Link to other news:  Latest Nov 01 Oct 01 Sep 01

28/08/2001 Plummer takes to the A1-Ring
Bob Plummer was the first of the BSR drivers to lap 4.3km Austrian circuit. After struggling to find balance through the first two corners, he then got down to some productive testing and finished the session felling far more comfortable. He is scheduled to continue in Austria for the rest of the week where Saunders will join him on Friday evening ahead of the qualifying session. Meanwhile Ben Saunders was in Hockenheim for his first duties in the Haifa Gear car. He worked on heavy fuel setups and slowly improved the cars handling, dialing out oversteer.
28/08/2001 Torrid Time at Monaco
The BSR team had a baptism of fire at the Principality where neither driver finished the race. First to go out was Plummer on lap 4, when he touched the wall in his BSR-01 damaging the suspension. Ben Saunders was out on lap 19 when he too had a collision on the narrow street circuit. The race was won by the Finish driver Aki Konskinen for the Alcoholica-Toyota Team. Not a great start to their challenge in the FGP3L but both drivers will be trying hard to get points at Austria in two weeks time. The BSR team boss said ‘Both drivers gave it their best shot and were unlucky not to make it to the finish line. They had very little track time and I also think that to start their challenge at Monaco was a tall order. I think that the next race at the A1-ring will show our true potential and we will be working hard to get a result there.’
Aki Konskinen FIN 52m49.167s
Ben Saunders GBR 19 Laps
Bob Plummer GBR 4 Laps
22/08/01 Saunders Signs for Haifa-Volvo
Ben Saunders broke silence today and has announced he will be taking a test driver seat in the GPGRL. The team he is joining is the Haifa Gear Volvo Team. He had his first run in the new car today when he  completed two laps of Silverstone in a brief shake down for the team. He has also confirmed that this new role will not effect his duties with BSR Grand Prix. The first time he will drive in an official test for Haifa is expected to be announced shortly and the BSR Grand Prix site will follow his progress in his new role.
21/08/01 Qualifying Results From Monaco
Ben Saunders lines up 8th on the grid in Monaco and Bob Plummer is 2 places further back in 10th. Full results can be viewed here. Ben Saunders was pleased to be ahead of Plummer for the first time this season, but both drivers were disappointed to be so far off the pace. The team is now set to work on the race setup and strategy over the next couple of days.
Aki Koskinen FIN 1m17.571s
Ben Saunders GBR 1m21.765s +4.194s
Bob Plummer GBR 1m22.485s +4.914s
20/08/01

GPGRL Seat for Saunders?
While the BSR Grand Prix team awaits news of the qualifying results in Monte Carlo, a rumour has surfaced that Ben Saunders may be taking up a role as a test driver in the GPGRL. The BSR Grand Prix team have refused to comment on this recent speculation, but feeling in the camp is that no matter what, he will remain in the driving seat of the BSR-RedBull-Porsche car for the rest of 2001. 

