11/09/2009
NEWS STORY
iSport International - Giedo van der Garde (2nd) Diego Nunes (8th)
iSport upped the momentum again at the Monza Autodrome as both drivers made it into the top eight for the first time this season.
iSport racer Giedo van der Garde picked up where he left off in Spa Francorchamps driving an impeccable lap on his first run to take second on the grid for tomorrows feature race. His team mate Diego Nunes also set his best time on the first set of tyres but everyone struggled to improve as the track slowed towards the end of the session. Nunes finished eighth but will be promoted to seventh after Lucas Di Grassi takes his ten place grid penalty from Spa.
Giedo van der Garde: "It was good. The track was quite quick at the start and I set a really good lap on the first run. The car felt really good and we keep improving all the time. I think it will be an interesting race tomorrow with the weather and also starting right at the front which I have not done so far this season. I think we should be really quick in the race and have a great chance of a good result in the main race".
Diego Nunes: "I was quick in practice, the car was really good. I had a bit of understeer in qualifying so my first quick lap was not the best it could be. I was fast on the second set of tyres but couldn't really get a clean lap with so much traffic. I will start from seventh and you can overtake at this circuit so we should have a good race".
Fat Burner Racing Engineering - Lucas Di Grassi (5th) Dani Clos (14th)
During today's GP2 qualifying session at the Autodromo di Monza, both Fat Burner Racing Engineering drivers, Lucas Di Grassi and Dani Clos, tried to obtain the best results possible before taking into account their respective 10-place grid penalty handed over two weeks ago in Spa-Francorchamps.
After familiarizing themselves with the conditions at the Italian track and working on their respective car set ups, Lucas finished today's free practice session in second, and Dani in sixteenth position. Both Fat Burner Racing Engineering drivers approached the afternoon qualifying session by keeping in mind that ten grid positions would be added to their final results. Clearly the aim was to finish qualifying as well as possible in order to limit the damage.
Lucas and Dani were able to show a very promising pace during the first half of the session. Lucas placed himself in second position and was eager to improve on his lap time of 1:30.530 even further, but was slowed down by D'Ambrosio on his fastest lap. Dani, on the other hand, was 7th on the timing screen during the first part of the session, dropping back to tenth shortly before he entered the pits. Both Fat Burner Racing Engineering drivers came into the pitlane after 10 minutes in the session to have some minor changes applied to their cars. As a consequence, they both lost positions and dropped back to fifth and fourteenth, respectively.
But traffic was not only an issue for Lucas, but also for Dani. When both drivers rejoined the session with a bit less than ten minutes to go left, the Spaniard's second run was hampered by other drivers while he was trying to set faster lap times and improve the final standings. Lucas was able to improve on his lap time and clocked a 1:30.504. However, this was not enough and he had to conform himself with 5th place. Considering the penalty handed over from Spa, the Fat Burner Racing Engineering driver will start Saturday's feature race from 15th position on the grid. His teammate Dani finished the session in 14th position, which results in 24th position on the grid for race 1 at Monza.
Lucas Di Grassi: Qualifying was OK. I was held up by another car on my fastest lap, which is a bit of a shame. But my car was fine, well balanced. So for tomorrow we have the penalty and we therefore start at the back. This means we need to change our strategy and approach the race differently. Nevertheless, it's a long race and we will see what happens.
Dani Clos: The beginning of the session wasn't too bad. We then came into the pits for some changes. From the very beginning of the session the brakes didn't work too well, but I think this is a general problem in the paddock this weekend. Well, for tomorrow things are complicated as we are starting from the back of the field, but I will give my best in order to make up positions.
Alfonso de Orleans-Borbon, Team President: Traffic definitely harmed our drivers' performances this afternoon. We would have liked to have them higher up the timing sheets, but then again, with 10 positions added for both of them, we knew that Saturday's race might be complicated. But who knows, maybe they are able to keep out of trouble and show some great racing tomorrow as we know their cars are well set up and it's going to be a long race here in Italy. I would like to thank our boys, who are doing a great job putting two competitive cars on track weekend after weekend, they definitely need something to boot their morale.
