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27.11.2007
Sam Abay : Strong pace, challenging race at World Final Formula BMW World Final Valencia, Spain
Having joined Raikkonen Robertson Racing for the Formula BMW in Valencia, Spain, Australian youngster Sam Abay took no time making an immediate impression when the cars hit the track for the first time during Friday¹s practice sessions. Against the favoured German teams, Abay shot to 3rd fastest in Practice 1 and topped the time sheets in Practice 2. With confidence high for a strong qualifying performance Abay didn’t disappoint, and was comfortably the quickest driver in a British team, qualifying 4th and earning himself a spot in the Superpole shootout for the top 8 drivers. As the cars took to the circuit one at a time for their Superpole laps, the pressure was on and once again and Abay delivered, setting the 3rd fastest lap despite making an error on his lap. "All credit goes to the boys at Double R. Boyo and the crew have given me quick car that¹s just a pleasure to drive. In Practice 3 with a few things that didn¹t work as we wished, so we reverted to the original set-up in qualifying and we have a solid start position for the heats." However Abay felt that his Superpole lap should have been better. "I made a mistake going into turn two, braked a little bit too late and missed the apex of the corner" he explained. "I¹m happy with third on the grid but we really should have been quicker." Starting 3rd in heat one, a quick getaway saw Abay through to second and challenging Daniel Morad for the lead into the first turn. Settling into second, Abay and Morad streaked away from the rest of the field to open up a 10 second gap over third placed Niall Quinn. The Australian kept the pressure on Morad as the two traded quick laps throughout the race. In the end, despite a gutsy effort, Abay would settle for second as the two crossed the line together. Some consolation come in the form of 2000 Euro in prize money for the Australian, setting the fastest lap of the race.
"I almost got past Morad" Abay reflected. "But he defended his position quite nicely, so there was nothing I could do. He was tough, but fair – I would have done the same in his position." The weekend then took an unfortunate turn for the Australian - it happened even before the start of his second heat. The team was late getting the car out to the pit lane for the grid, and missed the cut-off, forcing the Australian to start from the pit lane instead of the second row of the grid. Abay however set about a dramatic charge catching the field and racing through to 12th place before crossing the line in a pack of cars battling for 9th place. "No one’s to blame, but we just missed getting the car out in time, as we had to try to fix a technical issue," said Abay. "I had to start the race from the pit lane and when I exited the pit lane, the last car had already gone around turn one and I still had stone-cold tyres." Heat 2’s drama along with the speed Abay had shown on the weekend attracted the attention of one interested spectator, Sauber BMW Formula One boss, Mario Theissen raced down to Parc Ferme to be the first to greet the Australian as he stepped from the car after the race, eager to know exactly what had happened at the start and praise the youngsters performance. Heat 3 and a determined Abay was out to make amends for the drama in the previous race and salvage a solid gird position for the World Final. Unfortunately that wasn’t to be, a broken gear linkage cable putting paid to his efforts whilst challenging for 3rd place. When the lights went out for the 2007 Formula BMW World Final, a brilliant start by Abay from 19th on the grid saw him gain several positions in the run to the first turn. However his efforts were thwarted when he was forced to take to the gravel twice on lap one to avoid two accidents in front of him, resulting in Abay dropping to 26th by the end of lap one. In what was then one of the drives of the meeting, the Australian picked off competitors one by one and amazingly passed 12 drivers, to cross the line in 14th place. Two of the top 5 drivers were later disqualified for technical infringements, resulting in a 12th place finish for Abay.
"We had some major set back's this weekend, but the car was a pleasure to drive and the team never gave up. It's just a shame circumstances intervened and we couldn't get the result we came for, because for the most part we were comfortably the quickest British team out there." said Abay. "I'd sincerely like to thank Double R, Gandel Metals & Bib Stillwell BMW for their incredible support and giving me the opportunity to compete at the World Final this weekend."
- Sam Abay Media - also photos
Author: maggy (admin2)
Last modified: Tuesday, 27.11.2007 - 11:15 More reports from this category all copyright automobilsport.com.
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