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Xavier De Carvalho (South Africa) MadCape Racing Team

 

 

The MadCape crew as the one that hadn't received much attention this season but Pashalis Gergis was there right after the Hockenheim race in Germany to have a brief talk with Xavier De Carvalho and Aleksi Kivela, the main driver of the South African team!

 

 

Such a strange season for your team Xavier, last year you had a stable duo with Paolini and Sentell but this year it looks you’ve struggled to find a permanent duo? What went wrong this year?

- Last season was by no means trouble free for us, even though we were able to maintain our driver line-up until the end of the season. Matt and Dino were both very committed but were very frustrated at the same time. It was a weird sort of situation to manage. Our problems this year mainly boil down to us only deciding to take another crack at FSR in the week leading up to the race. We were reluctant to enter this season since we weren't very confident in the administration. Of course finding drivers in the week leading up to the start of the season was very difficult, and most of our top prospects weren't interested in FSR at all. On top of this we lacked preparation for the season, and that has carried with us all the way to this weekend still. We will always be a few steps behind everyone else for the rest of the season. The only positive for us so far this season is our sole win, albeit by a loan driver.

After round 2 if I remember right you signed Aleksi Kivela, your permanent driver until now, let us know about him, how did you recruit him and how has the season been until now for him?

- Aleksi has always been fast, I've seen him race in many series and he's always been near the top. He was particularly quick in the Formula Renault cars. I was keen to see what Aleksi could do in a top tier series, and he was more than happy to race as well. After his success in the VWSR I think the transition into FSR was a natural one. Whether the WC was the right tier still remains to be seen. Aleksi has a lot of untapped potential, he's just not got the right tools at the moment to show it. Something I really admire about Aleksi is his commitment and his willingness to learn, he's always keen to better himself.

 

What is the target for this year and what would you like changed for next year? Is it in your plans to have a stronger and permanent duo next year? Your team is not only competing in Formula Simracing but in other platforms, could that be a factor for you to sign new drivers?

- To be fair, there is no target for us this year. At any rate our target would be damage limitation. We were reluctant to get onto the grid, and in hindsight we probably should have let another team take our place for this season. Our focus has shifted into iRacing where we've enjoyed some success. We've also been enjoying success at other communities recently, so naturally our focus will remain there for the time being. Our main focus will probably stay in iRacing for a long time coming, but that doesn't mean we won't compete in FSR again. I don't know if we'll be on the grid for next season, it's all going to depend on how well prepared we are. We'll just have to wait and see.

Last but not least, we’d like a comment from you about the current season, which team has impressed you since your first season in FSR last year? Are you rooting for any specific driver?

- The current season for us could be going a lot better. We managed to get a hollow victory through a loan driver, this is obviously not the way that any team owner wants to get his results but it's still a small positive we can take away from this season. No teams in particular have stood out for me. It's interesting to see how Netrex has seemingly gone into the ether after last season, it's also no surprise that Twister is dominating, their line-up right now is 2nd to none. In terms of drivers, I'd like to see Kiss finish this season strong, he's been impressive in the top tier this season. Someone who showed great promise but hasn't necissarily lived up to the hype has been Kuba. I think if he were in a top team he would have been finishing in the top 3 more consistently. For next season I would like to see Jeroen Kweekel make the step up to WC full time. He's shown that he's capable of beating many on the current grid, so it shouldn't be difficult for him to make an impact on the WC grid next season.

 

 

 

Aleksi Kivela (Finland) - MadCape Racing Team

 

Not much in the spotlight and our first interview Aleksi, welcome! How has the season been for you, your Rookie year in Formula Simracing and in World Championship, the hardest of the 3 divisions.

- On the track the season has been a disappointment for sure. I didn't expect to be this far off the pace at this point.

What’s your background behind coming here, many people don’t know about you but I’ve heard you have been doing Endurance racing for a long time now, let us know throughout your experience in simracing.

- I've done pretty much all of my online racing at RaceDepartment. I started with RBR in 2012 and then moved to rFactor 2. Raced in VWEC, VSC2, Clios, FR3.5 and club races at RD. Last month I drove in the 24h LeMans at VEC as well.

What are the current expectations for you as a driver and as a team, is this a season you want to use a step for the next season in order to climb up the field a bit? Are you satisfied with yourself until now?

