Virgin Racing team is preparing for their first full year competing on the Formula One circuit and they can expect it to be a fun, exciting, yet tough year. The first year is normally a tough adventure for new teams and we don’t expect things to be different for Virgin Racing. Virgin Racing will have three other new teams on the grid, which should lessen the stress, somewhat, but the idea is still to win, even in your first year. Add to this the fact that Virgin Racing is owned by a gentlemen who is use to success and the pressure will be on to perform for the team, even though it’s their first year.
Lord Branson is a man who expects success
Virgin Racing has kept the wraps on its car, the Cosworth-powered VR-01, which a beast of a different sort, than the other cars on the track. This is because the Virgin Racing offering was designed entirely in the digital realm using CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics). Expectations were that Virgin Racing would be letting the world have a first look at the VR-01 on their website and they’re as good as their word. You can take a look at the new Virgin Racing race car at their website. The car is all black and white, but has a sleek look that makes me think of the space-age and the possibilities that pop into my head when I think of the future of Formula One.
The VR-01 is scheduled to be rolled out onto the track at Silverstone on Thursday to begin a two-day testing of the race car. This is going to be an interesting affair, that I will definitely be paying attention to, so we’ll get back to you on the results of the first test of Virgin Racing’s VR-01. The first test will certainly have its problems, Formula One race cars are finely tuned space-age machines that have to be perfectly balanced and set up in order to perform at their best and it will take awhile for the engineers to get the car up to speed. Still, I expect the Virgin Racing offering to be highly competitive, even in its first year, despite any problems that crop up at the first testing of this Cosworth-powered beast.
It was a tight schedule that the Virgin Racing team went through from an idea that has merit to the first test of the VR-01. The team and director, Nick Wirth, from done an excellent job getting the team and car built in time, now we’ll just have to see how the car looks. Nick has an extensive Formula One resume and has worked with some of the finest engineers and team members in the business, so this should be old hat for Nick. Still, getting a job like this one done in time and budget, requires expertise and skill most of us just wouldn’t have, so I tip my hat to the gentlemen.
“Image: Zuma Press”