Victory for Morbidelli in Race 2

26/01/2008
NEWS STORY

Gianni Morbidelli (above) won his second consecutive Speedcar race held at the Dubai Autodrome today. His victory was witnessed by special spectator, Michael Schumacher who watched the action from the Speedcar garages.

Mathias Lauda came in second, gaining a position since yesterday’s race where he finished third. Local favourite Hasher Al Maktoum thrilled the crowd when he made the podium in third place.

Race day 2 proved to be even more exciting than the first with non-stop action on every lap. The grid for race 2 was determined by reversing the order of yesterday’s classification, with Stefan Johansson on pole after finishing 8th in the first race.

Johansson lost his lead almost immediately into the race, falling back behind Frenchman Nicolas Navarro who was second on the grid and leading the race until the second last lap. Navarro ran into trouble on the 18th lap when, due to mechanical trouble affecting his rear tyre, he went into a spin he could not pull out of. That opened the door for Morbidelli to cross the finish line first.

Johnny Herbert and Johansson collided on the first lap setting Johansson back even further. By the third lap, Herbert and David Terrien due to earlier collisions. The 4th lap saw the most action with Jean Alesi retiring early while Hasher Al Maktoum and Ananda Mikola made contact that saw Mikola also retire shortly after. Uwe Alzen who finished second on the podium yesterday was penalised for driving off the track. He was later disqualified on the 13th lap for what the marshals termed overly aggressive driving.

The Grand Racing events organised by Speedcar Series and featuring GP2 Asia, races next on the 16th and 17th of February, 2008 at the Sentul International Circuit, Indonesia. It will be the first round of Speedcar races where points are counted to determine the victor of the Series.

Pos Driver Team Laps Gap
1 Morbidelli Speedcar Team 20 34:40.616
2 Lauda G.P.C. Team 20 + 0:23.184
3 Al Maktoum UP Team 20 + 0:31.048
4 Giroix First Centreville 20 + 0:48.196
5 Katayama Speedcar Team 20 + 1:21.835
6 Navarro First Centreville 17 DNF
7 Alzen Phoenix Racing 17 DNF
Mikola Speedcar Team 3 DNF
Alesi Speedcar Team 3 DNF
Johansson Speedcar Team 2 DNF
Herbert Speedcar Team 1 DNF
Terrien UP Team 1 DNF

Fastest Lap: Alzen (Phoenix Racing) 1:42.390 (Lap 7)

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Published: 26/01/2008
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