2009 GP2 Series

[Hans Sneep]

Portugal Final round

19 September,Results race 1:

1 N. Hulkenberg ART Grand Prix 1:03:43.837
2 L. Filippi Super Nova International + 9.730
3 L. Di Grassi Racing Engineering + 9.936
4 V. Petrov Campos + 10.360
5 R. Rodriguez Piquet GP + 15.095
6 K. Kobayashi DAMS + 24.097
7 D. Valsecchi Campos + 29.337
8 A. Zuber FMS International + 32.301
9 D. Clos Racing Engineering + 34.473
10 L. Razia FMS International + 35.096
11 P. Maldonado ART Grand Prix + 37.551
12 D. Nunes iSport International + 38.478
13 J. Villa Super Nova International + 40.020
14 D. Rigon Trident Racing + 58.012
15 R. Teixeira Trident Racing + 1:03.143
Did not finish
16 A. Parente Ocean Racing Technology + 15 lap(s)
17 S. Perez Arden International + 15 lap(s)
18 G. van der Garde iSport International + 15 lap(s)
19 A. Valerio Piquet GP + 33 lap(s)
20 J. d`Ambrosio DAMS + 33 lap(s)
21 K. Chandhok Ocean Racing Technology + 36 lap(s)
22 E. Mortara Arden International + 37 lap(s)
23 J. Cecotto Jr. DPR + 37 lap(s)
24 M. Herck DPR + 37 lap(s)


Luca Filippi took the final chequered flag of the season in Portugal as Sergio Perez and Javier Villa filled 2009's final podium slots. The race was dramatic from the off, however, as red flags came out due to the unfortunate Michael Herck colliding with the stalled Vitaly Petrov, resulting in the former requiring assistance to climb from his car.

Super Nova driver Filippi started from seventh on the grid but dropped one place to Perez at the first turn while ahead of the pair poleman Andreas Zuber serenely led the field away, with Davide Valsecchi, Lucas di Grassi and Kamui Kobayashi slotted in behind him.

Further back trouble was brewing as Vitaly Petrov failed to get off the line and was waving frantically: unfortunately Michael Herck didn't see him and ran into the rear of the stricken vehicle, showering the front straight with debris and prompting a red flag period as the medical team sent the drivers for checks as the marshals cleared the track.

The safety car led the field around for one lap before setting them free, with Zuber a little too keen to get going and overtaking the safety car on the front straight, taking Valsecchi, di Grassi, Kobayashi, Hülkenberg and Maldonado with him: it was only a few minutes before all six drivers were handed a drive through penalty for their actions.

During that time, however, Zuber showed a clean pair of heels to his rivals as he streaked away in front, while Filippi was slicing through the field like a hot knife through butter: he easily disposed of Perez, Hülkenberg and Kobayashi before the penalties came into effect and he was in clean air out front.

And as the chequered flag dropped it was Filippi who was greeted with cheers as he led home Perez by four seconds, with Villa an equal amount further back in third. Dani Clos held on just behind his countryman for fourth and his first points of the season despite constant pressure in the second half of the race by Alvaro Parente, who drove a brilliant race to claim two points from an otherwise disappointing local race, while Diego Nunes held on from teammate Giedo van der Garde for the final points position of the year.

Results Race 2:
1 L. Filippi Super Nova International no time
2 J. Villa Super Nova International + 8.351
3 D. Clos Racing Engineering + 9.026
4 A. Parente Ocean Racing Technology + 9.430
5 D. Nunes iSport International + 13.646
6 G. van der Garde iSport International + 13.932
7 A. Valerio Piquet GP + 19.357
8 E. Mortara Arden International + 21.674
9 D. Rigon Trident Racing + 21.882
10 J. d`Ambrosio DAMS + 24.031
11 S. Perez Arden International + 29.141
12 A. Zuber FMS International + 30.244
13 K. Chandhok Ocean Racing Technology + 33.425
14 D. Valsecchi Campos + 33.869
15 L. Di Grassi Racing Engineering + 34.790
16 N. Hulkenberg ART Grand Prix + 35.036
17 L. Razia FMS International + 39.546
18 J. Cecotto Jr. DPR + 50.684
19 K. Kobayashi DAMS + 51.728
20 P. Maldonado ART Grand Prix + 52.557
21 R. Teixeira Trident Racing + 1 lap(s)
Did not finish
22 R. Rodriguez Piquet GP + 19 lap(s)
23 V. Petrov Campos + 24 lap(s)
24 M. Herck DPR + 24 lap(s)
GP Update

 

[Hans Sneep]

GP2- Champion: Nico Hülkenberg

24/09/2009

Nico Hulkenberg: The Champion Speaks

GP2 Series: Nico Hulkenberg, GP2 champion: how does that sound to you?
Nico Hulkenberg: It sounds good!

GP2 Series: First rookie champion since Lewis Hamilton, fastest run to the title, first guy to win before the final round, blah blah: do any of these things mean anything to you?
Nico: Not really, no: the only thing that matters and that means anything is that we are the champion, and all the other stories are not important to me. It does mean something, but the most important thing is that we are champion, we have done that with a P3 and a podium today, and that's very nice.

