Unlucky Feature race for Trident

Trident Racing saw their drivers; Julian Leal and Stephane Richelmi come home sixteenth and nineteenth in the feature race at Abu Dhabi, with Richelmi being particularly unlucky as he lost a lap right at the start of the race with an overheating problem.

For Leal, he stayed out of trouble for the entire thirty one laps of the feature race, but his strategy failed to pay off as he lost rear grip towards the end of the race and dropped back.

The beginning of the race however saw him putting in some quick lap times as he looked to work his way up the order.

Afterwards, Leal said: “My start hasn’t been one of the best possible but in the first few laps I managed to get several spots back. I hoped to fight for a place in the top-10 but our strategy with an early pit-stop didn’t prove efficient like I expected. In the closing part of the race my tires got worn out really bad and a lost a lot of spots in the closing laps.”

Richelmi saw his hopes of a points finish dashed after his overheating problem at the start of the race, and he explains what happened: “My race has been conditioned by an issue we had while I was lining-up on the starting grid. At the start of the pit-lane there was a stopped car and we ended up in queue. I held onto the clutch for some seconds and as it got overheated, I couldn’t get back going. I went back on-track while the race was underway and one lap back already, so there were zero chances for a points spot. It’s a pity because I expected my race pace to be quite good and I believe I could have aimed at something better.”

The final race of the Abu Dhabi GP2 Final will see Leal lining up on the eighth row while Richelmi lines up on row ten, with the race due to get underway at 09.30 GMT.

Leimer Secures Abu Dhabi Feature Race Honours

Fabio Leimer secured the feature race honours in the non Championship Abu Dhabi race from Pole Position, securing a dominant victory from Caterham Team AirAsia’s Luiz Razia and Jolyon Palmer, who secured his first GP2 Points finish with a podium finish for Barwa Addax Team.

Swiss driver Leimer got the perfect start in his Racing Engineering car while fellow front row starter Dani Clos (Rapax) made a slower getaway and soon found himself in between Josef Kral (Arden International) and Razia – Clos saw his race end at T1 while Kral spun.

This incident allowed Razia and Palmer the chance to chase down Leimer out front – his pace, however, was hard for Palmer to match and he had to keep his eyes on what was happening behind as Esteban Gutierrez (Lotus ART) was on a charge, having lined up eighth.

Gutierrez was making up for a poor qualifying performance but his hopes of a podium finish were dashed after having to make an unscheduled pit stop for repairs to be made to his damaged rear wing, having been collected by Stefano Coletti (Scuderia Coloni) in the first corner.

Leimer was able to maintain a good gap up at the front and this meant that Razia’s only hope of securing the race lead was during the pit stops. Leimer pitted two laps later than Razia and the Swiss driver rejoined the track second, ahead of Razia but behind Palmer, who pitted a lap later and this gave the Racing Engineering driver the lead once again.

Behind the top two drivers, Palmer had a lonely first stint was soon holding off iSport International’s Marcus Ericsson – the Swedish driver had started down in thirteenth position but having made a perfect getaway, he was soon up to eighth and his pace enabled him to move up to fourth after his pit stop on lap thirteen.

Ericsson continued to push until the chequered flag but it wasn’t enough and Palmer was able to hold on to him maiden GP2 podium finish.

At the flag, Leimer secured the victory and maximum points – he set the fastest lap of the race on lap twenty three – ahead of Razia and Palmer, while the top eight was completed by Ericsson, Kevin Ceccon (Scuderia Coloni) and three GP3 graduates, Tom Dillmann (iSport International), Antonio Felix da Costa (Ocean Racing Technology) from fifteenth on the grid and James Caado (Lotus ART) – Calado will start tomorrows sprint race from Pole Position.

Ceccon and Coletti Secure Top Ten Starts in Abu Dhabi

Scuderia Coloni started the GP2 Final at Abu Dhabi with a good result in qualifying as both Kevin Ceccon and Stefano Coletti finished inside the top ten and line up on rows four and five.

