16/02/2008
NEWS STORY
Vitaly Petrov took the pole position in Sentul this morning in the second round of the 2008 GP2 Asia Series.
The first round in Dubai had not been easy for the Barwa International Campos Team, with the Russian suffering a gearbox problem in qualifying and subsequently starting from the back of the grid. This afternoon, things will be reversed for Petrov in Race 1 as he will start from pole position. He set the fastest lap time of the day in a 1:19.337 at the beginning of the session in wet conditions, but before a red flag and a rain shower.
Qi-Mertus Mahara driver Luca Filippi will also start from the front row. He set his fastest lap time in the rain. Spaniard Adrian Valles, who had been the quickest in free practice, completes the Top 3 while ART Romain Grosjean had a more difficult qualifying session, having gone off track mid-session which led to the red flag. Despite this, he will start from the second row.
Vitaly Petrov (Barwa International Camps Team): I'm delighted with this result. The team made a good decision regarding the set-up and the tyres. The race will be very hard with the weather changing every twenty minutes or so. We may see more than one pit-stop per driver this afternoon! If it stays dry, it will be easier.
Luca Filippi (Qi-Meritus Mahara): I'm very pleased with this result because we're in Indonesia and I'm driving for a Malaysian team. Therefore, it was important for us to get a good result here. I was quickest in the rain. Petrov did a great lap with slick tyres at the best time of the session while I was in the pit. After that, I pushed a lot. It's a great result, but of course, I would have preferred starting from pole. Now, I have to make a good start and manage a gap with the drivers behind.
Adrian Valles (FMS International): It could have been better. We were the quickest in the rain this morning, but the qualifying session was a bit more difficult for us. I did my best time on slick tyres. We will see what will happen in the race this afternoon. Our car is quite competitive in the rain. We should have a good set-up for the race.