Patrick De Wit secured Faster Than Speed's second Pole Position of the World Championship season at the Hungaroring, adding to the one achieved in Monte Carlo in June. It was FTS' third Pole in its WC history. The race was unfortunately not as successful, with a race incident plus an unscheduled stop leaving Patrick out of contention for the top spots, although he still salvaged the last point.

In the World Championship, Patrick De Wit set the 10th quickest time in the Q1 session, just sloting himself into the Q2 session. In Q2, however, Patrick surprised everyone by setting the fastest time, beating Kerkhof by one and a half tenths to claim his second Pole Position of the season. It was an almost perfect lap from Patrick, who made great use of his soft tyres, chosen for an aggressive race strategy.

Patrick made a good start to lead the field through Turn 1, and although a small slide in Turn 3 temporarily allowed Huis through, Patrick quickly recovered the lead on the following corner. After leading the first five laps, Huis found his way through. Struggling for rear grip, Patrick lost a few positions before entering the pits for the first of three planned stops at the end of lap 15. His engine stalled after the stop, costing Patrick a further couple of places while his mechanics restarted the engine.

After overtaking Heikkinen, drama happened while attacking Mikkonen. The Precision Motorsports driver touched the grass and lost control of his car right ahead of Patrick, who had no time to react and collided into him. The incident broke Patrick's front wing and damaged his suspension, with the unscheduled stop for repairs just 6 laps after his first stop completely ruining his soft-tyre strategy.

Due to the extra pitstop, the team had to switch Patrick to a four-stop strategy. With a top 5 position now out of the cards, Patrick tried to return to the top-ten. Pushing very hard to catch Room towards the end of the race, he managed to take the last point-scoring position as the Estonian struggled with tyre issues. Despite the missed potential, 10th place was a satisfying consolation for a difficult race after a brilliant Qualifying.

Faster Than Speed wishes to congratulate Bono Huis on claiming the 2011 FSR World Championship after only 11 rounds.

Patrick De Wit (10th): "What a great day for FTS again! I did not expect to be in the Top 10 in Q1, but it seems I just held on to 10th position. My lap in Q2 was almost perfect, I was the only driver to break the 1:16 barrier with a time of 1:15.9. I must admit I was on soft tyres, since the car balance wasn't good on the medium and hard compounds, so we've decided to go with a 3-stopper strategy. To set Pole was above expectations, so we could add the 3rd ever WC Pole for FTS!

In the race I knew there was going to be pressure from behind. I tried to fend off as long as I could, but lap 1 was nerve wrecking. We almost lost control of our cars on lap 1. I made a huge error exiting Turn 3 and Huis overtook me, but he ran too deep into Turn 4 so I got 1st place back. Then, on lap 6 I believe, I ran too deep into Turn 2 trying to defend and Bono passed. I was then very nervous, car slid and lost a few more positions, before stalling car in the first pitstop, where some other went through. I was then pushing to catch Mikkonen in front, but the moment I wanted to pass he ran onto the grass, almost spinning his car. I had nowhere to go, did not expect him to spin there. It cost both of us a better position. In the end, still happy to get that point for 10th place. See you at Spa!"

In the World Trophy division, Alberto De Juan made his return, showing potential for a good result. However, his race was already over on lap 2 after being hit by a competitor.

Faster Than Speed now moves to the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, a favourite among drivers and fans. At the Belgian GP, Patrick De Wit took a podium finish for FTS in 2007. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest news and live coverage from Belgium!

Faster Than Speed endured another difficult German weekend at the Nurburgring circuit, with Patrick De Wit's first-lap retirement causing FTS to leave empty-handed. Germany is clearly not a lucky territory for the team, as it hasn't scored any World Championship points at either the Nurburgring or Hockenheim venues since 2007.

In the World Championship, Patrick De Wit set the 9th fastest time with a strong lap in Q1, despite struggling with a back injury which also hampered his preparations for the event. In the Q2 session, he secured 10th on the grid.

Patrick made a good start, but inmediately lost everything he had gained as he had to take avoiding actions not to run into an ATR-Silverline car who had spun across the racing line before Turn 1. Despite losing a few positions, Patrick managed to avoid a colission. However, drama would happen only a few corners later. As Patrick slid off in Turn 4, he tried to correct his car to avoid spinning, but caught Jack Keithley out in the process. Keithley had nowhere to go and collected Patrick. The unfortunate colission broke Patrick's rear wing before they both hit the barriers and retired from the race.

Patrick De Wit (DNF): "I was really surprised to reach Q2 after not testing on Sunday (due to the back injury). Then, at the start of the race, somebody lost control in Turn 1 and I had to take avoiding actions, losing several places. Exiting Turn 4, I lost control of my own car, Keithley was close behind and we both collided into the barriers. I'm sorry for this since it ended both our races. I will hopefully have better luck in Hungary."

In the World Series division, Giuseppe Marconi drove a solid race, showing good pace. He was on his way to 9th position when a disconnection unfortunately ended his race with only 15 laps remaining.

Faster Than Speed will be looking forward to finding better luck at this weekend's back-to-back race at the twisty Hungaroring circuit. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest news and live coverage from Hungary!

A high-speed tyre puncture, an engine issue and a first-lap accident, the main events of a very frustrating weekend for Faster Than Speed at Silverstone. The team scored no points on British soil, with Patrick De Wit ending his race in the barriers after an unexpected front-left tyre failure, while Giuseppe Marconi had engine problems since the opening lap.

In the World Championship, the team endured a disappointing Qualifying session, with Patrick De Wit and Giuseppe Marconi setting the 13th and 17th fastest times respectively in the Q1 session, ending the streak of Q2 runs.

