Trident race 1 report

Asia: Imola

The GP2 Asia Series hit its second and last weekend of the year at Imola where race 1 was completed today. After the bad luck suffered yesterday, both Stefano Coletti and Rodolfo Gonzalez were able to come back to some really valuable top-10 spots. Stefano, who started off in 16th, also hit the top-5 as he ended up in 5th, while also retaining 5th place in standings. He'll be taking off from row 2 on the 2nd race 2.

Stefano pulled a great start, recovering several spots right on lap 1. A good strategy that featured an early stop allowed him to get back with a clean racetrack and at that point he pushed hard to progressively get back to 5th.

Gonzalez drove a comeback race too, as he also led some laps before his late pit-stop. In the final laps, Rodolfo was much faster than the cars he had in front, but didn't find the right passing opportunities to improve his position without putting a positive result in jeopardy. A good performance secured him 9th place, and a spot on tomorrow's 5th row. The final race of the weekend at Imola will start tomorrow at 14:00, with live coverage in Italy by RaiSport2.

Stefano Coletti, 5.
"The race started off well since the beginning. At the start I got two spots back, and at the first braking I took the inside line, moving on another car. After the second chicane I then attacked Turvey, passing him on the outside. I was then in 12th, and the choice to make an early stop proved perfect. When I went back on-track I pushed hard and recovered a lot of time over the cars I had in front. When all my opponents pitted for tires, I fought back and ended up into the top-10. Our race performance has been great, like at Abu Dhabi, and now I hope for a great start tomorrow to end the weekend on an high note".

Rodolfo Gonzalez, 9.
"I'm happy for what we achieved today during the race. Unlike Stefano, I had a really late stop for tires due to the fact I had a pretty good pace. I also ran some laps at the top which isn't bad either. The car felt really good, and in the closing stages I was visibly faster than Fauzy, despite not having the right chance for an attack. The team did a great job, we had a really quick and consistent racecar today. Having a good start will be key tomorrow. Scoring points won't be easy, but sure I'm gonna try".