Had the red flag not been shown with four minutes remaining, the result could have been even better for the team – the top eighteen runners were covered by a second at the flag.

The stoppage affected both Ceccon and Coletti – both drivers were on course to improve their grid positions and Ceccon was on for a front row start having set some storming sector times.

Once the track went live for the final four minutes, both drivers went out to improve their position but with the amount of traffic out on track, neither driver could improve – leaving Auto GP Champion Ceccon seventh and Coletti tenth.

Paolo Coloni believes that the teams’ race pace will mean that they can improve on their grid positions and they are aiming to finish on top in the two race non-Championship finale: “Being so damaged by the red flag was a pity, but we aren’t too worried because the race will be long and both our drivers have a pace that is much better than what this qualifying session is telling.

“Ceccon’s split times were particularly impressive, he even had the best third sector overall, so with a good race management tomorrow there’s no limit to what we could achieve. Besides this, we have to remember that this GP2 Finale is made of two races: our aim is to score more points than everybody else at the end of the weekend, and we will do our best to achieve that.”

Trident Racing Suffer Disappointing Qualifying.

Trident Racing will line up nineteenth and twenty first after qualifying for the season closing GP2 Final at the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi, the non Championship event which supports the penultimate round of the 2011 FIA Formula One World Championship.

The team, with Julian Leal and Stephane Richelmi driving the two cars saw their weekend start with Free Practice and for Leal, his session was compromised as he had an off track moment which cost him valuable track time.

This meant that he had to make up for lost time in qualifying and the session was interrupted with four minutes remaining after a car stopped out on track and forced the session to be stopped.

Once live again, the sheer amount of traffic on track meant that nobody was able to improve and this meant that the two Trident cars finished nineteenth and twenty first fastest.

Leal admits that his Practice incident has affected his day but he isn’t dissatisfied with how qualifying went: “My day has been largely jeopardized by an off-track exit that virtually ended my practice run after just a few minutes. I started qualifying without many references and in the end, all considered; I wasn’t really dissatisfied with how it went”

Richelmi, who made his GP2 debut at Monza with the team as a stand in for Stefano Coletti wasn’t pleased with how qualifying went for him: “This qualifying session hasn’t been easy at all. With the first set of tires I faced a slowing down car and I lost the chance to clock a good laptime in the last few corners. Then with the second set there was an awful lot of traffic on-track, and I just couldn’t complete a whole clean lap. I hope for better luck on race day because this is a track that offers many passing opportunities.”

The first race of the weekend is due to start at 9am CET, with a thirty one lap duration while the second race will start at 10:30am CET, with the race due to be run over twenty two laps.

Quintet of Formula Renault 3.5 Drivers Set for Formula 1 Young Drivers’ Test.

Abu Dhabi plays host to a three day Young Drivers’ Test over the 15/16/17 November, just after the penultimate round of the 2011 FIA Formula One Grand Prix.

A number of talented drivers will be given a chance to shine at the wheel of a Formula One car and the first driver to book his place in the test is the 2011 Formula 3.5 Series Champion, Canadian Robert Wickens.

Wickens will be joined by four other drivers: Jean-Eric Vergne, Alexander Rossi, Kevin Korjus and Jan Charouz. Vergne finished the season as the vice champion while Rossi was third overall and leading rookie.

Twenty two year old Wickens will take to the wheel of the Lotus Renault GP R31 during the opening day of the test, Tuesday 15 November. Wickens is taking advantage of the system which Renault Sport Technologies has put in place to give drivers exposure to the rigours and challenges of Formula One.

Wickens has already tasted the Lotus Renault R30 in a mid season demonstration run as a reward for leading the Formula Renault 3.5 Series standings at the time, the Canadian driver has another chance to prove his abilities in a Formula One car.

The Canadian has got some Formula One experience already as he took to the track during the opening Free Practice session ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, for Marussia Virgin Racing, the team whose colours he sported in 2010.