Patrick made another strong start, climbing to 9th place by the end of the opening lap, which included a great pass on both Huis and Puumalainen in a single corner. Patrick then tried to defend his position with a car that did not perform as in the last few races. On lap 18, and despite racing on the hard tyre compound, a front-left puncture on a high-speed section of the track caused Patrick to go off-track and end his race against the barriers.

Giuseppe also had a difficult race. When making contact with a competitor on the opening lap, he spun his FTS-P11. He managed to rejoin the race but with some severe engine damage. Despite having to nurse the car throughout the whole race, Giuseppe managed to make some progress and gain several positions, but the powerplant didn't make it to the end of the race, giving up with 5 laps to go. Giuseppe was eventually classified inside 90% in 17th place.

Giuseppe Marconi (17th): "Another unlucky first lap for me. At the start I touched someone in front which caused me to spin. Trying to restart the engine, I landed on a kerb with two tyres on the air. I spent about 10 seconds trying to exit from that unpleasant position and when I was free we noticed that I had lost 15% of engine life. With that problem and low radiator, I knew it would not be enough to finish the race. I was angry but still pushed a lot and I was able to catch a few drivers in front of me. Then after my pitstop I tried to finish the race because both drivers in front and behind me were too far, but even if I drove at about a second a lap slower than my pace for 20 laps, to save engine life, it died a few laps before the end."

Patrick De Wit (DNF): "13th in Qualifying, I didn't have the same grip as before. In the race I went from 13th to 9th, defending from and overtaking Huis. After he passed me, I overtook him going into Sector 3, passing both Huis and Puumalainen in one move. That was the highlight of my race. I then had some battles with Morris and Conti, hard but fair battles. I'm disappointed we made a step backwards in this race."

In the World Series division, Giuseppe Marconi unfortunately had a very short race, suffering an unavoidable incident as he ran into a car that was stopped across the racing line, retiring from the race before completing the opening lap.

After the well-deserved long break, Faster Than Speed will be heading to the Nurburgring for the German GP. The venue returns to the FSR calendar this year after the GP took part at Hockenheim in 2010. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest news and live coverage from Germany!

After scoring Pole Position and podium at Monte Carlo, Patrick De Wit took another solid point-scoring result at Montreal as he finished in 7th place. He battled hard for 6th until the last corner, when an unsucessful passing attempt made him smash the famous 'Wall of Champions' metres before the finish line. Giuseppe Marconi was 9th in the World Series race despite engine issues caused by car damage.

In the World Championship, Patrick De Wit set the 6th fastest time in the Q1 session, again securing a spot in the top-ten Pole shootout. Team mate Giuseppe Marconi qualified 19th. In the Q2 session, Patrick was unable to repeat his Monaco performance and secured 8th on the grid with a lap he wasn't satisfied with.

Both drivers made solid starts, with both Patrick and Giuseppe gaining two positions each. At the end of the opening lap, Giuseppe overtook Atze Kerkhof with a move into the last chicane. However, Kerkhof tried to retake the position by braking very late into Turn 1, but ran into Giuseppe, spinning his car around. Unfortunately, with his FTS-P11 across the track, he was collected by Disley, who had no time to react and hit Giuseppe, ending his race.

Struggling with lack of top speed and a small slide out of the final chicane, Patrick lost a couple of positions but remained in the top eight before his first of two scheduled pitstops. Pushing hard with consistent laptimes, Patrick climbed up to 5th before his second stop, which dropped him to 9th place. A few laps later, he overtook Saxen with a great move in the last chicane for 7th, in a tough battle which included some minor contact between them.

In the closing laps and while trying to save his engine, Patrick started to hunt Melim down. In the final lap, he was able to pass Melim into the hairpin for 6th, but lost out again in the long straight. Trying to keep 6th in the final corner, Patrick braked late but ran over the high kerbs, with his FTS-P11 taking off and hitting the famous 'Wall of Champions', only a few hundred metres before the checkered flag. While his front wing was gone, Patrick was still able to cross the line and finish in a valuable 7th place, right ahead of Saxen.

Patrick De Wit (7th): "Happy that I again managed to get into Q2, for the third time this year. Although my lap wasn't good, I was still 8th, a lot better than some past Qualifying performances this season.
The start was good, went from 8th to 6th, was trying to defend from other drivers but we lacked top speed to do so. My soft tyres didn't last a single stop while others' could, so we had to stop twice again. Had some great battles with Nilsson, Morris, Saxen and, in the end, Melim, who defended his position well, nice job. 7th place was good, 6th was probably the maximum for me today. See you in Silverstone!"

Giuseppe Marconi (DNF): "I started my race very well, gained two positions in the first lap with a good overtaking move on Atze (Kerkhof) on the last turn. At Turn 1 on Lap 2, my race ended after a contact with Atze which caused me to spin. Blair (Disley) couldn't avoid me and crashed into me, damaging my suspension. I tried to continue and return to the pits but I couldn't turn left anymore so I had to retire."

In the World Series, Giuseppe Marconi made a great start, overtaking Kanitz and Wezenberg for 10th before being a victim of an incident. Having to brake hard to avoid a colission with Werdmuller. Giuseppe's FTS-P11 was then hit from behind, heavily damaging his car. Apart from hurting Giuseppe's promising pace, the damage also caused engine issues, with the car losing several kph of top speed throughout the race and causing Giuseppe to nurse the car home in the closing laps with a smoking powerplant. Despite the issues, he still managed to see the checkered flag and take some solid points in 9th place.

In the World Trophy division, Heinz Vanderhoydonck retired due to an engine failure.

