Gascoyne defends Caterham look

Mike Gascoyne has defended the look of the CT01 as a sign of the times on the day that Caterham's new car was launched in earnest.

Rebranded outfit plan to 'move forward' with new car

With pictures of the CT01 leaked online on Wednesday, the car - the first to be launched for the new season and the first to be launched by the newly-rebranded Caterham outfit - has already received plenty of comment, much of it pertaining to its 'ugly boxer's nose'. However, it's expected that such looks will be typical of the 2012 challengers, with reports this week from Italy also describing the eagerly-awaited new Ferrari as 'ugly'. Commenting on the comments, so to speak, Gascoyne, Caterham's Technical Director reflected: "Yes, well the regulations have changed to limit the height of the nosebox to try to ensure that noses don't get too high. Our challenge is that you always want to get the chassis as high as possible to allow clean air flow to the underside of the car, and what you see on the CT01 is our solution to that. "As we're the first car out it is obviously stirring up a lot of debate, but because of the 2012 regulations I think you'll probably be seeing this type of nose on most of the cars this year," he told the team's Facebook page. Gascoyne also applauded the decision to ban the blown diffuser, saying that decision will assist Caterham in their goal to improve on last year's P10 in the Constructors' Championship. "Aerodynamics is always the main focus of performance and improvement. Last year it was all about the blown diffuser, which we struggled with because not having it in 2010 meant we were always playing catch up throughout the 2011 season in comparison to other teams. "The fact it's banned this year certainly plays to our advantage. Other teams had so much more development time, they were able to get much more out of it than we were ever able to, so that eliminates a little of the competition in terms of technical development. "But really, aerodynamics is always one of the main features of development and that's why we've put so much additional resource into it." Armed for the first time with KERs, the team have already made public their plan to break into the midfield pack this season, but Gascoyne is refusing to make any performance promises. "I think we need to see the car on track first and get feedback from the first tests. Until we run the car, we only have numbers and simulation data to work with. But every team wants to move up the grid and we're no different. We finished 10th in the last two years, which has been our target, but now I think it's time we moved forward again. Let's see what happens we get out on track." Yet note the quiet tone of confidence in this line: "We look forward to getting it out, testing it, and proving what the numbers are telling us." The CT01 may not be a thing of beauty, but nobody will care about that if, as hoped, it proves to be quick. Gallery:
Check Out Pictures Of The CT01