06/02/2010
NEWS STORY
iSport International - Davide Valsecchi (1st) Oliver Turvey (5th)
iSport continued their dominance at the Yas Marina Circuit as Davide Valsecchi stormed through the reverse grid to take victory in the sprint race this evening.
After a one-two finish in yesterdays feature race, iSport racers Davide Valsecchi and Oliver Turvey started today's sprint race in seventh and eight positions on the reverse grid. After a clean start, Valsecchi stormed through the field after a brief safety car period, quickly dispatching Alexander Rossi and Giacomo Ricci. His sights set firmly on the win; Valsecchi set a succession of fastest laps to catch leader Michael Herck with only three laps remaining. With a clearly quicker car, Valsecchi reeled in Herck, darted down the inside into the chicane to snatch victory and fastest lap in dominant fashion.
British driver Oliver Turvey continued to impress in only his second GP2 race weekend. After dropping two places after the safety car Turvey fought back through the field; overtaking compatriot Max Chilton and fellow rookie Rossi. With clean air, Turvey quickly caught the Addax car of Sergio Perez but with only one lap remaining took the chequered flag in fifth to take home another two points.
A fantastic race weekend for iSport leaves the team's driver's Davide Valsecchi and Oliver Turvey first and second in the Driver's Championship with iSport leading the Team Championship with 51 points.
Davide Valsecchi: I am really happy, we are leading the championship, and we are strong. The track is really nice and good. It is really fun to drive as during the races there is always a lot of overtaking. The car, the team, we were incredibly strong; it is our moment now I want to use it to win. Fantastic job, thank you to all the team, it was perfect.
Oliver Turvey: I got a good start and got ahead of Davide but he managed to get back pass me on the first lap. After that I got stuck behind Chilton and unfortunately we couldn't get by him until too late in the race, it was a bit frustrating. But once I got by him the pace was really good and we were really quick so we ended up with second quickest lap I think. It was good to finish fifth and get two more points. I managed to overtake Rossi at the end and get a few more points and consolidate second in the championship.
Ocean Racing Technology - Max Chilton (6th) Fabio Leimer (DNF)
The second night race in Abu Dhabi brought further satisfaction and frustration for Ocean Racing Technology. The Portuguese GP2 team finished in the points once again, thanks to Max Chilton, however they also recorded another DNF for Fabio Leimer, once again due to mechanical problems.
A superb 8th in the first race, Max Chilton started race two from pole position, the eighteen year old racer didn't manage to get the best start and lost several places in the first turn as a result. Thereafter his race pace was convincing and regular and Max resisted attacks from much more experienced drivers for the majority of the race to finish in 6th place, ahead of Jules Bianchi. He now leaves Abu Dhabi satisfied to have secured some very invaluable experience for the 2010 season. "I was always fighting positions during the race, running with several cars ahead and behind me, I had to attack and to defend at the same time which never helps in clocking fast laps, which was our aim. I knew the night would be tough because I have only just begun my learning phase in the GP2 Series. I didn't want to take any risks in the last few laps and made sure I secured 6th place. It was a good weekend and I'm looking forward to Bahrain, I'm sure together with Ocean Racing Technology we will improve," declared the 18 year old.
Meanwhile teammate Fabio Leimer endured a hard race. The Swiss racer started 23rd on the grid but was straight on the pace that enabled him to climb up close to the top ten. During the course of the race he was one of the most vigorous drivers on the track, often involved in some of the finest fights, however he was forced to retire with just five laps remaining due to another engine failure. "Except for the practice sessions, complications kept harassing me this weekend. The start of the second race was promising and the car was working just fine. But then it started to slow down. I tried to counteract this loss of speed but it became harder and harder to do so and in the end it was impossible to keep going under decent conditions. Abu Dhabi was not nice to me because we could not gather all the pieces of the puzzle together but I think it will be different in Bahrain," concluded Leimer.
The GP2 Asia Series will enter into its second half on the 26th of February in Bahrain. The Sakhir International Circuit will host the two final rounds of the season, the finale taking place as part of the season opening Formula One Grand Prix. Ocean Racing Technology is now 5th in the Teams' championship.