Faster Than Speed is now heading to Silverstone for the British GP. At the home of British motorsport, FTS was victorious with Florian Pechon in the 2008 WS Advanced race, while Patrick De Wit took World Championship podiums at the venue in both 2007 and 2009. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest news and live coverage from Great Britain!

After a strong showing in Barcelona, Patrick De Wit took Faster Than Speed back to the World Championship podium for the first time since Great Britain 2009. It was a fantastic performance which had Patrick leading throughout the first stint, after taking the FTS-P11 to the team's second Pole Position in its WC history with a brilliant Q2 lap.

Patrick De Wit showed his intentions early on, setting the 2nd fastest time in the Q1 session, entering Q2 for the second time in a row and highlighting the improvement shown in the FTS-P11's performance. In Q2, Patrick delivered an absolutely stunning lap, beating championship leader Huis by half a tenth to take Faster Than Speed's second ever World Championship Pole Position. It was the first time an FTS car was on Pole in WC since Patrick did it back in Canada 2007, in his first season with the team. On the other hand, team mate Giuseppe Marconi had technical issues and was unable to take part.

Patrick made a good start, managing to keep the lead in St. Devote. Despite an early attack from Huis, Patrick led the field throughout the whole first stint. However, he was closely followed by Huis and Nilsson, who clearly had some extra pace they were unable to develop behind the FTS driver.

After both Huis and Nilsson pitted at the end of lap 21, Patrick tried to push hard before entering the pits the following lap, in an attempt to stay in the lead. However, he probably pushed a little too hard as he made contact with the guard rails in the tricky Tabac corner, damaging his FTS-P11. While he was luckily able to continue, the pitstop took almost 10 seconds as his pitcrew checked and repaired some of the damage, dropping Patrick to 3rd, just ahead of a charging Morand, and costing him any chance of victory.

Unable to lap at Huis and Nilsson's pace with a damaged car, Patrick drove excellent second and third stints, despite Morand's pressure leaving no room for errors. Patrick eased his pace up in the final laps to avoid brake-wear concerns, allowing Morand to close up in the final metres. However, 3rd place was for Patrick, who took his and the team's first WC podium since Great Britain 2009. A well-deserved prize for a fantastic Sunday from Patrick!

Patrick De Wit (3rd): "Just one word: Wow! After the 2011 season started, I did not expect to be on Pole Position this year, after being outside Q2 in the first five races. I knew beforehand I would make it to Q2 here, I almost drove a personal best time, lost some time, but that's Monaco. In Q2 the pressure was enormous to set a superb lap as the top-10 only have one lap with race settings on low fuel. I somehow managed to do it and repeat my Pole Position from 2008, things always go well here.
When starting the formation lap, I was very cautious, I did not want to repeat the debacle of 2008, when I crashed from Pole Position in the formation lap.

I had a good getaway into Turn 1 but the exit wasn't too good and Huis had a run on me. As overtaking is hard at Monaco, I tried to fend Huis off, which worked, but the guys behind me clearly had a faster car. When Huis and Nilsson pitted, I tried to do a lap as fast as I could before pitting, but my car understeered going into Tabac and I touched the guard rails. I picked up some damage which had to be partially repaired in the pits, presumably costing me a nice fight with Huis and Nilsson, it killed my race for a potential victory.
In the end, I tried everything to hold on to the last podium spot which paid out well, I fended off a charging Morand.

I am extremely pleased that I could score Faster Than Speed's second ever WC Pole Position, after doing it back in 2007 at Montreal, shame I could not get the victory as you don't get that many chances this year.
I am really happy about my performance, I hope to keep moving forwards but in WC, it's extremely difficult. Thanks to FTS and Christian for giving me a great car for Monaco, and see you all in Montreal!"

In the other divisions, FTS endured another tough weekend. Giuseppe Marconi was unable to qualify and race in the World Series due to technical issues. In the World Trophy race, Alberto De Juan retired on the opening lap after an incident, while Heinz Vanderhoydonck had to abandon the GP after his car got stuck on the second chicane's high kerbs.

Proud after taking the battle to the top teams in Monte Carlo, Faster Than Speed is now looking forward to the Canadian GP. At Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Patrick De Wit took his maiden FTS Pole Position in 2007. Can history repeat itself after his Monaco performance? In Canada, FTS also celebrated Florian Pechon's 2008 WS Advanced victory, while the team took 1-2 finishes in both WS Ace and WS Amateur in 2005. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest news from Canada, and stay tuned for the race's Live Broadcasts here!

Patrick De Wit took Faster Than Speed's best result of the World Championship season to date as he finished 6th at the Circuit de Catalunya, despite a tyre compound issue which cost him a well-deserved 4th place. In Qualifying, Patrick made his first Q2 appearance of the year, where he drove a fantastic lap to 3rd on the grid.

Patrick De Wit set the 7th fastest time in the Q1 session, entering the top-10 shootout for the first time in 2011. Team mate Giuseppe Marconi qualified 17th. In Q2, Patrick drove an awesome lap which left him 3rd on the grid, by far his best qualifying performance of the season.

After a strong start in which he challenged Huis and Nilsson for the lead but remained 3rd, Patrick started to be pressured by Kerkhof. The pair even made contact once, as Kerkhof tried a move from behind into Turn 1, and Patrick just managed to save the car and stay ahead of his compatriot. After switching places a couple of times, Kerkhof pitted a lap earlier than Patrick and just managed to leapfrog the FTS driver. Right out of the pits, Patrick made a quick pass on Saxen, who was yet to stop, before defending sucessfully from an agressive Disley.

