2009–10 Bahrain 1st GP2 Asia round
Encyclopedia
The 2009–10 Bahrain 1st GP2 Asia round was the third round of the 2009-10 GP2 Asia Series season. It was held on February 26 and 27, 2009 at Bahrain International Circuit
at Sakhir
, Bahrain
, together with 2010 V8 Supercar Championship Series
' Desert 400
. It was the first of two rounds to be held at the circuit, the other being the 2009-10 Bahrain 2nd GP2 Asia round. The layout used for this Race will not be used for the following event, as it acts as a F1 Support race.
Despite Jules Bianchi
starting on Pole, Davide Valsecchi
clinched the GP2 Asia title with three rounds to spare by winning in the Bahrain
feature race. The iSport
driver lurked in third for most of the distance, before mounting another late surge which has become his characteristic this year, to overcome Arden's
Javier Villa
and Meritus'
Luca Filippi
and claim his third victory in five rounds. With Valsecchi's nearest rival and team-mate Oliver Turvey
delayed in the pits and unable to score, the win gave Valsecchi an insurmountable points lead. Filippi and Villa burst from the second row into the lead at the start, while polesitter Jules Bianchi (ART
) immediately fell out of contention for victory for a very poor start. Villa looked faster than Filippi in the opening laps, but with no way past on track, he dived in for an early stop. The extra speed on fresh tyres paid dividends for Villa, and by the time the pitstops were complete he was in the lead ahead of Filippi and Valsecchi.
As has been the case throughout the championship, Valsecchi got quicker and quicker as the race progressed. An initial dive-bomb move on Filippi for second saw him skitter over the run-off at the Turn 10 hairpin, but he quickly regrouped and passed his countryman into Turn 1 with six laps to go. He then caught Villa in just one lap and took the lead with a straightforward outbraking move - only to then run wide at Turn 10 later in the lap and hand first place back again. It was only a brief respite for Villa though, as Valsecchi soon repassed him into the first corner and pulled away to secure victory. Villa lost more pace as his tyres faded, allowing Filippi to drive around the outside of him and take second. DPR's
Giacomo Ricci
came within 0.2 seconds of depriving Villa of third too as they diced on the final lap. Charles Pic
took the second Arden car to fifth ahead of Coloni's returnee Alvaro Parente
and Addax's Sergio Pérez
. Adrian Zaugg
got quicker throughout the race on his return with Trident, charging past Turvey and Bianchi in the closing stages to claim eighth and pole for race two. Turvey had lost several places in his pitstop with a wheelgun problem while Bianchi never got up to speed after dropping down the order at the start.
Race 2
In race 2 Charles Pic
earned his first GP2 Asia
/GP2
win by breaking away from the early chaos in the Bahrain Sprint race. The Frenchman overtook initial leader Adrian Zaugg
and then escaped from his pursuers while they spent the next few laps tripping over each other. For much of the race it looked like Arden
would score a one-two, with Pic's team-mate Javier Villa
all over the back of second placed Giacomo Ricci
. But the latter picked up his pace later on and charged away to secure DPR's third podium finish in the last two events. Having gained pole position on the partially reversed grid thanks to his eighth place yesterday, Zaugg (Trident) led into the first corners while Coloni's Alvaro Parente
and Addax's Sergio Pérez
fought for second. The pair ended up banging wheels approaching Turn 4, leaving Perez with a broken wing and sending Parente spinning into the barriers as his apparently wounded car broke loose on the following downhill sweeps. There was more contact further down the pack, and newly-crowned champion Davide Valsecchi
(iSport) had to pit for a new wing, while race one podium finisher Luca Filippi
(Meritus
) spun down the order. Leader Zaugg did not have the pace to pull away and soon had Pic, Ricci, ART's fast-starting Jules Bianchi
and Villa queuing up behind him.
