Strong start for M-Sport

Worried faces were aplenty a few weeks ago in the M-sport camp when the various new team cars rolled out the garages in Brazil for the pre season showcase and the Turbo trend became apparent.

  Having opted for an entirely different technical development route from most of the grid (Rusyn the exception), the MP009-B car struggled for pace in the pre-season test down the long Jacarepagua straight compared to the turbo cars and fears had set in as to whether the right development had been chosen.

 Two events in however and the worry has eased with the team sitting strong in the drivers and manufacturers tables. Test Driver and race regular Alex Dorsett AKA Bruce admits “The attraction of a big turbo was there for sure so yes we were worried sticking with a standard engine was a risk. Having tested a turbo side by side with the standard engine we found the disadvantages negated the advantages. The drivers found the standard engine also a lot easier to drive and that’s what made the choice for us.” 

 Asked how the rest of the season will develop, team owner Matt Lewis said “We are very encouraged by the results seen so far but we know tracks are coming that will suit the turbo teams more than us so we must capitalize where we have the upper hand. At the same time the ever present threat of Rusyn remains with a lot of development budget remaining and I have no doubt that AJ and his boys will be back up front soon. It will be interesting to see how they deploy their remaining budget and again we must capitalize on our advantage whilst we have it.”