13/09/2008
NEWS STORY
iSport International - Bruno Senna (5th) Karun Chandhok (11th)
iSport driver Bruno Senna needed to produce a stirring drive to keep his GP2 title hopes alive at Monza today. The Brazilian did just that, rising from 12th to fifth as track conditions changed from ultra-wet to dry, but his splendid efforts were in vain as far as the title was concerned. Long-time points leader Giorgio Pantano threw away a probable win after receiving a drive-through penalty, for leaving the pit exit lane prematurely, but he did just enough to become the fourth GP2 champion.
Karun Chandhok drove a strong race in the early laps, but after conceding a place to his team-mate he lost ground when he was forced into a spin at the first chicane. He eventually finished 11th.
Bruno Senna: "Given where I started I had to be aggressive - although the tricky conditions didn't really favour such an approach. Our car was good no matter whether it was wet or dry, so I was as bold as I felt I could be without risking any silly mistakes.
"Our decision to stop early for slicks paid off, but it was very slippery when I first rejoined. The fact I made the change early enabled me to build up tyre pressures and temperatures before anyone else, though, and several cars were easy prey when they came back out just ahead of me. I tried to take fourth from Romain Grosjean a couple of laps from the end, but there was no way through and I had to go down the escape road at the first chicane. I needed a couple more points to keep the title race alive, so it was a chance worth taking. I genuinely believe we should have won this championship, but one or two bits of bad luck have made the difference. I will now endeavour to end the campaign on a winning note tomorrow. Given that this is only my fourth season of car racing, I can't be unhappy that I've stayed in title contention throughout the season, because this is a very tough series."
Karun Chandhok: "The car felt very good when I was running seventh, early on, but I knew Bruno was behind me and I let him pass. He was fighting for the title so I didn't see any sense in us battling for seventh. It looked as though I'd be able to score some useful points, but after we stopped for dries I dived down the inside of Davide Valsecchi at the first chicane and he squeezed me right across onto a part of the track that was still quite damp. I was a passenger and ended up flying through the gravel. I was able to rejoin and the car still felt OK, but after that any chance of a good result was over."
DAMS - Jerome d'Ambrosio (7th) Kamui Kobayashi (DNF)
Today, the first race of the 10th and final round of the 2008 GP2 Series Championship took place on the mythic Monza circuit, home to the 2008 F1 Italian Grand Prix. As in Belgium last weekend both DAMS drivers Kamui Kobyashi and Jerome d'Ambrosio had to cope with difficult weather conditions in free practice, qualifying and the race.
The start was given behind the safety car because of the waterlogged track with Jerome in 19th place on the grid. He managed to make the most of the precarious grip conditions and his rivals' mistakes to move up the classification. In addition, the team chose just the right moment to shod dry weather tyres and the Belgian used them to gain more places. Kamui too put on an impeccable performance. Unfortunately, the Japanese driver was punted off the track by another competitor and had to retire when he was in 14th place. The driver in question is currently being investigated by the stewards.
Tomorrow, Jerome and Kamui will start from 2nd and 22nd places on the grid for the short race, the final one of the 2008 GP2 Series. The team will be out to finish the season on a high note with a place on the rostrum.
Eric Boullier, team manager: We had two components break on our chassis yesterday when our drivers attacked the kerbs, which explains our poor grid positions. Luckily, the defective parts were replaced during the night and we were able to take part in the race. This afternoon, we were determined to really go for it to climb up the time sheets and our strategy paid off with Jerome. It could also have helped Kamui score points, but another car's wheel decided otherwise. We'd love to finish the season tomorrow with a place on the rostrum. It would be a great reward for the whole team.
Jerome d'Ambrosio: It's been a difficult weekend and the track conditions have kept changing. We took the right decisions concerning our set-up and our strategy and they paid off as I scored points for the fifth time on the trot. I can move up another place in the championship if I finish in the top six tomorrow. I'm really determined to continue my points-scoring steak and end the season with a taste of the bubbly!
Kamui Kobayashi: Yet another difficult race. I ended up in the gravel trap after contact with another car. It's very frustrating but I couldn't do anything about it. It'll be difficult to finish in the top six tomorrow, but if it rains again then anything can happen.
Durango - Davide Valsecchi (8th) Alberto Valerio (12th)
Eighth place today and pole position tomorrow. This is in brief the result of race 1 for Durango here in Monza. Thanks to a very careful and profitable drive, Davide Valsecchi grabbed the eighth place which means one point but, above all, the pole position for tomorrow morning race. A thumb up for Alberto Valerio as well. He recovered a huge gap taking P12 from P20 but received a sanction for speeding in the pitlane (3kmh over the limit). Anyway both drivers performed well on the wet track and the pole position for race took is solid.
Ivone Pinton, Durango team principal, said: "As often happened this year, we regained during the race what we lost in qualifying. But this time we filled the gap during race 1 so tomorrow we have the sensible chance to deliver a very good job. Considering all the bad adventures we suffered up till now, I hope luck will smile at us for the last race of the championship at least".
Super Nova Racing - Andy Soucek (9th) Alvaro Parente (DNF)
An eventful feature race took place here this afternoon at the Monza Autodromo in Italy. Andy Soucek collecting ninth place for Super Nova, but the feat for the team was not without its dramas.
Extreme weather played a crucial part, the heavy rain saturating the circuit before the start, calling for the safety car to get things rolling. Bad visibility contributed to a big crash just laps into the race, taking out three cars. Both Andy and Alvaro Parente adeptly avoided the incident and set about gaining several places, Alvaro setting fastest lap in the process. Disaster struck when Alvaro pitted, the team were unable to secure the rear left tyre, discovering the rear crash structure was broken, leaving the talented Portuguese sat in the car & sadly ending his race.
