German travel operator Schmetterling Reisen takes delivery of 16 Setra S 415 NF low-floor buses

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The German travel operator Schmetterling Reise- und Verkehrslogistik GmbH has recently expanded its fleet with the addition of 16 new Setra low-floor buses, type S 415 NF. This major order, for a total of 19 Setra MultiClass 400 rural-service buses - the biggest investment ever made by this small family-run business, based in the Franconian town of Geschwand - was triggered by the company winning the tender for a local public transport contract. From December 2012 on, the Schmetterling company will be operating new regular-service routes in the rural districts of Forchheim and Fürth with a total fleet of 60 buses. The decision to meet this new challenge with buses bearing the badge of the traditional Ulm brand was not a difficult one for joint Managing Directors Elmar and Daniela Singer, who took delivery of the vehicles at the Customer Centre in Neu-Ulm before an audience made up of company drivers and their families.

As Elmar Singer commented: "It was a very conscious decision in favour of Setra buses, the quality, functionality and reliability of which have never ceased to impress us over the last 30 years or more. We know that the low-floor buses will still show excellent value retention even after the eight-year term of our contract ends. There is no comparable vehicle on the market that retains its value as well as a Setra bus."

As Heinz Friedrich, Head of Setra Sales Germany, commentedat the handover event for these regular-service buses, each of which is equipped with 40 seats and standing room for 45: "This contract just goes to show that, with a professional and committed approach, privately owned companies can still offer competitive solutions to rival those of the big companies."

The S 415 NF Setra MultiClass 400 buses are fully adapted for the disabled with low-level door sills and a folding ramp for wheelchair users, and are also equipped with a computer-based central guidance system and event monitors, upon which passengers are able to track the bus's route in graphic form.

Schmetterling Reise- und Verkehrslogistik GmbH has worked with Setra since 1980

The company Schmetterling Reise- und Verkehrs logistik GmbH currently employs 240 members of staff and is part of the Schmetterling group of companies, based in the town of Geschwand, in the Franconia region of Germany. The portfolio of the transport company, which operates throughout Germany, encompasses tourist travel and transport logistics, scheduled bus services, taxis, rental cars and tour operations. Established in 1976, the company currently runs a fleet of 127 vehicles, including around 80 tourist coaches and regular-service buses. The Franconian family-run business has been a partner of the Ulm-based brand since 1980, when the company bought its first Setra 100 series vehicle, an S 150.

Credits: Daimler AG

Copyright © 2012, mercedesgla. All rights reserved.

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German F1 Grand Prix 2012 - Hockenheim: Race Report - Jenson Button 3rd, Lewis Hamilton retired

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JENSON BUTTON
- MP4-27A-02
- Started: 6th
- Finished: 2nd
- Fastest lap: 1m19.719s (+0.994s, 13th)
- Pitstops: Two: laps 19 (3.26s) and 40 (2.31s) [Opt-Pri-Pri]
- Points: 68 (7th)

“I had a really good race and really enjoyed myself out there. I made a good start, pulled off some good moves on both Nico [Hukenberg] and Michael [Schumacher] and had strong pace all afternoon.

“Sebastian [Vettel]’s pass was a pretty straightforward matter: the rules state that you can’t go off the track to gain an advantage. The thing is, there would have been more opportunities for him before the end of the race as my rear tyres were damaged. That’s because I had to push hard to try and catch Fernando [Alonso], which meant I had nothing left for the end of the race. We pretty much ran out of rubber two laps before the chequer.

“There are two strong positives to take away from today: firstly, although it proved very difficult to overtake, we’re right up there with Ferrari and Red Bull in terms of speed. Our upgrade package is working well: if we can sort out qualifying, we’re in the mix, and we’ll have a really good chance of winning races this season.

“Secondly, although there’s previously been some negative talk about our pitstops, the boys did an unbelievable job today. My fastest stop was a 2.31s – the blink of an eye, and, I’m told, the fastest pitstop in history. They were phenomenal and gave it absolutely everything today – all our effort is really paying off now.

“I’m already looking forward to Hungary – it’s a special place for me, and I feel really encouraged that we can have another great race next weekend.”

LEWIS HAMILTON
- MP4-27A-03
- Started: 7th
- Finished: Ret – lap 56 (accident damage)
- Fastest lap: 1m20.091s (+1.366s, 19th)
- Pitstops: Three: laps 3 (5.60s), 31 (2.85s) and 47 (3.83s) [Opt-Pri-Pri-Opt]
- Points: 92 (5th)

“My second-lap puncture was incredibly unfortunate: there was debris scattered across the full width of the track and I didn’t have any option other than to drive straight through it. What’s more frustrating is that, at the time, I was the eighth car through – so to be the one to get the puncture is just cruel luck.

“It was immediately clear that my car didn’t feel the same after the puncture. However, after a few laps, I was able to adapt my driving style, and the car had good pace during the middle stint. However, with the damage to the rear, I think we were lucky to get that far, to be honest.

