29/08/2010
NEWS STORY
Scuderia Coloni - Alvaro Parente (3rd) Vladimir Arabadzhiev (DNF)
Scuderia Coloni clinched podium again in Spa, with Alvaro Parente finishing 3rd after another amazing race.
The Portuguese driver started from P7 due to GP2's reversed grid, but this for him was just the chance to go for another staggering recovery: with some very aggressive driving he overtook his rivals lap after lap, jumping on the third step of the podium.
Alvaro's start was good enough to keep 7th place, going down through Eau Rouge behind Pic and Van der Garde. The first laps were pretty uneventful, with the drivers studying each other's line to seek an overtaking point but Parente made up one place anyway thanks to Filippi's retirement after a contact that also forced the Race Direction to send the Safety-Car in.
After the restart, on lap 4, Parente raised his pace and closed quickly the gap on Pic. On lap 6 he was just behind the Frenchman and got a much better speed through the Eau Rouge-Raidillon compression, then passing his rival on the Kemmel straight and taking P5. With a much quicker pace than the drivers ahead, the Portuguese was immediately on Turvey's tail and passed him in the same way on lap 7.
Then, due to Vietoris crashing hard in the barriers the Safety-Car was again on track, but things didn't change at the restart. Parente was much quicker than Gonzalez and Van der Garde, and with the two fighting each other he tried an amazing move: coming out really fast from Raidillon he took the inside on the Kemmel straight passing both his opponents. Unfortunately he was on the wet part of the track and so Van der Garde was able to pass again under braking, with Parente settling in 3rd place.
The chances for a further recovery were ruined by another long Safety-Car period because of a crash by Pic. With just three laps available after the restart Parente had just a chance to pass Van der Garde in Les Combes, but the Dutch driver closed the door and Parente finished in P3, bringing another joy to Scuderia Coloni.
Vladimir Arabadzhiev meanwhile was again very unlucky: the Bulgarian driver was in P19 on the grid but immediately passed Chilton at the start and after laps he was already in 15th position. When the SC came on track for the second time he had even climbed to P12, but a technical gremlin forced him into the pits, ending his race.
Paolo Coloni: "Two podiums in a weekend are really a great feeling, and Alvaro leaves Spa as the driver who scored the most points, something that makes us very proud. I want to thank our driver for the great job he did: I had no doubt about it because I know his talent but he showed again that he's a great driver both on track and in the box, when he speaks with the engineers.
I'm very sorry for Arabadzhiev, because he started the weekend really well, with a 12th place in the Free Practice. Then the big crash in qualifying complicated the weekend: the team was great in rebuilding the car in time for the race but there are some needed checks that we will be able to do only when we will be back at the factory. In Race 2 he was good again, passing from P19 to P12, but the was stopped by an electrical glitch that didn't depend on the team".
Alvaro Parente: "It was another great race! The sart wasn't the best possible, it was just good, and despite losing some time due to a car missing the braking in front of me I managed immediately to catch the guys ahead. Getting two podiums on my comeback to the series is amazing. You know, all the driver here raced for the whole season, did testing, and I didn't have the chance to drive this car for a very long time. So, to be already on same pace of the best competition meaned that both me and the team did an amazing job. So I'd like to say thanks to Scuderia Coloni for giving me a perfect car again, and to my sponsor AdF for giving me the possibility to be here".
DAMS - Romain Grosjean (6th) Jerome d'Ambrosio (DNF)
Today, DAMS took part in the Sprint race in the Belgian round of the 2010 GP2 Series Championship on the Spa-Francorchamps circuit. Romain Grosjean again replaced the injured Ho-Pin Tung alongside team regular, Jerome d'Ambrosio.
Yesterday, d'Ambrosio almost won in front of his home crowd and today he was determined to shine by driving an attacking race. Unfortunately, the Belgian was again the victim of bad luck. He stalled on the grid and then suffered another mechanical problem with 8 laps to go to the flag: an electronic malfunction caused his engine to cut out.
Grosjean tried to fight his way up through the field but the frequent neutralizations prevented him from bringing his tyres up to the right temperature. This led to grip problems and the Frenchman finished where he started: namely, sixth.
Loic David, General Manager: "Romain was unable to move up the classification in today's race that was neutralized on several occasions. He still managed to score one point after his third place yesterday. Jerome's race was again blighted by another technical problem. But his place on the grid today would have made a comeback difficult so he shouldn't feel too disappointed. What sticks in my memory from this weekend is the excellent overall performance of the whole team - engineers, mechanics and drivers. Bravo everybody!"
Jerome d'Ambrosio: "My bad luck continued again today, but I'm not too disappointed. My position on the grid would have made the race very difficult no matter what happened. Today, all I was thinking about was Monza and the opportunity it'll give us to move up the GP2 hierarchy."
Romain Grosjean: "I leave here having bagged just one point today, and I'm happy to have scored in both races this weekend. Given our performance at Hockenheim I knew we could do it. I'd like to thank DAMS for its trust in me and for giving me a competitive car."
