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Wednesday September 9, 2009

Renault to bring back KERS at Italian Grand Prix

LONDON: Renault will revive their KERS energy recovery system for Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix after dropping it since the early part of the Formula One season, the team said on Monday.

“There are three aspects of KERS that need to be considered,” said engineering head Pat Symonds in a preview of the race at Monza.

“Lap time, the advantage it gives from the start, and the ability to assist overtaking.

“The gain in lap time of running KERS in Monza is likely to be around a quarter of a second and it’s worth even more in qualifying,” he added.

“In terms of the advantage at the start, it’s a long way from the grid to the first corner in Monza and KERS will give an advantage of well over 15 metres compared with non-KERS cars.

“For assisting overtaking, you have to remember that Monza is a circuit where it’s very difficult to overtake, but running KERS certainly won’t disadvantage us in that respect.

“All these factors combine to make Monza a very favourable circuit for KERS,” he said.

Former champions Renault have not used KERS since the Spanish Grand Prix in May but Monza, the fastest track on the calendar with long straights and quick corners, should reward those with the system.

Cars equipped with KERS, which harnesses heat energy from the brakes and gives a brief boost of power at the push of a button, have won two of the last three races — McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton in Hungary and former world champion, Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen in Belgium. — Reuters

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