28/08/2010
NEWS STORY
Scuderia Coloni - Alvaro Parente (2nd) Vladimir Arabadzhiev (19th)
It was a staggering Feature Race for Scuderia Coloni in Spa-Francorchamps: the Portuguese driver and the team managed to overcome a bad starting position (P16) and to transform it in an amazing second place finish after an incredible race in which the team strategy worked at its best and the driver showed all his talent boasting a qualifying pace from flag to flag.
Things went in the right way right from the start, because Parente was perfect off the line and gained as much as 5 places, passing from P16 to P11. The Safety-Car, called in after a crash involving Dani Clos and Sam Bird, didn't stop his momentum as he passed Christian Vietoris for 10th place at the end of the Kemmel straight immediately after the restart.
Then, on lap 6, the pit lane was opened and most of the drivers came in for the mandatory pit-stop in the following three laps. Meanwhile, Scuderia Coloni opted for a different approach: with the weather forecasts predicting rain showers for the last part of the race, the team decided to go for the pit-stop as late as possible, hoping to save one stop compared to the others in case of rain. In the end rain didn't show, but the strategy worked anyway because lap after lap Parente managed to stretch his lead making the most of the clear track: thanks to a perfect set-up lapped with worn tyres agains a competition on fresh rubber wasn't an issue, and Alvaro made the rest with a masterly drive. When, with just two laps to go, the team decided to call him in the pits, his advantage on Maldonado was 23", something that allowed Parente to get back on track in front of Grosjean and just 6 seconds adrift of the Venezuelan leader. With two amazing laps Parente got back on Maldonado's tail and tried to overtake him on the last lap, in the final corner, the Bus Stop chicane. Unfortunately Pastor closed the door and Parente's recovery ended just two tenths shy of victory, giving the team a great result anyway and gifting GP2 with a race to be remembered for a long time.
Vladimir Arabadzhiev had a less lucky race: the bulgarian driver had a really good start, passing both Fabio Leimer and Luiz Razia. Further in the race he got as high as 3rd place thanks to the same strategy of his team mate, but his race was over with just 3 laps to go due to a mistake under braking at Les Combes.
Paolo Coloni: "It was a really incredibile race, we were breathless until the end. Obviously we are very happy becaused everything worked faultlessly, both our strategy and the car, that was really the quickest on track. We didn't have the chance to lap on a dry track before during this weekend, but when Alvaro got out of the car he told us that it was the best GP2 he had ever driven, something that is really rewarding for our mechanics and engineers, the right prize for the amazing job they did. Besides this, it also shows that the hard work we did at home in the summer with our simulator is paying dividends, because it allowed us to do the right set-up choices even if we were lacking infos on the car's behaviour on a dry track. I'm also very happy of the points we are taking home, the last positions in the standing don't belong to our team's history".
Alvaro Parente: "First of all I want to say thanks to the whole team. They gave me a car that was capable of winning the race, they did choose the best strategy and we were very close to victory. For me it was a comeback after a long stop and driving the car only on the wet was an handicap for today's dry race. Anyway, as soon as the race started I understood that the car was just perfect. When the track was clear in front of me I could just push as much as I wanted and I was the quickest on track even if I was looking after the tyres a bit. That's why it worked out so well, I had all I needed to stretch my lead enough to jump on the podium. Coming back like this is a dream, and I'm really grateful to all the people who made it possible".
Vladimir Arabadzhiev: "It's a real pity because the car set-up was perfect and I think that today I've lost the chance to get my best result in GP2. Anyway we still have tomorrow's race, and with a car like this we can do well".
DAMS - Romain Grosjean (3rd) Jerome d'Ambrosio (DNF)
Today, DAMS raced in the Feature race in the eighth round of the 2010 GP2 Series Championship on the daunting Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium. The team had a new driver line-up, Jerome d'Ambrosio, and Romain Grosjean brought in to replace the injured Ho-Pin Tung.
D'Ambrosio was on pole in front of his home crowd, and he was determined not to let victory slip through his fingers. He made a good start and controlled the race despite intense pressure from championship leader, Pastor Maldonado, until his tyre change. The two drivers arrived in the pit lane at the same time, and the Venezuelan rejoined a few meters in front of the Belgian in the DAMS car. D'Ambrosio fought back, and after an aggressive piece of driving he sliced past Maldonado to retake the lead. He looked like he was on his way to certain victory when his engine failed only 4 laps from the chequered flag forcing him to retire.
Grosjean drove a solid, confident race. He sized up his rivals, attacked at the right moment, and did not hesitate to take risks to get past them. He finished the event in third place on the podium, and will start tomorrow's sprint race from sixth position on the grid.
Loic David, Team Manager: "The fact that a DAMS car is on the podium for the first time in ages in GP2 should make us all happy. Unfortunately, what happened to Jerome is as cruel as it is incomprehensible. He had the race won on his home circuit when the engine blew without any warning. But in any case, hats off to Romain who drove a faultless race and he can aim for points again tomorrow. Today, the DAMS team is back where it belongs - among the front-runners!"
Jerome d'Ambrosio: "When I suddenly felt a loss of power a few laps from the finish I thought that my world had caved in! I couldn't believe my bad luck. When it happened my retirement really hurt. Then, I managed to be a bit more objective and I realized that I had nothing to reproach myself. I was on pole, I was heading for victory and I set the fastest lap in the race on one of the most selective circuits in the championship. Despite the painful end, I think I've proved my worth, and that's what really matters. The team's as disappointed as I am and there's no way it's responsible for what happened. We'll just have to hope that luck will turn in our favour in the near future."
