Virgin Racing unveils 2011 F1 car

Marussia Virgin Racing has just become the latest F1 team to reveal their 2011 Formula One car. We’ve only got Force India and HRT left to go.

Virgin will not only have a new car on the grid in 2011, again designed by fancy CFD computers, they will also have a virgin F1 driver in 25-year-old Belgian, Jerome D’Ambrosio.

He’s busting for a drive of his new car, too, “I couldn’t be more excited. I have finally seen the first Formula One car I will race in and it’s fantastic. This is a really special day and I can’’t wait to drive the new car for the first time later this week.”

Timo Glock returns for service with the team in 2011 and he’s also raring to go, “Everyone is really looking forward to our second season in Formula One. Having waited so long to see the MVR-02 come to life, I can’t wait to get behind the wheel of the new car at the test in Jerez. I’m really looking forward to putting the first kilometres on the car and getting down to business preparing for what should be a very positive season for us.”

BORN YESTERDAY

The MVR-02 was fired up for the first time yesterday. Today the car was revealed to the media, partners and fans.

Today we unveiled our 2011 season challenger – the MVR-02 – at the BBC’s Television Centre in London. We also took the opportunity to outline the team’s vision for 2011 and beyond following last week’s management restructure.

As with the VR-01, the aerodynamics of the MVR-02 have been designed entirely using CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) now using the most powerful supercomputer allowed by current agreements.

As already announced, the driver line-up for the 20 Grands Prix on the 2011 Formula One World Championship calend consists of Germany’s Timo Glock and Belgium’s Jérôme d’Ambrosio, who makes his Formula One debut with the team this season.

The car is the first to bear the MVR chassis designation, following Russian performance car manufacturer Marussia’s acquisition of a significant stake in the team at the end of last season.

Marussia Virgin Racing bucked the trend of a trackside roll-out and instead opted to reveal the MVR-02 during a recorded television production – ‘An Audience with Marussia Virgin Racing’ – which took place in front of a packed audience of Media and Team Partners at the famous television studios. True to the team’s commitment to its burgeoning fan base, Marussia Virgin Racing also welcomed a large contingent of its social media followers to the event and they were at the heart of the action as the wraps came off the new car in Studio 1.

The television production will be broadcast later today via the team’s website www.marussiavirginracing.com, with programming schedules available via the team’s Twitter feed @marussiavirgin.

LIGHTS. CAMERA. ACTION!

Timo and Jerome can’t wait to get started in the MVR-02

Monday 7 February 2011, 12.00 GMT

Hot on the heels of today’s launch of the MVR-02 – Marussia Virgin Racing’s challenger for the forthcoming Formula One season – the team’s 2011 driver line-up of Timo Glock and Jerome D’Ambrosio revealed their excitement about the new season and the progress made by the team over the winter months.

After taking part in the team’s innovative television production-style launch event at the BBC’s Television Centre, the drivers follow the car straight to Jerez in Spain for its debut test providing the first real barometer of its performance potential.

Timo will be the first to get behind the wheel of the new car during the first two days of the four day programme, while Jerome will get his first run in the new MVR-02 for the final two days of testing in the south of Spain.

Timo Glock
“Today is a very special day for everybody in the team. It’s a moment we’ve all been working very hard for, and to be able to be here at the second car launch for the team is something very special. Everyone is really looking forward to our second season in Formula One. Having waited so long to see the MVR-02 come to life, I can’t wait to get behind the wheel of the new car at the test in Jerez. Getting to grips with the new Pirelli tyres will continue to be an interesting challenge, following on from our first two tests with the PZeros in Abu Dhabi last year and in Valencia last week. I’m really looking forward to putting the first kilometres on the car and getting down to business preparing for what should be a very positive season for us.”

Jerome D’Ambrosio
“I couldn’t be more excited. I have finally seen the first Formula One car I will race in and it’s fantastic. This is a really special day and I can’t wait to drive the new car for the first time later this week. The team has really done a great job, and now we have to keep pushing hard and begin to understand how the new car works. Personally, I have done a great deal of work to get myself into the best physical and mental shape and I’m ready to start racing. I really can’t wait to drive the MVR-02.”