The better you prepare, the better you race - Nielsen
The ING Renault F1 Team previews round fifteen of the 2007 Formula 1 World Championship, the Japanese Grand Prix. Steve Nielsen Talks about the test session at Jerez and about the challenge that a new circuit, like Fuji, requires.
"Well, it was the start of a very busy few days at the factory! The mechanics were off on Monday and Tuesday, and then back at work building the cars to Fuji specification. Our truckies began packing freight boxes on Tuesday, and the entire shipment of air freight for the last three races departed the factory late on Thursday. In total, Enstone and Viry sent just under 40 tonnes of air freight, and eight tonnes of equipment had already been sent to Japan by sea freight. Then, the team began travelling out to Japan on Saturday and Sunday in order to begin setting up."
How much preparation is required for a new event, from the logistical point of view?"There is a fair amount of work that has to be done. Our Roadshow team did an event at Fuji late last year, which meant they were able to photograph all of the offices, the garage space and generally give us a good idea of what to expect. That allows us to plan our garage installations, how we will set-up our offices etc… And since then, our race team coordinator Geoff Simmonds travelled to Japan about a month ago to catch up with the circuit personnel and tick off any last details, down to elements such as finding the nearest supermarkets for the hospitality personnel."
So while you are visiting a new circuit, it won't be a step into the unknown?"Far from it. We know what facilities will be at our disposal, and how our equipment will be fitted into those spaces. So the groundwork has been done, which should mean that there are not too many surprises when we arrive on site. The better your preparation, the smoother your race weekend will be."