- At the moment expectations for the rest of the season are not very high. My performance so far has not been great and I feel like I can't get the most out of the car. Over the last couple of races I haven't been able to improve my pace at all but having only one driver in the team is not ideal for making progress. Hopefully we get another driver at some point and maybe then we can start turning this around.

 

 

A few days before the Monza race, a classic duo of drivers were interviewed, Jim Parisis and Muhammed Patel had some things to say regarding the 2nd half of the season that will be kicking off in the temple of speed in Italy! Surely both of them are gonna have to fight each other on track in order to get podiums or potential wins, despite being teammates!

 

Jim Parisis (Greece) - Twister Racing Team

 

After a great start of the season, since the 5th Round in Canada you haven't shown your full potential in the races, some Q2 canceled laps, a post-race checks and other incidents. However you always managed to climb up the standings but not always in front of your teammates that you are fighting for World Championship. What has gone wrong there?

Yes you got it correct there. The way I see it is that I learn from each race. When in two races I started from 10th on the grid, I have made many overtakes and that I believe will help me in the remaining races. I will try my best to keep it all together in Qualifying and Race and we'll see what happens.

Petar Brljak not only has a well 49 poinst lead, you now have your other teammate Muhammed Patel in front of you by 3 points. How hard is for you to come back and are you guys free to fight for your position if you go head-to-head? I can imagine it must be hard for a team boss to allow his drivers to battle, risking their track position.

Well everything works great in Twister and we are 100% free to fight. Sometimes numbers are not telling the full story so I am not worried at all for my position in the standings.

Are you excited about Monza? Last year you had a Back of Grid and you couldn't show your capabilities there!

Well I can't say I enjoy driving there, it's boring.

Any favorite tracks for the 2nd half of the season, this year apart from Austria, the calendar includes the famous Belgian track, Spa Francorchamps and Marina Bay at Singapore!

If you take out Singapore, I don't have a problem with any other track.

 

Muhammed Patel (England) - Twister2Fast4You

Last time around in Silverstone you climbed up to 2nd place, being the only driver in the Championship standings behind your teammate Petar Brljak, 3 points in front of your other teammate, Jim Parisis! How do you feel about that?

It’s satisfying, but not perfect. It would have been nice to be closer to Petar at this stage of the championship, but bad luck combined with Petar’s super consistent form sees me quite adrift in second. I’m more pleased about the two wins that I have, and in helping the team extend the lead in the constructors championship. Hopefully we can achieve a couple more 1-2s for the rest of the season.

Monza, the temple of speed for many drivers, are one of the most anticipated tracks on the calendar. Would you say that for you, do you have good memories in the Italian track, the home race of your team!

Mixed feelings about Monza. It’s a unique circuit, but it isn’t the most enjoyable to drive, a lot of the preparation is just to develop a better setup for the weekend, which is proving to be tricky. As far as results go, I had a tricky race last year in ACE, and I remember a few years ago having a brake failure near the end, nearly wiping out some drivers!

 

The question that many would like to see answered is what would be your approach if you are in the midst of a teammates-clash on track, would you rather help your teammate secure his title or fight him in order to chase any hopes you may have to top him in the standings?

I think we know how to behave on track, so hopefully there won’t be any collisions on the circuit. I’ll go into every race with the mindset of achieving the best result possible, but of course without doing anything silly to hurt either of our results in search of both championships.

Finally, who do you think from the current grid can upset your team's dominance? Ghostspeed has shown signs of being able to match you in a few cases! Do you think you got what it takes and you prepared well during the break for it?

The plan is to continue from where we left off. However Monza is quite a unique circuit in terms of car and setup configuration, therefore we could see some surprise performances, or see Ghostspeed be very quick like in Austria. Kuba was close to us again in Silverstone before his disconnection. Also, with the inclusion of dynamic weather, we could see rain races shake up the field.

 

After talking with the leading team of the World Championship, it was time to see what the most improved team on the field had to talk about during the summer break, where the Ghostspeed drivers prepare for a thrilling 2nd half of the season!

