2010 Yas Marina GP2 Asia Series round explained

Country:UAE
Grand Prix:Abu Dhabi
Round No:2
Season No:4
Season:2009–10
Year:2010
Location:Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Course:Permanent racing facility
Course Mi:3.451
Course Km:5.554
Date R1:5 February
Laps R1:33
Pole Driver Country:France
Pole Driver:Charles Pic
Pole Team:Arden International
Pole Time:1:52.497
First Driver Country R1:United Kingdom
First Driver R1:Oliver Turvey
First Team R1:iSport International
Second Driver Country R1:Italy
Second Driver R1:Davide Valsecchi
Second Team R1:iSport International
Third Driver Country R1:France
Third Driver R1:Jules Bianchi
Third Team R1:ART Grand Prix
Fast Driver Country R1:Bulgaria
Fast Driver R1:Vladimir Arabadzhiev
Fast Team R1:Rapax
Fast Time R1:1:51.872
Fast Lap R1:28
Date R2:6 February
Laps R2:18
First Driver Country R2:ITA
First Driver R2:Davide Valsecchi
First Team R2:iSport International
Second Driver Country R2:ROM
Second Driver R2:Michael Herck
Second Team R2:DPR
Third Driver Country R2:ITA
Third Driver R2:Giacomo Ricci
Third Team R2:DPR
Fast Driver Country R2:ITA
Fast Driver R2:Davide Valsecchi
Fast Team R2:iSport International
Fast Time R2:1.52.061
Fast Lap R2:18

The 2009–10 Abu Dhabi 2nd GP2 Asia round was the second round of the 2009-10 GP2 Asia Series season. It was held on February 5 and 6, 2010 at Yas Marina Circuit at Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It is the second of two rounds to be held at the circuit, the other being the 2009-10 Abu Dhabi 1st GP2 Asia round. The next race of the season will be at Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain and will be the first round to be held at the circuit of the season.

Report

Race 1

Charles Pic started on pole for Race 1. The feature race was won by Oliver Turvey, claiming his first GP2 Asia victory by leading home teammate Davide Valsecchi in an iSport one-two at Yas Marina. Formula 3 Euroseries champion Jules Bianchi began his GP2 career with third for ART, with the charging Luca Filippi coming through to fourth from the back of the grid for Meritus only to retire on the last lap and hand the place to Arden's Javier Villa. Poleman Charles Pic (Arden) had a disastrous race, starting when Turvey burst ahead off the line and Valsecchi surged down the inside to claim second at the end of the long back straight. The top three then settled down in close company, with Bianchi and Villa following them. The latter kickstarted the lead group's early pitstops by coming in for tyres on lap six - and then set a new fastest lap on fresh rubber, prompting the rest of the frontrunners to stop in quick succession. Turvey was the last of this pack to pit on lap 10, emerging right in front of Valsecchi. The championship leader immediately attacked, going around the outside into the Turn 11/12/13 complex and nosing ahead. The two iSport cars banged wheels as they turned in and skittered over the run-off, rejoining still first and second but now with Villa, Bianchi and Pic - who had lost ground on the out-laps - right on their tails. Turvey wasted no time in fighting back, sweeping around the outside of Valsecchi with a brilliant move at the penultimate corner just moments after he had lost the lead. In their wake, Bianchi pulled off an identical pass to take third from Villa.

As the tyres came up to temperature, the frenetic racing calmed down, with Turvey leading Valsecchi, Bianchi, Villa and the flying Filippi. The Meritus driver had made spectacular progress from the back of the grid following his troubled Thursday, but also sent Pic flying across a run-off area and down the order with an aggressive move near half-distance. Although Valsecchi remained on Turvey's tail, the Briton could not be parted from the lead again - even when the safety car was called to retrieve Alberto Valerio's stalled Coloni car in the closing stages. Turvey ultimately beat Valsecchi across the line by 0.6s, with Bianchi close behind and Villa promoted to fourth and DPR's Giacomo Ricci to fifth when Filippi's car ground to a halt with a lap to go. American Alexander Rossi - who also had to start at the back - provided some consolation for Meritus by surging through to sixth. He looked set for eighth and race two pole for a while, until Addax's Giedo van der Garde crashed out of seventh place. That accident handed eighth to Marcus Ericsson, but DPR driver Michael Herck's bid to pass the Super Nova driver left Ericsson with broken suspension, so it was Ocean's Max Chilton who found himself scoring the final point and picking up Saturday pole once Filippi's late retirement elevated the remaining finishers. Christian Vietoris - a winner in the previous event at Yas Marina three months ago - had to retire following a tangle with Trident's Plamen Kralev as he tried to pass the backmarker after his pitstop. Vietoris' DAMS teammate Edoardo Piscopo's race was even shorter as he was involved in one of several opening lap incidents. ART's Sam Bird was the other main lap one casualty, being spun to the back and then having contact with Herck and a solo spin before retiring. Another frontrunner out of luck was Sergio Pérez (Addax), who ran sixth until stalling in the pits and then having to make an additional stop.