GP2 Series: How difficult has this championship been for you? You've made it look easy, but was it?
Nico: Yeah, especially in the beginning it wasn't easy, because things were pretty difficult and we had to fight a lot in the beginning, and we had some tough weekends. But I think we improved step by step until Nurburgring, Hungaroring, Valencia, our really top weekends where we were very competitive and the quickest guys on track. And even Spa and here, we're not the top guys on the track, but we're always there and consistently in the top three, and I think that's the key to winning the championship.

GP2 Series: As a racing driver you are always learning: how do you approach learning a series like this, against guys with so much experience?
Nico: Yeah, that's true, but we have the winter series and then the beginning of the season, and all these guys in their second, third or fourth year, to beat them you have to work better and quicker between your team and yourself. So that wasn't an easy challenge, but about mid-season I really got into GP2 and the car and the team, and from then on we were really strong and it seemed really easy there.

GP2 Series: How much of a difference has the team made to your education process?
Nico: The team is very important: without a good team the driver is nothing, and they are nothing without a good driver. I need them and they need me, and I'm very happy to be with them: in the start we didn't start off so strong, even though I was P3 straight away in Barcelona, P3 in Monaco and pole in Turkey, but straight away the race wasn't our strongest side but we improved that quite a lot, kept our heads down, and focused on the important bits.

GP2 Series: There always seems to have been a really good atmosphere between you and the team: it's like you're with your mates...
Nico: I am with my mates! And this is my personal *****! [laughs, and hugs Gaetan Jego, engineer] I think it's good to have a good harmony, and within the team everybody can have fun: this sport is very serious, but to have a laugh and joke, a barbecue and a beer afterwards is very important I think. We had this a lot this season, and also good relations off track.



Season Results:
1. N. Hulkenberg ART Grand Prix 100
2. V. Petrov Campos 75
3. L. Di Grassi Racing Engin. 63
4. R. Grosjean Campos 45
5. L. Filippi Super Nova 40
6. P. Maldonado ART Grand Prix 36
7. G. van der Garde iSport 34
8. A. Parente Ocean Racing 30
9. J. d`Ambrosio DAMS 29
10. J. Villa Super Nova 27
11. R. Rodriguez Piquet GP 25
12. S. Perez Arden 22
13. A. Zuber FMS 21
14. E. Mortara Arden 19
15. A. Valerio Piquet GP 16
16. K. Kobayashi DAMS 13
17. D. Valsecchi Campos 12
18. K. Chandhok Ocean Racing 10
19. L. Razia FMS 8
20. D. Nunes iSport 8
21. D. Clos Racing Engin. 4
22. D. Rigon Trident 3
23. M. Herck DPR 0
24. N. Panciatici Durango 0
25. S. Coletti Durango 0
26. R. Teixeira Trident 0
27. G. Ricci DPR 0
28. F. Perera DPR 0
29. R. Gonzalez Trident 0
30. J. Cecotto Jr. DPR 0
GP Update

 

[Hans Sneep]

GP2 2009

Asia Series calendar revealed
30 September 2009

Championship organisers have unveiled the calendar for the upcoming third season of the GP2 Asia Series. Although 8-race schedule is shorter than that of last season, the calendar does include a new venue as Abu Dhabi and Bahrain are visited twice.

The season will begin on Formula One's final weekend of 2009 as Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina circuit is visited for the first time. Racing will then resume in February at the same venue before the first of two trips to Bahrain, the second in March being the opening round of the 2010 F1 season.

"I am happy to note that this calendar is in line with the economical strategy we implemented in the GP2 Series this year," explained series organiser Bruno Michel. "We put together a programme that will not only generate good racing but will also keep costs in check and therefore will keep our series healthy.

"In fact, organising four rounds this time around compared to six the previous season, and having all of them take place only in the Middle East, helps maintain the freight costs at a reasonable level for everyone."


The 2009-10 GP2 Asia Series calendar is as follows:

1. Abu Dhabi - Yas Marina - Oct 31-Nov 1
2. Abu Dhabi - Yas Marina - Feb 5-6
3. Bahrain - Sakhir - Feb 26-27
4. Bahrain - Sakhir - Mar 13-14


Official test session:

Abu Dhabi - Yas Marina - Oct 23-24
GP Update

 

[Richard Trange]

Seems like ART is looking for a all new driver lineup for 2010. Japanese F3 champ Marcus Ericsson and Euroseries F3 champ Jules Bianci is testing for the team on thursday. Marcus is also testing for iSport today

 

[Hans Sneep]

Jerez Day 2: Van der Garde moves ahead

7 October 2009

Giedo van der Garde moved to the top of the timesheets as testing continued at Jerez on Wednesday. On his first appearance for Barwa Addax, having raced with iSport throughout the season, the Dutchman led the way from Alberto Valerio's Coloni with Toyota F1 test driver Kamui Kobayashi back from Japan to complete the top three for Racing Engineering.



