14/09/2008
NEWS STORY
Durango - Davide Valsecchi (Winner) Alberto Valerio (15th)
Italian driver, italian team, Italian circuit, italian anthem for a victory which absolutely could not get away from Durango today. Davide Valsecchi this morning has been able to transform all his enormous talent and class in a victory , fully dominating Monza race 2. Alberto Valerio finished fifteenth because of a contact just after the start.
Davide with a superbright smile on his face, said: "At the start I have not been quick enough so I lost a couple of positions, but I did not lose my mind because I knew that nothing was compromised. I drove some laps without forcing too much taking the right measures on the wet track and then I took the lead back. I think I drove well, administrating the advantage in the right way without exaggeration. For me this has been a very hard season, I paid a very expensive price for the instanbul crash, but this victory wipes everything away. I dedicate it to all the people who believe in me starting from my family. And I must say a big thank you to everyone working at Durango for all the outstanding support they gave me".
Racing Engineering - Giorgio Pantano (5th) Javier Villa (Excluded)
Giorgio Pantano, crowned yesterday as the 2008 GP2 Champion, finished his campaign with 5th place in today's Sprint Race at Monza in his Racing Engineering Dallara. Giorgio was the sole Racing Engineering driver following Javier Villa's exclusion from today's race.
Once again the skies were grey and it was raining as the cars lined up on the grid for the 21 lap race, and although the conditions were not as bad as yesterday all the drivers had opted for wet tyres. As the lights went out Giorgio was slow away as his car struggled to find grip on the wet circuit and he lost several places into the first chicane. It was very slippery out on the track and there were numerous incidents of cars missing corners and having to cut across the chicanes but Giorgio was looking to gain places and he was quickly moving back up the field passing Asmer to lie 11th behind Tung at the end of the first lap.
Starting lap 2 Giorgio missed the first chicane, along with two other cars, but he correctly moved back behind Tung so as not to incur any penalty. Lap 3 saw Giorgio move his Repsol and Telefónica backed car ahead of Tung to take 10th which quickly became 8th as di Grassi made contact with Conway and Senna causing Senna to loose several places and Conway to retire. Giorgio was now chasing Maldonado and Buemi and on lap 5 he was 1.5s behind the Swiss driver and closing fast.
Giorgio quickly caught Buemi and was immediately looking for a way past trying the outside line at both the first chicane and the Parabolica and on lap 8 he passed the Arden car to take 7th. It was then announced that the Stewards had given di Grassi a drive though-penalty for his earlier incident with Conway so Giorgio was now 6th.
The Racing Engineering car was now closing in on D'Ambrosio and pulling away from Buemi and on lap 11 the Italian passed the Dams car into the chicane to take 5th. Giorgio was now some three seconds behind Maldonado and although he was able to reduce the gap, initially by about a tenth of a second a lap and then, as he closed in, by larger margins there weren't enough laps left and Giorgio had to settle for fifth at the chequered flag.
Although Giorgio would have liked to finish the year with a win it was not to be but once again Racing Engineering have given Giorgio a very competitive car and it was yet another perfectly reliable race for the Spanish Team in what has been a very successful 2008 season for the Sanlucar de Barrameda based team.
Alfonso de Orleans Borbón: "A great end of season capped by a perfect technical team that gave us reliability to win this championship. I have to thank absolutely everyone in this team for the work they've done this season. Congratulations once again to Giorgio, he is a champion. Hope to see him next year in F1."
Giorgio Pantano: “It was a great last race of the season. Unfortunately the start was not good and I dropped back, but the car was very good and I had a good feeling. I tried to get back up and I finished 5th. I want to say thanks to all the team for the job they did this year. It was brilliant. Perfect!"
DAMS - Jerome d.Ambrosio (6th) Kamui Kobayashi (13th)
Today, the second 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. Jerome d'Ambrosio and Kamui Kobayashi started from 2nd and 22nd places on the grid, and tried to get the best out of the difficult weather conditions as the race was held on a wet track.
Jerome started from the front row thanks to his 7th place yesterday. He had a few problems holding on to his position at the start, and he finally came home sixth scoring an additional point that helped him overtake one of his rivals. He finished the drivers' championship in 11th position.
Kamui fought his way back up through the field and saw the flag in 13th place. His 2008 score was 10 points giving him 16th position in the championship.
