20/06/2009
NEWS STORY
Fat Burner Racing Engineering - Lucas Di Grassi (2nd) Dani Clos (13th)
When the lights went off, Lucas Di Grassi had a very good start from his fifth position on the grid. He passed Parente and D'Ambrosio and ran in third, just behind Grosjean and Valerio. When Valerio passed Grosjean, it was only one lap later that Lucas made his move. When Grosjean went wide in Stowe, Lucas Di Grassi passed him and ran in second until his pit stop on lap 16. The Fat Burner Racing Engineering crew decided to change all four tyres on his car and as a consequence Lucas lost a position to Hülkenberg when he rejoined the race. However, the Brazilian quickly closed the gap to the German and put him under permanent pressure until, with a great move, he overtook him on lap 34. Valerio was almost 5 seconds ahead of the Fat Burner Racing Engineering driver at that moment and with only 2 laps to go, Lucas kept on pushing and crossed the finish line in second, 1.2 seconds behind Valerio.
Dani Clos started today's feature race from 12th position and was not too lucky during the opening laps of the race. He was close to being involved in an accident between Mortara and Kobayashi just in front of him. Also several drivers struggling at the start should have been an advantage, but luck wasn't on Dani's side that would have allowed him take advantage of this. Dani, together with several other drivers, was stuck behind a visibly slower Filippi. The young Spaniard had no opportunity to pass the Italian on track and was called in for his pit stop, which allowed him to get by Filippi. His pit stop, however, came one or two laps too late as most of the other cars behind Dani pitted a lap before and he dropped back to 17th after this pit stop. Dani finished the race in 13th position.
Tomorrow's print race will see Lucas will start from seventh position on the grid; another good change for the Fat Burner Racing Engineering driver to score valuable points in the fight for the championship. Dani will start the race from13th position.
Lucas Di Grassi: My start was very good and I went from 5th to 3rd. Then I had a very good battle with Grosjean and was able to overtake him. We lost one position at the pit stop, but my car was very good and the team did a good job. We were very, very close to winning today. Our aim was to reduce the gap to the championship leader and I am very happy to have achieved such a good result after winning in Turkey.
Dani Clos: At the start I suffered from wheel spin, so I lost some positions during the first few corners. When Mortara and Kobayashi crashed, I was quite lucky as my race could have stopped right there. At the beginning of the race we had a very good car, but I was stuck behind a very slow driver. During many laps I tried to overtake him, but whenever I saw a gap, he closed it. It was not the right strategy to stay behind Filippi and we should have also changed all 4 tyres instead of 2. The balance of my car was not as good as before the pit stop. In the end I finished in 13th. Let's see what we can do tomorrow.
Thomas Couyotopoulo, sporting director: This was a great race from Lucas and it was a good performance from the entire team as it shows how quick we are in the race. Our tyre management was also very good. Together with both of the drivers, we had made a decision on their pit stop strategies before the race and Lucas knew that he was likely to lose positions during the pit stop as we agreed on changing four tyres. However, we also knew that this would allow him to push harder during the last laps of the race. Dani wasn't lucky during the opening laps. There were quite a few incidents and he ran in too complicated a position for him to take advantage of them. When able to push, he was held up by Filippi. Our strategy might not have been the best for him. It's easy to say this after a race, but we will definitely look into the details and analyze them. Overall I am content with the performance and reliability of our cars as the boys have done a fantastic job.
Ocean Racing Technology - Karun Chandhok (6th) Alvaro Parente (DNF)
Ocean Racing Technology concluded the first race at Silverstone with six place and three points thanks to a brilliant drive from Karun Chandhok, who made his way up through the field from eleventh place on the grid. This is the best result for the young Portuguese team since its debut in the GP2 Main Series Championship.
Alvaro Parente, who started from the second row of the grid, was forced to retire after contact with Vitaly Petrov at the start of the race when the suspension on the n°25 was unable to survive the impact.
The frustration of Parente's retirement, which left him unable to capitalize on his excellent performance in qualifying, was compensated by the strong performance from Karun Chandhok, who fought for some time against the championship leader, Romain Grosjean, for 5th place. The Indian racer's eventual sixth place will enable him to start Sunday's second race from third on the grid while teammate Parente will need to pray for exceptional conditions in order to make it into the points from 24th.