Morning session

This morning's cooler temperatures improved both track conditions and lap times in Jerez de la Frontera. The second day of GP2 Series winter testing saw a shuffle on the grid as only nine drivers ran in the same car as they did yesterday, namely Oliver Turvey (iSport), Luiz Razia (Piquet GP), Rodolfo Gonzalez (Arden), Ricardo Teixeira and James Jakes (Super Nova), Sam Bird (DAMS), Francesco Castellacci (Durango), Philip Eng (Ocean Racing) and Michael Herck (DPR).

Ten new racers entered the entry list for today's session with some names well-known to the GP2 circus (Kamui Kobayashi, Dani Clos and Alberto Valerio) and some rookies (Marcus Ericsson, Sten Pentus, Jan Charouz, Filip Salaquarda, William Bratt, Fabio Leimer and Vladimir Arabadzhiev).

But it was the more experienced drivers who set the pace this morning, lead by Giedo van der Garde at Barwa Addax Team clocking in the best lap time of a 1:25.291 and over a tenth clear of Valerio driving for Party Poker Racing.com SC. Behind the pair, Kobayashi - freshly back from running with Toyota F1 in Suzuka last Friday during Formula One Practice sessions 1 and 2, at the wheel of Fat Burner Racing Engineering was also in good form and completed the Top three.


Afternoon session

Once again, the temperature rose in Spain in the afternoon and this morning's lap times could not be improved. In a trouble free session, Kobayashi at Racing Engineering topped the times two tenths ahead of Jérôme d'Ambrosio who joined ART Grand Prix today and five tenths clear of this morning's quickest man on track van der Garde. The Dutch tops the combined times for the day.

With a lap time of a 1:25.575 set this morning, German Christian Vietoris at DAMS was the fastest rookie of the day.

The three-day test session will conclude tomorrow with five times Rally World Champion Sébastien Loeb joining DPR.

Time results:
1 G. van der Garde Addax Bridgestone 01:25.291 59
2 A. Valerio Coloni Motorsport Bridgestone 01:25.434 50
3 K. Kobayashi Racing Engineering Bridgestone 01:25.520 56
4 J. d`Ambrosio ART Grand Prix Bridgestone 01:25.525 52
5 C. Vietoris DAMS Bridgestone 01:25.575 70
6 L. Razia Piquet GP Bridgestone 01:25.734 57
7 O. Turvey iSport International Bridgestone 01:25.759 52
8 D. Nunes Addax Bridgestone 01:25.783 64
9 S. Bird DAMS Bridgestone 01:25.911 60
10 J. Jakes Super Nova International Bridgestone 01:25.972 46
11 P. Eng Ocean Racing Technology Bridgestone 01:26.170 63
12 S. Coletti Trident Racing Bridgestone 01:26.248 59
13 M. Ericsson iSport International Bridgestone 01:26.317 68
14 D. Clos Arden International Bridgestone 01:26.357 60
15 M. Herck DPR Bridgestone 01:26.496 40
16 R. Teixeira Super Nova International Bridgestone 01:26.632 65
17 F. Leimer Ocean Racing Technology Bridgestone 01:26.975 62
18 W. Bratt Coloni Motorsport Bridgestone 01:26.990 50
19 R. Gonzalez Arden International Bridgestone 01:27.083 69
20 J. Kral Piquet GP Bridgestone 01:27.170 73
21 S. Pentus Racing Engineering Bridgestone 01:27.175 61
22 F. Salaquarda Trident Racing Bridgestone 01:27.229 67
23 F. Castellacci Durango Bridgestone 01:28.421 57
24 V. Arabadzhiev DPR Bridgestone 01:28.516 54
25 J. Charouz ART Grand Prix Bridgestone 01:29.205 48

 

[Hans Sneep]

Jerez Day 3: Ericsson fastest

8 October 2009

Marcus Ericsson became the third man in as many days to be the quickest driver as Jerez's testing concluded. The Swede, driving for ART Grand Prix, led the way from local favourite Dani Clos on Thursday with Switzerland's Fabio Leimer a strong third. Multiple Champion Sébastien Loeb also enjoyed his first taste of GP2.

Morning session

After two sunny days in Jerez, the third and last day started on wet conditions as raindrops continuously fell onto the Spanish track for most of the three-hour morning session. Five new drivers joined the field today namely 2008 GP2 runner-up Bruno Senna returning to iSport, Chris van der Drift driving for Piquet GP, Edoardo Mortara at Telmex Arden, newcomer Jon Lancaster joining DAMS and the much anticipated five times Rally World Champion Sébastien Loeb at DPR.

In difficult track conditions, the session was briefly interrupted twice, first by Fabio Onidi at Trident following mechanical gremlins and then after Marco Bonanomi (Party Poker Racing.com SC) and van der Drift simultaneously span and stopped at two different parts of the circuit.

In a drying session, the drivers' lap times improved notably towards its latest stages and it was both Fat Burner Racing Engineering racers, Dani Clos leading Jérôme d'Ambrosio, who claimed the top spot ahead of Luiz Razia driving with Barwa Addax today.