Romain Grosjean: "I'm on the podium in my third race with DAMS in the GP2 Series and that's very satisfying. At Hockenheim, our collaboration got off to a good start and we've reaped the first fruits today. If we'd qualified better we could have finished even further up the classification, and I'll try and fight my way up through the field again tomorrow. I'd be happy with another podium. Congratulations to Jerome; he deserved to win today."
Super Nova - Luca Filippi (5th) Marcus Ericsson (13th)
Strong drives from Super Nova drivers Luca Filippi and Marcus Ericsson saw them both gain around 10 places in the race from their starting positions, with Luca finishing 5th and Marcus in 13th. For the first time this weekend the track was dry, so the engineers had to use a certain amount of guess work with the car set up. Both drivers made good starts and managed to avoid an incident on the exit of the first corner, although Marcus' progress was slightly hindered. It was evident that both of our drivers where faster than those around them, so the team opted to bring them in early for their mandatory pit-stops, hoping to find some clean air to show their true pace. Luca and Marcus then made steady progress through the field and with some great over-taking moves, managed to make up for a disappointing qualifying performance.
Luca Filippi: "I am very happy with the result because I don't think we could do much better from the starting positon. After the pit stop I had a lot of traffic with slower cars ahead, so I had to pass Vietoris, Herck, Gonzalez and Turvey as well, so in doing this I lost a lot of time and possibly the chance to fight for the podium. I then caught Arabadzhiev who was making a late pit stop and lost around five seconds and the chance to overtake Pic for fourth. But still the car was very fast and we had no problems, so I think, starting from fourth tomorrow, we have a good chance to win the race."
Marcus Ericsson: "It was a difficult race from our starting position but I made a good start then unfortunately had to brake to avoid the accident and lost the ground that I had made up. The race pace was not too bad and the guys did a very good stop as usual - so thanks to them. I then got some free air a put in some competitive lap times but then I caught a group of cars and it became more difficult, although I managed to overtake a couple of cars, including a great move on Bianchi. The result is not great but we couldn't hope for much better from where we started. I need a good start tomorrow and we will see what we can do."
David Sears - Team Principal: "After a difficult qualifying we needed to show our true pace in the race and I believe that both drivers demonstrated this. Luca was consistently one of the fastest on track and he managed his race well to take fifth position. Marcus also stayed out of trouble but unfortunately was stuck in traffic for the majority of the race, although when he did have some clean air, he also showed that the performance is there. I think that we are now in a position for Luca to challenge for the race win tomorrow and Marcus to get some valuable points."
Racing Engineering - Christian Vietoris (11th) Dani Clos (DNF)
Racing Engineering had a very tough day at Spa Francorchamps. In a race filled with incidents and uncertainty about the weather conditions, both Racing Engineering drivers were all but lucky. While Christian finished the race in an unrewarding 11th position, teammate Dani Clos' race finished at turn one, when the young Spaniard was the victim of Grosjean's collision with Bird, who then slid into Dani's path. Complaining about pain in his back, the Spaniard was taken to the hospital for further check ups.
After the rain had fallen on Spa during the night and all morning, it gave competitors a break for the afternoon. With a modest air temperature of 16°C, GP2's feature race at the Belgian track started on slicks.
At the start, Christian Vietoris had a very good getaway, but ran out of space approaching turn one and had to lift off the accelerator to avoid an impact with Grosjean, who collided with Sam Bird at turn one. Dani Clos, on the other hand, was not as lucky. Having a great start and making up positions quickly, the young Spaniard found a struggling Bird in front of him. With no time to react, no space to escape, Dani crashed into the back of Bird's car and was only a passenger when his Racing Engineering car became airborne. After heavy impact with the asphalt, Dani complained about pain in his back and was taken to the hospital for further revision. A compression of the vertebrae was diagnosed and the Racing Engineering driver will not be able to start in Sunday's sprint race.
The race continued with D'Ambrosio in the lead while Christian, running in ninth, came in for an early pit stop at the end of lap 6. The German passed van der Garde in the pits, but the Dutchman recuperated his position shortly after. When most of the drivers finished their pit stops, Christian ran in the middle of a group of cars in 14th position. The Racing Engineering driver gained three more positions to finish eleventh.
Christian Vietoris: "This was a race with ups and downs. I had a good start but ran out of space, had to lift and lost momentum. Additionally there was an impact between Grosjean and Bird next to me, which I had to avoid. So overall I lost one position. We came into the pits early for the tyre change and were quicker than van der Garde. But then I was stuck in traffic and could never really push. Strange race. Tomorrow I start from eleventh, which is a difficult position but we will try to make the best out of it."
Andrew Ferguson, Chief Engineer of Racing Engineering: "Dani had quite a good start, making up several positions. But at the exit of turn 1, he came across a slower car which unfortunately, he could not get around anymore. The contact made had him airborne, causing a heavy impact upon return to the track, resulting in pain to his lower back. We hope he gets well quickly."
Alfonso de Orleans-Borbon, President of Racing Engineering: "Race results don't really count when you know one of our drivers is in hospital. We all hope Dani has a quick recovery. On a positive note, he will return to racing with us soon."