Pic dived ahead at the end of the backstraight on lap four, with Ricci then following him in the next corner. As Zaugg tried to fight back, Bianchi got alongside him as well, with all three cars wheel to wheel through the last turn, down the pitstraight and into the first complex - where it ended in tears as contact damaged Zaugg and Bianchi's cars. That settled the top three positions, Pic having pulled clear and Ricci eventually dropping Villa and securing second. Rapax's Daniel Zampieri
had emerged from the mayhem in fourth, but was hunted down as the race progressed - Sam Bird
(ART) and Edoardo Piscopo
(DAMS
) demoting him in the closing stages. Zampieri then handed the final point to iSport's Oliver Turvey
when he ran wide while trying to fend off the Briton with two laps to go, and also dropped behind his charging Rapax team-mate Vladimir Arabadzhiev. Turvey's sixth place ensured that iSport wrapped up the teams' title alongside Valsecchi's drivers' crown. Among the other incidents in the race, Meritus driver Alexander Rossi
received a ten place grid penalty for the next round after forcing Ocean's Fabio Leimer
off the track. The American eventually broke his front wing on the back of Leimer's car and then slid into Coloni's Will Bratt
, ending both their races early.
Bahrain International Circuit
The Bahrain International Circuit is a motorsport venue opened in 2004 and used for drag racing, GP2 and the annual Bahrain Grand Prix. The 2004 Grand Prix was the first held in the Middle East. Since 2006, Australian V8 Supercar has been raced at the BIC and the V8 races are named as the Desert 400...
at Sakhir
Sakhir
Sakhir is a desert area located in the Kingdom of Bahrain, near Zallaq. It contains the Al-Sakhir Palace, built in 1870. In the past few years, it has seen many changes such as the creation of the University of Bahrain main campus, al-Areen Wildlife Park, and Bahrain International Circuit. In...
, Bahrain
Bahrain
' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
, together with 2010 V8 Supercar Championship Series
2010 V8 Supercar Championship Series
The 2010 V8 Supercar Championship Series was an FIA sanctioned international motor racing series for V8 Supercars. It was the twelfth V8 Supercar Championship Series and the fourteenth series in which V8 Supercars have contested the premier Australian touring car title...
' Desert 400
Desert 400
The Desert 400 was a V8 Supercar motor racing event, one of three V8 Supercar events held outside of Australasia. The races were held at the Bahrain International Circuit in Manama, Bahrain. Having run on the circuit's Paddock variation on the series' first three visits, the final Desert 400 in...
. It was the first of two rounds to be held at the circuit, the other being the 2009-10 Bahrain 2nd GP2 Asia round. The layout used for this Race will not be used for the following event, as it acts as a F1 Support race.
Report
Race 1Despite Jules Bianchi
Jules Bianchi
Jules Bianchi is a French racing driver.-Family:Jules is the grandson of Mauro Bianchi, three-times World Champion in the GT category, and the grandnephew of Lucien, who won the 24 Hours of Le Mans and competed in nineteen Grands Prix in the Formula One World Championship between and , with a...
starting on Pole, Davide Valsecchi
Davide Valsecchi
-Formula Renault:Valsecchi drove in Renault-based series from 2003 to 2007, rising from Italian Formula Renault and the Formula Renault Eurocup to the more powerful cars of the World Series by Renault in 2006...
clinched the GP2 Asia title with three rounds to spare by winning in the Bahrain
Bahrain
' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
feature race. The iSport
ISport International
iSport International is a British championship winning motor racing team that competes in the GP2 Series and GP2 Asia Series, the official feeder series for Formula One. It was founded in 2004.- Overview :...
driver lurked in third for most of the distance, before mounting another late surge which has become his characteristic this year, to overcome Arden's
Arden International
Arden International is an GP2 Series team, created by Christian Horner.Initially created to raise up Horner's career, and then reliant on sponsorship from Viktor Maslov, the team began to get good results and was the best team of Formula 3000 in its last years, showing new talents to motorsport...
