Manama (Bahrain): Indian driver Narain Karthikeyan continued solid progression for the Spanish squad HRT through the opening two practice sessions at the Bahrain GP.
The 5.412 km long circuit saw Karthikeyan complete a total of 50 laps in the two sessions, including long runs on heavy fuel to work on race pace and map tyre degradation. The small upgrades brought by the team seemed to help the HRT F112 on the cooling front, ensuring reliable running despite considerably high temperatures compared to the last round in China.
Tyre degradation, especially the rears emerged as the major concern for the team, but it was somewhat expected given the high temperatures and track layout that lays emphasis on traction.
“Today we tried a lot of different options trying to save the tyres because it’s very hot out there and degradation is high. But that seems to be the same for everyone,” said Narain.
“Apart from that, we worked with both tyre compounds, covered a lot of laps to see if the car would overheat, but it seems to be doing fine. So now we’re fairly confident on that front,” added the Indian
For tomorrow final practice session, the aim is to further optimise the race setup and fine-tuning. “We will change things a bit tomorrow and adapt the car for the race and, although the weather conditions are a bit extreme, it responded well today,” said Narain.
By Indian Sports News Network