Tiago Monteiro and Jose Guedes' team, which has only just started its second year in the GP2 Series, continues to gather valuable data and experience aimed at playing a key role in Ocean Racing Technology's performance in the near future.
MalaysiaQI-MeritusMahara.com - Alexander Rossi (9th) Luca Filippi (17th)
The grid was reversed for the top eight for the start of the 22-lap second race this weekend at Abu Dhabi. MalaysiaQI-MeritusMahara.com's Luca Filippi and Alexander Rossi had reasonably good grid positions for race two, starting from 14th and third respectively.
Alexander Rossi rocketed from third to second position at the second start of race 2. Villa had stalled before the formation lap and the start of the race was aborted. Meanwhile Luca Filippi improved by seven positions from the starting line up and was up to seventh. There was a lot of action on the track with Josef Kral (Super Nova Racing) stopping after hitting both Sam Bird and Luca Filippi at turn 1. It was a move that dashed Filippi's hopes of a points finish. After that, the safety car was deployed briefly to clear the track after car 8 stopped at turn onr. Luca Filippi was lucky to be able to drive back to the pits with only two flat tires. He rejoined the race and was immediately back into the competition.
Rossi meanwhile was pushing Michael Herck (DPR) but lost a bit of time at the restart when the safety car came back in. He dropped to fourth and then to fifth on lap 12 while Luca Filippi was trying to recover in 20th. Complaining about engine power and oversteer, Rossi finished the race ninth while Filippi climbed to 17th.
Luca Filippi: "I would have liked to do better for both me and for the team. I am not happy to finish 17th of course. But at least I finished the race. I had a good start and gained seven positions. But then I was hit and my hopes of finishing in the points were dashed at once. I am lucky to have suffered only two flat tires. The team is lodging a protest, but this will not give me the race back. Let's look ahead for a better result at the Bahrain race."
Alexander Rossi: "Leaving from 3rd and finishing 9th is not a good result. It was disappointing because I had a good start but felt there were problems with power from the start. The engine was not following, and I had oversteer problems. So I felt I had no chances after six laps given I was encountering unexpected problems . I could not keep up the pace. On the positive side, I am off to UK to do some work on learning the Bahrain track with my engineers. I do not know the track, so there is still a lot of work to do in the future."
Chairman Raad S. Abduljawad: "We are looking to a good home race in a few weeks time on the Bahrain track on February 25-26. Racing in Bahrain is always a great experience and it's a circuit that all drivers enjoy driving. "
Peter Thompson, President and team founder: "A pity that we could not maximize our positions, but the boys have done a great job and kept their 3rd and 5th place in the classification of the series at the close of the second Abu Dhabi round of the GP2 Asia Series. The team has found the pace. We also had bad luck and need to improve in a few areas. But I am confident that the whole team will come together for a great performance."
Super Nova - Marcus Ericsson (12th) Josef Kral (DNF)
The Super Nova team will leave Abu Dhabi empty handed this evening after another unlucky race. With no pit stops in the sprint race drivers had to rely on their overtaking skills, rather than strategy as well, to gain places in the race. A few spots of rain early in the race threatened to make it more difficult but an anticipated storm never came.
Josef had a very good start and was already up to 7th position before a collision on the opening lap abruptly ended his race and with it the chance to pick up valuable points.
Starting from 17th on the grid Marcus, once again, had a very difficult task to get into a points position. He made a very good start but then lost places after having to avoid an incident during the opening lap melee. He then showed good pace throughout the race and produced some great overtaking manoeuvres to finish in 12th place, even though he was still struggling with a throttle problem.
Marcus Ericsson: "Starting from near the back again we have had another tough day. After making a good start I was unlucky on the first lap, having to avoid an incident in front of me which lost me four or five places. The car still had a problem with the throttle so I was pleased with the pace we had and to be able to gain positions."
"The team have down a great job in repairing my car from yesterday and I feel that I am building a very good relationship with my engineer. Overall we have had two very good race performances and had we started higher then I think we would have come away with good results. This is my last GP2 Asia race, so now I am looking forward to the main series and I am very confidant that the team and I can have a great season."