DAMS ended the 2008 GP2 Series Championship in 8th spot in the teams' ratings with 31 points. Next year its aim will be to make a big push to the front and go for the title. In the meantime, its next challenge will be the Asian GP2 Championship, which kicks off in a few weeks in Shanghai.
DAMS would like to thank its partners, its personnel and all its supporters for their efforts and all the work they did throughout the championship. Another racing season has finished and it's also been a passionately exciting adventure from a human point of view.
Eric Boullier, team manager: We've finished the season in the points and that's very important psychologically speaking. Jerome's result helped him move up a place in the championship: well done! Kamui has been dogged by a lot of bad luck this year, and his final result isn't a true reflection of his talent. Our place in the teams. classification isn't in keeping with our ambitions, and our aim is to be among those fighting for the title in 2009. I'd like to take advantage of the end of the season to thank the whole team for the quality of their work.
Jerome d'Ambrosio: It was a difficult race but at least I managed to score points for the sixth consecutive time. The season's ended on a positive note and I've showed I've got what it takes to battle with the front-runners. My thanks to all those who've believed in my skills this year. I promise them I'll do a better job in 2009.
Kamui Kobayashi: A good fightback but no points. This season I've had the feeling that I've never been able to string everything together to be in a position to win. On the one hand, it's kind of frustrating. On the other, we knew that if we managed to stack the cards in our favour we had the potential to become the best. That'll be our future objective. I'd like to take advantage of the last race to thank the whole DAMS team. From a human point of view the season I've spent with them has been a deeply rewarding one.
iSport International - Bruno Senna (8th) Karun Chandhok (DNF)
iSport driver Bruno Senna has taken second place in the 2008 GP2 Series with a measured drive in tricky conditions during the seasonal finale at Monza. Although the Brazilian was in the wars during the early part of the race, suffering one spin of his own and another in which was an innocent victim, he climbed back through the field to finish eighth. The points he scored in yesterday's feature race were enough to ensure secure second place in the final standings, behind series veteran Giorgio Pantano.
Team-mate Karun Chandhok's miserable run of Sunday luck continued. He was hit from behind on the opening lap and retired with a punctured rear tyre.
Bruno Senna: "That was another tough race, just like yesterday, and it had a real end-of-term feel because everybody was driving really aggressively - I guess they wanted to finish the season on a high note. I was hit once or twice early on. My steering wheel was no longer pointing straight after the first impact, and I thought I would have to spend the rest of the race like that, but the second one knocked it back into line. My right hand is a little sore, after I caught it in the steering wheel when I was sent spinning over a kerb, and it was a shame that I didn't end the year with another points-scoring drive. My target today, though, was to make sure I finished and I'm proud of the work the team and I have done this year."
Karun Chandhok: "Another Sunday, another short summary… On the opening lap Andy Soucek rammed me from behind at the Roggia chicane. When I reached the second Lesmo I tried to turn in and found I had no steering. Andy has apologised.
Super Nova Racing - Alvaro Parente (12th) Andy Soucek (18th)
Another cool & misty day here in at the Monza Autodromo, the rain contributing to what would be an enthralling finale to the 2008 GP2 Main Championship.
Super Nova's Andy Soucek was running well, after a strong start, when he braked late & collided with an iSport car, damaging his nose. The team managed to do necessary repairs for him to rejoin, but by then he was running last. Although perhaps a points finish was unobtainable, the Austro-Spaniard proved himself by setting a blistering lap of 1:46.771, the quickest out there.
Team mate Alvaro Parente carved his way through from the back of the grid to finish today in twelfth position, ending this years' season eighth in the driver championship with 34 points.
A lot of fierce battles were happening amongst the front runners this morning, Bruno Senna narrowly avoiding several cars, as he spun across the tarmac. Lucas Di Grassi was handed a drive through penalty for causing the incident which in the end gave way for Senna to take second place in the driver Championship.
Davide Valsecchi stormed through to take the final win of the season for Durango by a massive nine seconds. Roldan Rodriguez & Romain Grosjean completing todays' Sprint race podium. Giorgio Pantano, who was yesterday crowned 2008 Champion celebrated his success by throwing his gloves into his home crowd and waving to fans after he finished today in fifth!