The pitstop, however, was the moment the team realised things would get more difficult. Due to a technical issue during the Warm-Up session, Patrick had to race on the medium tyre compound, despite using a set of the hard rubber during Q2. The medium tyre was not able to go the distance, meaning Patrick had an unscheduled second stop ahead, which dropped him from a sure 4th place to 10th with only 11 laps remaining. Getting the maximum out of his fresh tyres, Patrick made great moves on Room and Patel before climbing a further two spots due to Disley's and Greco's technical issues. Despite losing a couple of places due to the compound issue, 6th was still a great result for Patrick after a tough start to the season and shows the team is starting to extract the potential of its FTS-P11.

Giuseppe, meanwhile, drove a good race, showing a good start and consistent pace throughout the GP, staying out of trouble to finish in 16th place, in what was Faster Than Speed's first WC two-car finish of the year.

Patrick De Wit (6th): "We finally found some speed in the FTS car thanks to the team's effort. Q1 went ok although I had some traffic in my second hotlap and did not improve anymore, but my time was good enough for Q2. Then, our first time this year in Q2, which was all new to me. I had a fantastic lap which placed me in the 3rd spot. I made a slight mistake in sector 3, could have been 2nd, but was 3rd was a victory for me anyway, after seeing my recent Qualifying performances.
The start was pretty ok, nearly overtaking Nilsson and Huis, but they defended well. I was trying to stay with them but they were too fast today in race trim, we need to figure out why. Then it was a matter of keeping Kerkhof behind which I tried hard to do, and kept him at bay for around 24 laps, he then passed me but made a mistake the same lap and I inherited 3rd again. Then, he leapfrogged me in the pitstop for 3rd.
Disley was then closing in, he tried to pass as well, but he did not succeed. After the first stop, I noticed I was on medium tyres for some bizarre reason, so had to come in again, otherwise I had 4th place for sure. In the end, I passed Room, Disley, Patel and Greco for P6. It was a great day for FTS, enjoyed it very very much!"

Giuseppe Marconi (16th): "My race started quite good because I gained 4 postions in the first turn. Then it was impossible for me to keep Greco, Mikkonen and the other fast WC guys behind, also because my pace was over half a second slower than in testing. I only wanted to see the finish line after another unlucky WS race so I managed the car easily, trying to do some good laps."

The team did not have a good weekend in the other divisions. In the World Series, Giuseppe Marconi's solid race ended with only 10 laps to go due to an electrical failure while he was in a comfortable 9th position. In the World Trophy, Heinz Vanderhoydonck's race also finished prematurely due to an engine failure.

Faster Than Speed will now be looking forward to the Monaco GP, to be raced next weekend at the glamorous streets of Monte Carlo. The Principality was the venue where Patrick De Wit took his maiden FTS podium in 2007 while Florian Pechon and Jorge Maenen took WS Advanced victories for FTS in 2008 and 2009 respectively. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest news from Monaco, and stay tuned for the race's Live Broadcasts here!

On April 24th, the FSR World Championship's Malaysian GP was suspended on lap 23 due to server connection issues. In the rescheduled Sepang race, Patrick De Wit made a superb start, climbing 6 places throughout the opening lap, but was unable to retain his point-scoring position after struggling for car balance.

Patrick De Wit was unable to repeat the performance of the original Sepang Qualifying in the Q1 session, where he set the 15th fastest time. Team mate Ernesto De Angelis qualified 18th. Patrick made a thrilling start, overtaking a couple of cars in the first corner, later passing both Tali and Foht through the outside of the high-speed S corner and making a move on both Poniatowski and Saxen before the back straight.

However, despite climbing to 9th place by the end of the opening lap, he struggled for car balance and lost his point-scoring position, despite a few hard wheel-to-wheel battles and a very nice move on Parisis through the outside. Patrick finished the race in 13th place. Ernesto, meanwhile, underprepared after struggling with a tough flu all week and still carrying some side effects, was doing a solid job before losing control of his FTS-P11 and ending his race against the barrier.

Patrick De Wit (13th): "Qualifying was as expected, only 15th, around 0.550s from pole lap. Race: great opening lap, went from 15th to 9th. On lap 1, I passed two cars in one corner twice during the lap, it must be some kind of record! But I could not defend and dropped back slowly. I tried to defend as hard as I could. In the end, 13th, not the position I wanted after such a great opening lap. Well, on to Spain!"

Ernesto De Angelis (DNF): " I will not go down into details, I simply wasn't in conditions to race, actually. I had a much better pace but I couldn't focus at all. I will need time to be back in a good shape, I need to be patient but it's not an easy moment for sure."

Faster Than Speed will now be looking forward to the Spanish GP, to be raced this weekend at the Circuit de Catalunya. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest news from Spain, and stay tuned for the race's Live Broadcasts here!

Faster Than Speed finally opened its 2011 World Championship's point tally as Patrick De Wit secured his first point of the season after a last-lap move on Blair Disley at Istanbul Park. 2002 Champion Ernesto De Angelis made his FTS works team debut as his team mate, after a short stint with FTS NetRex in 2009. Gabriel Montañes, meanwhile, scored World Series points after a tough start to the Turkish race.

Despite setting a lap that would have comfortably taken him into Q2 minutes earlier in the Practice session, Patrick De Wit was unable to produce a similar laptime in Q1, setting the 15th fastest time. Team mate and Faster Than Speed's newest sign-up, Ernesto De Angelis, was just behind in 17th. The Italian's race was unfortunately not a sucess, having to retire early due to damage on his right sidepod after being hit by Euler, despite showing strong potential.