Joining him on track during the opening practice session was fellow title challenger and Carlin team-mate Vergne, who took to the track for Scuderia Toro Rosso. Vergne has also driven the Toro Rosso car at the Korean Grand Prix and will do so in Brazil as well.

Vergne and Wickens finished twelfth and twenty third fastest respectively in the first practice session.

Vergne will take part in the Young Drivers’ Test for Red Bull Racing, in the RB7. The car which the French driver will test is the same car which former FR3.5 Series driver Sebastian Vettel has taken to his second World Championship in a row.

The third FR3.5 Series driver to get their chance behind the wheel of a Formula One car will be Alexander Rossi, who is a year younger than Vergne.

Having finished third overall and top rookie, the American racer is backed by Team Lotus Driver Development Program and will appear for the team during the test, as well as racing for the team’s sister team, Caterham Team AirAsia in the GP2 Final.

Eighteen Year Old Estonian racer Korjus will test for Lotus Renault on the second of the three days. Korjus, who is part of the Gravity Sports Management programme won the 2010 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 title and stepped up into FR3.5 for 2011, becoming the youngest ever race winner. He secured three wins in total during the 2011 campaign.

The fifth driver to test an F1 car will be twenty four year old Czech driver Jan Charouz, a member of the Lotus Renault GP reserve driver roster. The Czech driver has been a FR3.5 Series regular and will get his chance on the final day of the three day test, and he has past experience of driving F1 machinery having done demonstration runs in the R30 throughout the 2011 World Series by Renault season.

The five FR3.5 drivers will all be testing Renault powered machines at Abu Dhabi and it is proof of the French car makers commitment to young driving talent as well as the effectiveness of a driver development programme, which has been firmly established on the global Motorsport scene.

Razia Qualifies Inside GP2 Top 4.

Caterham Team AirAsia had a mixed day ahead of the Non-Championship GP2 Final at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi as regular driver Luiz Razia finished inside the top four while American racer Alexander Rossi finished fifteenth fastest ahead of tomorrow’s feature race.

Razia, who completed twenty three laps in qualifying set his best time on his first set of tyres to finish just three tenths of a second off Pole Position, and a position on the second row of the grid.

Speaking about qualifying, Razia said: “The car felt very good in the first stint and I was able to push straight out of the box but if I am honest I am a little disappointed as I felt I could have got another couple of tenths out of it and had pole position. In the second half the session was disrupted with a red flag and with just one lap left after the track went green the tyres were just not ready. The track surface differed a lot this afternoon – The F1 rubber helped in the first outing but then I think only one or two people improved on their second set of tyres. With regards to the tyre choice for this weekend I think it is good; I didn’t feel much degradation so although I would like to be on the front row I am happy. It’s a good qualifying result, we just need to push, have a good strategy and fight for the race win. Let’s do it!”

GP2 rookie Rossi saw his qualifying session hampered with a technical issue from Free Practice, which meant that he lost out on valuable track time. Qualifying then saw him be in the wrong place at the wrong time as the red flags came out while he was on his fastest lap of the session, and once the track went live once again he was unable to better his best time and lines up down in fifteenth position.

The American racer said after qualifying: “My practice session was quite disjointed so although my first run in qualifying was clear my lack of pace was down to the fact I still had no real reference points and I was still trying to find my way. On the second set of tyres I set my fastest first two sectors but there was a red flag and after that only had time for one lap to put everything together. I am frustrated but we’ll see what tomorrow brings.  The Pirelli rear tyres seem to go away quite quickly but it is the same for everyone so it will all be about protecting the tyres and whoever can do that the best will get the best results.”

“We qualified P4 and P15 so I have mixed feelings about the session,” explains Team Manager Phill Spencer. “We had a slight problem with the throttle on Alexander’s cars this morning which we fixed in time for qualifying but unfortunately he lost some track time. Both cars were on their fastest laps when the red flag came out but it seemed Luiz was making the most of every opportunity and was really happy with the car.

