05/04/2009
NEWS STORY
Vitaly Petrov put his experience and skill to good use today in Sepang today, taking victory in Race 2.
On a critically wet and slippery track, the Russian put in a great performance to snatch the win and take third place in the drivers' championship, with just one more round remaining.
The rain started to fall hard on the grid before the formation lap and the race was consequently delayed for thirty minutes. The race eventually got underway behind the safety car on a soaked track and it wasn't until four laps later that the field was released.
Pole man Davide Valsecchi, had a tough time defending his lead from a daring Pastor Maldonado who passed the Italian at Turn 2 on Lap 5. Behind, Vitaly Petrov took this opportunity to slip past Valsecchi almost simultaneously. Five laps later, the Barwa racer started to put huge pressure on the leader until he finally passed him in a bold move at the last turn. On a gradually drying track, Petrov was never to be caught until the chequered flag.
Behind him, although under great pressure from Valsecchi, Pastor Maldonado did not falter even while trying to preserve his tyres from degradation. The ART driver finished second ahead of the Durango man while yesterday's race winner Diego Nunes scored another three points in fourth place ahead of Hamad Al Fardan. The rookie GFH Team iSport driver kept his momentum from yesterday's race and transformed it into his first GP2 points.
Championship leader Kamui Kobayashi started from seventh on the grid but a poor start saw him drop to eleventh. The Japanese ace then got his head down and was sixth by the last lap thanks to some great overtaking manoeuvres. However, there was one driver determined not to let his race weekend pass by without scoring at least one point: Sergio Perez recovered from 22nd and fought his way back up the field. At the very last corner of the very last lap, the youngest driver in the series passed Kobayashi and stole the last point.
Kobayashi still remains thirteen points ahead of Davide Valsecchi, while today's winner, Vitaly Petrov is now third.