Trident Racing - Adrian Zaugg (9th) Johnny Cecotto (DNF)
Trident Racing ended up the eight round of the 2010 GP2 Main Series by scoring a top-10 spot on Race 2 at Spa-Francorchamps, as Adrian Zaugg took 9th place. After making a good start, Johnny Cecotto Jr. was forced to retire on lap 6, due to an off-track exit.
Despite the early concerns, the race was run on full-dry conditions. That didn't prevent the safety-car from being deployed several times, with the race resulting quite segmented. After a tough weekend to tame for the team at the Belgian Venue, the team is now looking forward to the home event of the season at Monza. The ultra-fast Italian racetrack is definitely something unique on the series' schedule.
Adrian Zaugg: "My start has been good, and when the safety-car came back to the pits for the first time I've been able to pass Razia, keeping a solid pace. During the second half of the race I started suffering from traction issues, and had an hard time in trying to keep behind a recovering Valsecchi. In the end, I was forced to settle and let him go".
Johnny Cecotto Jr: "I was taking off on a grid spot where the asphalt was still wet, but in the end my start ended up being a lot better than I expected. We had a great car in terms of top speed, and during the first laps I passed a lot of cars. Then, at corner 14, my car snapped off control, making me end up in the runoff area. I'm looking forward to analyze the telemetry data because a can't understand the reason of such a rapid loss off control. I wasn't on a kerb or taking too many risks."
Ocean Racing Technology - Max Chilton (11th) Fabio Leimer (DNF)
The Spa-Francorchamps weekend, the 8th round of the GP2 Main Series, did not favour the Ocean Racing Technology team. Fabio Leimer, who was 12th in race one, and Max Chilton, eleventh in the second race, may have come close to the top ten and displayed the necessary pace to climb as high as the top six, but success was not on their side.
After having finished Saturday in a disappointing 17th place, Max Chilton had a brilliant second race which enabled him to fight his way up to 11th position despite the challenging track conditions brought about due to a downpour which soaked the circuit just a few hours before the start. The racing line was dry at the start of the race, however overtaking manoeuvres were even riskier than usual because it forced drivers to move onto the wet sections of the track. Therefore Max Chilton is satisfied with his end result. "The second race was positive. The improvements we brought to the car this morning paid off and helped me gain several positions. I am satisfied because these adjustments opened up new perspectives for the coming races. We had several mishaps over the weekend, starting with qualifying which did not go our way, but our race pace was good."
Meanwhile, Fabio Leimer was one of the early victims in qualifying, which took place during a thunderstorm and made the handling of his GP2 single-seater extremely perilous. An off track excursion in the first stage did not allow the Swiss driver to complete many timed laps, however he showed a strong race pace to climb up into 12th position, avoiding all the traps around the circuit as well as the weather. Ocean Racing Technology's strategy was to complete a late pit stop after seeing how things evolved and Fabio gained four positions due to this strategy. He was up to P8 but a minor off track excursion dropped him back to twelfth. Then, on Sunday, Fabio slid on a damp patch of the circuit and his race was over after just two laps.
The next races in the GP2 Main Series will take place in Monza, Italy in a fortnight's time, September 11th and 12th, alongside the Formula 1 Grand Prix. Ocean Racing Technology hopes to secure a good result in the penultimate round of the championship, the last round in Europe.
Racing Engineering - Christian Vietoris (DNF) Dani Clos (DNE)
Being successful at the Belgian circuit in the past does not guarantee the present. So it was for the Racing Engineering crew whivh faced a weekend to forget this year at Spa-Francorchamps. After the heavy impact suffered by the team's Spanish driver, Dani Clos, in Saturday's feature race, it was only Christian Vietoris representing Racing Engineering in Sunday's sprint race. Starting from 11th position on the grid, Christian's race found an early end on lap 7, when the German touched the curbs and spun off track.
With only one Racing Engineering car on the grid for Sunday's race, all the hopes of the Spanish team were with Christian Vietoris. The young German had a great good start and passed several cars to place himself in 8th position. On lap 5 he passed Grosjean to take 7th position and was all set to climb further up on the timing screens. However, only two laps later, Christian touched the curbs on the outside of turn 9. Spinning across the track, he hit the barriers and his race was over, where only 14 cars finished.
Dani Clos, who was not able to participate in today's race since he will be in hospital until Monday when further revisions will take place. The Racing Engineering driver has been diagnosed with a compression of vertebrae and a fracture on one of the vertebra. However, Racing Engineering as well as Dani himself, are confident that we will see the Spaniard in his car again at Monza where the next round of the GP2 Series 2010 is taking place in two week's time.
Christian Vietoris: "I had a very good start and got off the line really well. Everything felt perfect and I had the pace to easily keep up with the other cars. I was in 7th position until the accident. I got on the wet curb and spun. I still tried to avoid impact with the barriers, but the escape area was too small. Until then, everything went really well, so it's a pity."
Alfonso de Orleans-Borbon, President of Racing Engineering: "There is little to say after a weekend like this one. But I don't want to leave it unmentioned that the mechanics and engineers have done a fantastic job putting two competitive and fast cars on track for both races. It's a shame their hard work has been unrewarded, but we are working hard to be back at the top in Monza."