Patrick, meanwhile, made another characteristic strong start to the race, overtaking several cars to finish the opening lap in 11th place. Despite having to pit slightly earlier than planned due to a higher than expected tyre wear on his high fuel load, Patrick drove a strong and consistent race. However, with a 34-lap long final stint, his 10th place came under pressure from the 2-stopping Disley, who was on much fresher tyres with a 10-lap long final stint. The Australian passed Patrick on the penultimate lap and it seemed like Patrick's hopes for points were over. However, in the final lap, Patrick took a very good run out of Turn 1 to go side by side and overtake Disley into Turn 3, snatching the final point to open the team's point tally this season with his 10th place finish.

Patrick De Wit (10th): "After a dramatic Qualifying, I was only P15, so I really had no hopes for the race. I had an OK start and climbed from 15th to 11th. Then, Keithley made a mistake in the famous Turn 8, which left me 10th and trying to maintain this position really hard. I had hard fights with Saxen, Disley and Tali. Four laps from the end I was almost losing my final points position to a fast recovering Disley. We had a really hard battle, very aggressive from both of us, but it was good fun. Really happy to score my first points in the World Championship this year!"

Ernesto De Angelis (DNF): "Well, can't say much, would have needed laps to get a decent pace but my car was damaged in an incident with Euler. After that, it was simply like driving a weird tank, so it would have been useless to keep on trying impossible things."

In the World Series, Giuseppe Marconi was unable to show the strong testing pace, as he retired early on after spinning off on cold tyres. Team mate Gabriel Montañes also had a tough start, having a big scare after losing control of his car, hitting a kerb and flying off the ground. Miraculously, his FTS-P11 remained unscatched and Gabriel was able to recover and score points by finishing 17th.

Juan Nicola was the team's sole representative in the World Trophy division. However, Juan had a difficult race and was unable to go the distance, retiring from the race with 10 laps remaining.

Faster Than Speed will now be hoping for another point-scoring finish this Sunday, when the rescheduled World Championship's Malaysian GP will be raced at Sepang. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest news from Malaysia, and stay tuned for the race's Live Broadcasts here!

Faster Than Speed had an up-and-down weekend on Chinese soil, with Patrick De Wit enduring a disappointing 50th World Chamionship outing for the team. Giuseppe Marconi drew some positives as he took his first finishes and WS points of the season after getting to the bottom of his engine issues. Juan Nicola also scored his first points of the year in the WT division.

In the World Championship event, FTS duo Patrick De Wit and Giuseppe Marconi, in his first WC race of 2011, qualified in 12th and 19th places respectively. Patrick had a very difficult 50th WC race for FTS, as he was surprized by early braking ahead on turn 1 and made contact with Dennis Hirrle. Unfortunately, the contact damaged Patrick's suspension and reduced his top speed. Despite this, Patrick drove an amazing opening lap, overtaking several cars to jump up to 7th by the end of the second lap. However, with an ill-handling car, lacking in top-speed, there was little Patrick could do to defend his position.

Things got even worse when the suspension issues caused Patrick to suffer a puncture as early as lap 21, despite using the hard tyre compound. Patrick returned to the pits for a tyre change but retired soon after as the puncture caused even further damage. Giuseppe, meanwhile, drove a good low-key race, finally getting over his engine dramas as he reached the checkered flag in 16th place.

Giuseppe Marconi (16th): "An useful test for me to try to solve my engine troubles. In the World Series race I lost my engine at the last turn, right before the finish line, after spending the last 15 laps saving it. The amount of engine failures I had in the last two years is a bit absurd. However, thanks to Christian who gave me the chance in WC for this race, even if I was off of pace. See you the next race."

Patrick De Wit (DNF): "Not much to say, in Qualifying, half a second slower than in testing. In the race I got damage on Turn 1 but still went on and overtook from 12th to 7th by lap 2. I was then trying to defend from other drivers as my car was slow due to the damage. In the end, we had to retire becuase the car was not driveable anymore. See you in Turkey."

In the World Series, Giuseppe Marconi drove a solid race, despite having to nurse his car home due to engine issues. He was defending 11th from Kostadinov in the final lap when the powerplant failed on the last corner of the race. Giuseppe was still comfortably classified inside 90% so he scored his first points of the season with his 12th place finish. Team mate Gabriel Montanes had a short race. Due to his Launch Control system failling, he picked up a jump-start penalty. After having to visit the pits twice in the opening two laps, he rejoined the race but had to retire soon after receiving contact from a competitor which heavily injured Gabriel's car.

Juan Nicola scored his first World Trophy points of the season after finishing in 16th place. The Argentinian showed an improved pace despite a mistake while exiting the pitlane which cost him the chance of a higher finish. Heinz Vanderhoydonck was also looking forward to scoring points before a brake failure ended his race with only 6 laps to go.

Faster Than Speed is now looking forward to next weekend's races at Turkey's Istanbul Park, where Patrick De Wit took his maiden WC victory in 2007. It wasn't FTS' only win at the Otodrom, as Faisal Niazi also won the 2006 WS Pro race while Christian Smirnoff and Gabriel Garivaldis achieved an 1-2 in that season's WS Ace event. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest news from Turkey, and stay tuned for the race's Live Broadcasts here!

The FSR World Championship's race at Malaysia was not to be. Faster Than Speed and Patrick De Wit showed signs of progress before technical server issues caused the race to be red flagged on lap 23 and rescheduled for a later date. Gabriel Montañes, meanwhile, scored World Series points at Sepang on his return to FSR.

Patrick De Wit qualified for the World Championship race in 11th place, just missing out on a Q2 spot. After making a very good start, Patrick went down to last place after being spun around by a competitor in the first corner. Despite an error a few laps later, Patrick showed strong pace as he started making his way up through the field. He was in 12th position and putting pressure on Saxen and Room when at least a third of the grid was disconnected from the server due to a technical issue, forcing the Race Director to red flag the race. The Malaysian GP will be rescheduled for a later date.

