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Drivers’ Championship 1. Romain
Grosjean 35
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mail your news to editorthegrid@yahoo.co.uk GP2 Asia Kobayashi flies to his first win! Dams Driver Kamui Kobayahsi claimed a historical victory in Sepang: he is the first Japanese driver to have ever won a GP2 race. It was very hot on the Malaysian track this morning as the GP2 Asia drivers placed their car on the reversed grid. Trident Racing Harald Schleghelmilch started on pole position, next to BCN Competicion’s Milos Pavlovic. However, as the lights went off, Kamui Kobayashi and Vitaly Petrov were the fastest to get into action and they took the lead of the race, the Toyota F1 third driver in front of yesterday’s feature race winner. Behind these two men, Pavlovic and Schleghelmilch were already both under the attacks of Romain Grosjean, back from 9th place. Soon, the ART Grand Prix driver was 3rd and chasing after Petrov. As the two men began a beautiful fight, the rest of the pack stayed closely together with Puglisi, Buurman and Valsecchi in the points. Unfortunately, the Piquet Sports driver who was struggling a little bit eventually let Buurman and Valsecchi pass, and then Fairuz Fauzy and the two iSport International drivers. At the front of the race, while Kobayashi was still easily leading, Grosjean overtook Petrov, but never could catch up with the Dams driver. With three laps to go, Karun Chandhok appeared in the mirrors of Fauzy. However, the Super Nova Racing man crossed the finish line first. Behind them, Bruno Senna set the fastest lap time in a 1:46.548. Romain Grosjean is still leading the championship 11 points ahead of now second Vitaly Petrov. Fairuz Fauzy completes the Top 3. Kamui Kobayashi (Dams): “This is a fantastic result! I made a perfect start and then I led the race until the chequered flag. I knew Romain was fast so I never stopped pushing. I’m really glad to offer this victory to my team: they’ve done a wonderful job this weekend and we leave Malaysia with two podiums. We are back in top form!” Romain Grosjean (ART Grand Prix): “I played it really safe at the start and then, the cars in front of me were slower so I could overtake them. All in all, I passed seven cars. The fight with Petrov was tough: he was faster than me when outing the corners. He eventually made a mistake and I went on the outside to overtake him. After that, Kamui was too far away. I wanted to win, but I guess I should focus on the fact that I’m still leading the championship. I made a mistake yesterday that cost us the win…” Vitaly Petrov (Barwa International Campos Team): “I had a great weekend here in Malaysia if we forget about qualifications… I tried my best to contain Grosjean, but then I made a small mistake and he took this opportunity to pass me. After that, he was faster than me. With one win and another podium this weekend, I’m now second of the championship. Fauzy is very close, Grosjean is not too far… The end of the championship should be very interesting!” Sentul – Race 2 Driver Team Vitaly Petrov scores his first win in Sepang Russian driver Vitaly Petrov claimed his first GP2 Asia victory at the end of an action-packed race that saw the leaders falter. It was a difficult start for the front row men of the day as Karun Chandhok and Romain Grosjean both stalled on the grid and left Bruno Senna to lead the race in front of Adrian Valles and Sébastien Buemi. However, in the opening lap, the rain started to fall and the iSport driver went wide while chaos happened at the back of the pack with five cars going off track. The race was stopped. At the restart behind the safety car, Adrian Valles took the lead in front of Sébastien Buemi. The two men pulled clear of the rest of the pack where Grosjean and Senna fought their way back to the top. The Brazilian pushed a little too hard though and after he signed the fastest lap time, he went off track and had to retire. Behind the two leaders, Fauzy, Tung and Petrov were fighting for third place. The Trident Racing driver eventually spun and Petrov started to attack Fauzy, but the Super Nova Racing man chose that moment to pit. While Grosjean made his way to eighth, the leaders also came back to the pits, Buemi one lap before Valles. The FMS man got back to the track just ahead of the Arden driver. The Swiss pushed really hard to try and overtake the Spaniard