Пилоты NASCAR: «Монтойя и Вильнев будут удивлены тому, как трудно им придется»

Что-то британские СМИ в свойственной для них манере надергали цитат и нагнали ужаса. Вот оригиналы цитат с прессухи, там не все так пессимистично, скорее даже наоборот:

Q. There was a story yesterday saying Jacques Villeneuve is considering coming to NASCAR. We’ve seen Juan Pablo Montoya who is making that jump. What is your idea about these Formula One guys coming to NASCAR? How do you think they’ll do in a much different series?

GREG BIFFLE: Well, I mean, certainly those guys — I mean, any race car drivers that’s successful in the series he’s in doesn’t obviously mean automatic success in the series they move to. But drivers have a certain amount of ability, car control, feel for the race car, knowledge of what’s going on around them, awareness inside the car, kind of expertise on gas, brake, shift, those kind of things.

I can’t say they’d be successful in any series they went to, but typically if you take the top tier drivers in any series, they should be able to, with reasonable equipment, be able to make a transition to another series and be moderately successful.

I mean, some drivers may want to come over and drive our cars. They’re completely different. Our racing is completely different. It will take some time for them, not a long time, but it will take a few races or tests for them to get the feel for our heavier cars. I’d kind of phrase it as how unresponsive they’d be compared to a Formula One car. They do things a lot slower, whatnot.

But, I mean, I think you can take any competitive driver and put him in that series, like Jeff Gordon went over and did some Race of Champions out of the country. Robby Gordon and Jimmie Johnson both came from off-road racing, have won the Baja 1000, Baja 500, I know Robby has. I mean, there’s a lot of people that have tried for years and years to win the Baja 500 or 1000. So he’s won in that series and has been able to be moderately competitive in the Nextel Cup and Busch Series.

I don’t think those drivers will have a big problem transitioning. It will take them a while.

Q. Juan Pablo Montoya has already made the jump to NASCAR. Now there’s talk of Jacques Villeneuve. What do you think that would be for stock car racing, NASCAR in general? How well do you think those guys would do?

ADRIAN FERNANDEZ: I think firstly the appearance for open-wheel drivers outside of how competitive is deceiving. I think Juan Pablo will be surprised how competitive and how hard it is to get used to these cars. The same with Villeneuve, if he gets in. It’s not a coincidence it has been a problem in the past for open-wheel drivers to get used to it quicker than you think.

The first race I competed in an oval, they told me if I was going to finish in the top 20 the first race, that was going to be an excellent result. I thought these guys were out of their minds what they told me that.

I practiced really well. I practiced in Fontana. I was really quick. I was actually one second quicker than I actually practiced that weekend. There is a lot of things that changes. We are not used to these cars in terms of setups and things like that. It doesn’t matter how many laps you do at the beginning. There is nothing like keep racing and racing and racing and getting the experience of these cars. It just takes time.

I think the smartest thing that Juan Pablo has done is to sign a long-term deal. I know it’s going to be tough for him at the beginning. He knows that. I’m a good friend of Juan Pablo. I have always been a big fan of him as a driver. I met my wife through him in Colombia. My wife is Colombian. I have a lot of ties to Colombia now. We’re good friends. My wife is friends with Connie, his wife. I think he’s doing the right thing. He’s jumping with the right team.

Obviously, he’s very inexperienced. Doesn’t matter how much experience he has in the other thing, the only thing that will help him is he’s a very talented individual. I think that should short him the distance of learning period. But there is no question it is going to be tough. But I see guys like Dan Wheldon, everybody jump, they just want to try. It’s good to try, but they’ll be surprised how tough it is. Look at Paul Tracy when he tried it, Scott Pruett, Michel Jourdain, myself. It’s just not easy. We can be competitive straightaway on a road course, but on an oval it just takes time. It’s just because the cars are totally different. They’re very heavy. They have very little grip. We’re used to light cars, cars that really stick to the ground. Reaction is a lot faster in these things. These things, you cannot push them like we push ours cars, especially in an oval.

I tell you what. It gave me a lot of appreciation doing these six oval races last year and realize that this sport is not easy and it’s extremely competitive.

действительно, ничего ужасного.. две-три гонки, парочка тестов и Хуан поймет, что this sport is not easy and it’s extremely competitive. ;)