“All in all I am pleased for Luiz and a little disappointed for Alexander as we all know he is capable of a much better qualifying result. We will fight from where we start tomorrow – a podium is definitely in our reach and as long as we can make some progress I will be happy.”

For Humphrey Corbett, Caterham Team AirAsia Chief Engineer, the session didn’t go according to plan as he explains: “Qualifying didn’t go quite according to script; I was expecting both cars to be up there but at least Luiz Razia proved the car is capable of qualifying at the front.

“Alexander unfortunately had a lot of traffic and was blocked on a very quick lap after the red flag, he was up on both his sectors so it was a shame he wasn’t able to have a clear lap – he was just very unlucky. Alexander didn’t seem to have the grip on his first set of tyres so we will have to look at that.

“As for tomorrow anything is possible, Alexander is disappointed but he is capable of passing other cars so at the very least if we can get him up to P8 to start on pole for Sunday’s race that would be perfect – that and a podium finish for Luiz. It is all very achievable.”

Leimer Secures Pole for Racing Engineering in GP2 Final.

Racing Engineering secured the perfect start to the non-Championship, season concluding GP2 final at Abu Dhabi as Swiss driver Fabio Leimer secured Pole Position for the Spanish outfit.

The opening day of the GP2 final at the Yas Marina circuit took place under dry and sunny weather conditions and the morning free practice session saw the teams’ drivers, Leimer and Nathanael Berthon, immediately on the pace.

At the end of the morning session, Leimer was second fastest with the time he had set with fifteen minutes remaining and he took his morning practice form into qualifying, where on his first attempt, he went fourth fastest.

The best was yet to come from the Swiss racer, as on his second qualifying run towards the end of the session, he bettered his original time by half a second to move to the top of the times. His 1m49.363 wasn’t bettered by anyone else in the field during the closing stages.

Leimer said after qualifying: “Everything went really perfect. We already saw we were quick during free practice and that everything would be possible in qualifying. I also knew that I myself could still go quicker. In qualifying everything fell into place and I would like to pass a big thank you on to the team as they gave me a really, really good car. I am really happy as it was actually my last possible lap when I set the fastest time. After that we had the red flag and there were no possibilities to improve anymore. I am also really happy as this is my first pole position. Now we will see what’s possible for tomorrow’s race, but the most important thing is to start in front. I am really, really happy.”

Team-mate Berthon ended the free practice session seventh fastest and within half a second of Leimer’s time. Come qualifying, the French driver didn’t have the same luck.

He was close to the top ten after his first run but his second run saw him gain a few hundredths of a second, before the red flags were shown. Once the track went live, Berthon was unable to improve and thus finished seventeenth overall.

Berthon was pleased with how Free Practice went but not so happy with qualifying, as he explains: “Free practice was really good today. I was not pushing to the maximum and therefore it was not so bad. In qualifying I didn’t have any clear lap, but I guess it was the same for everyone. I have to push more in the next qualifying, if there is another race in the future. I am not satisfied with today’s qualifying result, but the lap was not terrible and I am not so far away. I am sure it will be better in the race.”

With qualifying being a close run thing – Berthon in seventeenth was within a second of Leimer’s session topping time – tomorrow’s race is set to be spectacular and with Leimer up at the front, he is expected to be one of the favourites.

Racing Engineering President, Alfonso de Orleans-Borbon is pleased with how the day went for the team: “Another incredible performance from Fabio. His final attempt for pole was the right one and he was able to pull it off. When you need the best of him, he can deliver. What a talent, especially with such a strong line-up of drivers this weekend. As for Nathanaël, sadly traffic and some small mistakes did not allow him to show his full potential as in testing in Barcelona and this morning. Although, I am not too worried since I think tomorrow he will show his full potential and plough through the field. He has the talent to do it. Once again, I want to thank everyone in the team for a wonderful job. Now let’s get ready for tomorrow, where it really counts.”

