Marussia unveils the MR01 of Glock and Pic

After being forced to cancel the presentation of its MR01 and its participation in the last week of private testing, held in Barcelona, following the failure of one of the 18 crash tests imposed by the FIA, the Marussia team is finally unveiling its car on the occasion of a promotional filming day: “We are very happy to offer its first run to the new MR01 this morning,” said John Booth, the Anglo-Russian team’s boss. “It has been a long and frustrating wait for everyone in the team, but we can now get back on track—literally—and start working towards the first race of the season in Australia next week.”

This new car, the first built since the team’s acquisition by Marussia, was designed with the technical advice of Pat Symonds and with the help of McLaren’s infrastructure. Moreover, like the MP4-27, the MR01 does not feature a platypus nose – although it is trendy in the 2012 fall-winter collection – the nose of Timo Glock and Charles Pic’s car offers a much softer variation than the latest from Woking. Another notable difference, and a potential handicap for the Anglo-Russian team, is that the MR01 will not have the KERS, with John Booth considering the energy recovery system during braking to be an extravagant expense that Caterham has managed to afford, whereas the HRT F112 was designed with the possibility of integrating the system during the season.

Even if, according to Andrew Benson, a writer for the BBC, it reportedly has not yet passed all the crash tests required by the FIA, the MR01 completed its first laps today at the Silverstone circuit, with Timo Glock at the wheel: « Today is the first of two promotional days; while the drivers can get a preview of the car, they will not be able to draw real conclusions until we start racing fiercely in Melbourne. Nevertheless, it is an important day for us and we will enjoy every minute spent on the track with our new car. »