In the World Series, Gabriel Montanes made his FSR return, showing a consistent pace at Sepang. He was also involved in a couple of exciting battles. A brake failure didn't allow him to see the checkered flag but since he completed over 90% of the total race distance, he took his first points of the season, classified in 19th place. Team mate Giuseppe Marconi didn't manage to turn his luck around, as this time, a disconnection ended his race prematurely.

The team had a short afternoon in the World Trophy division, as Juan Nicola retired early in the race, while Heinz Vanderhoydonck just missed out on the Pre-Qualifying cut due to reduced testing time and was unable to take part in the race.

Faster Than Speed is now looking forward to next weekend's races in China, which will be a special occasion for Patrick De Wit as he contests his 50th World Championship race for Faster Than Speed. FTS performed strongly at Shanghai last year, with both Patrick and Agustin in the fight for podium spots in a race that featured a dramatic battle between them. It was arguably also the most controversial race of the season. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest news from China, and stay tuned for the race's Live Broadcasts here!

Faster Than Speed endured a troublesome Melbourne event, with Dian Kostadinov taking the team's only race finish in a race weekend plagued by technical issues and incidents for FTS. The young Bulgarian, who drives for our friends at GT Omega Racing, took the FTS-P11 to 11th place on his second World Championship race, after debuting with Roaldo Racing in 2009.

In the World Championship division, Patrick De Wit and Dian Kostadinov qualified in 13th and 16th places respectively. Patrick had a very difficult race, as his car was heavily damaged on the opening lap, after being squeezed into the barriers by a competitor. Patrick tried to continue but struggled with the ill-handling car and was unable to finish.

Dian, meanwhile, drove a solid race, showing good pace and consistency despite a small error. He also delivered a fantastic move on lap 2, in a three-way battle with Foht and Euler, as he overtook both through the outside in a single manoeuvre. Dian finished the race in 11th position. We thank the GT Omega Racing team for allowing Dian to drive the FTS-P11.

Dian Kostadinov (11th): "I was fast at this track so normally I was disappointed that I qualified in 16th position. I was cautious at the start of the race and lost a couple of positions, since I was involved in a massive accident in the World Series on Saturday. I had a good tempo and was faster than some drivers. I tried to overtake them not to waste time fighting for position with them. I made one very beautiful overtaking move on lap 2, in Sector 3, from the outside. Then I tried to keep the same speed as Morris and van Buren in front, but I got distracted and made a mistake at turn 1. After that I kept a normal tempo, and I did not risk the engine. With some good luck I managed to finish in 11th, but without the spin I feel I could have been in the points with a top 10 finish. Thanks to all the GT Omega team and to FTS for letting me be a sub-driver for them this race."

Patrick De Wit (DNF): "I was 13th in Qualifying, not what I had hoped for. I was 9th after turn 1, when Morand made a mistake and came back on track. My race got compromised again as he hit my car and pushed me into the wall. Losing positions again. Basically, with the damage I had, there was nothing I could do anymore. All this testing for nothing again."

Faster Than Speed had difficult races in both the World Series and World Trophy divisions, with no drivers seeing the checkered flag. In WS, Giuseppe Marconi suffered a puncture and then an engine failure after a spirited hard-charging drive. In WT, Alberto De Juan was unable to start after the race was restarted, Juan Nicola was unable to finish, while on Grid 2, Heinz Vanderhoydonck was also a victim of engine issues.

Faster Than Speed will be definitely aiming to return to the points at Sepang. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest news from Malaysia, and stay tuned for the race's Live Broadcasts here!

Faster Than Speed had a difficult weekend in the desert of Sakhir as a series of unfortunate technical issues and mishaps meant that FTS left Bahrain with much less than expected. It was actually the first time the team left the World Championship's season opener empty handed since 2007. Meanwhile, Alberto De Juan and Heinz Vanderhoydonck gave FTS its first points of the season in the World Trophy division.

In the World Championship event, Agustin Canapino and Patrick De Wit qualified in 12th and 13th positions respectively. Agustin's race was unfortunately very short, as a disconnection left him out of the race on lap 3, after recovering from a slow start by overtaking Morris.

Patrick, meanwhile, made a good start, after overtaking Saxen, with the pair making small contact when the Finn tried to regain position. Despite a small off-track excursion and a car which did not behave as expected from testing, Patrick made progress throughout the race, including a spectacular battle with Jim Parisis, which Patrick won after several passing attempts. However, Patrick's engine did not withstand the battle and gave up with 6 laps to go, leaving Patrick classified in 13th place.

Patrick De Wit (13th): "Not the season start I had hoped for, but the racing spirit is still there. Qualifying went really badly, 0.6s off my personal best. If I had been able to set a laptime close to my personal best, I could have probably gone to Q2. Instead, I qualified 13th just behind my team mate Agustin, who was 12th.
Had a good start, went from 13th to 9th, although at some point I lost a few spots due to fighting with other cars. I then tried to overtake Saxen, which worked. It was a good move, just managed to avoid touching Kerkhof. Then two turns later, Saxen tried to take the position back and it almost worked but two cars through that turn is a bit tricky, so we slightly touched each other and he spun. The last battle came with the new guy, Jim Parisis, with whom we had an awesome battle, turn after turn, next to each other. Finally, I managed to overtake him, he didn't make it easy, we need this kind of people in FSR, hard racers! I could have had P12 today but my engine said otherwise. See you next week."

Agustin Canapino (DNF): "I'm very disappointed. I had a very good and quick car for the race, but I lost connection to the server, and that was it."

