Bautista aiming to return at Estoril

Álvaro Bautista has set his sights on making a racing return at Estoril in May, as the Spaniard continues to recover from a broken left femur which was sustained during the season-opening event in Qatar. American rider John Hopkins took the place of Bautista for the Rizla Suzuki squad at Jerez, but the 26-year-old is eager to get back on his bike for Round 3 of the championship.

"We've been looking at the X-rays they took of me this afternoon with Dr. Villamor and it appears that the bone is forming well and there's less risk of it not healing well," Bautista told the official MotoGP website.

"We've passed the first stage, and that means I should be able to start to push on little by little and start getting stronger in the leg, because I have lost a lot of strength and with less fear I can start to move the bone and regain full feeling. That'll mean I can start exercising with a little resistance and start to speed up the recuperation process to be as quick as possible."

"It's still not 100% certain, but the only thing on my mind is returning and my aim is to do that in Estoril although it'll be a decision for the medical team. They've told me that if I continue at this pace there is a good chance, but there is still a lot of hard work ahead if I want to get back to a suitable physical condition for MotoGP."

Source: http://www.gpupdate.net
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Williams plans raft of updates for Turkey

Williams will be taking a selection of new car parts to the Turkish Grand Prix next month. The ex Champion team has statistically suffered its worst start to a Formula 1 season since joining the sport in the late 1970s, although Sam Michael is confident that lap times can now be lowered for Rubens Barrichello and Pastor Maldonado.

“We had a number of new parts in China,” explained the Australian Technical Director. “The most visible one was the new exhaust system on Rubens’ car during practice.

“We saw some quite positive signs during the traction phase, but unfortunately we had some reliability issues with parts of the floor burning and subsequently causing degradation of aero performance. We’re redesigning some parts and intend to reintroduce an upgraded version of this exhaust system at the Barcelona Grand Prix.

“We are introducing a modified floor, new front wing, new rear wing and new brake ducts to both cars for Istanbul. We expect this to give us a few tenths to help our drivers get into the top ten.”

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Button happy with qualifying improvement

Prior to the start of the 2011 season, Jenson Button set himself the personal goal of improving in qualifying – having struggled in this area last year and been involved in a selection of racing incidents as an indirect consequence. So far this season, the McLaren driver has enjoyed two fourth-best qualifying positions and a front row grid spot in Shanghai last weekend.

“On a personal level, I've also been really pleased with my qualifying pace,” said the Frome man. “Before the season, I said it was one of my aims to improve that and I've been pretty satisfied with how things have worked out over the first three races.

“Apart from Mark (Webber)'s race in China, I think we’ve seen that it's difficult to make up ground if you're not right at the front because you're really at the mercy of a lot of other cars and their strategies; so getting qually right is crucial and we seem to be heading in the right direction.”

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Massa eager to fight at a higher level

The Brazilian produced an impressive display at the Chinese Grand Prix and found himself in second place for long periods. However, the decision to use a two-stop strategy backfired and he slipped down the pack in the final few laps to finish sixth - one spot ahead of team-mate Fernando Alonso.

Despite Massa's solid showing in Shanghai, Ferrari have been unable to match the pace the Red Bull and McLaren in the first three races of the season.

The 29-year-old admits the team need to improve in qualifying if they are to challenge the pacesetters.

"The result should have been a bit better than my eventual sixth place, but I was very happy with how it went and I hope I can continue to fight at a higher level for the coming races," he wrote on the official Ferrari website.

"For sure, we need to qualify better so we can start further forward on the grid which helps in the race, even with the talk of grid position being less important this year.

"In China actually my grid position, sixth, was not too bad and then I gained one place immediately after the start which moved me up to fifth. Most importantly though, if you look at the pace of the car, it was good enough to allow us to fight with the leaders."

Lewis Hamilton claimed victory in China to end Sebastian Vettel's perfect start to the season and Massa was happy to see a new face on the top step of the podium.

"In Shanghai, it was good for the sport of Formula 1 that Lewis won the race, so we don't have the same car winning every time," he said.

"However, we must not forget that Sebastian still finished second which is a very good result, which still keeps him in a good position for the championship. We have three weeks now during which everyone at Ferrari has to push hard to try and arrive at the next race, or more specifically the next qualifying, in a stronger position, so we can continue to take the fight to these guys.

"After Shanghai, we must also consider Mercedes as being part of the fight for the top places. They definitely have a quicker car than us for qualifying, but it's not yet a match for Red Bull. But it is also true that the Red Bulls suffer more than most in a performance drop off from qualifying to the race, so this could see Mercedes continuing to be very competitive now in the races."

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Grosjean not giving up on F1

Grosjean first entered F1 in 2009 when he was signed by Renault as Nelson Piquet Jr's replacement. However, the Frenchman, who was never really given the opportunity to prove himself, was dropped at the end of the year in favour of Vitaly Petrov.

But, at the start of this season, under new ownership and management, Grosjean was handed a way back into F1 when Lotus Renault signed him as one of the test drivers.

And the 25-year-old is hoping that now that he's back on the radar, he can work his way into a F1 race-seat.

