15
The PY012 was born on the drawing
boards, on computers and in the
wind tunnel in Concorezzo: six
months of in‐depth studies aimed
at identifying the right project
capable of combining performance,
ease of use in both track and uphill
racing conditions, and reduced
costs. A winning but above all
functional design, featuring reduced
dimensions guaranteeing conformity
with the FIA category regulations, and
low maintenance bodywork. And
mechanical solutions that are designed
to be first and foremost practical: such
as torsion bar suspensions with twin
shock absorbers that do not require
the addition of a third element to
regulate the height above the ground,
granting the driver increased
“agility” and safety on the kerbs. The
carbon cockpit features crash test
specifications that exceed the
parameters required by FIA and the
collapsible structures are
strategically distributed in such a
way as to reduce the cost of spare
parts. These features attracted
considerable attention from the
VdeV Endurance championship.
Results: 15 PY 012 models built for the
teams involved in the competition, including Tatuus
Racing featuring Sebastian Merchan and the French driver
Brandon Maisano who joined forces with the ecuadorean at
the meeting in Dijon. During the most recent meeting in
Aragon Tatuus achieved a second place in qualifying. «We
were leading for much of the race too – continues De Bellis –
and after the race at Motorland we realised that we were
heading in the right direction. Now we can enjoy a satisfying
climax to the season while looking forward to 2014. We’re
very pleased with our two drivers, we’ve had some highly
profitable test sessions with them (the last one was in Misano
at the end of July) and collected a lot of important data».
During the 12 hours of Motorland the ranks were swelled by
the arrival of the Ultimate team, which is based in Saint
Gregoire, in France and managed by Marie‐Alice Lahaye, the
wife of Matthieu Lahaye, who shared the cockpit with his
brother Jean‐Baptiste and Francois Héreiu in Spain. Ultimate
will be entering a second Tatuus car in 2014, a further
acknowledgement of the growing reputation of the Italian
designed prototype. The last meetings of the 2013 VdeV
Championship are in Magny‐Cours on 25‐26‐27 October, and
in Estoril from 15th to 17th November. In Concorezzo it’s no
secret that great things are expectede both from the team
and from the little gem known as PY 012.
