Thursday, 23 February 2012 00:25

Sunday 11th September 2011

Luiz Razia – P9
Davide Valsecchi – DNF

Caterham Team AirAsia claimed another top ten finish with Luiz Razia today finishing ninth in the Monza GP2 season finale, concluding the team’s debut season in a respectable sixth place in the Teams Championship.

Starting from tenth on the gird Luiz drove a solid race to overtake Super Nova’s Adam Carroll in a swift manoeuvre at the halfway point to claim his ninth position at the flag. Davide Valsecchi had a disappointing race, starting from twentieth on the grid he made contact with another car into the first chicane. The Italian continued and managed to work his way up to sixteenth before he made a mistake whilst overtaking Cecotto in the last corner which saw him lose control, sadly ending his race prematurely.

As a new entrant this season sixth place in the GP2 Championship is a fantastic result, reflecting the team’s commitment and drive to compete at the highest level, and on behalf of the team we would like to thank everyone involved for making this possible.

Phill Spencer: “We learned from practice and qualifying and set the cars up accordingly, Davide’s was a little more extreme because we had everything to gain with him starting from the back, but both Davide and Luiz really liked their cars today.  Luiz got a good start but got caught up in a bit of traffic on the first lap. Davide also got clipped and went up in the air but continued until seven laps from the end when Davide overtook Cecotto, pushed a little too hard, touched the white line and lost the car -It is a shame he didn’t get to finish today. The best part about it all is we have maintained our sixth place in the championship against some of the more established teams which is definitely something to be proud of – the whole team should be delighted with their performance this season! It’s been a fantastic first year for us.”

Luiz Razia (Best time 1:33.336 / Best Lap:20 / P9): “The start was good but then I caught up with Filippi and Pic in the incident in the first corner. After that my pace was good and I was able to attack and overtake. In the middle of the race I passed Carroll and got some clear air where I was able to show our pace was comparable to the front runners. It was good for me to complete both races in the final round of the season, especially in such a tough category. It’s a shame we didn’t getting any points but overall I am happy. It’s has been an excellent year with the team, we have made a good impression as newcomers and got some good results and for me it was great to help bring Caterham Team AirAsia to life. ”

Davide Valsecchi (Best time 1:33.639 / Best Lap: 11 / DNF): “The car felt good today, the set up was just right and we ran at a very competitive pace. I am just really disappointed not to have finished again, but unfortunately we had contact in the first chicane which in ended up compromising my race. The first part of the season was great. We avoided the incidents and had a strong car but unfortunately we were not so lucky here. We were performing well but we just were not in the right position to challenge for points so we took some risks and I made a mistake at the exit of Parabolica which ended my race today. It is always better to complete a race so I am sorry about that, but overall it has been a great year with the team. I think 2012 will be even better for us after such a good first year.”

Humphrey Corbett: “We tried something different on Davide’s car today and he was happy with the set up. In hindsight maybe we could have done that earlier on in the weekend but we have learnt a lot for the future. His accident was unfortunate - he just made a small mistake and that was it for him. Luiz did a very solid job, making up several places but in the end just couldn’t pass other cars and progress as much as he’d like to finish in the points. Looking back at the season if someone had said at the beginning of the year we would finish sixth and win in Monaco I wouldn’t have believed them, so I think we have proved what we can do. Everyone has worked from scratch and incredibly hard to get here so congratulations to all the team. Here’s to 2012!”

Next event: 2011 GP2 Final– Abu Dhabi –11 -13th November 2011

Thursday, 23 February 2012 00:25

It's all over! The 2011 GP2 season ended on Sunday morning at Monza with DAMS driver Romain Grosjean, the title winner! DAMS claimed as well the second place of the teams classification.

Qualifying on Friday was not in keeping with the expectations of the car's potential or its driver's. Romain was baulked on almost every one of his flying laps and set the fifth time. The newly-crowned champion started from the third row on the grid on Saturday and quickly moved up two places. Then he found himself stuck behind his fellow-countryman, Charles Pic. The fact that overtaking is difficult at Monza was again proved as although Romain's car was visibly quicker, he could not find the opening. He had to make do with third.

On Sunday, the braking for the first chicane, another Monza specificity, cost the DAMS driver dear. He started from sixth place and was hit up the rear. He lost his rear wing and had to pit for a new one. He rejoined and set the second-fastest lap in the race – but all to no avail.

Pal Varhaug put on a much better performance in the final weekend of the 2011 season. The young Norwegian fought his way up to eleventh place on Saturday after a good qualifying session. On Sunday, he finished in the top 10, an encouraging result after a good passing manoeuvre on Adam Carroll at the end of the race.

Loïc David, General Manager: "Id like first of all to congratulate the whole team. We've won two' GP2 championships, the Asian and the main one, and that doesn't happen often. It's a well deserved reward as everybody's done a remarkable job and the car was among the most consistent of the front-runners. Finally, a big bravo to Romain who proved his mastery, his speed and the consistency of a champion."

Romain Grosjean:
Main race: P3
Sprint race: P22

" A big thanks to the whole team who gave me quick cars throughout the season. We worked very hard and our efforts have been rewarded. I'm pleased to give the team another podium at the last round. We've accomplished our mission and I'm proud to have won this title, something I really wanted to achieve."