and unfortunately crashed into his rival. Both men had to retire and left Petrov and Grosjean to lead the race in front of BCN’s Pavlovic who, on hot tyres, overtook the Frenchman, but the two cars touched in the process and Grosjean had to go back to the pits for inspection. Petrov became a clear leader after Fairuz Fauzy was held up trying to lap Nunes. Dams’ Jérôme d’Ambrosio fought his way from 16th to third place ahead of Durango’s Valsecchi and the other Dams driver Kamui Kobayashi. The championship leader finished 9th, but still managed to salvage one point for fastest lap time. Behind Grosjean, the drivers’ championship has drastically changed with Fairuz Fauzy and Vitaly Petrov taking 2nd and 3rd. Bruno Senna and Adrian Valles dropped to fourth and fifth. Vitaly Petrov (Barwa International Campos Team): “I made a start good enough to come out of the first lap in 6th place. At the restart, under the rain, it was tricky to stay on track. But I worked my way to the top corner after corner. It is fantastic to offer this win to my team. I want to take some points tomorrow and be able to fight for the championship.” Fairuz Fauzy (Super Nova Racing): “After Chandhok and Grosjean stalled on the grid and Senna went wide, I was P3. The track conditions were tricky. At the restart, I had a great fight with Buemi, but my tyres were too hot so we decided to pit and change to slick tyres. It took 3 laps to warm up the tyres. I saw Vitaly in front of me and I could have caught him, but Nunes blocked me! This is my home race: I wanted to perform well.” Jérôme d’Ambrosio (Dams): “At the beginning of the race, when it started to rain, it was very difficult to stay on track. I adapted my driving to the track conditions and then my team had the perfect strategy and we had a great pit-stop during which I passed Pavlovic. When I went back out, I had three great laps. Then, it was impossible to catch up with the two leaders, especially since I had to contain Valsecchi! This is a great result for us with Kamui finishing 5th as well. As for tomorrow, I believe that the weather conditions are going to determine the results. I want to perform well, make no mistake and see where that leads us.” Sepang – Race 1 Driver Team Not Classified Driver Team
First win for Fauzy It was a bright and sunny Sunday today just for Malaysian Fairuz Fauzy who scored his first GP2 win on the wet track of Sentul in the sprint race. He started from pole position on the reversed grid and led until the chequered flag. As the 26 cars were waiting for the off, heavy rain started to pour on the track two minutes before the formation lap. The start was then given behind the safety car and the two first laps were fateful for Latvian Schleghelmilch and Brazilian Valerio, both in slick tyres. On Lap 7, the safety car stepped out and the real battle begun. RDD boys Hanley and Grosjean started to fight for 5th place. Vitaly Petrov took this opportunity to pass the Brit. Just five laps after the restart, the safety car was once again deployed when Luca Filippi spun and got stranded in the middle of the track. At the second restart, the battle for third position intensified between Pavlovic, Petrov, Grosjean and Hanley. After Petrov passed Milos without any harm, ART Frenchman attacked the BCN driver. Just behind them, Ben Hanley saw an opportunity and moved up the inside of Grosjean, but he went in too deep and hit Pavlovic. The safety car was deployed for the third time. When it released the cars, there were less than 6 minutes left on the clock. In front, leader Fauzy managed to contain Senna’s attacks in order to cross the finish line in first position and take his maiden win. Senna finished 2nd ahead of Petrov, Grosjean, Valles and Tung who scored his first point today. Fairuz Fauzy (Super Nova Racing): “I am so happy! The team did a wonderful job in setting up the car in these difficult conditions. I had a really good pace. This is my first win and it comes right before the next round in my homeland in Sepang. I hope I can do the same there!” Bruno Senna (iSport International): “We had a set up for the dry and it rained a lot, so it made things extremely difficult for me. Fairuz and the guys behind me were faster. Therefore, I’m quite happy with this result. We’ve had a tough two first rounds, but I’m still second of the championship and I closed the gap with Grosjean a little bit.” Vitaly Petrov (Barwa International Campos Team): “I was frustrated yesterday when I couldn’t turn my pole position into a win. Today, I wanted to do something good. We were quick all weekend and I know that we have the car to actually fight for the podium at every race.” Sentul – Race 2 Driver Team