Team Principal David Sears: "The race today was in damp and slippery conditions. Andy Soucek made a good start & looked like he would be heading for a top five finish when unfortunately he braked too late, hit Chandhok and had to pit for a new nose. He got back into the race and set fastest lap, but with no points to show for it.
Alvaro Parente improved from 20th to 12th at the flag, but again with no points to show for a tough mornings work. Alvaro can console himself with being second highest placed Rookie of the year, after Romain Grosjean, finishing 8th in the championship & ahead of both Super Nova drivers from last year!"
Alvaro Parente: "I got a good start, but then we all bunched up and I had to hit the brakes, and the anti stall kicked in, which caused me to lose a lot of places. But I managed to gain some positions back, unfortunately not enough to get in the points, which is where it really counts. I think we had some bad luck with a lot of things breaking this season & in conclusion I believe, with the pace we had we deserved to be third at least in the championship. But I do believe you make you own luck!"
Andy Soucek: "The start was really good, & I gained several positions, then I got sandwiched between Buemi and Maldonado I think, & had to back off a bit. Then I braked on the F1 rubber and hit Chandhok, damaging the nose. The team got me back out & I managed to catch up with the back of the group, and I set fastest lap. Overall the season was difficult for me to start with all the changes, but I found some stability with the team. Although we haven't always got the results we wanted, through bad luck, mistakes and sometimes mechanical failures, we've worked well together, engineers and the team."
DPR - Diego Nunes (16th) Michael Herck (17th)
The 2008 GP2 season drew to a close this weekend at the Monza circuit, supporting the Italian Formula One Grand Prix. Uncharacteristically bad weather for this event shaped the fortunes of the David Price Racing (DPR) team. Diego Nunes and Michael Herck both fell out of yesterday's Feature race which compromised their points goal, having to start towards the back of the grid for today's Sprint race. This morning the two drivers avoided the dramas that others endured, to make it to the GP2 chequered flag for the final time this year. Michael Herck, starting 19th, finished in 17th place, while Nunes improved from his 21st place start to cross the line in 15th position.
It was treacherous weather conditions as the grid formed for yesterday's Feature race, the penultimate race of the season. After a wet practice session and dry qualifying session, Nunes claimed 17th place grid slot and Herck took 24th place. The lack of visibility and standing water resulted in the race starting behind the safety car, with the cars being released to race after two tours of the Monza track.
Both DPR drivers improved their positions after the opening lap with Nunes lying 13th and Herck in 20th. Incidents ahead of Herck a few laps later promoted him to 18th, while Nunes improved to 12th place until mid distance when rival Alvaro Parente passed him on the front straight while the young Brazilian was battling with gearbox woes.
The majority of the field, including the DPR drivers, opted to delay their mandatory pitstop until the track dried, and with the rain abating the cars created a dry line, prompting Luca Filippi to change to slick, dry weather tyres. Herck, staying out while others pitted, moved up to 14th place but after putting on dry tyres at his stop he was caught out by the damp conditions, sliding off track and ending his race. Meanwhile Nunes was struggling with gearbox problems which ended his race before he had reached his tyre change stop.
Both drivers, having failed to finish the Feature race were starting towards the back of the grid, with Herck in 19th place and Nunes two spots further back. With more rain falling overnight and this morning, the Sprint race, the final fight of the 2008 season, began in damp conditions. Although the rain had stopped, the track was still fairly damp. The slippery, greasy track produced the customary first corner drama, although both DPR drivers were able to stay on the track, with Herck in 20th and Nunes in 21st by the end of the opening lap.
As the race laps counted down, the DPR drivers settled into the race, developing a good race pace. Nunes passed team mate Herck to trade positions, and then both made up a place to lie in 18th and 19th after seven laps. With other drivers making mistakes and the DPR drivers settling in to the race they both made up ground, with Nunes finally finishing in 15th place and Herck taking 17th position.
David Price concluded of the final 2008 GP2 event, "It was certainly a learning weekend for our drivers, with the difficult track conditions really adding to the challenge of Monza. Diego was unlucky to have gearbox issues recurring. We thought we're resolved it in Spa, but it returned again and ended his Feature race, which was disappointing as he was running well. Both drivers were always going to struggle to make it into the points today, but they pushed hard from start to finish and we did make up some ground. Both drivers have improved over the course of the season; we've seen Diego take his first points and Michael showing consistent improvement having joined the Series late, so there are plenty of positives to take away."