Leimer Secures Abu Dhabi Pole Position.

Fabio Leimer took the Racing Engineering team to the top of the times for the GP2 feature race at Abu Dhabi tomorrow morning, having secured top spot with five minutes of the session remaining.

The Swiss driver had showed some speed during the morning practice session and he finished with a 1m49.363s, having recovered from an earlier spin at turn nineteen.

Spanish racer Dani Clos took Rapax to the top of the times during the early stages but the first driver to break the 1m50 mark was Josef Kral for Arden International, who had opened up a gap of half a second over the rest of the field.

Kral’s session topping time was unbeaten for the vast majority of the session and the chasing pack were busy trying to close the gap and the next drivers to dip below the 1m50 barrier were Leimer and Clos, Clos finishing a mere 0.02s off Kral.

After ten minutes, Leimer put his head down and his spin at turn nineteen was down to him pushing even harder and this ended his chance of Pole Position and as the session reached the mid-way point, Kral was still on top of the times – ahead of Clos, Luiz Razia (Caterham Team AirAsia), Jolyon Palmer (Barwa Addax Team), Kevin Ceccon (Scuderia Coloni) and Leimer. The top nineteen drivers were covered by a second as the field returned to the pits.

Hoping for a clear track, Clos was the first driver to return to the track but on his fast lap, he lost out as cars on their out lap hampered his effort, while Esteban Gutierrez (Lotus ART) was also in the hunt and he managed to find a clear lap but his efforts weren’t enough and the morning session topper couldn’t improve on his sixth place.

Leimer found some extra speed in the Racing Engineering car with five minutes remaining as he found the clear lap he required to set the fastest time of the session to secure himself pole position.

Clos’ efforts left him second on the grid, just ahead of Kral, while further back, Gutierrez saw his session finish prematurely as he stopped out on track with technical gremlins. This brought out the red flags with three and a half minutes remaining, and once the session resumed, nobody could match Leimer’s lap.

Behind the top three drivers, Razia finished fourth ahead of Palmer, Max Chilton (Carlin), Ceccon, Gutierrez, top GP3 graduate Tom Dillmann (iSport International) and Stefano Coletti (Scuderia Coloni).

Kral, Trummer for GP2 Finale with Arden.

Arden International has today announced that Josef Kral and GP3 Series graduate Simon Trummer will be the drivers for the team during the GP2 Finale at Yas Marina this weekend, 12/13 November.

Czech Republic driver Kral has been with the team since the start of the season, having driven for the team in both the GP2 Asia and GP2 Main Series campaigns and he secured points in both Championships, as well as a podium finish at Spa-Francorchamps.

The last time Kral visited the Yas Marina circuit, he finished in the points in the points scoring positions and on the podium.

Kral said about the announcement: “I am very happy to be back in the team where I raced all season. I hope that we can build on the experience what we gained throughout the season and hopefully turn in to some good results in Abu Dhabi.”

Trummer spent the 2011 campaign racing in GP3, for the MW Arden outfit and during the two post season tests; he secured some successful results and proved himself within a GP2 car.

The opportunity to race for Arden in the GP2 finale is a season highlight for Trummer, as he explains: “It is definitely my season highlight to race with such a great team as Arden in Abu Dhabi! I’m so happy that I have this chance! After a great test I feel really comfortable with the car and in the team. I feel like I have raced for them all my career, so I will give my best for do a good job and I hope we will are successful!”

As announced by the GP2 series organisers, the trip to Yas Marina is for a one-off non championship event alongside the penultimate round of the 2011 FIA Formula One World Championship.

The unique event will see all thirteen teams take part in the event and Pirelli, the official tyre supplier to GP2 and GP3 have offered a financial reward to the top two GP3 series graduates. Trummer is eligible for this reward.