Will Bratt (Party Poker Racing.com SC) finished the morning first rookie although newcomer Alexander Rossi at DAMS was fastest in wet conditions until fifteen minutes before the chequered flag a hydraulic pump problem ruined the American's efforts.


Afternoon session

The sun eventually made an appearance shortly before the start of the afternoon session. However, although the track conditions seemed less tricky than in the morning, the session was still interspersed by six red flags, including one following a shunt from Mortara who lost control of his car at Turn 9 and forcing the Italian to prematurely end his testing day.

The surprise of the day came from newcomer Marcus Ericsson who, at the wheel of the ART car, signed the best lap time of the day in a 1:25.xxx. Clos, d'Ambrosio and Razia confirmed their good form again in the Top five while another impressive newcomer, Swiss Fabio Leimer at Ocean Racing, found his way to third place.

This concludes GP2 testing in Spain. Next test session will take place in Le Castellet on November 10, 11 and 12. In the meantime, the GP2 teams - minus Racing Engineering, will fly to Abu Dhabi where they will be joined by Meritus for the opening of the third GP2 Asia season. A pre-season test session will take place on October 23-24 at the Yas Marina Circuit.

Time results:
1 M. Ericsson ART Grand Prix Bridgestone 01:25.970 56
2 D. Clos Racing Engineering Bridgestone 01:26.105 50
3 F. Leimer Ocean Racing Technology Bridgestone 01:26.193 44
4 J. d`Ambrosio Racing Engineering Bridgestone 01:26.483 53
5 L. Razia Addax Bridgestone 01:26.546 62
6 M. Bonanomi Coloni Motorsport Bridgestone 01:26.607 49
7 O. Turvey iSport International Bridgestone 01:26.648 50
8 D. Valsecchi Super Nova International Bridgestone 01:26.651 42
9 A. Rossi DAMS Bridgestone 01:26.740 69
10 R. Rodriguez Arden International Bridgestone 01:26.846 55
11 C. van der Drift Piquet GP Bridgestone 01:26.858 58
12 J. Jakes Super Nova International Bridgestone 01:26.956 36
13 W. Bratt Coloni Motorsport Bridgestone 01:27.137 49
14 B. Senna iSport International Bridgestone 01:27.173 65
15 R. Gonzalez Ocean Racing Technology Bridgestone 01:27.186 60
16 E. Mortara Arden International Bridgestone 01:27.311 34
17 M. Herck DPR Bridgestone 01:27.327 56
18 F. Salaquarda Trident Racing Bridgestone 01:27.421 69
19 M. Chilton Addax Bridgestone 01:27.438 52
20 F. Castellacci Durango Bridgestone 01:27.615 40
21 F. Onidi Trident Racing Bridgestone 01:27.698 51
22 J. Charouz ART Grand Prix Bridgestone 01:27.845 40
23 J. Lancaster DAMS Bridgestone 01:27.893 82
24 V. Arabadzhiev Piquet GP Bridgestone 01:28.059 62
25 S. Loeb DPR Bridgestone 01:28.114 61

 

[Hans Sneep]

Valsecchi leads Abu Dhabi Friday test

23 October 2009

iSport's latest recruit, Davide Valsecchi, has topped Friday's test session at the brand-new Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi ahead of next weekend's season-opening race for the GP2 Asia Series. Luca Filippi's Meritus car, quickest in the morning session, finishes the day second overall.

The morning session was all about learning the 5.555km long track, but on a very dirty track and high temperature, many racers chose to go for installation laps and then patiently wait for the most daring to put rubber on the track. Davide Valsecchi at iSport topped the timing sheet ahead of veteran Luca Filippi at Meritus while rookie Christian Vietoris at Dams rounded up the Top 3. Other rookies Alexander Rossi (Ocean Racing Technology), Sam Bird (ART Grand Prix and Daniel Zampieri (Piquet GP) all finished in the Top 10.

Davide Valsecchi (iSport International): "We were fastest this morning and we had a great pace again this afternoon. But the track conditions between this morning and this afternoon changed drastically, especially with the temperatures dropping 10°C. This morning, the track was not that dirty, but it lacked a lot of grip. When I went out on new tyres this afternoon, the sun was already down and the track was a little bit colder so it was much quicker. We should see again slower times tomorrow morning.

"It's a beautiful setting here. Yesterday, when I was running around the track I saw grandstands everywhere. It's very impressive: you have one every corner and I really hope that it will be full for the race. My favourite part of the track is in sector 1, after the start/finish line. The corners there are really fast. The end of the very long straight in sector 3 with the big braking point is also extremely important because I think this is where you can overtake. And I have to say that the track lightning system is excellent: we can even see clearer than during the day!"