"Clearly, the idea is to get to Formula 1 next year," he told GPUpdate.

"If not, it's going to be difficult, so the goal is to get there in 2012 as a race driver; if it's not the case, we'll see what's going on.

"Being the third driver, I can get some information and I can be in the paddock with the engineers. It's very good to be third driver because you're always with the team, which is great for my knowledge and knowing everybody around a little bit."

One thing, though, that would boost his chances is if he was given the opportunity to drive the car in Friday practices.

"That would be fantastic. I'll take it for sure, if it's the case at the end of the GP2 season - because we're going to finish in September, so it's quite a long time until the next test."

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Kubica: Moving in the right direction

Kubica has spent the last two-and-a-half months at the Pietra Ligure hospital in Italy following an horrific accident whilst competing in the Ronde di Andora rally on February 6.

The Pole was forced to undergo four separate surgical procedures after sustaining multiple fractures to an arm and leg, as well as a severed right hand.

After being taken off the critical list, Renault driver Kubica has since been undergoing extensive rehabilitation, and is now at last approaching a position where he can continue away from hospital.

A further programme will follow under the supervision of Dr Riccardo Ceccarelli, who runs the Italian sports clinic 'Formula Medicine' and is a consultant with Renault.

"I am starting to feel a lot better now," said Kubica.

"My recovery is moving in the right direction. My strength and weight are increasing day on day and as a result I will leave the hospital very soon.

"I don't have a precise date as yet, but I hope to be able to leave within the next 10 days."

Of primary concern has long been the condition of Kubica's right hand, the mobility of which he has admitted "is limited."

However, he added: "This is pretty normal in this kind of situation because the connected arm muscles are still very weak due to the long period of immobility.

"Things are definitely improving day by day.

"As soon as I leave hospital, I'll head to my home in Monaco for a short period of rest.

"Then I'll move to Dr Ceccarelli's facilities where I will start a deep rehabilitation program and a preliminary soft training programme.

"The two programmes will gradually cross over based on the speed of my recovery."

Despite his situation, Kubica has been following the season so far, with Renault making a strong start with podium finishes for Vitaly Petrov and replacement Nick Heidfeld in Australia and Malaysia respectively.

Asked if he had stayed in touch with the team, Kubica said: "Yes, of course.

"Especially since the season started, I've been liaising with my engineers on what's been going on over race weekends.

"They are sending me the race reports so I can remain up to date and fully informed, as if I were there at the tracks.

"(Team principal) Eric Boullier is also in constant contact, keeping up to date with my general condition.

"I've also watched the races, and there is no doubt it's been a strong start to the season.

"The potential of the car, which I already noticed in the February Valencia test, seems to be confirmed.

"As usual, it's now important the development continues to produce consistent updates for maintaining this level of performance.

"The guys did a great job with this car and I'm sure they'll continue to improve.

"From my side, I'll try to use my difficult experience to come back as strong as I possibly can."

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Getting a Buzz Out of ‘Boring’ Golf

By Chris Lehourites

London - PowerPlay is a golf game fit for a Formula One fan.

Hoping to change the face of a sport often considered to be staid and boring, organizers of the PowerPlay Golf series are looking to bring in new fans by offering a faster pace and more excitement with two pins per green and only nine holes in a round.

“Stand by for something very special,” Scottish golfer Colin Montgomerie said on Wednesday in a statement. “Golf around the world is about to discover a new dimension.”

Montgomerie will be joined by US Open champion Graeme McDowell in a 12-player field that includes former major winners Gary Player, John Daly and Ian Woosnam in a PowerPlay tournament in May at Celtic Manor in Wales.

In PowerPlay golf, players can score different point totals depending on which of the two cups they go for on each green. The game is scored using a nine-hole “variation on golf’s Stableford points scoring system,” PowerPlay Golf said on its Web site.

Each player will get a limited amount of opportunities to putt to the black flag, which would be placed in a more difficult part of the green. If a player makes a birdie into that hole, more points are awarded.

On the final hole, all players can go for the black flag, where organizers said a “birdie wins points galore, and possibly the tournament … but failure to make par spells disaster.”

Player, a nine-time major winner, described the game’s appeal by thinking back to his days at the Masters, a tournament he won three times.

“You are standing in the middle of the 18th fairway at Augusta National tied for the lead. What do you do?” Player said. “Risk versus reward — one of the toughest decisions a champion has to make.”

The event at Celtic Manor on May 30 is the inaugural tournament in a three-event series, and the list of participants is likely to draw fans of the traditional game.

The field also includes Paul Casey, Ian Poulter, Paula Creamer and Helen Alfredsson.

The game is meant to “increase golf’s appeal to a wider sporting TV audience,” PowerPlay Golf said. The winner of the first tournament at Celtic Manor will receive 100,000 pounds ($163,000).

PowerPlay Golf has likened itself to Twenty20 cricket. The traditional sport of cricket is played over five days, while a one-day version lasts about eight hours. With the introduction of Twenty20 cricket in 2003, the game was reduced to about four hours.

“Creating a three-hour risk-and-reward shootout live for TV is a great idea,” McDowell said, “and I am sure we will all be going full-on to win.”

Associated Press

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