Garry Horner announced that he is pleased with the teams’ line up for the Abu Dhabi trip: “I am pleased that both Josef and Simon will be racing with us in Abu Dhabi. It is great to continue our relationship with Josef into this event at Yas Marina, where he has had successful results both in testing and racing. Having tested Simon in both the GP2 post-season tests with good results, we are pleased to give Simon the opportunity to move up into a GP2 car and stay within the Arden team.”

BMW Ready for Zhuhai Challenges

BMW Motorsport is fully prepared ahead of the trip to Zhuhai for the seventh and final round of the 2011 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, which takes place this weekend (13 November).

Driving for the BMW Team Schnitzer outfit in China will be Augusto Farfus, Jorg Muller, Andy Priaulx and Uwe Alzen – Farfus and Muller will be sharing the #55 BMW M3 GT while Priaulx and Alzen will pilot the sister car during the event.

Charley Lamm, BMW Team Schnitzer team manager is hoping to finish the 2011 campaign on a high: “We are travelling to Zhuhai with very good memories. Last year we had a very strong overall package, and I am convinced this will be the case again this year. 2011 has proven extremely successful for BMW Motorsport, and our aim is to end the season in China accordingly. A top result in Zhuhai would be a fitting reward for all the hard work the entire team has put in this year. Now we are looking forward to China, and an exciting, long race during which a lot can happen, as we saw last year. However, we are fully prepared.”

Last year’s event at the Zhuhai International Circuit was a successful one for the team as they secured their maiden victory on the Chinese mainland – Muller and Dirk Werner secured the LMGT2 class victory in the BMW M3 GT2, the first for the car in the GP2 specification, and last years’ winner Muller is looking forward to returning to Zhuhai: “I am looking forward to competing with the BMW M3 GT again, as the break since my last race in Silverstone has been a bit too long.

“In addition I am particularly looking forward to China, as the Zhuhai circuits plays to the strengths of our M3. There a car needs to have very good braking characteristics, which the BMW has. Last year we were extremely strong there. I am convinced we will be front-runners again, so with a chance of victory.”

2011 has seen BMW Motorsport contest the ILMC newly-introduced GTE class with the BMW M3 GT and during the season opener at Sebring; the team secured a one-two finish.

In the six ILMC races held to date in 2011, BMW Motorsport has secured six podium finishes, including one last time out in the Petit Le Mans – the event doubled up as the final round of the American Le Mans Series and BMW secured a clean sweep of the drivers’, teams’ and manufacturers titles with the BMW M3 GT.

Heading to Zhuhai, BMW are currently sitting second to Ferrari in the manufacturers category of the GTE class, while BMW Motorsport are fourteen points adrift of AF Corse in the race for the Teams’ Championship, so BMW Motorsport still have a mathematical chance of securing both the manufacturers and teams’ titles this weekend.

For Farfus and Priaulx, the former WTCC team-mates are both looking forward to their trip to Zhuhai and Farfus is hoping to finish the season off with a victory: “I am looking forward to travelling overseas and experiencing a new circuit. Last year BMW was very successful in Zhuhai, so we hope to end this season on a high and with a victory. The track is new for me, but we can practice all day on Wednesday, so I have plenty of time to learn the circuit and be spot-on for the race. Jörg won the race last year, so I am looking forward to sharing the car with him. I think we have a good and strong package, and I know that the track suits the M3 very well.”

Priaulx added: “It is my first time at Zhuhai. I have not driven the track before, but I drove it on a simulator in preparation for the race. I am looking forward to it. I know it is quite a challenging track, and I think the GTE class will be extremely competitive. It should be a strong circuit for us, it was strong last year and we want to finish the season on a high. Our goal has to be to try and win the race.”

Alzen heads to China in confident mood and is looking to returning to the cockpit for the first time since Silverstone: “I travel to China in an optimistic frame of mind. We aim to end the season there with a top result. My last race with BMW was the ILMC round in Silverstone. Unfortunately we did not make it to the podium there. However, I think the warm temperatures in China will work for us. In addition the team has a lot of experience from last year. Our aim is to win. We will see whether we manage that, but I believe we have a good chance.”