Javier Villa
Javier Villa
Javier Villa García is a Spanish racing driver living in Arriondas, Asturias, Spain. He was the most experienced driver in the history of the GP2 Series...
and Meritus'
Team Meritus
MY QI-Meritus.Mahara is a Malaysian motor racing team, primarily competing in the GP2 Asia Series. The team is owned by Peter Thompson and Firhat Mokhzani, and managed by engineer Mario Cambiaghi and Alessandro Brambilla. The team was founded as Qi-Meritus Mahara in 2003.- External links :*...
Luca Filippi
Luca Filippi
Luca Filippi is a racing driver who competes in single seaters in Europe.-Formula Renault:Filippi made the step out of karting in 2003, competing in Formula Renault 2.0 Italia, where he finished third in 2004 behind Pastor Maldonado and Kohei Hirate.-Formula 3000:Filippi stepped up to the Italian...
and claim his third victory in five rounds. With Valsecchi's nearest rival and team-mate Oliver Turvey
Oliver Turvey
Oliver Jonathan Turvey is a British racing driver. He was a notable kart racer, with two national titles, and was the 2006 McLaren Autosport BRDC Award winner. His career has been supported by the Racing Steps Foundation....
delayed in the pits and unable to score, the win gave Valsecchi an insurmountable points lead. Filippi and Villa burst from the second row into the lead at the start, while polesitter Jules Bianchi (ART
ART Grand Prix
Lotus ART is a French motor racing team that competes in formula single-seaters in Europe. It was founded as ART Grand Prix in 1991.-Creation:...
) immediately fell out of contention for victory for a very poor start. Villa looked faster than Filippi in the opening laps, but with no way past on track, he dived in for an early stop. The extra speed on fresh tyres paid dividends for Villa, and by the time the pitstops were complete he was in the lead ahead of Filippi and Valsecchi.
As has been the case throughout the championship, Valsecchi got quicker and quicker as the race progressed. An initial dive-bomb move on Filippi for second saw him skitter over the run-off at the Turn 10 hairpin, but he quickly regrouped and passed his countryman into Turn 1 with six laps to go. He then caught Villa in just one lap and took the lead with a straightforward outbraking move - only to then run wide at Turn 10 later in the lap and hand first place back again. It was only a brief respite for Villa though, as Valsecchi soon repassed him into the first corner and pulled away to secure victory. Villa lost more pace as his tyres faded, allowing Filippi to drive around the outside of him and take second. DPR's
David Price Racing
David Price Racing is a British motor racing team, founded by David Price. They have competed in various forms of motorsport since their foundation in 1976...
Giacomo Ricci
Giacomo Ricci
-Formula BMW:Ricci began his car racing career by driving in the German-based Formula BMW ADAC series in 2001 and 2002, with a best finish of seventh in the drivers' championship.-Formula Renault:...
came within 0.2 seconds of depriving Villa of third too as they diced on the final lap. Charles Pic
Charles Pic
Charles Pic is a French racing driver who will race in Formula One in with Marussia.-Karting:...
took the second Arden car to fifth ahead of Coloni's returnee Alvaro Parente
Álvaro Parente
Álvaro Parente is a Portuguese racecar driver. Parente's father was also a race driver.-Early career:After winning the Karting European Junior Championship in 1998, Parente made his debut in auto racing in 2001 at the age of 16, driving in the Spanish F3 Championship...
and Addax's Sergio Pérez
Sergio Pérez
Sergio Pérez Mendoza , also known as "Checo" Pérez, is a Mexican racing driver of Spanish descent, currently racing for Sauber in the 2011 Formula One season...
. Adrian Zaugg
Adrian Zaugg
Adrian Zaugg is a South African race car driver.-Complete A1 Grand Prix results: -Complete GP2 Series results:...
got quicker throughout the race on his return with Trident, charging past Turvey and Bianchi in the closing stages to claim eighth and pole for race two. Turvey had lost several places in his pitstop with a wheelgun problem while Bianchi never got up to speed after dropping down the order at the start.