Race 2

Max Chilton started on Pole for the Sprint Race after finishing 8th in Race 1, and therefore gaining the reverse grid pole. Davide Valsecchi extended his GP2 Asia lead by denying Michael Herck victory with a late pass in the second Abu Dhabi race. Until the closing stages, Herck and his teammate Giacomo Ricci had looked set to give their DPR team a shock one-two - four and a half years after the squad's last wins. But Valsecchi mounted a last gasp charge to pass both Ricci and Herck in quick succession and claim his iSport squad's second win of the weekend. Outside front row starter Herck had taken the lead at the start, with Ricci passing Alexander Rossi (Meritus) for second at a safety car restart shortly afterwards. Valsecchi made rapid progress from seventh on the grid and was soon in third behind the two DPR cars. But until the final half dozen laps, Herck and Ricci looked comfortable up front. The points leader had speed in reserve, though, and in the final laps Valsecchi increased his pace and piled pressure on Ricci, eventually making it through with an inventive move that required several corners to complete. He then hunted down Herck and dived down the inside at the end of the back straight on the penultimate lap, before pulling away to win by 1.9s - giving him a 19-point championship lead at the series' halfway point.

Herck and Ricci held on to the remaining podium places, with Addax's Sergio Pérez charging from the midfield through to fourth. Pérez escaped serious damage in the opening lap tangle that caused the early safety car - the Mexican and Josef Kral touching, and sending the Super Nova car bouncing into Meritus' Luca Filippi. Friday winner Oliver Turvey took the second iSport car to fifth, having spent much of the race behind polesitter Max Chilton (Ocean). The Formula 3 graduate lost ground on lap one but then held his own among the frontrunners and resisted ART's Jules Bianchi - who scorched through the field after stalling on the grid - and Arden's Charles Pic to score the final point. Pic's teammate Javier Villa was another man to stall at the start, while Addax's Giedo van der Garde was making progress through the group behind Chilton until he tangled with Fabio Leimer (Ocean).

Classification

Qualifying

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PosNoNameTeamTimeGrid
111 Charles PicArden International1:52.4971
216 Oliver TurveyiSport International1:52.5172
317 Davide ValsecchiiSport International1:52.6033
47 Jules BianchiART Grand Prix1:52.8424
521 Alexander RossiMalaysiaQi-Meritus.com1:52.86124
612 Javier VillaArden International1:52.9795
78 Sam BirdART Grand Prix1:53.0036
82 Edoardo PiscopoDAMS1:53.0867
927 Giacomo RicciDPR1:53.1348
101 Christian VietorisDAMS1:53.1839
116 Sergio PérezBarwa Addax Team1:53.40710
124 Daniel ZampieriRapax Team1:53.49111
135 Giedo van der GardeBarwa Addax Team1:53.50912
1423 Fabio LeimerOcean Racing Technology1:53.61113
1515 Josef KrálSuper Nova Racing1:53.68514
163 Vladimir ArabadzhievRapax Team1:53.68715
1718 Dani ClosTrident Racing1:53.98216
1822 Max ChiltonOcean Racing Technology1:54.03617
1926 Michael HerckDPR1:54.07418
2020 Luca FilippiMalaysiaQi-Meritus.com1:54.12123
2114 Marcus EricssonSuper Nova Racing1:54.72319
2219 Plamen KralevTrident Racing1:58.27420
2325 Will BrattScuderia Coloni2:02.51721
2424 Alberto ValerioScuderia ColoniNo time22