Buemi wins feature race Swiss Sébastien Buemi was handed his maiden GP2 win in the feature race of the second round of 2008 GP2 Asia Series. It was very hot and humid this afternoon in Sentul where the feature race of the second round of the 2008 GP2 Asia Series took place. Though it was expected, even feared, the rain never came, but that did not prevent for the race to be eventful! After only two laps, Adam Khan crashed into Bakkerud who then hit Harald Schleghelmilch. The safety car entered in action on Lap 2 and brought all the front runners in to make their compulsory pit stop. This left Bruno Senna to lead the race, followed by Hiroki Yoshimoto and five other drivers who decided to stay on track. Pole man Petrov came back in 8th place, while Valles passed Filippi in the pits. Things were a little bit more complicated for Championship leader Romain Grosjean during his pit stop and he came back out on 18th place. The race restarted on lap 12 and the two front-runners kept on leading the race at a rapid pace with Bruno Senna setting the fastest lap time. But the gap he managed to get was wiped out mid-race by another safety car when Diego Nunes crashed his DPR car in the wall on the straight line. At the second restart, Senna, Yoshimoto, Herck and Valerio still had to pit. Petrov was then third with Filippi, Buemi and Valles in tow. Romain Grosjean had then made his way up to 9th position, behind another RDD driver and rookie, Ben Hanley who had started from 18th. Senna and Yoshimoto were handed a drive-through penalty on the restart for overtaking the safety car before it had crossed the line at the beginning of the pit lane. Since Petrov went into the gravels and dropped to 6th, this left Filippi to lead the race in front of Buemi, Valles, Hanley and Grosjean. Bruno Senna managed to get back into the Top 8 before the end of the event. If Filippi crossed the finish line a winner, the victory was eventually handed to Sébastien Buemi after the Italian was found to have used tyres allocated to his teammate, Yoshimoto. Adrian Valles was declared second and rookie Ben Hanley was handed his first GP2 podium finish in his first GP2 race ever. Romain Grosjean still leads the drivers’ championship. Sébastien Buemi (Trust Team Arden): “After the difficult weekend we had in Dubai, I really wanted to get back in the front. I didn’t qualify as well as I wanted, but I pushed until the very last lap and it paid off. The team did a good job. I will now start from 8th tomorrow. Anything can happen on this track, so I’ll try and make a good start and then we’ll see.” Adrian Valles (FMS International): “Since the beginning of the Asia Series, we are quick and consistent. This morning, we lost pole because Petrov had a better strategy. For the race, we were expecting rain, so we set up the car for it. That’s why I wasn’t as fast as I could have been.” Ben Hanley (Barwa International Campos Team): “I’m so happy to be able to offer this podium to the team after Petrov snatched pole this morning. Today has had its ups and downs, but it finished on a high note. Starting from 18th and for my first GP2 Race ever, I was aiming at points. Now, third is a nice bonus. Sentul – Race 1 Driver Team
Romain Grosjean - Take Two After his maiden win on Saturday, Romain Grosjean snatched his second victory in an action-packed sprint race in Dubai. Starting eighth on the reversed grid, the ART driver made an excellent start and managed to come out in 5th place from the first corner. While Karun Chandhok dropped from second to seventh due to a clutch problem, Adrian Valles also made a great start and briefly passed leader Fauzy in the first corner, but then suffered from mechanical problems and had to retire. The safety car came out on Lap 2 after Buemi and Puglisi touched and the Swiss had to stop. On Lap 4, Luca Filippi - then 2nd - was also forced to retire due to a gear box problem. Grosjean was hence 4th. He had a wonderful restart and passed Chandhok at Turn 1. He then overtook Yoshimoto who was pushed wide by backmarker Schleghelmilch. The RDD boy rapidly caught race leader Fauzy and passed him to finally cross the finish line as