Puebla: JAS Motorsport race notes

COLCIAGO SUPERSTAR IN MEXICO
POLE POSITION AND PODIUM

Roberto Colciago and JAS Motorsport in the spotlight in the 5th round of the WTCC in Puebla (Mexico).

The italian driver, more and more comfortable at the wheel of his Honda Accord, has set the fastest time in the qualifying session, claiming a virtual pole position, due to a pending penalty following the Imola race.

In race 1, starting from position 11, he was reaching the leaders of the race when a failure of the gearbox forced him to stop.

In race 2, starting from the back of the grid, Roberto did a legendary race and reached the podium: he came from 20th and by lap seven he was in eighth position. He continued to pass his competitors one by one, until he was fighting for the third podium spot. In the last three laps, the JAS Motorsport man closed the gap between he and Giovanardi from 2.7 seconds to just 0.7 coming into the final lap. It was at these very final stages Colciago made a move on Giovanardi, they clashed, Colciago went through and crossed the line 0.117 of a second ahead. After the race the Stewards decided to impose a 30-second penalty on him, which meant he was dropped to 18th.

"The first race was obviously a disappointment because I was pushing hard, I was sure I could reach the first three Alfa and in fact I was overtaking Thompson when the gearbox failed and had to stop. In the second race everything was back working well and so it was my aim to make it on the podium. I have done so which is great."

"Nobody could test in Puebla before" Roberto also commented "and while this situation is quite normal for us, it is not for all works teams: that is why finally we were so competitive from the very beginning. Once again I am frustrated by the penalty, which I consider unfair, but the important result is what was reached on the track, which I have certainly deserved"

"Roberto and the Accord have been the fastest on the track during the whole week-end, this is out of question" says Alessandro Mariani" and the result, at the end of the day, is much below the expectations. But we finally proved that the car is a top contender, in spite of the low budget which did not let us make the necessary tests. However we have put together an excellent package that we count to improve further thanks to the evolution steps on progress. The pole position, beating all works team, is the evidence that JAS Motorsport have done a fantastic job"

Adriano De Micheli, from Scuderia Niosi (USA) did not attend the races due to a serious accident during free practice 1. The young italian driver lost control of the car and slammed into a concrete barrier: the car was badly damaged and could not be repaired on site.

"Here in Puebla there is no margin for mistakes" Adriano sadly commented "These concrete barriers are so close to the track that any mistake could be fatal. As a matter of fact several other drivers had bad crashes during the weekend. I am really sorry about it, I could have been battling for the podium too and help JAS to achieve a terrific result"

-www.jasmotorsport.com