Race 2
In race 2 Charles Pic
Charles Pic
Charles Pic is a French racing driver who will race in Formula One in with Marussia.-Karting:...
earned his first GP2 Asia
GP2 Asia Series
The GP2 Asia Series is a form of open wheel motor racing based on the GP2 series.The series was officially announced during the weekend of the 2007 Monaco Grand Prix. GP2 series organiser Bruno Michel commented that "It is of great importance that the GP2 Asia Series maintains a strong and viable...
/GP2
GP2 Series
The GP2 Series, GP2 for short, is a form of open wheel motor racing introduced in 2005 following the discontinuation of the long-term Formula One feeder series, Formula 3000. The format was conceived by Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, while Ecclestone also has the rights to the name GP1...
win by breaking away from the early chaos in the Bahrain Sprint race. The Frenchman overtook initial leader Adrian Zaugg
Adrian Zaugg
Adrian Zaugg is a South African race car driver.-Complete A1 Grand Prix results: -Complete GP2 Series results:...
and then escaped from his pursuers while they spent the next few laps tripping over each other. For much of the race it looked like Arden
Arden International
Arden International is an GP2 Series team, created by Christian Horner.Initially created to raise up Horner's career, and then reliant on sponsorship from Viktor Maslov, the team began to get good results and was the best team of Formula 3000 in its last years, showing new talents to motorsport...
would score a one-two, with Pic's team-mate Javier Villa
Javier Villa
Javier Villa García is a Spanish racing driver living in Arriondas, Asturias, Spain. He was the most experienced driver in the history of the GP2 Series...
all over the back of second placed Giacomo Ricci
Giacomo Ricci
-Formula BMW:Ricci began his car racing career by driving in the German-based Formula BMW ADAC series in 2001 and 2002, with a best finish of seventh in the drivers' championship.-Formula Renault:...
. But the latter picked up his pace later on and charged away to secure DPR's third podium finish in the last two events. Having gained pole position on the partially reversed grid thanks to his eighth place yesterday, Zaugg (Trident) led into the first corners while Coloni's Alvaro Parente
Álvaro Parente
Álvaro Parente is a Portuguese racecar driver. Parente's father was also a race driver.-Early career:After winning the Karting European Junior Championship in 1998, Parente made his debut in auto racing in 2001 at the age of 16, driving in the Spanish F3 Championship...
and Addax's Sergio Pérez
Sergio Pérez
Sergio Pérez Mendoza , also known as "Checo" Pérez, is a Mexican racing driver of Spanish descent, currently racing for Sauber in the 2011 Formula One season...
fought for second. The pair ended up banging wheels approaching Turn 4, leaving Perez with a broken wing and sending Parente spinning into the barriers as his apparently wounded car broke loose on the following downhill sweeps. There was more contact further down the pack, and newly-crowned champion Davide Valsecchi
Davide Valsecchi
-Formula Renault:Valsecchi drove in Renault-based series from 2003 to 2007, rising from Italian Formula Renault and the Formula Renault Eurocup to the more powerful cars of the World Series by Renault in 2006...
(iSport) had to pit for a new wing, while race one podium finisher Luca Filippi
Luca Filippi
Luca Filippi is a racing driver who competes in single seaters in Europe.-Formula Renault:Filippi made the step out of karting in 2003, competing in Formula Renault 2.0 Italia, where he finished third in 2004 behind Pastor Maldonado and Kohei Hirate.-Formula 3000:Filippi stepped up to the Italian...
(Meritus
Team Meritus
MY QI-Meritus.Mahara is a Malaysian motor racing team, primarily competing in the GP2 Asia Series. The team is owned by Peter Thompson and Firhat Mokhzani, and managed by engineer Mario Cambiaghi and Alessandro Brambilla. The team was founded as Qi-Meritus Mahara in 2003.- External links :*...