a winner for the second time in less than 24 hours. Karun Chandhok finished third. Starting from the last row, Vitaly Petrov made a strong performance at the wheel of his Campos car and finished 9th. Bruno Senna was almost getting back into the points when he had to go back to the pit because of a puncture he picked up while fighting with Valsecchi. The two Durango boys scored points today. It is the first time that a rookie grabs victory twice in the opening of a GP2 Championship. Last rookie to win the two races in the same event was Lewis Hamilton in Silverstone, 2006. Romain Grosjean (ART Grand Prix): “I wasn’t really going for the win, but I was hoping for a podium. I knew I had the pace to do it. At the restart, I was P4 and I passed Yoshimoto. That’s when I realize that I could go for the win. I honestly didn’t think I could achieve such a good result here. However, it doesn’t mean anything: I’m still learning and I will now concentrate on Indonesia.” Fairuz Fauzy (Super Nova Racing): “I had a good start and got passed by Valles briefly. I led for most of the race until I was struggling with oversteer. I saw Romain catching up quickly and he passed me. I think that this is still a good result and I am now looking forward to Indonesia. ” Karun Chandhok (iSport International): “I had a clutch problem at the start and that’s how I dropped from second to seventh. It’s a real shame and we have to analyse exactly what happened. We had a real good pace here and we could have hoped for a better result. In Indonesia, we should also be competitive and fight for the win.” Dubai – Race Result Driver Team Not Classified Armaan Ebrahim DPR Fastest lap time: Romain Grosjean (ART Grand Prix) – 1:22.453 on lap 23
Romain Grosjean takes maiden win in Dubai Romain Grosjean scored his first win in the GP2 Asia Series opening. He is now leading the championship in front of Bruno Senna and Andy Soucek. The French driver achieved a stellar debut in the GP2 Asia Series: after he snatched pole position this morning, Romain Grosjean managed to lead the first race and cross the finish line in first place, also taking the lead of the Championship. Behind the RDD driver, Bruno Senna and Andy Soucek offered the crowd a great show: the Spaniard overtook the Brazilian in the first lap. Then, the iSport man constantly put pressure on the DPR driver. Both men came into mid-race and resumed there positions. While Soucek was struggling with the tyres, Senna never gave up and finally overtook the Spaniard with four laps to go. Bruno Senna then set the fastest lap time, but Grosjean was already too far away. A little further down the pack, Adrian Valles and the two Qi-Meritus boys, Luca Filippi and Hiroki Yoshimoto, made their way to the top 6, while Karun Chandhok and Fairuz Fauzy took 7th and 8th place synonym of a 100% Asian driver first row for tomorrow’s race. The second race of the GP2 Asia Series will take place tomorrow at 1pm, local time. Romain Grosjean (ART Grand Prix): 'This is amazing: pole position and win on my first GP2 race ever. If I had set the fastest lap time it would have been perfect, but to be completely honest, I’m more than happy. I made a good start and then I tried to keep a good pace. We managed to do a clean pit-stop , also my very first. I’m really thankful to the team. Tomorrow, Starting from the 8th position will be completely different. I am learning and I take it step by step.' Bruno Senna (iSport International): 'As I was on the dirty part of the track, I didn't make a good start, and then I was too slow in the first lap. Andy took this opportunity to overtake me. Tomorrow, I’ll have to warm up my tyres better… Then, Soucek and I had a great fight. It's too bad I overtook him so late: even though I had the pace, Grosjean was to far away by then.' Andy Soucek (DPR): 'Ever since this morning, we have a really good pace and I knew I could fight for the win. I could pass Senna in the first lap and then I tried to catch up with Grosjean, but Bruno pressured me and I spent a lot of time checking my mirrors and fighting back. Towards the end, I was struggling with my tyres… I'm still very happy and I’ll keep on pushing tomorrow.' Dubai Race Result Driver Team Fastest lap time: Bruno Senna (iSport International) – 1:22.462 on lap 40 Sébastien Buemi (Trust Team Arden) finished 7th, but was excluded – car not conformed
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