SHANGHAI SURPRISE-
OLSON MOVES UP TEN POSITIONS IN
TEN LAPS DURING RACE ONE, BRINGS HOME TROPHY; HAS RACE TWO TROPHY SEIZED BY FIA
OFFICIALS FOR RULE INFRACTION
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Shanghai International F1 Circuit,
Shanghai
American racer Peter [“Pete”] Olson
has finally discovered just how sweet it is to stand on the podium in
professional automobile racing.
Despite serious setbacks over the race
weekend [article] that included getting hit by another competitor during his
qualifying run on Saturday as well as serious problems with car set-up, Olson
flew back to Taipei, Taiwan today carrying a large gold trophy through the international
airports of the exotic far east cities of Shanghai and Hong Kong, unable to
walk through Shanghai’s airport without stopping every thirty meters to talk to
excited racing fans who had seen Sunday’s race coverage along with more than
one hundred million Chinese viewers on CCTV5, the Chinese national sports
channel. Automobile racing is no less
than an obsession in mainland
Olson received the trophy as runner-up
in race one in the China Formula Renault Race Series, as well as a winner’s trophy, in front of television
cameras, reporters, and more than forty two thousand Chinese spectators that came to see
the opening race day at Shanghai’s new Formula One track [photos].
Olson spent Sunday morning preparing
for the afternoon’s races and taking some pictures at the request of Chinese
racing fans, some of whom seem to have taken a liking to the American racer who
can be seen in aggressive 260kph F1-style swerving matches with other drivers
on the front straight during Formula Renault races.
“I feel no emotion in a race car
anymore, just nothing. You just get used
to the speed” said Olson. “The car is an
extension of me, it is so responsive and controllable, when it is set up
properly. So maybe I will see someone
who it trying for a run on me, and I just want to show him, it will not be easy
for him to try to get by” said Olson. “I
think the crowd loves the danger, that is why they are here, to see some crazy
things happen. So maybe they like to see
some real risks. But I don’t do it for them, I do it for my own pleasure, to
have a little fun.”
Quite a statement from Olson.
Sunday’s races were an incredible
display of driving skills as changing weather conditions demanded the use of
rain tires for the first event, conducted in the drizzling rain of
In Olson’s fourth day ever driving a
race car under rain conditions, and without enough time to change the car to a
rain set up, in true Kimmi Raikonnen
style Olson started the race’s standing start in the back of the pack but
blasted down the middle of the grid past seven other race cars when the start signal was given.
He spent the remainder of the short
ten lap race passing other competitors to finish ten positions ahead.
“I think I could have done better but
I was still having problems with car set-up in the morning’s warm-up session,
and the car I was driving did not have a data acquisition computer installed
yet, which was a serious disadvantage. But
the rain was a gift for me, We were sitting on the grid for the photo sessions,
but I stayed in my car so I could focus on my plan of attack. I saw the skies open, and in that moment, I
looked up through my visor and thanked God for the gift of rain.”
“I really enjoy racing in the rain and
it is a great equalizer” said Olson. “I
mean, if your settings are off, it is not as bad in the wet as in the dry
because you are not pulling as many G’s in the turns, even though you can blast
down the straight with good throttle modulation.”
Olson started the second race in dry
conditions with high hopes and raced well, only to be admonished after the race
in his first serious dispute with the FIA [Federation Internationale
de l’Automobile], the international regulatory
authority for Formula One.
The second race was cut short after
several crashes made the track too dangerous to drive as a result of cars
blocking certain sections of the track and a large amount of debris scattered
in certain corners.
But when the yellow caution flags were
thrown, Olson kept his foot to the floor and passed several cars before backing
off when the safety car came onto the track [Editor’s note: there is no passing
allowed under the yellow caution flag].
After the race, Olson took the podium to receive his second trophy but
just a half hour later an official came to bring Olson to a meeting with the
race stewards. They admonished him for his overly-aggressive
behavior and took away his winning trophy as the result of a thirty second
penalty.
“The seriousness of the penalty is
unfair to me” said Olson. “After I
passed those drivers, I realized my mistake and tried to wave them by. I went down to first gear and almost stopped
on the track to wave them by and get back into my position. But no one would go by. I made a proper effort to correct my mistake,
but I still had my trophy taken away by the FIA. To give me thirty second penalty, is too
much. I have had one trophy in my
career, one good result, and that was taken from me by the FIA” said Olson.
“Of course, I have had some
experiences like this in my life, when people try to take something from me, to
make an example of me. This is a new
circuit, and here they are showing everyone this penalty, because of me, to
make an example from it. But I will tell
you something – when I was hit and spun out in the middle of the track the
other day, there was a red flag, and people kept driving, I could not get out
of my cockpit for fear of being hit by a passing car. I was watching cars drive around me at
100kph, facing the wrong way, and no one stopped them, even on the red flag,
the danger flag, when everyone is required to pit immediately. So what is this decision about my race? I do not agree, but of course I cannot do
anything about it, I am made to be an example by the FIA.”
However, despite the controversy,
Olson still retains his trophy from the first race. “I dedicate this trophy to my brother Matt’”
said Olson. “He may not be on this world
anymore, but in the hard times I have no doubt that he is always there for
me. That gives me great strength no
matter where I may be, no matter how difficult the challenges.” said Olson.
We wish him the best of luck in the
next races of the series, which will again be held at the Shanghai F1 circuit
in front more than thirty thousand Chinese racing fans and a hundred million
viewers, just a few weeks from now.
Charles Schepens
Schepens Promotions