|
Rob Smedley says the resurfaced Spielberg circuit was a factor in Williams pretty mediocre showing at the Austrian Grand Prix.?Austria had been one of Williams strongest venues over the past two seasons, with Felipe Massa taking pole position in 2014 and back-to-back podium finishes. Despite high expectations going into the weekend the team had to settle for ninth position with Valtteri Bottas, while Massa retired with a brake issue with ten laps remaining.The Red Bull Ring had been resurfaced in the weeks leading up to the race and Smedley, the teams head of performance, thinks this was a major reason the team struggled to match its previous form.It was not where we need to be, Smedley said. It was just pretty mediocre throughout, we didnt have the pace in the car itself. Valtteri wasnt able to make the tyres last, which is a little bit strange for him, but even without that, the pace in the car just wasnt there.With the asphalt changes they have made here, I think its a different circuit. We need to try and understand it, we need more expertise in that area and to improve our knowledge of tyre science.Williams race hopes had not been helped by Massa needing to start from the pit lane ahead of the race after the team found damage on the updated front wing the Brazilian had been running.We noticed that there was some structural damage to it, on the mainplane. We may have been able to do some of the race on it, but we werent prepared to take that risk.The safety of our drivers and our people is paramount so we took the decision we would change that front wing and upon doing that, we rolled back to the old spec. Even though we had a downgrade in performance, we had broken the parc ferme rules and we had to start from the pitlane.Smedley believes the damage was a fatigue issue caused by the kerbs at Turn 2. Austrias kerbs had been a controversial subject throughout the weekend after causing a number of suspension failures in practice.One positive for the team is that it continued its incredible run of lightning fast pit stops, topping the charts for the ninth race in a row with Massas 2.2s stop. Pit stops were an area the team struggled with in previous seasons.? . -- The proud fathers huddled near the Dallas Stars dressing room, smiling, laughing and telling stories while wearing replica green sweaters of their sons team. . The head of USA Boxing came out swinging Tuesday with an open letter to Tyson -- a former Olympic hopeful himself -- that accuses the former heavyweight champion of trying to poach fighters who might be candidates for the U. . The Hall of Fame defenceman told Landsberg that he believes fighting still has a place in todays game, but thinks staged fighting needs be outlawed. . Meanwhile, there were huge victories for Sunderland and West Ham over fellow relegation rivals, leaving the battle to avoid the drop up for grabs with the bottom 11 teams separated by just six points. Eden Hazard and Fernando Torres scored second-half goals to seal a fourth straight victory for Chelsea, which climbed above Arsenal and Manchester City in the standings ahead of their games on Monday and Sunday respectively. . - The Washington Redskins have cut defensive lineman Adam Carriker and punter Sav Rocca. LOGAN, Utah -- Teriyon Gipson ran for two touchdowns, and Jason Sanders kicked a 40-yard field goal with 1:06 remaining to give New Mexico a 24-21 victory over Utah State on Saturday night.Utah State (3-7, 1-6 Mountain West) led 21-6 early in the third quarter. Gipson scored twice from inside the 5 in the third quarter to tie it 21-all.The Aggies had first-and-goal at the New Mexico (7-3, 5-1 Mountain West) 9 with 8:46 left. Gerold Bright ran 7 yards on first down. Tonny Lindsey, whoo had two touchdown runs, ran three more times and didnt score.ddddddddddddn the ensuing series, the Lobos drove 76 yards in 11 plays to set up Sanders game-winning kick. Sanders also kicked 36- and 37-yard field goals in the second quarter.Kent Myers was 21 of 27 for 263 yards passing, and threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to RonQuavion Tarver for the Aggies. ' ' '
|