19/08/01 Qualifying in Monaco
Both Ben Saunders and Bob Plummer have now been out on the Monaco circuit in qualifying trim. Ben Saunders was the quicker of the two with Plummer having little track time to test his setup. The team are now waiting to find out their grid positions for the Monaco GP, their first race in the FGP3L. News should hopefully come at some point tomorrow.
17/08/2001 BSR Grand Prix to compete at Monaco
Both Bob Plummer and Ben Saunders will be in Monte Carlo for the qualifying session this weekend. An announcement came this morning from the team that both drivers were to compete in both the LFRS French Grand Prix and the FGP3L Monaco Grand Prix. It is thought that the French GP will be the last event that the Porsche powered  team will enter in the LFRS. Bob Plummer was out on the Monaco circuit early this morning before jetting off to a friends wedding. Ben Saunders then took to the track in the same car as the drivers await the arrival of the race team and 2nd car from Magny Cours in northern France. Although setting reasonable times in comparison with Plummer, Saunders did have a few scrapes with the barrier.
16/08/2001 Saunders hits the streets of Monaco
Ben Saunders was the first of the BSR-RedBull-Porsche drivers to hit the twisty Monte Carlo track today. The session was a brief shake down of the BSR-01. This leads to the belief that the team will compete in the forthcoming race in FGP3L. There has been no word yet on whether the team will continue to compete in the LFRS. The team have been testing all week in Magny Cours in preparation for the Race to be held there.
16/08/2001 BSR Grand Prix Join Finnish GP3 League
An official announcement came from the BSR team this morning. It stated that from the 16th August 2001 they would be joining the Finnish GP3 League run by Kari Koski. The team are said to be delighted at the news and feel that they will bring added enthusiasm to the League. The next race on the FGP3L schedule starts at Monte Carlo this weekend. The team are as yet unsure as to whether they will be ready in time to enter this race. 
15/08/2001 BSR Grand Prix in League Talks
BSR-RedBull-Porsche could soon be moving away from the LFRS to a different League. "All I can say at this point is that we are in negotiations to enter the team in a championship run by different management. Communication has taken place and as yet I can't reveal any details. As soon as we are clear what the team are intending to do, I will inform everyone of our decision. First we have to talk with our strategic partners and set out the long term plans for the team" commented the Team Manager.
15/08/2001 Testing Continues
Saunders again hit the track today and completed a 30 minute test session prior to the French GP. His best time was a 1m15.371 which was slightly faster than yesterday. Plummer is still leading the way in the BSR-RedBull-Porsche team and looks to be a starting the race a few places in front of Saunders.
15/08/2001 Ben Saunders - New Helmet
Until today both Ben Saunders and Bob Plummer have been running in plain blue helmets. Today that changed when Ben Saunders hit the track in his new helmet design.
14/08/2001 Slight Improvement from Ben Saunders
Testing continued in Magny Cours today with Ben Saunders behind the wheel of the BSR-01, slightly improving on his fastest lap so far. Saunders commented “We worked hard on the set-up but it took time to get the stability of the car right and I feel that we lost direction mid way through the session. I know there is more in the car and if I put all my best sectors together I’m sure I could get at least a 1m15.000s. Bob’s still ahead of me but I’m sure I can close the gap.”

Best times to date:
Bob Plummer           1m15.085s
Ben Saunders          1m15.399s          + 0.314s

12/08/2001 Testing at Magny Cours
Bob Plummer took to the track today and improved his lap time to a 1m15.085s beating his team mate by over half a second.
11/08/2001

Testing & Qualifying for French GP
Bob Plummer and Ben Saunders were both out in the newly liveried BSR-01 today in preparation for the French GP. Saunders started off by taking over a second out of Plummer's Friday time with a 1m15.598s, but later in the session Bob got down to a 1m15.239s.

Bob Plummer flies in Saturday practice in the new BSR-01

Testing is set to continue on Sunday with the BSR-01 being put through its paces in France by Bob Plummer, looking to make improvements to the car's setup.
08/08/01 Launch of the BSR-RedBull-Porsche BSR-01
The new livery of the BSR-01 was unveiled today in Sussex. Both drivers seemed delighted with the new colour scheme. VISA were also announced as a new sponsor for the fledgling team.

07/08/01 The BSR Team Win Appeal
Ben Saunders was reinstated in 21st place today after an appeal by the BSR technical Director, gaining both finishing and fastest lap points for the team.

21st: Ben Saunders - Eng - +1m14.709s

07/08/01 Results From Montreal
Controversy surrounded the first race for the BSR team today as Bob Plummer scored the teams first points and Ben Saunders was disqualified for a software infringement!

1st: Ionut Valeanu - Rom - 22m17.134s
2nd: Dimitri Ignatjev - Rus - +0m.00.207s
3rd: Nuno Goncalves - Por - +0m.02.583s

20th: Bob Plummer - Eng - +0m49.667s
Disqualified: Ben Saunders - Eng

Plummer on his way to 20th in Canada

Link to other news:  Latest Nov 01 Oct 01 Sep 01

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