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Saturday, 16 February 2008 |
Vitaly Petrov took the pole position in Sentul this morning in the second round of the 2008 GP2 Asia Series.
The first round in Dubai had not been easy on Barwa International Campos Team Russian Vitaly Petrov who suffered from a gearbox problem in qualifying and had him start from the back of the grid. This afternoon, things will be reversed for Petrov in Race 1 as he will start from pole position. He set the fastest lap time of the day in a 1:19.337 at the beginning of the session in wet conditions, but before a red flag and a shower.
Qi- Mertus Mahara driver, the experienced Luca Filippi, will also start from the front row. He set his fastest lap time in the rain. Spaniard Adrian Valles, who had been the quickest in free practice, completes the Top 3 while ART Romain Grosjean had a more difficult qualifying session: he got off the track mid-session which led to the red flag. Despite this, he will start from the second row.
Vitaly Petrov (Barwa International Camps Team): “I’m delighted with this result. The team made a good decision regarding the set-up and the tyres. The race will be very hard with the weather changing every twenty minutes or so. We may see more than one pit-stop per driver this afternoon! If it stays dry, it will be easier.”
Luca Filippi (Qi-Meritus Mahara): “I’m very pleased with this result because we’re in Indonesia and I’m driving for a Malaysian team. Therefore, it was important for us to get a good result here. I was quickest in the rain. Petrov did a great lap with slick tyres at the best time of the session while I was in the pit. After that, I pushed a lot. It’s a great result, but of course, I would have preferred starting from pole. Now, I have to make a good start and manage a gap with the drivers behind.”
Adrian Valles (FMS International): “It could have been better. We were the quickest in the rain this morning, but the qualifying session was a bit more difficult for us. I did my best time on slick tyres. We will see what will happen in the race this afternoon. Our car is quite competitive in the rain. We should have a good set-up for the race.”
Race 1 will start at 3:30pm, local time.
Sentul – Qualifying session
Driver Team Time Laps
1. Vitaly Petrov Barwa International Campos 1:19.337 15
2. Luca Filippi Qi- Meritus Mahara 1:22.390 17
3. Adrian Valles FMS International 1:22.658 15
4. Romain Grosjean ART Grand Prix 1:22.751 15
5. Christian Bakkerud Super Nova Racing 1:23.141 19
6. Karun Chandhok iSport International 1:23.161 14
7. Harald Schleghelmilch Trident Racing 1:23.241 15
8. Sébastien Buemi Trust Team Arden 1:23.266 16
9. Bruno Senna iSport International 1:23.367 14
10. Fairuz Fauzy** Super Nova Racing 1:23.367 14
11. Ho-Pin Tung Trident Racing 1:23.539 18
12. Marco Bonanomi Piquet Sports 1:23.758 17
13. Iroki Yosimoto Qi- Meritus Mahar 1:23.922 9
14. Davide Valsecchi Durango 1:23.943 17
15. Milos Pavlovic BCN Competicion 1:23.959 17
16. Alberto Valerio Durango 1:24.046 17
17. Jérôme d’Ambrosio Dams 1:24.163 13
18. Ben Hanley Barwa International Campos 1:24.274 15
19. Adam Khan Trust Team Arden 1:24.382 18
20 Jason Tahinci BCN Competicion 1:24.713 19
21. Diego Nunes DPR 1:24.737 17
22. Arman Ebrahim DPR 1:25.084 14
23. Kamui Kobayashi Dams 1:25.416 13
24. Michael Herck FMS International 1:25.907 13
25 Kamui Kobayashi Dams 1:27.543 15
26. Stephen Jelley** ART Grand Prix 1:25.104 12
Marcello Puglisi (Piquet Sports) did not participate following a gearbox problem. He will take part of the race.
** Fairuz Fauzy (Super Nova Racing) and Stephen Jelley (ART Grand Prix) – five places penalty on the grid for crossing the finish line more than once after chequered flag
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