Karun Chandhok is definitely happy to have secured points for the second time this season... "After our misfortune in qualifying, I am totally satisfied with this result. We have lost so many points since the beginning of the season, points that were within our grasp, that it's a genuine pleasure to secure some again," Karun said. "I made a good start and climbed up the pecking order until I reached 6th position. The car was efficient and I was able to keep up with the front runners. I lost three positions during my pit stop but I overtook Zuber on the track. Then I caught up with Grosjean, but my tyres started to become seriously degraded and it was impossible to attack him. Tomorrow I will start from 3rd and it is my aim to securer more points for Ocean Racing Technology because they deserve so much more than their current tally."
As for the team's Portuguese driver, he does not attempt to hide his disillusionment... "There's not much to say. My race was over before it even started. When it happens to you in the first race, the second one is even more difficult. I will now start from the back of the grid and my aim will be to move up as many places as possible," Alvaro concluded.
Durango - Davide Valsecchi (10th) Nelson Panciatici (18th)
Silverstone race 1 finish line has been crossed by Davide Valsecchi at the tenth place, at the eighteenth by Nelson Panciatici. It must be said that Davide, because of a penalty received yesterday evening, had to take the start five positions behind. The race has not been particularly brilliant for both Durango drivers anyway they showed something good, as confirmed by Ivone Pinton: "Each of our drivers suffered a little problem during a key moment of the race: Davide at the beginning and Nelson at the pitstop. Nothing serious, just two hesitations that they both paid with a couple of places. So Nelson lost the chance to claim P16 or maybe P15, but Davide lost the chance to finish eighth which means the pole position for tomorrow's race".
iSport International - Diego Nunes (11th) Giedo van der Garde (DNF)
The iSport team were aiming to get back to point scoring form in a feature race which ultimately yielded no rewards. Dutch rookie Giedo van der Garde stormed through the field at the start from P15 up to P8 by the end of the first lap. After a solid mandatory pit stop Van der Garde ran wide on lap 30, spinning his iSport car into the gravel trap, ending his race and his chances of a front row start in tomorrow's sprint race. Brazilian iSport racer Diego Nunes also made up places from P16, doing well to miss the stalled car of Jerome D'Ambrosio at the start. After being held up behind the slower Luca Fillipi, Nunes lost ground in the pit stops but still finished a solid P11.
Giedo van der Garde: "I had a very good start and a very good first lap but we had a lot of drop off on the rear tyres so it was very hard until the pit stop. After the pit stop it was not too bad, it was quite consistent but again the rear tyres dropped off and it was hard. I tried to push to fight to get in the top eight but on the breaking point I hit the grass and spun off".
Diego Nunes: "I had a good start but I almost touched the wall trying to avoid a stalled car. I lost time behind Dani Clos and a few guys passed me in the pit stops but I got past Clos and Fillipi who was slowing me down. I struggled in the last 10 laps for pace but finished eleventh so I will try to get some points tomorrow".
Trident Racing - Davide Rigon (16th) Ricardo Teixeira (DNF)
Davide Rigon ended up Race 1 of the GP2 Main Series weekend at Silverstone in 16th yesterday for Trident Racing, while Angolan driver Ricardo Teixeira was forced into retirement by an engine failure on lap 8. Due to today's results, the Italian will take off from Row 8 in today's Race 2. Teixeira will be moving from the 23rd spot. The race will be televised live by Satellite channel Sky Sport.
Davide Rigon: "The first couple of meters were really good at the start, but then tires spun more than necessary and I had to avoid the stalled car of D'Ambrosio. I lost a couple of spots in that occasion, then we haven't been lucky in the time choice for our pit-stop. When I exited the pits I ran behind Filippi, who had a slower pace, failing to take advantage of the fresher tires. Compared to yesterday, I think we weren't as strongs in terms of race set-up, but we have to consider that I didn't push as I could in the final stages, when I heard a variation in the engine's sound and decided to preserve it trough the finish."
Ricardo Teixeira: "The start wasn't something exceptional, definitely, and the car was really slippery in the first laps. I heard a nasty noise from the engine early, followed by an increasing lack of power. On lap 8, despite having the accelerator put all the way down, I felt that I had no power, and I made my way back to the pits to retire. I'm quite disappointed, since on a race hit by tire consumption problems I could still have counted on two new sets to take advantage of. It hasn't been our lucky day at all."