In the World Series division, Giuseppe Marconi had a very short evening, as he was pushed off the track and later collected from behind by a competitor. The incident removed Giuseppe's rear wing, and damaged the rear of the car beyond repair, causing the Italian to retire from the race as early as on lap 2.

In the World Trophy's Grid 1 race, Alberto De Juan was recovering from an early incident to start the last lap in 12th place, before hitting a track imperfection while defending from Aalberts and dropping to 16th. Juan Nicola retired early victim of a car setup error. In the Grid 2 race, Heinz Vanderhoydonck scored his first 2011 points as he finished in 4th place, while Hector Salcedo was unable to start the race due to personal issues.

Before closing this review, we would like to thank everyone for the very good public reception to our team launch, the FTS-P11 car design and its launch videoclip!

Faster Than Speed is now hard at work to have a much better showing this weekend in Melbourne. At the Albert Park, FTS achieved two WC podium finishes, with Sergio Casalins and Patrick De Wit in 2008 and 2009 respectively. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest news from Australia, and stay tuned for the race's Live Broadcasts here!

Faster Than Speed is proud to present its 2011 Formula SimRacing campaign. In this team launch, FTS wishes to unveil its new FTS-P11 challenger while revealing the driver lineups for the season! After celebrating the 10th anniversary of the team's World Championship debut on March 4th, FTS now gets ready to kick off its 11th FSR season this weekend!

The Launch Video!

We are very happy to present our spectacular launch HD videoclip of the FTS-P11, prepared by Gabriel Montañes and Christian Smirnoff to present Ernesto De Angelis' newest masterpiece. The video also takes us through some of the team's best moments in its 10 years of FSR racing, including Patrick De Wit's 2007 WC Turkish GP win, the 2008 WS Advanced double title with Florian Pechon, the 2005 WS Ace championship or Christian Smirnoff's 2006 WS Ace title. Please don't miss it!
You can watch the video here:

The FTS-P11!

If you thought our previous cars looked aggressive, you will not believe how this one looks! Ernesto De Angelis has done it again!

The FTS-P11, our latest beast, features a meaner looking panther than ever before, in the most striking design of the Formula SimRacing field. There are two versions of the FTS-P11 livery, both equally impressive, with the traditional black colour replaced by white for our World Trophy Panthers team.

Exclusive shots of our FTS-P11 contender can be found here.

Driver Lineups

FTS is happy to announce that Dutch driver Patrick De Wit signs for his fourth World Championship season with the team. After showing a series of strong performances in 2010, the team sees the potential for Patrick to return to the podium and why not, to its top step.

Agustin Canapino was, in November 2010, crowned the youngest ever champion in Argentina's top real racing division, Turismo Carretera, in only its second season in the series. In FSR, he will be taking part in some World Championship events, although his real racing commitments will only allow him to take a reserve role, as he signed for Chevrolet's official TC2000 team, next to Turismo Carretera and Top Race V6.

Giuseppe Marconi will join the efforts in its fifth FTS season. The experienced Italian will be taking part in WC races when necessary while also competing in the World Series division. In WS, he will be joined by Gabriel Montañes, from Uruguay, who returns to FSR after a sabbatical in 2010.

In the World Trophy division, Faster Than Speed will feature Spaniard Alberto De Juan, who makes his FTS return; Argentinian Juan Nicola, who also rejoins FSR after not competing for most of 2010; Belgium's Heinz Vanderhoydonck, in his fourth season with FTS; and newcomer Hector Salcedo, from Spain.

Comments from the Management

Gabriel Garivaldis: "Another season and another spectacular car! Thanks to Ernesto for his fantastic work on the car and to Christian for directing the launch. I hope 2011 will be a strong season and against the odds we can achieve beyond our expectations. It won't be easy but we will stick to our guns and fight. The whole team is hard working so I know they can achieve great results."

Christian Smirnoff: "After celebrating the team's 10th birthday, it's now time for a new team launch, which is as always, a very special moment. For a small independent team like us, it is extremely difficult to be successful in FSR these days. However, I have a lot of trust in our drivers and against all the odds, we will keep pushing and working hard to achieve strong results with our usual team spirit. Thanks to all FTS members for their efforts!"

Follow us!

Please check out our Faster Than Speed fan page on Facebook where you will find the latest team news, exclusive photos and more. Also, stay up to date with the team following us on Twitter (@FTS_Racing)! The 2011 season kicks off tomorrow in Bahrain, so... start your engines!

A day like today, 10 years ago... on March 4th, 2001, Faster Than Speed made its debut, on the World Championship's inaugural race at Melbourne, Australia! The dream of a professional simracing league, called GP3 Global League back then, that FTS founder Alex Cosentino had among others, was now a reality.

In that first World Championship race, won by Ernesto De Angelis with Geoff Crammond's Grand Prix 3 simulation, Gjermund Higraff and Alan Bryson were the drivers that gave the panther cars its first outing. It was a successful one, with both drivers bringing the cars in the points, in 6th and 10th places respectively. Of the 11 teams that participated in that race, Faster Than Speed is the only one that remains active in FSR today. In the World Series, Horacio Romo won the team's first race in the Pro 50 division that same day, later taking the division's championship. A few months later, the team scored its first WC podium at Magny Cours.

But that first Australian race wasn't the team's GP3GL debut, as "Chueco's Racing", with its name in tribute to Juan Manuel Fangio, had participated the previous year, founded by Argentinians Alex Cosentino and Fernando Piedrabuena.

In 2003, Australian Gabriel Garivaldis was appointed as Team Manager. That year, the team raced under a different name: Flying Colours International. Despite the name change, the team's distinct panther symbol remained intact. 2003 was also the year that the team featured its clear "No War" message on their cars for the first time, something that continues to date. The team name change was short lived, however, as the team went back to its usual Faster Than Speed name for the 2004 season.

