31/10/2009
NEWS STORY
iSport International - Valsecchi (1st) Oliver Turvey (8th)
Valsecchi converted his pole position to a win with fastest lap to score maximum points so far in the inaugural race of the GP2 Asia Series in Abu Dhabi. Apart from a short period when Meritus driver Luca Filippi benefitted from a free pit stop as the safety car came out, Davide led most of the way regaining the lead with a stunning move to re-pass Filippi and take his and iSport's first ever feature race win in the GP2 Asia Series. Rookie racer Oliver Turvey drove a very strong and mature race from 18th storming his way through the field to finish 8th to secure pole position for tomorrow.
Paul Jackson (Team Principle): Davide really showed his experience today. He lost the lead to Filippi but he made a great pass to re-take the lead. It has been a very good day for the team and to win our first GP2 Asia race at this fantastic facility is a real bonus. Having missed the two day test, Oliver was playing catch up to the rest of the field. It is very impressive to overcome that handicap and finish so well. Now with some track experience, we hope he can get a good result in the Sunday race.
Meritus - Luca Filippi (2nd) Diego Nunes (DNF)
Italian Luca Filippi and Brazilian Diego Nunes had opposite results for their first race at Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi. Luca Filippi capitalized on his positive qualifying result and finished in second position on the podium after a strong fight with Valsecchi during the 33-lap race. Diego Nunes was more unlucky as his drive shaft broke in the early stage of the race.
In qualifying the two drivers finished in fourth (Luca Filippi) and 17th (Diego Nunes). Filippi kept fourth at the start. On lap 3 Filippi had overtaken Jakes and Bird and was lapping in 1.55.210, in second position behind Valsecchi as a number of drivers behind got drive through penalties.
Diego Nunes' hopes were dashed as he was forced out of the race by a driveshaft problem.
The first pit stops occurred on lap 6 but Filippi stayed out in the lead until lap 13. After the first safety car was deployed to clear debris on the track, Filippi came in to change tyres and make his pit stop and took the lead following the pit stop. The Italian tried to widen the gap with Valsecchi who was behind him. Then in a minor overtaking incident Valsecchi and Filippi's cars almost touched, and Valsecchi got ahead taking the lead thus leaving Flippi in second. On lap 25, the second safety car was out after Kralev spun on the straight but the positions did not change until the end of the 33-lap race.
The end result was a great podium for Malaysian motorsports ambassadors MalaysiaQI-Meritus.com for their first race and the opening round of the 2009 GP2 Asia season.
Luca Filippi: "I am so pleased for the team! To be on the podium for our first race shows how competitive we are. It is just magnificent. I like everything here and did the best possible with a really good car. I did not have a fantastic start, but overtook two rivals right away in the first laps. I really benefitted from a very good team strategy for the race and the right pit stop. After the first safety car I was leading the race and thought we had a chance to win. But Valsecchi had more power in the end. It is a good result for the start and the right result for the team after so much hard work on their side in the winter and after the tests last week where we were strong. I am even more motivated for race 2 even if the grid will be reversed and I will start from 7th on the grid tomorrow. This result and these points count really for me."
Diego Nunes: "This is not my weekend. After a very average qualifying, I had an unforeseen problem with the drive shaft that broke at the start of the race. It is quite a disappointing result for the team."
Chairman Raad S. Abduljawad: "Well done to all in the team after a tough winter and a lot of hard work. I am very pleased with this great podium result. It is a fantastic start to the season finishing the race on the podium after a strong race. Filippi had a good race. He stayed in te forefront through all the race with Valsecchi and deserves the result."
Peter Thompson, President and team founder: "Dato Yahaya Bin Abdul Jabar, our Malaysian Ambassador in the UAE visited us at the pits this morning and brought us luck to finish with a magnificent second place. I am very proud for the team to have scored our first podium of the season. Congratulations to Luca Filippi who drove a faultless race. It's a pity that the drive shaft broke on Brazilian Diego Nunes' car. Tomorrow for race two we need to achieve a similarly good result with points."
Ocean Racing Technology - Alexander Rossi (4th) Fabio Leimer (17th)
The two Ocean Racing Technology racers made brilliant debuts in the GP2 Asia Series championship today on the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi. Alexander Rossi moved up nine places to cross the finish line in 4th place just 2.3 seconds shy of 2nd place. The American racer was the best rookie in the first race of the season, just like his teammate, Fabio Leimer, had been the best rookie in testing at Abu Dhabi last week, and second best in qualifying thanks to his 3rd place.
Alexander Rossi was pleased with the progress made during the course of the weekend so far, even if he was just that little bit shy of securing a place in the first third of the grid. But with a car fine tuned by Ocean Racing Technology, the American driver was able to attack during the race and his eventual 4th place was all the more impressive in such a very competitive championship on this new circuit. "I had a great start and I am happy with the result. Obviously I would have liked to have been on the podium, but starting from 13th I can be satisfied finishing my first race in 4th place. It bodes well for Sunday's race, as from 5th on the grid I hope that securing a podium, why not a win, will be in our reach. The race will be interesting, I am very motivated and I am confident in the car," explained Rossi.
Meanwhile, teammate Fabio Leimer did not have the same success but the Swiss racer displayed exemplary behaviour despite the difficulties he encountered. His engine stalled on the pre-grid and he was therefore forced to start from pitlane as a result. However, he did not lose motivation and found an excellent rhythm, as his 4th fastest race lap shows. Leimer describes the race that was made of a succession of incidents which saw him eventually crossing the finish line in 17th position: "It went really bad. I let the engine revs go too low after the formation lap and I had to start from the pits. It is even more penalizing in Abu Dhabi as the end of the pit lane goes through a tunnel where you have to brake, and I was 50 seconds behind the field when I finally took to the track. Then, I got a drive through penalty for speeding in the pits during my pit stop and it cost me more time. But I never gave up and I clocked the fastest race lap several times. I ended the race with a damaged car after contact that made me spin. I had a lot of misfortunes but at least we proved that we have the pace and we are among the fastest out there. It will be impossible to fight with the front runners tomorrow but I'll do my best to try and get a point," Leimer promised.
Trident Racing - Johnny Cecotto (7th) Plamen Kralev (DNF)
Trident Racing cruised to a points finish in the first round of the 2009/2010 GP2 Asia Series. On the brand-new Abu-Dhabi track, Johnny Cecotto Jr completed an outstanding comeback, ending up in 7th place and taking a front row spot for Race 2. The team experienced a successful season start, despite not being able to put both cars under checkered.
After a positive start, Plamen Kralev ended his day on a spin with 8 to go, but showed an impressive improvement over the race's distance. On his first-ever open-wheel race, the Bulgarian driver proved strong as he got progressively faster with no issues on the physical side.
Johnny Cecotto Jr: "The red lights have been on for so long at the start, and the clutch got overheated. I managed to take off but I lost several spots, and my first lap has been pretty animated. I touched with another car, but didn't get any damage. It's been tough to keep Turvey behind while running in the slipstream of Vietoris, who was slower. Everything went on fine though, 7th is great both for championship points and for the front row I'll be starting from on Race 2."
Plamen Kralev: "I'm definitely more satisfied today than I was at the end of Qualifying. This was my first-ever standing start, as I always took off rolling in the past, bud I got running with no issues, and my margin from the rest of the pack is getting smaller each lap. I made a mistake with 8 laps to go; I'm sorry not to have made it to the flag, though I'm glad for how it turned out. I'm looking forward for a further improvement tomorrow.