iSport International - Giedo van der Garde (1st) Diego Nunes (15th)
iSport was back to winning ways today at the Hungaroring as rookie Giedo van der Garde drove from second on the grid to take his first victory in GP2. Van der Garde had a great start and passed pole sitter David Rigon to take the lead into the first corner. The Dutchman had sustained pressure from the experienced Luca Filippi from start to finish but never put a foot wrong to take the chequered flag and top step of the podium. iSport racer Diego Nunes had a difficult task ahead after a retirement in the feature race yesterday on a circuit notoriously difficult to overtake. Nunes made up ground at the start to take the flag in fifteenth.
Giedo van der Garde: "I had a good start and overtook Rigon into the first corner. After that I just controlled the race. I concentrated on making no mistakes even with Filippi pushing hard behind me. I knew it would be difficult for him to overtake me at this circuit if I did not make any mistakes. This is a great result and a real boost for myself and the team which I hope to carry forward to the next race in Valencia".
Diego Nunes: "I had a good start and made up a few places. The car was good but it is really difficult to overtake here. You need to be so much faster to even have a chance to overtake. So starting from eighteenth it's difficult to have a good race, if you start at the front you can finish at the front, if you start at the back you finish at the back. But the car felt good and was balanced so I hope for better luck in Valencia".
Fat Burner Racing Engineering - Lucas Di Grassi (3rd) Dani Clos (11th)
Lucas Di Grassi completed a great weekend for the Fat Burner Racing Engineering team at the Hungaroring, where after Saturday's second place, today he made it to the podium once again. Spanish Dani Clos was 11th.
The GP2 sprint race in Hungary started under cooler conditions than the two previous days. With the thermometers reaching 23ºC, both Fat Burner Racing Engineering drivers took their places on the grid hoping to continue with the great pace of the feature race and aiming for points.
Lucas started from seventh and kept his place without problems. By the end of lap 1 he was already 4th after an accident in front of him between Rigon and Maldonado. The Fat Burner Racing Engineering driver had Villa in his sight during most of the race, and whilst trying to improve his position, he had to fend off Grosjean. His chance to improve came on lap 19, when the safety car made an entry, Villa made a mistake at turn 12 that Lucas took advantage off to overtake him. During the rest of the race, the Brazilian tried to catch up with the leading men, Van der Garde and Filippi, while holding Grosjean behing him. In the end he finished third, scoring another handful of very valuable points towards the championship title.
Dani's initial and final place did not vary, as he crossed the line in 11th place. Nevertheless, the Spanish rookie had a very good start and fought well with Hülkenberg during the first part of the race. He made it up to 7th, but on lap 10, he made a little mistake that cost him four positions, hence he went back to his initial place. From then on, the Fat Burner Racing Engineering driver had a good battle with Petrov to keep his position and finish 11th.
Lucas Di Grassi: We had a good start and a good race. The team did a very good job. This was our best weekend so far and we made it to the podium in both races. We scored 14 points this weekend, which brought us closer to the leaders. It's still a long way to go and I am confident we are improving every weekend.
Dani Clos: Today we really had a very good start. I was able to find a good gap. I quickly overtook Hülkenberg and pushed to close in on Parente. In lap ten I went towards the outside of corner 11, the dirty part of the track. I spun and when I came back onto the track again, I was running in 11th. Petrov was pushing from behind then, but I was able to control him and finished the race in 11th position.
Alfonso de Orleans-Borbon, Team President: Fantastic results. Another podium from Lucas. Pole and two podiums and most points of any driver this weekend is an amazing achievement by both the driver and the team. Once again Dani aas close to getting points. He is getting there. We should see it soon. Well done to everyone in the team. Fantastic job. These results give us great momentum for the second half of the season."
Ocean Racing Technology - Alvaro Parente (6th) Karun Chandhok (10th)
Alvaro Parente drew strength from the progress made on the Dallara Renault by the engineers of Ocean Racing Technology in the GP2 Main Series today when the Portuguese driver managed to move up three places between the start and finish of the second race at the Hungaroring. His performance was rewarded by a point for 6th place making it the third time he has secured points in the last four races, and the fifth in six races for the team.
Once up into 6th place, Alvaro looked after his tyres to make sure they lasted the distance and that he would be able to resist his rivals, including the current championship leader, Nico Hülkenberg, who had never been in a position to attack him."The second race was very different. The car was much better and it allowed me to climb up into 6th position and then defend it. The tyre wear was less severe and it contributed to the excellent overall performance. It's clear, had I won one more position on Saturday, the weekend scenario would have been very different, but under these circumstances the result is positive. Our car was not always at its best in Hungary, contrary to Turkey for instance, but we will keep working hard and we'll come back stronger in Valencia."
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