2005 was a very special season for FTS, as the team won its first online championship, securing the World Series Ace Constructors Championship, while Christian Smirnoff joined the team's management.
The following year, the team doubled its success, with Faisal Niazi claiming the World Series Pro Drivers Championship, while Christian Smirnoff also took the World Series Ace Drivers Championship home.

2007 was a breakthrough year for FTS, as the team took 4th place in the World Championship's Constructors Championship, its best result in FSR's top division to date. That season was full of unforgettable moments, like the maiden WC Pole Position or, most especially, the team's first World Championship victory at Turkey, courtesy of Patrick De Wit.
In 2008, the team had another very special season, securing its first title double. Florian Pechon drove a fantastic season to win the World Series Advanced Drivers Championship, while FTS also took the Constructors Championship trophy home in that same division. In 2009, Faster Than Speed teamed up with one of the most successful FSR teams, NetRex GP, the striking panther-dinousaur mix giving birth to FTS NetRex.

Throughout Faster Than Speed's 10 FSR seasons to date, over 80 drivers sat inside an FTS cockpit. Together, they have achieved 5 World Series championships, over 35 race victories and well over a hundred podium finishes. However, the most important thing is the team's spirit. Over the years, FTS has become a family, a group of friends that not only competes at the highest level, but also has fun and enjoys together.

A look back...

The Cars: From the early days, the agressive-looking FTS cars were always among the best designs in the field, featuring its striking panthers over black and red colors, with a yellow tint becoming more prominent in recent years. Wonderful designers such as Ernesto De Angelis, Ireneusz Ciaglo and Ant Carlos have created these masterpieces:

Visit the FTS Garage

The Drivers: Beatiful cars don't drive on their own, do they? As every driver that drove for our team is very important for us, we created the Historic Driver's Index, where you will find an alphabetical list of drivers that have raced for FTS since the team's beginnings with their statistics! All WC results to date and WS/WT results from 2005 onwards can also be found in our Results & Statistics section.

Visit the FTS Historic Driver's Index

The Team Launches: Each year, one of the most awaited moments is the launch of the new campaign, presenting Faster Than Speed's cars and lineups for the season. Team launches usually consisted of articles, pictures, renders, but in a few occassions, the team made full video launches. For such a nostalgic day, we brought them all, even old ones that very few will remember! Here they are:

2010 FTS Team Launch (FTS-P10 Presentation)
2009 FTS Team Launch (FTS-P9 Presentation)
2003 FCI Team Launch (FCI-2003A Presentation)
2002 FTS Team Launch

A look ahead...

The 2011 season is approaching. Faster Than Speed will contest its 11th FSR season this year. Please stay tuned for our 2011 team launch, with the presentation of our FTS-P11 challenger! Follow us on Facebook or Twitter for the lastest news!

Happy birthday FSR World Championship! Happy birthday Faster Than Speed!

Team Quotes

Alex Cosentino (Team Founder/Owner): " When Christian approached me asking for a short statement about the 10 years of Faster Than Speed, a lot of memories rushed to my head and I couldn’t believe it’s been already 10 years since the creation of the team. I remembered me struggling with GP2 and later GP3, I remembered the day I met Kurt Baumann and let him convince me to jump on board of what it looked like a crazy project and ended up being an amazing reality called FSR. I remembered the endless discussions between team owners, how we created the Team Owners Association, and all the people who made FTS possible, to that summer evening when I came up with the name Faster Than Speed (one day, in my memories, I will tell how I came up with that and you are going to laugh!). I can’t start naming all the great friends who were involved in this project. But I will thank Gabriel and Christian for the amazing work they put together. Today, they are the heart and soul of the team, and I think nobody could choose any other two better guys to run a team. I really, really thank you both, guys."

Gabriel Garivaldis (Team Owner): " Reaching 10 years is an incredible achievement, and I don't believe there's many other teams who have managed to stay intact for so long. Personally I'll never forget some great memories, some really great races and fun times.  Most notable for me is my first podium at Hockenheim in WC 2003, Christian's championship win in WS Ace in 2006, and the team's first victory in WC by Patrick in 2007. There are many more good memories too. I'd also like to thank all the drivers, managers, test drivers, designers and other team members, current and old, for their support, friendship and commitment. Special thanks to Christian Smirnoff for sustaining the team for such a long time, and to Alex Cosentino who gave me my first real break back in 2002. And let's keep it up, the panther lives on!"

Christian Smirnoff (Team Owner/Manager, 2006 WS Ace Champion): "10 years... it's really unbeleivable. I have been part of it for the last seven and a half, and it still is an amazing experience. There are many unforgettable memories, not only due to on-track success but also a lot of fun, passion and friendship shared together.
As for my 2006 WS Ace championship, I had just missed out to Denis Kiriakopoulos after leading for most of the season in 2005, when we won the Constructors'. That was an inmense satisfaction, but I still wanted another shot at the Drivers' title, and I definitely got that chance the following year. It's still a very special memory. It wouldn't have been possible without the fantastic support from the team, however!
I'd like to thank everyone who is or was part of this team for making it what it is! Special thanks to Gabriel Garivaldis and Alex Cosentino for their support and trust. Happy birthday FTS!"

Florian Pechon (2008 WS Advanced Champion): "Faster Than Speed has been for me the best experience I have ever had in my simracing carreer. The team's spirit is great and that's what is should be all about in simracing! I am very proud to have been champion alongside them. I remember, all the team was motivating me to win the races and win the title and surely that helped a lot. I cross my fingers for this season! "