Morning sessions Results:
1. Davide Valsecchi iSport International 1:57.504
2. Luca Filippi Meritus 1:57.539
3. Christian Vietoris DAMS 1:57.632
4. Luiz Razia Barwa Addax Team 1:57.706
5. Alexander Rossi Ocean Racing Technology 1:57.877
6. Diego Nunes Meritus 1:57.907
7. Sam Bird ART Grand Prix 1:58.087
8.James Jakes Super Nova Racing 1:58.577
9. Johnny Cecotto Trident Racing 1:59.266
10. Daniel Zampieri Piquet GP 1:59.504
11. Max Chilton Barwa Addax Team 2:00.142
12. Marcus Ericsson ART Grand Prix 2:00.407
13. Edoardo Piscopo DAMS 2:00.782
14. Pablo Sanchez ArdenInternational 2:01.111
15. Josef Kral Super Nova Racing 2:01.127
16. Will Bratt Scuderia Coloni 2:01.308
17. Michael Herck DPR 2:01.333
18. Rodolfo Gonzalez ArdenInternational 2:01.516
19. Fabio Leimer Ocean Racing Technology 2:01.683
20 Vladimir Arabadzhiev Piquet GP 2:03.842
21. Plamen Kralev Trident Racing 2:04.288
22. Roldan Rodriguez Scuderia Coloni --
GP Asia Series

22 Drivers,good starting field,I hope on an even nice season all do it is a short one ,only 4 races so far !
Hans

 

[Hans Sneep]

Valsecchi grabs Abu Dhabi pole

30 October 2009

Italy's Davide Valsecchi has followed up his practice pace to clinch the first pole position of the GP2 Asia season in Abu Dhabi. The iSport driver will line up alongside Britain's Sam Bird with Swiss driver Fabio Leimer making the top three.


Italian driver Valsecchi was not to be denied his first GP2 pole position at Yas Marina in the first qualifying session of the third GP2 Asia Series season. Dominant this morning during Free Practice, the iSport ace kept control of the pace again and claimed pole position with a best lap time of a 1:51.964 clocked in after only four laps.

The track temperature rose to 44°C as the pit lane opened and rapidly rookie Alexander Rossi at Ocean Racing set the pace but was soon denied the top stop by the man of the hour, Valsecchi who, on his first flying lap took the lead of the field. Roldan Rodriguez at Scuderia Coloni, Diego Nunes at Meritus and the impressive Fabio Leimer at Ocean Racing successively though briefly bettered the Italian's time, but Valsecchi would not let them shine today and reclaimed what seemed to be only his today: the top stop.

One man could have stopped Valsecchi's run for glory: countryman Meritus' Luca Filippi - who set the quickest lap time last week during the pre-season tests - moved up to third place at mid- session, but right after he crossed the start/finish line his car suddenly slowed down to a stop at Turn 19 following a gearbox selection problem.

Behind Valsecchi, Sam Bird at ART continued to display a strong GP2 debut performance ahead of Leimer while Filippi although he missed half of the session managed to qualify in fourth. He is followed by Rodriguez, Rodolfo Rodriguez at Arden, James Jakes at Super Nova, Johnny Cecotto at Trident and Josef Kral on the second Super Nova car. On his ultimate attempt and under the chequered flag, Giacomo Ricci at DPR slipped into tenth place.

Saturday's Feature race will start at 11am local time (GMT +4).



Starting Grid:
1 D. Valsecchi iSport International 1:51.964
2 S. Bird ART Grand Prix 1:52.183
3 F. Leimer Ocean Racing Technology 1:52.236
4 L. Filippi Qi-Meritus.Mahara 1:52.240
5 R. Rodriguez Coloni Motorsport 1:52.300
6 R. Gonzalez Arden International 1:52.436
7 J. Jakes Super Nova International 1:52.529
8 J. Cecotto Jr. Trident Racing 1:52.557
9 J. Kral Super Nova International 1:52.575
10 G. Ricci DPR 1:52.690
11 E. Piscopo DAMS 1:52.792
12 D. Zampieri Piquet GP 1:52.816
13 A. Rossi Ocean Racing Technology 1:52.827
14 C. Vietoris DAMS 1:52.830
15 M. Ericsson ART Grand Prix 1:52.846
16 M. Herck DPR 1:52.869
17 D. Nunes Qi-Meritus.Mahara 1:52.907
18 O. Turvey iSport International 1:52.955
19 L. Razia Addax 1:52.996
20 C. Pic Arden International 1:53.112
21 M. Chilton Addax 1:53.147
22 V. Arabadzhiev Piquet GP 1:53.628
23 W. Bratt Coloni Motorsport 1:53.711
24 P. Kralev Trident Racing 1:58.149
GP Update

 

[Hans Sneep]

Valsecchi wins from pole in Abu Dhabi opener

31 October 2009


Davide Valsecchi and Luca Filippi put themselves forward as favourites for this season's GP2 Asia Series title as the former won Saturday's opening race in Abu Dhabi from his compatriot. Britain's James Jakes completed his return to Super Nova with a podium finish while Alexander Rossi's fourth spot made him the highest-placed newcomer.

