Jules Bianchi wins GP2 Asia openerUPDATE Added photos to story below.
02/11/11
Jules Bianchi in his Lotus ART machine leads
Jules Bianchi scored his first GP2 Asia win today after taking the lead at the start, suffering race-long pressure from pole sitter Romain Grosjean, and in spite of a red flag. Davide Valsecchi finished third giving Team AirAsia a podium finish on their race debut.
It was an all-French front row today at Yas Marina Circuit for the first race of the 2011 GP2 Asia Series, with Grosjean ahead of Bianchi. But the Dams racer was slower to take off at the start and it was the Lotus ART man who took the lead before the first corner. Bianchi kept Grosjean at bay in the following corners while Valsecchi managed to keep P3.
Carnage at the start
Behind, it was mayhem as Racing Engineering Dani Clos stalled on the grid from P4. Most of the field managed to avoid his car, but Team AirAsia’s Liuz Razia was unable to see Clos’ car until the very last second and barely had the time to turn to the right. He collided with the Spaniard’s car quite violently and went flying over it, crashing into the wall a few meters later. Bits and pieces were scattered all over the start/finish line and the race was red flagged in order to clean the track and retrieve the two badly damaged chassis along with Dams’ Pål Varhaug’s car - the Norwegian also a casualty of the crash.
The re-start took place almost thirty minutes later and behind the safety car. Bianchi managed perfectly to keep the lead and from then on Grosjean put pressure on his fellow countryman, coming really close to him, but never able to overtake. The 2008 GP2 Asia Champion went wide several times, closed the gap again, but it was just impossible for him to steal the lead from Bianchi who drove flawlessly.
Valsecchi on the other hand kept his position, but was unable to match the leaders’ pace. Towards the end of the race, the Italian saw Addax’s Giedo van der Garde and iSport’s Marcus Ericsson closing in on him, the Swede passing the Dutchman in the very last lap.
In the dying minutes, Bianchi set a string of fastest lap times to add a bonus point to his ten-point win. At the checkered flag, the Frenchman savored his first win since 2009, 6.6 seconds ahead of Grosjean, and became the first leader of this fourth season.
Jules Bianchi in his Lotus ART machine leads
Abu Dhabi – Race 1 Driver Team 1. Jules Bianchi Lotus ART 2. Romain Grosjean Dams 3. Davide Valsecchi Team AirAsia 4. Marcus Ericsson iSport International 5. Giedo van der Garde Barwa Addax Team 6. Josef Kral Arden International 7. Sam Bird iSport International 8. Max Chilton Carlin 9. Stefano Coletti Trident Racing 10. Charles Pic Barwa Addax Team 11. Fabio Leimer Rapax 12. Rodolfo Gonzalez Trident Racing 13. Michael Herck Scuderia Coloni 14. Jolyon Palmer Arden International 15. Johnny Cecotto Super Nova Racing 16. Andrea Caldarelli Ocean Racing Technology 17. James Jakes Scuderia Coloni 18. Oliver Turvey Ocean Racing Technology
Not Classified Nathanael Berthon Racing Engineering Julian Leal Rapax Fairuz Fauzy Super Nova Racing Esteban Gutierrez Lotus ART Mikhail Aleshin Carlin Dani Clos Racing Engineering Luiz Razia Team AirAsia Pål Varhaug Dams
Fastest Lap time: Jules Bianchi (Lotus ART) 1:38.141 on lap 31
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