EMIRATE STAGE "FORMULA-1" THIS YEAR BRINGED A WONDERFUL NEWS - ON NOVEMBER 10 AT THE PRESS CONFERENCE IN ABU-DABI THE RUSSIAN COMPANY MARUSSIA MOTORS OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCED A PURPOSE OF AN IMPORTANT VALUE. FROM THE BEGINNING OF 2011, IT WILL OFFICIALLY BE ANNOUNCED AS MARUSSIA VIRGIN RACING. LITERALLY BEFORE THE FINAL RACE OF THE SEASON, WE HAVE BEEN ASKED A PAIR OF QUESTIONS TO THE PRESIDENT MARUSSIA MOTORS, WILL BE REPLICATED ALREADY.
Nikolay, congratulations to you and your team that Virgin Racing has become Marussia Virgin Racing. What are your strategic plans for this collaboration?
Now we have become co-owners of the team, and this is the first step on the road to building the Russian Formula 1 team. All the best that is in Virgin Racing - will remain. Further we will work.
Why did you choose Virgin Racing and Virgin Racing choose Marussia Motors?
The fact is that we supply Virgin Racing engines, and this season they have already performed with our engines. The decision to purchase a stake in the team was made in June 2009 in conjunction with Cosworth. When we decided who would be of interest to us in Formula 1, the choice fell on Virgin Racing because we, by and large, have one spirit. Virgin Racing also builds everything “inside the computer,” like Marussia Motors. From a technological point of view, we are very similar, so it’s convenient for us to work together. For our part, we can give a lot to the team in terms of engineering, technological solutions and composite materials. We can do it faster and cheaper, using their engineering developments, as manufacturers. Also, Virgin Racing has always been tuned to a new model of the racing business. And we have always been tuned in a new model for the production of road segment cars. We are very similar in this, we work on the same principles and always keep up to date. Our speed is measured in terabytes. That is why we have chosen each other.
What are your goals for the 2011 season?
Reliability. Reliability is my first and foremost goal in everything: in people, in cars, in business. Reliability is the foundation. Everything else is an add-on. Now the main shock mass of our work concerns technology. We need to take our partnership with Cosworth, which supplies motors for Marussia Motors machines, to a new, more serious level. Since Cosworth supplies racing engines for Marussia Virgin Racing, our mutual understanding and ability to work with Cosworth is extremely important for the whole team. And I try to make every effort to it now, so that the beginning of the next season is decent for us. The first race in four months.
So what is next?
By 2012, we will have to be as close as possible to the third qualification session. And then - to do everything so that our anthem sounded on the podium.
For such a short time?
Yes, if you work 24 hours a day.
Do you plan to take Russian pilots to the team?
Yes, by 2012.
Do we have any worthy candidates?
There are, of course, but few. There is no school. Rich parents do not want to give their children into such a strange profession as a professional racer, and poor parents cannot afford it. After all, while the pilot gets to Formula 1, he spends about $ 15 million on his career. This is the whole story. By the way, we have Vanya Lukashevich, who is now playing in GP2. We are working to ensure that he joins the team: we spend energy, health, money, share our experience. In 2014, two Russian pilots should go to Sochi in our team, and they should fight for the podium.
For Marussia Motors, cooperation with the Formula 1 team is a new level ... Yes, we are ready to demonstrate to the whole world that a new car manufacturer has come from Russia, and it has ambitions of a truly international level.
What more news can we expect from Marussia Motors?
All our great news will be in Frankfurt next September. We will show 7 new cars, ready for production. In March, we begin to sell a seven-seater SUV. Starting in Grand Tourismo, preparing for the release of B3. I won’t open everything, wait for September!
Do you have any problems promoting the brand, because the Russian Supercar is news ...
I must say that the main consumers of supercars, England and Germany, are well aware of us, and for a long time. Western perception is a little different: like - not like. 20 years ago it was possible to believe or not to believe, we can or cannot. We can! Today, technology has come to the point that any car you buy is more interested in whether it is comfortable or not, how it looks. Well, the status, of course. And how is it arranged when you open the hood, you already do not really know. It was 20 years ago - everything in the engine oil changed everything to the elbow under the hood. Today, if you are selling a car, then you should have no doubt that it works correctly. As for sports cars, there is no doubt that they should be fast: acceleration 3.8 seconds to 100 km / h - let's see who is faster. Plus design. That’s all you need.
Nikolay. Are you planning to open the Marussia brand showroom in Dubai?
Of course. The Emirate market is undoubtedly interesting for us, and we plan to enter it. And now I have to go - the race starts, and today there will be a lot of work. It is necessary to lay a good base for the new season. Until we meet again and happy New Year to all of us.