Valsecchi failed to launch well from pole position while rookie Sam Bird at ART did not, and he easily took the lead in the first corner. But a few meters further, the Italian put pressure on the Brit who eventually gave way and Valsecchi then pulled away. Behind the pair, with Fabio Leimer and Roldan Rodriguez stalling respectively on the pre-grid and on the grid, Luca Filippi and James Jakes fought for third place to the advantage of the Super Nova racer. The two men then attacked and passed Bird who was notably slower. Filippi eventually took second place and put his head down to try and catch up with the leader.

Jakes was the first of the top three to observe his compulsory pitstop one lap before Valsecchi who consequently left Filippi to take control of the race. While his countryman was pitting, the Meritus racer pushed as hard as he could. Although he pitted just as a safety car was deployed on Lap 12 following a collision between Razia and Vietoris on Turn 12, Filippi managed to stay ahead of Valsecchi at the restart, with James Jakes running in third place ahead of Bird, Alexander Rossi, Josef Kral, Rodolfo Gonzalez and Christian Vietoris.

Running half a second quicker than Filippi, Valsecchi closed in on his countryman until on Lap 19 he passed the Meritus driver in a bold move that saw the two cars running side by side in Turns 11, 12 and 13 before Filippi eventually gave way in Turn 14. After that, Valsecchi raced to the chequered flag adding consecutive quickest lap times to increase his advantage. Not even a brief second safety car period in the very last stages of the race after Plamen Kralev span and stopped on the track in Sector 2 could prevent Valsecchi from securing his first win in a GP2 feature race.

Behind him, although Jakes tried to overtake Filippi, the Italian kept the Brit in check. Alexander Rossi (Ocean Racing) crossed the finish line in fourth ahead of Josef Kral (Super Nova), Christian Vietoris (DAMS) and Johnny Cecotto (Trident). Bird had to retire in the second-to-last lap following a brake problem. The ART man's bad fortune promoted iSport's Oliver Turvey to eighth place and tomorrow's reversed grid pole position


Race Results:
1 D. Valsecchi iSport International 1:07:49.810
2 L. Filippi Qi-Meritus.Mahara + 4.881
3 J. Jakes Super Nova International + 6.174
4 A. Rossi Ocean Racing Technology + 7.182
5 J. Kral Super Nova International + 8.220
6 C. Vietoris DAMS + 13.300
7 J. Cecotto Jr. Trident Racing + 15.460
8 O. Turvey iSport International + 16.223
9 E. Piscopo DAMS + 16.715
10 R. Rodriguez Coloni Motorsport + 16.879
11 M. Ericsson ART Grand Prix + 21.686
12 W. Bratt Coloni Motorsport + 22.539
13 M. Herck DPR + 22.881
14 R. Gonzalez Arden International + 23.403
15 D. Zampieri Piquet GP + 23.786
16 M. Chilton Addax + 25.131
17 F. Leimer Ocean Racing Technology + 30.019
Did not finish
18 S. Bird ART Grand Prix + 2 lap(s)
19 C. Pic Arden International + 5 lap(s)
20 V. Arabadzhiev Piquet GP + 8 lap(s)
21 P. Kralev Trident Racing + 9 lap(s)
22 L. Razia Addax + 21 lap(s)
23 G. Ricci DPR + 25 lap(s)
24 D. Nunes Qi-Meritus.Mahara + 33 lap(s)

 

[Hans Sneep]

Vietoris clinches first GP2 Asia win

01 November 2009


Christian Vietoris and the DAMS team celebrated together at the Yas Marina circuit on Sunday after the German clinched his first ever GP2 Asia Series victory. Race 1 winner Davide Valsecchi finished two and a half seconds behind as Super Nova and the Czech Republic's Josef Kral made the podium. The second iSport car of Britain's Oliver Turvey came home fourth.

Polesitter Oliver Turvey had a slow start that saw him fall to fourth place with Vietoris, Josef Kral (Super Nova) and Alexander Rossi (Ocean Racing) passing him into the first corner. Turvey's front row partner Johnny Cecotto at Trident had an even poorer start, falling to seventh behind Feature race heroes Luca Filippi and Davide Valsecchi. But the iSport racer was out on a mission: all over Filippi in the early stages, he eventually got passed his countryman on Lap 13 at Turn 11. The Meritus man then braked way too late into the following hairpin to try and retaliate, but went too wide, span and lost positions to Cecotto and DAMS' Edoardo Piscopo.

Valsecchi set his sights on teammate Turvey and quickly overtook him for fourth place. The safety car was then deployed when William Bratt collided into Fabio Leimer at the end of the back straight. Vietoris and Kral were by at that time comfortably leading, but they saw Rossi and Valsecchi rejoin them behind the safety car. At the restart, Vietoris easily stayed in control while Valsecchi got passed Rossi again at Turn 11 on Lap 18. He then rapidly closed in on the two leaders.

Super Nova's Kral tried to resist Valsecchi's repeated assaults but eventually had to give in on the very last lap at Turn 11, where the Italian tricked all his previous victims. At the chequered flag, Vietoris claimed his first win on his GP2 debut with Valsecchi and Kral completing the podium. Behind them, Turvey managed to pass a slower Rossi to take fourth. Cecotto finished sixth and took the last point.