“At least I was able to have some fun out on track – my pace was good enough to be able to match the leaders during the middle stint. And that’s encouraging for me, because we know our car’s been genuinely quick this weekend. A big thank-you to everyone back at the factory for all their efforts to get a lot of new parts onto the car this weekend – every little bit helps, and we know there’s even more in the pipeline.

“We’ll put that pace in our pockets and take it to Hungary next weekend. I’m back in the car in five days’ time – and that’s the best possible news for me after a day like today.”

MARTIN WHITMARSH
Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

“A great drive from Jenson today – a little frustrating to have started sixth, which meant he lost time at the start of the race [behind Hulkenberg and Schumacher], but he drove brilliantly to catch and battle the leaders.

“He wasn’t quite able to bridge the gap to Fernando because, frankly, we were saving fuel at that stage, his rear tyres had gone off a little bit because he’d been behind the Ferrari for some time, and also because Fernando’s never an easy driver to overtake. Indeed, Ferrari are doing a great job at the moment – but we know they’re beatable.

“I think it’s important to place some of the credit for Jenson’s second place with our pitcrew: their second stop for Jenson was the fastest Formula 1 pitstop of all time, with a stationary time of just 2.31s. That’s quite unbelievable and not only a testament to our belief in the processes and equipment we put in place to improve our performance, but also to the commitment and determination of the guys on the ground to improve and refine their technique. Well done to everyone for a quite phenomenal achievement!

“Lewis was incredibly unfortunate to be a victim of the Turn One debris – there wasn’t anything he could have done to avoid it. Unfortunately, the puncture damaged the rear of his car, prompting us to monitor the data carefully to track all the vital signs. He had a good push in the middle of the race, but the car got worse and worse so it wasn’t safe or sensible to keep him out there. It’s a terribly disappointing conclusion to his 100th grand prix.

“Looking ahead to Hungary next weekend, we know we’ve got a good car and a good recent track record there – we won in 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011. Winning just before the shutdown is always positive because it provides you with great momentum across the summer break. The underlying news is that we were very competitive this afternoon in the Santander German Grand Prix. There’s a lot of races ahead and I think we can have some great results.”

~ Official photos and report courtesy of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes ~

Copyright © 2012, mercedesgla. All rights reserved.

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German F1 Grand Prix 2012 - Hockenheim: Race Report - Michael Schumacher 7th, Nico Rosberg 10th

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Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg finished the German Grand Prix in seventh and tenth places respectively today.

• Michael made three pit stops this afternoon on laps 14, 36 and 52, running option/option/prime/option
• Nico also ran a three-stop strategy, stopping on laps 12, 32 and 50 and choosing prime/option/option/option
• With fresh tyres in the final laps, Michael set the team´s second fastest lap in three races in 1:18.725

Michael Schumacher
“There are nicer ways to finish a home race than falling back from third to seventh place. I squeezed everything I could out of the car but, unfortunately, that´s everything we could manage today. It´s a pity because I would have loved to have given something more to all our Mercedes-Benz colleagues who were supporting us today. Before this weekend, we expected to be racing between P5 and P7, and of course fifth place would have been the better option, but seventh was our maximum in these circumstances. I got a decent start and the short battle with Sebastian was fun. After that, unfortunately, there weren´t too many highlights, apart from setting the fastest lap, perhaps. However, we couldn´t maintain that pace for very long. Now we have to look forwards and do our maximum at the next race.”

Nico Rosberg
“It feels ok to have scored one point today after such a bad qualifying yesterday and starting right at the back. We had a good strategy and I had great fun out there at times overtaking so many people to move from 21st to 10th place. Some of the guys I had to overtake a couple of times and there were some nice manoeuvres. Thanks to our fans here in Hockenheim for their fantastic support, even though the weekend didn’t really run to plan. Now I look forward to Budapest in just seven days and hope for a better weekend, and we will keep working very hard towards this.”

Ross Brawn
“We ran the race as well as we could today, in the knowledge that we would have to make three pit stops. Some of our rivals on two-stop strategies faded towards the end but the drop-off was not sufficient for our drivers to be able to take advantage on fresher tyres. Michael and Nico put in consistent performances, pulled off good overtaking moves and we delivered six clean pit stops. Our strategy enabled Nico to climb eleven positions from his starting place, while Michael finished in seventh place for the second time in two weeks. We made the right decisions this afternoon but, after 67 laps, Michael found himself 29 seconds behind the winner. That shows we need to find more pace from the car.”

Norbert Haug
“Of course it is not pleasant starting third and coming home seventh. We were convinced that a three-stop strategy would be the fastest race for us, and we will evaluate whether a two-stop strategy could have brought us more. In any case, a podium was out of reach for us today and we certainly need further improvements. Nico put in a great drive, gaining 11 places from 21st to 10th. Like in Silverstone, our best-placed car came home roughly 30 seconds behind the winner, so we are missing about half a second per lap. We are now looking forward to doing a better job next weekend at the Hungarian Grand Prix.”

~ Official photos and report courtesy of MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS ~

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