNC) as a showroom builder. I am pumped on it because it’s something that we can offer the market that doesn’t focus on price, and it’s something we have that our competitors don’t.”

According to the report:  “SYNC, Ford’s industry-exclusive technology that provides customers in-vehicle voice command compatibility with portable digital media players and most Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones, is helping drive vehicles sales across the country.  SYNC-equipped Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles were moving more than twice as fast off dealer lots in November than those same vehicles without SYNC. And customer satisfaction is high.”

The in-car feature has also received a couple of awards last year.  There is no doubt that the feature will have more consumers lining up on Ford dealerships in the near future.

“It’s early in Sync’s launch — we’ll know more about its impact in a few months — but so far all indicators are extraordinarily positive,” said John Emmert, Sync marketing manager.

Everton McLeod, a sales consultant with Manhattan Ford said:  “It wasn’t like they just told us about it. Everybody had to do something — pair a phone, dial a number — so the instructor could see that we actually grasped what he taught us.”