With nineteen points scored this weekend, Davide Valsecchi is now leading the Series ahead of today's race winner Vietoris on 9 points. Filippi is one point behind the German.



Results Sprint race:
1 C. Vietoris DAMS 43:18.814
2 D. Valsecchi iSport International + 2.447
3 J. Kral Super Nova International + 3.195
4 O. Turvey iSport International + 6.616
5 A. Rossi Ocean Racing Technology + 7.240
6 J. Cecotto Jr. Trident Racing + 7.711
7 E. Piscopo DAMS + 8.237
8 L. Filippi Qi-Meritus.Mahara + 0.000
9 M. Herck DPR + 10.730
10 J. Jakes Super Nova International + 11.643
11 L. Razia Addax + 11.881
12 M. Ericsson ART Grand Prix + 12.315
13 D. Nunes Qi-Meritus.Mahara + 12.893
14 R. Rodriguez Coloni Motorsport + 13.303
15 C. Pic Arden International + 13.777
16 R. Gonzalez Arden International + 14.431
17 M. Chilton Addax + 19.485
18 S. Bird ART Grand Prix + 21.421
Did not finish
19 V. Arabadzhiev Piquet GP + 4 lap(s)
20 F. Leimer Ocean Racing Technology + 7 lap(s)
21 W. Bratt Coloni Motorsport + 7 lap(s)
22 D. Zampieri Piquet GP + 18 lap(s)
23 G. Ricci DPR + 20 lap(s)
24 P. Kralev Trident Racing + 21 lap(s)
GP Update

 

[Hans Sneep]

GP2 Series winter testing in Le Castellet.

12 November 2009


Jakes ends final day on top
Today marked the last day of the GP2 Series winter testing in Le Castellet. Following yesterday's strong performance, James Jakes at Super Nova claimed the top spot in the morning session and signed once again the best laptime of the day in a 1:12.516.

Oliver Turvey met iSport's expectations signing the fastest laptime of the afternoon session, finishing second fastest of the day, and claiming Best Rookie. Jules Bianchi at ART finished at a strong third place, just two hundredths behind the Briton.

Stefano Coletti at DAMS also displayed great consistency and pace with a third quickest laptime in the morning and a second quickest laptime in the afternoon. Apart from Jérôme d'Ambrosio (Racing Engineering) in fourth and Michael Herck (DPR) in sixth in the morning, the rest of the Top 10 was completed only by rookies who have notably been ones of the quickest since the beginning of the three-day test session: Scuderia Coloni's Will Bratt and Andrea Caldarelli, Esteban Gutierrez (Arden), Christian Vietoris (Ocean Racing) and Turvey.

The young guns once again stole the more experienced drivers' thunder in the afternoon session, the top 7 exclusively consisting of rookies: Turvey, Coletti, Sam Bird (Racing Engineering), Bratt, Antonio Felix da Costa (Ocean Racing), Josef Kral (Super Nova) and Vietoris. D'Ambrosio and Jakes follow while Kazimeras Vasiliauskas (Trident) completed the Top 10.

This morning, Marcus Ericsson's laptimes were deleted due to the fact that his Barwa Addax car was found underweight. This concluded the testing season for the 2009 season.

The next GP2 Series test session will take place in Le Castellet at the end of March 2010


Test Day 11 November:
1 J. Jakes Super Nova International Bridgestone 01:12.346 46
2 L. Razia Addax Bridgestone 01:12.416 42
3 J. Bianchi ART Grand Prix Bridgestone 01:12.451 55
4 W. Bratt Coloni Motorsport Bridgestone 01:12.465 46
5 A. Felix da Costa Ocean Racing Technology Bridgestone 01:12.497 68
6 R. Rodriguez Racing Engineering Bridgestone 01:12.500 31
7 M. Herck DPR Bridgestone 01:12.523 21
8 J. d`Ambrosio Ocean Racing Technology Bridgestone 01:12.533 37
9 O. Turvey iSport International Bridgestone 01:12.559 49
10 S. Coletti DAMS Bridgestone 01:12.594 48
11 C. Vietoris Addax Bridgestone 01:12.594 41
12 S. Bird Arden International Bridgestone 01:12.600 41
13 K. Vasiliauskas Trident Racing Bridgestone 01:12.664 89
14 A. Rossi Piquet GP Bridgestone 01:12.784 41
15 M. Ericsson Arden International Bridgestone 01:12.806 61
16 C. Pic Racing Engineering Bridgestone 01:12.837 23
17 G. Ricci DPR Bridgestone 01:12.885 47
18 M. Chilton iSport International Bridgestone 01:12.995 46
19 A. Caldarelli Coloni Motorsport Bridgestone 01:13.123 52
20 J. Charouz ART Grand Prix Bridgestone 01:13.337 47
21 J. Kral Super Nova International Bridgestone 01:13.480 43
22 V. Arabadzhiev Piquet GP Bridgestone 01:13.528 55
23 F. Leimer DAMS Bridgestone 01:13.738 48
24 P. Kralev Trident Racing Bridgestone 01:14.521 64


