|
Saturday, 12 May 2012 20:34 |
 GP2 Series report and result of the race in Spain - Caterham Racing's Giedo van der Garde snatched an against the odds victory with the help of a strong start and a smart pit strategy to claim the Feature Race win today in Barcelona ahead of pole man James Calado and Stefano Coletti.
The paddock held its breath as the lights went out, and a few of the drivers did too, Calado and fellow front row starter Fabio Leimer struggled to get away, with the Englishman moving sharply across the track to stop his rival finding a way by, while behind them Stephane Richelmi and Max Chilton were even slower to move off the line.
Van der Garde and Coletti, however, made perfect starts to slide behind the front row pair into turn one, ahead of series leader Davide Valsecchi, Chilton, Nathanael Berthon and Fabio Onidi as the field shook itself out for the long race ahead, with the teams now looking at pit strategy to gain an advantage.
Felipe Nasr was the first man to stop on lap 11, and 2 laps later the front pair came in together for their stop, Calado's pits were closest to the pit entry, so he was in and out as Leimer was released, with the pair running side by side in the pit lane until Leimer conceded and chased his rival onto the track again.
Most of their rivals came in on the next lap, including van der Garde: the Dutchman's choice of changing the rears only compared to Calado's 4 tyres made the difference next time around as he stole the lead.
With the stops shaken out the order was van der Garde, Calado, Leimer, Coletti, Valsecchi, Berthon, Onidi, Chilton, Nigel Melker and Luiz Razia, but there were more surprises to come as first Leimer was handed a drive through, his team judged to have made an unsafe release in the pits, and then Melker was similarly stung for speeding in the pit lane.
For the final 10 laps or so it looked like you could throw a blanket over the top three, and everyone was waiting to see if tyre wear would be the deciding difference, but van der Garde held on for a mature victory just 0.8 seconds ahead of Calado and Coletti when the flag dropped.
Behind them Valsecchi took more points for a lonely fourth place ahead of Berthon, while Onidi, Chilton and Razia finished line astern, with Jolyon Palmer and Esteban Gutierrez claiming the final points.
In the drivers' championship Valsecchi sails on in the lead with 119 points, ahead of Razia (87), Calado (61), Gutierrez (57) and van der Garde (56), while the fight for the teams' title is hotting up as DAMS leads Lotus GP 147 points to 118, with Arden (88), Carlin (67) and Caterham (56) scrapping behind them.
Giedo van der Garde
“I am really happy for the whole team. Yesterday we were a little unlucky but we had a good car and I am just glad we could show that today. Winning the race from P5 is a fantastic result I think I drove a controlled race and maintained the tyres well. Our lap times were very consistent throughout the race so I am very pleased about that and the car felt very good so it looks like all our efforts have paid off today. I have been working very hard with the team recently to get things how I want them and they have proved we are capable of winning races, and getting our hands on a bigger trophy! It was very nice to be on top of the podium and hearing my national anthem, it gives me even more motivation for the next race, so let’s see what we can do tomorrow.”
Rodolfo Gonzalez
“First of all well done to Giedo! I am very pleased for him and the whole team for getting P1, it is very well deserved. For me, my race today started well. I made a few good, clean overtaking moves in the first couple of laps but I think we lost a little time before our pit stop, so perhaps we should have come in a little earlier. But overall we had good pace and the tyre degradation was better than in practice, so I am pleased with that. It was just a shame we had to start so far back but we have a good car and I will do my best in the race tomorrow.”
Luiz Razia
“That was a bonus. I made a clean start, which I have managed at every race this year, and the car felt good throughout. The tyre change was quick, too, so there were many positive aspects to the afternoon. Despite all that, I didn’t think I’d be able to get into the top eight so feel very grateful that circumstances enabled me to pick up a couple of positions that might otherwise not have been possible. It was a tough race, but I’m very pleased with the outcome. I was pushing hard to make progress, but Fabio Onidi and Max Chilton were tied together, just ahead, and it’s very tough trying to pass one car in Barcelona, never mind two. Overall, though, things worked out well. Now that I have earned pole position for tomorrow, I intend to make the most of it.”
Simon Trummer
“I didn’t make a very good start, but my lap times were pretty good when I had a clear track. Unfortunately, we had a problem with one of the wheels at my pit stop, which cost me more time, but after that I was able to run at the same pace as quick guys such as Stephane Richelmi and Josef Kral, which was encouraging. Tomorrow, I will try to move forward, that’s really all I can do.”
Fabio Leimer
"The start was pretty OK and I was close to passing Calado, but in a dangerous manoeuvre I was pushed outside the track limits and almost lost second position. After that the race was pretty unexciting, I had no problem staying close to Calado and we both pitted on the same lap. We came out of the pit stop together and I didn't think this was a dangerous manoeuvre as we both had sufficient space. I received a drive through for this and I am obviously very disappointed as I am working hard on the preparation of each race weekend and such decisions are destroying an entire weekend."
Nathanael Berthon
"This is my best result of the year so far. I am really happy as, with a good starting position and opening laps, I can better show my potential. Again I would like to thank my mechanics and engineers, who gave me the car to do it. The weekend is not finished, I start fourth tomorrow, so let's see what will happen."
Stephane Richelmi
“I haven't had a great start, but the thing that got me the most issues was braking for the first corner. To avoid the melee I passed through the outside run-off area and came back with dirty tires, losing traction as well as several positions. Before the pit stop I was 11th but the problems had during the tire change brought me to the bottom of the charts again. It's been a really unfortunate day for us."
Julian Leal
“I haven't found the right chemistry with my car's set-up today. We made some set-up choices that didn't pay off and that gave me issues in terms of traction and driveability. I'm sorry for not having been able to come back and I think I could have done a lot more today."
2102 Spain - Barcelona Race 1 results:
| Pos. |
Driver |
Team |
| 1. |
Giedo van der Garde |
Caterham Racing |
| 2. |
James Calado |
Lotus GP |
| 3. |
Stefano Coletti |
Scuderia Coloni |
| 4. |
Davide Valsecchi |
DAMS |
| 5. |
Nathanaël Berthon |
Racing Engineering |
| 6. |
Fabio Onidi |
Scuderia Coloni |
| 7. |
Michael Chilton |
Carlin |
| 8. |
Luiz Razia |
Arden International |
| 9. |
Jolyon Palmer |
iSport International |
| 10. |
Esteban Gutierrez |
Lotus GP |
| 11. |
Felipe Nasr |
DAMS |
| 12. |
Fabio Leimer |
Racing Engineering |
| 13. |
Marcus Ericsson |
iSport International |
| 14. |
Nigel Melker |
Ocean Racing Technology |
| 15. |
Rodolfo Gonzalez |
Caterham Racing |
| 16. |
Rio Haryanto |
Carlin |
| 17. |
Fabrizio Crestani |
Venezuela GP Lazarus |
| 18. |
Johnny Cecotto |
Barwa Addax Team |
| 19. |
Victor Guerin |
Ocean Racing Technology |
| 20. |
Josef Kral |
Barwa Addax Team |
| 21. |
Stéphane Richelmi |
Trident Racing |
| 22. |
Tom Dillmann |
Rapax |
| 23. |
Simon Trummer |
Arden International |
| 24. |
Julian Leal |
Trident Racing |
| 25. |
Giancarlo Serenelli |
Venezuela GP Lazarus |
| NC. |
Ricardo Teixeira |
Rapax |
Fastest lap: Esteban Gutierrez (Lotus GP) – 1'35.200 on lap 21
F1SA.com
If you found this service informative please be kind and leave a tip.
|
|
|
|
|
|
NEWS by SERIES 