) spun down the order. Leader Zaugg did not have the pace to pull away and soon had Pic, Ricci, ART's fast-starting Jules Bianchi
Jules Bianchi
Jules Bianchi is a French racing driver.-Family:Jules is the grandson of Mauro Bianchi, three-times World Champion in the GT category, and the grandnephew of Lucien, who won the 24 Hours of Le Mans and competed in nineteen Grands Prix in the Formula One World Championship between and , with a...
and Villa queuing up behind him.
Pic dived ahead at the end of the backstraight on lap four, with Ricci then following him in the next corner. As Zaugg tried to fight back, Bianchi got alongside him as well, with all three cars wheel to wheel through the last turn, down the pitstraight and into the first complex - where it ended in tears as contact damaged Zaugg and Bianchi's cars. That settled the top three positions, Pic having pulled clear and Ricci eventually dropping Villa and securing second. Rapax's Daniel Zampieri
Daniel Zampieri
-Formula Renault:After a two-year international karting career, Zampieri moved up to Formula Renault with BVM Racing in 2006. Making his debut in Italian Formula Renault at Spa–Francorchamps, Zampieri finished 17th and 18th on début. His best finish of the championship came at another Formula One...
had emerged from the mayhem in fourth, but was hunted down as the race progressed - Sam Bird
Sam Bird
Sam Bird is a British racing driver; he was educated at Millfield School in Somerset.-Formula BMW:Bird made his name in single seater racing in the Formula BMW category, coming fourteenth overall in his debut season and second in the rookie cup...
(ART) and Edoardo Piscopo
Edoardo Piscopo
- Formula BMW :After previously competing in karting, Piscopo began his single seater career in Formula BMW USA in 2005, where he finished fifth with three wins for EuroInternational.- Formula Renault :...
(DAMS
DAMS
Driot-Arnoux Motorsport is a racing team from France, involved in many areas of motorsports. DAMS was founded in 1988 by Jean-Paul Driot and former Formula One driver René Arnoux. It is headquartered near Le Mans, only 2 km from the Bugatti Circuit.- History :The year after its foundation,...
) demoting him in the closing stages. Zampieri then handed the final point to iSport's Oliver Turvey
Oliver Turvey
Oliver Jonathan Turvey is a British racing driver. He was a notable kart racer, with two national titles, and was the 2006 McLaren Autosport BRDC Award winner. His career has been supported by the Racing Steps Foundation....
when he ran wide while trying to fend off the Briton with two laps to go, and also dropped behind his charging Rapax team-mate Vladimir Arabadzhiev. Turvey's sixth place ensured that iSport wrapped up the teams' title alongside Valsecchi's drivers' crown. Among the other incidents in the race, Meritus driver Alexander Rossi
Alexander Rossi
Alexander Mark Rossi was a successful British artist specializing in genre works who flourished in the late 19th century....
received a ten place grid penalty for the next round after forcing Ocean's Fabio Leimer
Fabio Leimer
Fabio Leimer is a professional racing driver from Switzerland.-Karting:Like many of today's racing drivers, Leimer started his career in karting back in 2003, when he won the Swiss Junior Championship...
off the track. The American eventually broke his front wing on the back of Leimer's car and then slid into Coloni's Will Bratt
Will Bratt
William Bratt is a British racing driver.-T Cars:After three years in Super 1 karting, Bratt moved into the T Cars series for drivers between fourteen and seventeen years old, in 2003. He finished fourth in the championship in his rookie season, winning a single race at Snetterton...
, ending both their races early.
See also
- 2009–10 Bahrain 2nd GP2 Asia round2009–10 Bahrain 2nd GP2 Asia roundThe 2009-10 Bahrain 2nd GP2 Asia round was the fourth round of the 2009-10 GP2 Asia Series season. It was held on March 13 and 14, 2009 at Bahrain International Circuit at Sakhir, Bahrain. It was the second of two rounds to be held at the circuit, the other being the 2009-10 Bahrain 1st GP2 Asia...