Test Day 12 November:
1 J. Jakes Super Nova International Bridgestone 01:12.516 39
2 O. Turvey iSport International Bridgestone 01:12.565 45
3 J. Bianchi ART Grand Prix Bridgestone 01:12.584 50
4 S. Coletti DAMS Bridgestone 01:12.627 43
5 J. d`Ambrosio Racing Engineering Bridgestone 01:12.645 55
6 W. Bratt Coloni Motorsport Bridgestone 01:12.675 28
7 M. Herck DPR Bridgestone 01:12.736 55
8 E. Gutierrez Arden International Bridgestone 01:12.780 48
9 S. Bird Racing Engineering Bridgestone 01:12.831 49
10 C. Vietoris Ocean Racing Technology Bridgestone 01:12.851 40
11 A. Felix da Costa Ocean Racing Technology Bridgestone 01:12.836 69
12 A. Caldarelli Coloni Motorsport Bridgestone 01:12.932 42
13 J. Kral Super Nova International Bridgestone 01:13.003 46
14 K. Vasiliauskas Trident Racing Bridgestone 01:13.137 70
15 R. Rodriguez iSport International Bridgestone 01:13.220 68
16 M. Chilton Addax Bridgestone 01:13.260 61
17 M. Ericsson Addax Bridgestone 01:13.264 35
18 A. Rossi Piquet GP Bridgestone 01:13.280 31
19 J. Lancaster DAMS Bridgestone 01:13.334 35
20 G. Ricci DPR Bridgestone 01:13.434 14
21 J. Rosenzweig Arden International Bridgestone 01:13.571 51
22 V. Arabadzhiev Piquet GP Bridgestone 01:13.634 61
23 C. Pic ART Grand Prix Bridgestone 01:13.650 53
24 R. Gonzalez Trident Racing Bridgestone 01:13.945 55
GP Update

 

[bevonius]

Follow Marcus Ericsson

19 year old Marcus Ericsson is probably the most promising Swedish racing driver since Ronnie Peterson.

Come join us in the Marcus Ericsson fan club on Facebook.

In the group you can
- discuss everything about Marcus Ericsson and his advance around the tracks
- watch or add images of Marcus
- watch or add videos with Marcus
- add links to interesting

But, first and foremost, show your support for this amazing young talent!


You find the Facebook group, named "Marcus Ericsson Fan Club", here:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=207333651624

You can also follow Marcus via his blog at Aftonbladet. Since the blog is in Swedish his English speaking fans will have to rely on Google Translate via this link:
http://translate.google.se/translate?hl=sv&sl=sv&tl=en&u=http://blogg.aftonbladet.se/30404/

Read more about Marcus on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Ericsson

Marcus on Driver Database:
http://www.driverdb.com/drivers/4181/career/


Short CV for Marcus:
2000-2006 Competed in karting and became Swedish and Nordic champion in the ICA Junior class, also vice champion in Italian Open Master
2007 As rookie, won the British Formula BMW championship for Fortec Motorsport
2008 5th in the British Formula 3 championship, competing for Fortec Motorsport
2009
- Won the Japanese Formula 3 championship
- Tested GP2 at Jerez for iSport and ART. First time in a GP2 car, he was the fastest of the drivers, in front of many experienced drivers who had competed in GP2 1-2 complete seasons
- Tested F1 at Jerez for Brawn/Mercedes as a part of Young Driver test


Welcome everybody!
/Alexander Jönson & Jorgen "Bowe" Bevonius, admins of "Marcus Ericsson Fan Club"

 

[Hans Sneep]

Palmer fastest on second day at Portimão

12 December 2009

Jolyon Palmer has impressively set the ultimate pace during the final day of Formula 2 winter testing at Portimão, Portugal.

The young Briton closed out the final Formula Two action of 2009 with a fantastic display in the second afternoon session. The 18-year-old set a 1:35.519s lap time relatively early on in the final frenetic 75 minute stint and even came close to bettering his time soon after. He recorded a 1:35.573s just two laps after his pace-setting lap, which would have also been good enough to beat his rivals.

Dean Smith took second overall during the final day, but his fastest time was set during the morning session. The McLaren AUTOSPORT BRDC Award winner recorded the quickest first sector during the final 'overboost enabled' session, but he unfortunately hit traffic later in the lap. A slight technical problem then scuppered his chances of improving further, but Smith has more than impressed over the two day test in Portugal.

Renger van der Zande improved throughout his maiden day of driving in a Williams JPH1, and he put in a stellar lap late on to end up just 0.014s behind Smith. Kevin Mirocha, Kazim Vasiliauskas and Duncan Tappy rounded out the top six.

A delighted Jolyon Palmer said: "It is the first time that I have topped a session in Formula Two so I am really delighted. I have been making good progress recently and the Valencia test also went well last week, but it is a surprise to end up fastest. The lap was just neat and tidy, but I could have actually gone quicker a few laps later. It is about getting the best out of the new tyres and it something I have improved on during the session - it is just pleasing that it all came together this afternoon. It is a great way to finish 2009 and this will give me a real boost going into next year."