Andy drove a solid race taking ninth at the flag ahead of the newly crowned 2008 GP2 champion Giorgio Pantano, who finished 10th. The Italian cautiously led the way for all but the last five laps, when he was handed a drive through penalty for crossing the line in the pit lane.
Lucas Di Grassi took the lead, to take a win for Barwa Intl. Campos team, ahead of Pastor Maldonado, 2nd (Piquet Sports) & Sebastien Buemi 3rd (Trust Team Arden).
Team Principal David Sears: "It was an action packed race today, the rain storms creating a track like an ice rink! Both drivers made great progress, keeping out of trouble and looking strong. It is very unfortunate Alvaro Parente's car broke, which we believe is a manufacturing fault. Andy Soucek drove well today, and the team are keen to finish tomorrow's final '08 race on a high note."
Alvaro Parente: "I'm obviously really disappointed today. Having had a tough qualifying, I managed to gain some places, but then it all went wrong when I pitted. It's very frustrating, but we just have to do the best we can tomorrow."
Andy Soucek: "Starting from 15th meant I had to be careful not to get caught up in any incidents at the start. This I did, and managed to get past several cars, even though visibility was really bad. The car felt good, it would have been great to finish in the points, eighth, for pole tomorrow, but we'll just have to see what tomorrow brings."
Racing Engineering - Giorgio Pantano (10th) Javier Villa (DNF)
In a race made very difficult by heavy rain that fell just before the start Giorgio Pantano was only able to finish 10th but with his main rival, the Brazilian Senna, unable to score enough points to keep up his challenge to the Racing Engineering driver, Giorgio became the 2008 GP2 Drivers Champion.
Shortly before the start of the race heavy rain fell on the Monza track and there was frantic activity on the grid as the teams switched to wet tyres and modified the set up of their cars. Although the rain had stopped by the start of the race there was a lot of standing water around the track and it was decided to start the race behind the Safety Car. At the end of three laps the Safety Car pulled back into the pits and Giorgio took the lead into the first chicane as the race got under way. Giorgio was immediately flying in his Repsol and Telefónica backed car and at the end of the first flying lap he had a lead of over two seconds ahead of di Grassi and Buemi.
Over the next few laps the gap between Giorgio and di Grassi varied between one and three seconds as the cars slid their way around the treacherous track surface. So bad were the conditions that on two successive laps Giorgio had to cut across the first chicane as his car lost grip on the wet tarmac. Most of the teams were delaying their mandatory pitstops for as long as possible to see if the track would dry enough to fit slicks and by lap 20 Giorgio was looking for the wet areas of the circuit in order to cool his tyres.
With eight laps to go Giorgio dived into the pits and the Racing Engineering team quickly fitted a set of slicks as these were now the faster option. Giorgio was quickly on his way again but as he left the pit road he was trying to avoid the puddles of water on the right of the track and in doing so he inadvertently put his wheels over the white line that marks the pit exit. Within three laps the Stewards announced that Giorgio would have to serve a drive-through penalty for this infringement and with four laps to go Giorgio pulled into the pits, resuming the race in 9th place. Although he was to lose another place as he got back up to speed again, 10th at the chequered flag was enough to secure a delighted Giorgio the 2008 Championship.
For Javier Villa it was a disappointing race. Starting from ninth on the grid, as the young Spaniard braked for the chicane on the first racing lap the visibility was so poor he was unable to see the car of Zuber ahead and he made heavy contact with the Austrian putting both cars out of the race. As a consequence of the accident the Stewards have excluded Javier from tomorrow's Sprint Race.
For tomorrow's Sprint Race Giorgio will be starting from near the middle of the grid but with no pressure on the new Champion, he can afford to enjoy himself and please the Italian fans.
Once again the Racing Engineering team have given their two drivers very competitive cars and as everybody has come to expect from the Spanish team there have been no mechanical failures. This has been true for the whole of the 2008 season and has been a vital element in Giorgio's success.
Alfonso de Orleans Borbón (team principal): "This championship was one with a lot of work from everyone in the team.
Giorgio did a fantastic job and we are all extremely happy, especially as he could make it at his home track. The boys' fantastic work during the entire season was the base that allowed us to achieve this title and I am very happy to have a team of such professionals."
Javier Villa: It was a complicated race because there was a lot of water on the track. I couldn't see the car in front at the start of the race and hit Andreas. I am sorry for him and also for Vitaly, as they were affected by my mistake.
Giorgio Pantano: I am not happy about the mistake I made by crossing the line at the pit exit, but I was under a lot of pressure as the conditions during today's race were very delicate and required full attention. We went from wet to dry and I didn't want to take too much risk. But we also saw that under wet conditions we were very good. Anyway, the penalty was correct, although I am obviously not happy having lost this victory.
Trident Racing - Mike Conway (13th) Ho Pin Tung (DNF)
The first of the two races of the Italian GP2 Main Series weekend at Monza started on wet conditions under a thick rain, and ended with a dry racetrack. Despite the good competitive level shown, Trident Racing suffered once again from negative circumstances. Mike Conway expressed a top-5 potential, as proved with the fastest lap of the race, but his day was compromised by an off-track excursion at the first lap. The Brit was forced to cut all the way through the first chicane in an attempt to avoid a stalled car, collecting a huge amount of debris that clogged the radiators' openings. Water and oil temperatures raised rapidly, forcing Mike to come back to the pits to get some cleanup. He then got back on-track and clocked the fastest laps of the day, just before coming in to move to slick tires and keeping the same high pace until the end. Ho Pin Tung was even less lucky, as he had to retire at lap 27 after a small rock broke one of his radiators. The Chinese lost all the cooling fluid, and then made his way to the pits for good with an overheated engine. Mike will start tomorrow's Race 2 in 13th, while Ho Pin will be taking off from row 9.