Josef Kral: "I had a good start again but chose the wrong side of the track to go for the first corner, allowing Valsecchi to get past me again. I was pushing hard behind the two Isport cars when they broke earlier than I expected and this allowed Filippi to close in. I saw him coming to overtake in my mirrors at the next corner and we touched. Perez then got a good run on me as a result and moved to go around the outside of me. At the same time Filippi came up the inside and I had nowhere to go, we had hard contact and I retired. It is a shame because the car felt better than yesterday so we could have had a really good result today. I feel confidant for next time as we did a good job but unfortunately had no good results."
David Sears - Team Principal: "Perhaps another race to forget in terms of results. Josef had a good start and opening lap until he was involved in an accident which eliminated him on the spot. Marcus had a continued throttle problem but drove very well under the circumstances to finish in 12th position. Both drivers have showed exceptional promise and we are unlucky not to come away with any points this weekend."
Trident Racing - Dani Clos (13th) Plamen Kralev (20th)
Dani Clos and Plamen Kralev brought their cars to the end of the second GP2 Asia Series Race of the Abu Dhabi weekend for Trident Racing. The Spaniard drove a good race, climbing up to the ranks towards the top-10 but had to settle for 13th due to a late race collision. Kralev completed the day with no mistakes, and lowered his best laptime by one second compared to Race 1.
The team is now ready to attempt the last two events of the season starting at Al Sakhir, Bahrain. The next race weekend will be running from February 25 to 27, while the GP2 Asia Series will be pairing Formula One for its grand finale, scheduled for mid March.
Dani Clos: "I had a good start, and my feeling with the car improved even further. I ended the race, and that was my main goal today, but I feel sorry as I was once again involved in a race incident with a few laps to go. I lost positions, and the car was slightly damaged, so I found myself with a twisted steering wheel. It's a pity, I feel that this weekend we definitely got less than we deserved...".
Plamen Kralev: "I'm satisfied with this weekend, because I completed a lot of laps without committing big mistakes. I saw the checkered flag on Race 2 too, and I was faster than yesterday, as confirmed by my fastest laptime. My goal in this Asia Series program is to make valuable experience before the next season, and weekends like this one are key to grow from every point of view".
DAMS - Christian Vietoris (14th) Edoardo Piscopo (16th)
This weekend, DAMS raced in the second round of the Asian GP2 Series on the spectacular and tricky Yas Marina circuit. The cars were driven by team regulars, 20-year-old German Christian Vietoris and Edoardo Piscopo from Italy, aged twenty-one.
The overall grip level was very poor as there was a lot of sand on the track, which made the drivers' and engineers' task very difficult. The circuit finally rubbered in as the cars racked up the laps, but it remained treacherous till the very end.
Qualifying went off well for the team. Although Edoardo and Christian had a yellow flag on their quick laps, they managed to set the eighth and tenth times. They each moved up a place when another driver was disqualified in the evening.
DAMS had no luck in the first race. After contact with his team-mate Edoardo had to retire just after the start, and Christian did not see the chequered flag either as he hit another car, which he was trying to overtake. As both drivers started from far back on the grid for the second race, it was virtually impossible for them to fight their way up to the front. So they both drove a prudent race and pulled back several positions with Christian finishing fourteenth and Edoardo sixteenth.
DAMS has one victory to its name and is still in the running for the title. The next rendezvous is on the Bahrain circuit on 26th-27th February 2010.
Loic David, team principal: "Overall, it's been a very frustrating weekend as we were quick enough to fight at the front. The track had very little grip but we had the right setups, and our times in the race showed that we were among the quickest. Unfortunately, the poor results in the first round ruined our chances for the rest of the weekend, as by starting from the back on a track as twisty as Yas Marina there wasn't a lot to hope for. But we're still feeling confident and we're betting on our speed to shine in Bahrain."
Christian Vietoris: "It's been a disappointing weekend. The car was quick but maybe it lacked just that little bit of extra top speed. We'll have to work on this to catch our rivals. Our grid positions for the first race weren't too bad and we thought we could score points. But it didn't turn out that way. Despite coming away empty handed, I'm still fourth in the championship and there's everything to play for. Our aim now is to score points on a regular basis."
Edoardo Piscopo: "A frustrating weekend as I think we were in a position to bag a large number of points. We were on the pace and we could even have gone for the podium. My retirement yesterday ruined our chances, unfortunately. On the positive side, I continued getting to know the team and its working methods."