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Villeneuve thrilled by new qualifying
rules
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2003.01.29
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Lucky Strike B*A*R
Honda ace prepares for exciting one lap 'Banzai' attacks on Saturday
afternoons
"It's like
downhill skiing," says the Canadian speedster.
The introduction of an exciting new
one-shot qualifying format is all set to revolutionise Saturday
afternoons. In the past, a driver had a total of 12 laps to set his
best grid time. However, in an effort to spice up Sunday's starting
grids, the 2003 regulations now only permit each driver one dramatic
'all or nothing' flying lap.
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Jacques
takes the new B*A*R 005 through its paces at Barcelona.
Photo: BAT/LAT Photo.
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For sure there will be
tears in some camps when their man spins and is forced to start the
next day's Grand Prix from the pitlane, but topsy-turvy grids will
produce some much needed unpredictability and far more fun for the
fans. It's going to make fantastic TV, too.
Jacques Villeneuve, for
one, is thrilled by the new 'now or never' rules. "One-lap
qualifying is going to be fantastic," he enthuses. "It's
really exciting. It is quite a daunting prospect because you have to
do a very fast lap, but you are not allowed to make a mistake
because you only have one go at it. It really is balls out, too!
"The way qualifying
worked before was you did some low-fuel running, but you still had a
few runs to get used to it and get the set-up right. Now you'll just
do your massage, get in the car and go for it. Bang! Banzai! It will
be like downhill skiing - just one run! No practice and you will go
straight into your one run. It's going to be great and a lot of fun.
Before you could do the first run without taking too many risks,
just to make sure that you got one in. Now you have to go for it and
cross your fingers."
While obviously keen to
start each race from as close to the front as possible, Jacques is a
true racer and therefore unlikely to get too disheartened should
things occasionally go wrong for him during his single-lap Saturday
shoot-out. "It doesn't really matter where I qualify on the
grid, I always race as hard as I can. It's just that when you're
back in 12th position nobody sees you," he remarks with true
grit.
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