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Monza: Racing Engineering race one report

Mixed first race for Racing Engineering Borja Garcia had all the ingredients to repeat his excellent result from Turkey, but unfortunately a maneuver from an overeager competitor destroyed Borja's work over the weekend. Neel Jani finished ...

Published: Sep 12, 2005, 6:15 PM

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Mixed first race for Racing Engineering

Borja Garcia had all the ingredients to repeat his excellent result from Turkey, but unfortunately a maneuver from an overeager competitor destroyed Borja's work over the weekend. Neel Jani finished Saturday's race in 7th position, and will start from the front row on Sunday.

The impressions Racing Engineering's Borja Garcia left during the few laps were of a tough fighting spirit on the high-speed circuit of Monza, leading to yet another outstanding performance from the young Spaniard. Making up positions during the first two laps and coming into the pits for the obligatory tyre change in lap 3, Borja was first of the drivers to have stopped, and was running well. But all this changed quickly when Alexandre Negrao, in a hard to understand maneuver, tried to pass the faster Racing Engineering driver on the outside of the Parabolica. This attempt resulted in both cars being off the track and out of the race. Such an incident is always painful for a driver, but in Borja's case it hurts twice as much: not only was Negrao, who hadn't pitted, not a direct competitor ofh Borja, but now Borja has to start Sunday's race from a frustrating 19t position.

Neel, on the other hand, was fighting different battles. Although the Swiss driver's result may appear nothing spectacular given his previous achievements, he looked back over an all but easy race, as his car was not ideal for Saturday's race. However, he finished in the points and secured a position on the front row of Sunday's race, handing him the opportunity to bring home Racing Engineering's second victory this season.

After the race Neel Jani commented: "The car was difficult to drive today because I had more oversteer than in free practice and qualifying. I mainly concentrated on surviving, finishing in the points, and securing a good grid position for Sunday's race. Our race strategy and pit stop was good, and I think with some changes in set up we can race at the front of the field tomorrow."

A disappointed Borja Garcia said: "My car was brilliant today and I felt that a lot was possible. I opted for a very early pit stop, which allowed me to run as first of all the cars passing by their pits so far. However, on lap 5 Negrao took me out of the race at the Parabolica. This was a really unnecessary move from his side, as we weren't even direct competitors with him not having had his compulsory pit stop. I am a bit upset, as I am convinced I could have finished in the top 5 today. Well, it's racing and things change quickly, and now I not only didn't make it to the points, but also have to start Sunday's race from a difficult 19th position."

Alfonso de Orleáns-Borbón added: "Well, I think we have chosen the right race strategy for both our boys, and they were leading the field of drivers who have already pitted. However, Borja's very promising race found a sudden end in the Parabolica, and as for Neel it's not really what we all expected. But starting from the front row tomorrow, together with some adjustments on his car, should make him be a likely contender for victory. "

-re-

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