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Ocean Racing Tech Monza event summary

Ocean Racing Technology press release

Published: Sep 13, 2011, 3:47 AM

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Johnny Cecotto

Ocean wraps up its GP2 Series season at Monza

Johnny Cecotto

Photo by: GP2 Media Service

The final races of the GP2 Series took place this weekend on Italy's legendary Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, but they did not yield an historic result for Ocean Racing Technology, who was hoping for a spot on the podium. Johnny Cecotto Jr finished the first race in 17th place and the second one in 15th, while his teammate Brendon Hartley finished in 22nd and 20th, respectively.

For the past several races, the Portuguese GP2 Series team had demonstrated that it could deliver excellent performances, but the Monza races unfortunately did not reflect the team's potential. For these last two races of the year, Johnny Cecotto Jr and Brendon Hartley were aiming for the podium. But the weekend proved more difficult than expected.

In the first race, everything was looking good for the Venezuelan driver, who started in 22nd position on the grid and was in 10th at mid-race, with a real chance of finishing in the points. "But, unfortunately when I was in the pitlane during my pit stop, the engine rev went down too low and I lost a lot of time and therefore places. I finished 17th. This was not how I expected to finish the season," declared Cecotto, who finished the second race 15th place.

After a turbulent qualifying session where several yellow flags interrupted his performance, Brendon Hartley was in 17th on the starting grid for the first race. As often happens at Monza, the braking in the first chicane held some bad surprises and Brendon paid the cost, coming out of the first turn with a flat and a damaged wing. "Besides the fact that I lost a lot of time, I had to go back to the pit to change the wing and the tyre and I came out a lap behind everyone. Obviously it determined my race, but I crossed the finish line and that was the important thing," the New Zealander explained. "In the second race, I started in the back of the pack and my engine stalled and I did not get started until 70 seconds behind everyone else. I was then the third fastest driver on the track, but I could not hope to get a good result. This weekend was a disappointment, especially in light of our competitiveness. I would have liked to give Ocean a good result, but unfortunately that did not happen. Regardless, I would like to thank the whole team for their professionalism, and for giving me the chance to compete these past two race weekends."

Ocean Racing Technology thus brings to an end its 3rd GP2 Series season. "The year had its ups and downs. This season left a bitter taste in our mouths because the cars proved to be competitive throughout the whole year, but for various reasons it did not always translate to the results that were within our reach and which we merited. Now, we will have to concentrate on next season," explained José Guedes and Tiago Monteiro, the Portuguese team's managers.

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