 

Jonny Simon (Australia) - Ghostspeed Racing Team

 

How did you spend your time during the break Jonny? Did you spend time on track or you preferred to rest a bit?I missed the last race due to university exams and other personal commitments. I initially needed a break to concentrate on more important things in life than sim racing, however now I’m back into it and ready to finish this season on a high!

Looking the standings, many have been saying that you are much better than it shows, it looks like you have been really unlucky in many races that costed you point results or even wins. What do you think about that?It’s definitely more of my own fault than bad luck as there have been a few unlucky races. On the other hand there have been races where I have just made terrible decisions whether it’s lapping backmarkers or setup options. It’s unlike me for sure and I’ve deciphered the incendiary, which is my mindset. I was more focused last year but for the first half of the season I had a lot of things that were really affecting my concentration. The good news is I’m as focused as ever now so hopefully I can return and score more than a single point haha.

In the last races, you and your teammate Jernej Simoncic look like the only valid stopping power for Twister Racing, do you think you can challenge them in the upcoming tracks?

We can certainly challenge them no question about it, they are a respectful, tough, hardworking team of drivers but so are we at GhostSpeed. Everybody at GhostSpeed has contributed to the success we’ve earned and failure we’ve endured, chemistry is great and just continues to get better and better while everybody continues to have fun and enjoy sim racing and the success that comes with it.

Nevertheless we’ve proved we have the pace over the past races, we just need to maintain our teamwork and hard work in order to sustain ourselves for the remaining races in 2015.

Last but not least, in our previous interviews I asked you about Sakhir and how challenging that track is. I can't resist not to ask your point of view again as a driver and as a commentator about Monza and what kind of approach should drivers take in that special track?

A driver will always approach different tracks with the same personal style and mentality. The question is rather, will their methodology work this round, or next round? And so on.

The first two chicanes are all about late braking and traction. Balance under braking is important initially coming into the chicanes, however on exit the issue focuses more on improving weight distribution. This is in order to load the rear for optimum traction, overloading however will mean unnecessary wheelspin.

The Lesmo’s and Ascari are point blank precision corners. Get one part wrong whether it is the entry, apex or exit and it will be severely detrimental to laptime.

Finally the Parabolica is a fun corner, you’re able to sweep the car in while trail braking and slingshot your way down onto the main straight.

 

Jeroen Kweekel (Netherlands) - Ghostspeed Racing Team

 

2nd apperance in World Championship last time around in Silverstone, and there you got a clean pole! How was that feeling for you after driving in Australia and getting P2, even though you matched Parisis' time?

- It was pretty nice. I didn't entirely expect it, I was confident as Silverstone is my favorite track on the calendar. Nonetheless I was quite lucky with my lap, up to sector two, it was close to perfect. I had some oversteer on the exit of Club. I thought it would cost me the pole. Luckily it didn't, but it was closer than I would've liked.

During the race in Silverstone it seemed like your car was lacking a lot of racing pace comparing to the Twisters, is that true? Still though, managed to finish in a very decent P4!

- It is very true. This was something I expected. I did a bit more than 15 minutes practice on the WC fuel level, and I didn't tweak my first gear for WC after PRO. But I won't blame my lack of pace entirely on that. We need to be realistic and admit that Twister is the best over the course of a race at the moment.

Being a Pro driver, how hard has it been for you to have to suit up for 2 races in a row twice this year? Is there any preparation or adjustments you need to do before the first race of the two?

- It's not that much of an issue other than my ass hurting after the PRO race already. At the moment, I still completely focus on PRO. As I've said before, I didn't really have a lot of preparation for WC, and I doubt that will change, unless I'm actually finished in PRO, and drive in WC only.

Are we going to see you as a permanent World Championship driver next year? Many have been saying that you could wait 1 more year and move to ACE while others would like to see you competing with the best in the top category!

- I think the answer is yes. My plan before I joined FSR was to have one year in PRO to gather experience in order to achieve great results in my 2nd PRO year and become the champion. This is all working out fine so far. If I finish that goal, my plan was to jump straight into WC. Things don't always go to plan, but I do think I'm ready for WC next year. Silverstone was a good test. I may drive a few times in WC even this year, to be really sure about my decision for next year. But focus is still fully on the PRO title.

 

We hoped you enjoyed the article as much as any of this season! There is plenty of action coming for the 2nd half of the season so make sure you get to witness all the action! See you at Monza!