Trident Racing - Davide Rigon (13th) Ricardo Texeira (24th)
The 9th round of the 2009 GP2 Main Series took off today in the wonderful frame of the Monza venue. The home round has always been special to Trident Racing, thanks to the huge support from friends, partners, supporters giving their contribution to the team's morale on the Italian Grand weekend. Davide Rigon and Ricardo Teixeira made their way on-track today for practice as well as the highly-decisive qualifying session. At the end of the 30-minute session, setting the grid for tomorrow's Race 1, Davide Rigon took a spot on Row 7 by clocking the 13th fastest lap of the day. Despite the true speed potential of the car and driver wasn't fully expressed due to traffic and a driving mistake at Parabolica, there will be plenty to do on race day. Teixeira ended up in 24th, increasing his confide nce on one of the world's fastest circuits. The Angolan was running for the first time at the racetrack and with his car's light downforce package. Race 1 will be broadcasted live by satellite channel Sky Sport tomorrow at 16:00 CET. Race 2 will be starting on Sunday at 10.30.
Davide Rigon: "Today we ran good, even tough a slight mistake preventing me from entering the top-8. I did the best I could in both the first and the second intermediate, but I lost two tenths at the Parabolica corner. With such a tight battle, the error cost me five spots on the grid. I'm quite optimist for tomorrow's Race 1. Our car reacts well and we get a good tire wear. We'll face the major obstacle of the day at the first corner, where there's no space with no possibility to run over kerbs without spinning. I'll cross my finger and I hope to reward the team and all our supporters with a great result".
Ricardo Texeira: "Running at more than 300 kilometers per hour on such an historical racetrack is totally impressive! Monza is really fun, handing you a lot of emotions. In practice I quickly learned to avoid the new kerbs, because hitting them means a sure spin. In Qualifying I progressively improved my laptimes, but I made a mistake on my best lap, losing 8 tenths of a second at Parabolica. Coming to the flag tomorrow won't be easy due to the many obstacles you can find along, and to the bad weather we expect. Succeeding in that might be the key to get a good starting spot on Sunday".
Ocean Racing Technology - Alvaro Parente (18th) Karun Chandhok (20th)
The Monza weekend is not shaping up to be a repeat of Ocean Racing Technology's recent good fortune when, after an excellent run at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit two weeks ago where they secured their maiden victory in the GP2 Main Series, the Portuguese team suffered at the hands of bad luck on the Monza circuit during qualifying for the penultimate round of the 2009 season. Alvaro Parente will start from 17th on the grid while teammate and Karun Chandhok will line up in 20th.
The day started badly in free practice with Alvaro Parente having an off track moment in the intimidating Parabolica after just four laps and was therefore unable to set his car up properly for qualifying. "The off track excursion set things up for the rest of the day," Parente said. "With a far from perfect car and with so close lap times between all the drivers, I was unable to do any better in qualifying. My mission will be a tough one, but not impossible, and I'll give it my best to make up as many positions as possible."
Forced to start from the tenth row of the grid for the first race, Karun Chandhok is also preparing himself for a tough fight... "To start that far down on the grid, my race will be a tough one. I'm not happy with the way things happened but tomorrow I will have to catch up and to try to climb up in order to be in a good position for the second race. It is not the first time I have had to start from the back of the field and I have already made my way back to the top 10," Chandhok explains.
For the directors of Ocean Racing Technology, Tiago Monteiro and Jose Guedes, the disappointment of Monza qualifying is a reflection on the quality of the field in the GP2 Main Series. "There are 18 drivers in the same second and as soon as one of them has a mishap he falls to the bottom of the starting grid. Everything can happen during the race itself, but the first thing we have to do is come out of the first turn in one piece."