Pal Varhaug:
Main race: P11
Sprint race: P10

"Congratulations to the team and to Romain again, they really deserve their title. For me the last two races of the season have been very encouraging. I was better in qualifying and in the race I fought without making any mistakes. I hope I can capitalize on these results in the future."

Final championship places:
1. Grosjean (DAMS), 89 points.
2. Filippi, 54.
3. Bianchi, 53.

Thursday, 23 February 2012 00:25

German claims final win of season

Christian Vietoris has held on against race long pressure from Fabio Leimer to claim his second victory of the season this morning in the sprint race at Monza: the German led his Swiss rival and Jules Bianchi from lights to flag in the final race of the 2011 GP2 season.

The win was set up at the start: when the lights went out poleman Bianchi and his fellow front row starter Leimer struggled to get away with Vietoris slipping between the pair. He was gone before the pack got to the first chicane, with Adam Carroll trying to get around them on the right side of the track before running out of road and having to make do with fourth.

Behind them was chaos though, as Charles Pic ran into the back of Romain Grosjean and then into the side of vice-champion rival Luca Filippi before rolling to a stop just after the chicane: the GP2 champion lost two laps in the pits as his team fitted a new rear wing but the Italian was able to continue, behind the top four, a hard charging Sam Bird and Esteban Gutierrez.

Filippi picked off the Mexican driver next time through the chicane while Leimer piled on the pressure at the front of the field, but if the driver in front doesn't make a mistake it is very nearly impossible to get by on the fast, flowing Italian circuit. One man who wasn't enjoying his day at work was Adam Carroll, who lost positions to Bird and Filippi in successive laps before heading a train of cars for the next ten laps.

As things stood Bianchi and Filippi were on level points, but the Italian was letting his local knowledge help: with little chance of making a pass he waited for the gap behind to build and then dropped back and put a few fastest laps together, picking up the bonus point in his fight for the vice-championship spot.

When the flag dropped Vietoris punched the air with joy, crossing the line just 0.7 seconds ahead of Leimer, with Bianchi, Bird and Filippi following the front pair nose to tail for P3 to 5, and Gutierrez 7 seconds back for the final points position. The result saw the 2011 title race decided with Grosjean the new champion ahead of Filippi and Bianchi, while in the teams' fight Addax was victorious ahead of DAMS and Racing Engineering.

Thursday, 23 February 2012 00:25

Saturday 10th September 2011

Luiz Razia – P10

Davide Valsecchi – P20

Luiz Razia gained eight positions to finish in the top ten in the scorching GP2 race today at Monza, aided by a fantastic pit stop by the Caterham Team AirAsia pitcrew.

After a chaotic start to the 30 lap race both Caterham Team AirAsia cars completed the race, but unfortunately Davide Valsecchi was called in for an unscheduled nose change after suffering damage in the chaotic start to the race. The Italian set some blistering lap times in front of his home crowd and finally finished P20 after making two pit stops.

With just one more Sunday race left of the season, the team's competitive pace and securing a points finish will solidify sixth place in the GP2 Teams' Championship, an outstanding achievement in its debut season.

Phill Spencer: “Luiz made a good start and overtook a few people but unfortunately he was tangled up with other cars in the first chicane. Davide also suffered at the start and clipped his front wing, bringing him in for an unscheduled pit stop. Which cost him thirty seconds, forcing him to play catch up for the rest of the race. He put in some very fast lap times compared to the cars in front so it is a shame he couldn't finish higher in his home race. Luiz had a strong race with good pace to finish tenth from 18th on the grid, so we know we have two good cars for tomorrow. We know what we need to do to fine tune the cars, and with Luiz starting P10 he has every chance of finishing in the points.”

Luiz Razia (Best time 1:34.185 / Best Lap: 16 / P10): “I got a good start and gained a couple of positions but then in the first lap I lost a place which ultimately made a difference to my finish position, so I am little frustrated about that. But anyway the team did a great pit stop and I pushed really hard and as others pitted late, I gained positions and set some very quick laps. It’s a shame we could not fight for eighth position but starting from tenth on the grid is a good enough position, hopefully we can do a good job and finish in the points, maybe even a podium finish.”

Davide Valsecchi (Best time 1:33.837 / Best Lap: 24 / P20): “It is a big shame we couldn’t finish the race on top today especially because we had the pace. We had a good start but then we were unlucky in the first chicane and I got some damage to the left side of the front wing. I could feel the downforce drop off in the straight so we had to come in for an additional pit stop. I was so disappointed but I kept focused so we could learn as much as we could from this race. It is unfortunate but we can still have a great race tomorrow. I will be aggressive and the car will be quick like the good times!”

Humphrey Corbett: “Both Luiz and Davide touched other cars at the beginning of the race, Luiz was able to continue but unfortunately it was a little bit more serious for Davide and we had to bring him in - from then on it was damage limitation really. Thereafter we were hoping for a safety car so we could gain time for Davide’s second compulsory pit stop but unfortunately it didn’t happen and we brought him in again on lap 18. Looking at the positives, his race pace was very competitive in the final stages and he finished P20. Luiz did a very good job from 18th on the grid. Both drivers were happy with the balance so there will not be too much changed for the early race tomorrow. It will again be very hot but we will go for it and hopefully score some points so we can hold onto our sixth place position in the Teams' Championship.”

Sunday race:  1030hrs 21 laps