A well deserved podium for Fat Burner Racing Engineering in Monza 12.09.2009: Against all odds, and after a great drive from beginning to end in today's GP2 feature race at the Autodromo di Monza, Fat Burner Racing Engineering's Lucas di Grassi scored another podium for the

Against all odds, and after a great drive from beginning to end in today's GP2 feature race at the Autodromo di Monza, Fat Burner Racing Engineering's Lucas di Grassi scored another podium for the Spanish team this afternoon. His teammate Dani Clos, on the other hand, finished 15th after suffering an engine problem from the very beginning of the race on.



Lucas and Dani were more than ready to face today's challenge at the Italian track where they had to start the feature race from 15th and last respectively due to a 10-position grid penalty received in Spa-Francorchamps two weeks ago. But both Fat Burner Racing Engineering drivers had to wait longer than expect to show their skills around the legendary Italian track as the start of the race was delayed several times due to the heavy rain that started just minutes before the scheduled start.

After 40 minutes of waiting on the grid under heavy rain, the 32 lap race finally started behind the safety car. The first lap already produced the first casualties of the afternoon when Valerio and Villa slipped off the track, which helped Lucas to move up to 13th and Dani to 23rd. When the safety car left at the end of the 5th lap, the Brazilian was already in 12th and the Spaniard 22nd. The difficult conditions on the track produced various incidents during the following laps, but the Spanish Team's drivers managed to stay away from them to gain ground and positions.

Lucas had a good fight with Rodríguez for P5 and once he overtook him, he quickly reduced the gap to the cars in front. Nunes was the next man to beat, but then Hulkenberg, who was third, went off the track and both Brazilians passed him and Lucas was fourth. The two countrymen battled for P3, and it was Lucas who gained the upper-hand.

From that moment on, Lucas had to fight off Parente's attacks which came to an end when the Portuguese was handed a drive through for missing the chicane on more than three occasions. With two laps to go, Lucas did his compulsory pit-stop. The fast work of Fat Burner Racing Engineering's pit crew was good enough for the Brazilian to return to track in third place and cross the line in a better position than expected at the beginning of the race.

Dani Clos was once more a victim of the conditions. Although starting last on the grid, the young Spaniard was very optimistic for today's race. However, a problem with his engine from the start of the race put all possibilities to shine, just like his teammate, on a halt.

Dani suffered from a lack of power from his Renault engine which misfired, possibly caused by water entering during moments before the start. So he was not able to participate in today's race at the same level as his competitors. Nevertheless, Dani fought until the end and was able to finish in fifteenth position.


Lucas Di Grassi: Everything went fine. We started behind the safety car and I was overtaking several cars until I ran in third. The car was good under these conditions. We had some issues with the engine temperature because of leaves in the radiators, but this was the only thing that was out of the norm. It was a good race since from fifteenth, I finished third. Tomorrow I will start 6th and I hope for a good race and more points.



Dani Clos: I am really disappointed today. I think Lucas has shown what could have been possible. However, from the very beginning on, I suffered from a problem with my engine. We still need to look into this properly, but it's very likely that this was caused by the heavy rains before the start. I am sure we could have obtained a much better result that 15th.


Alfonso de Orleáns-Borbón, Team President: Fantastic race from Lucas. Starting 15th was not easy, but he showed a great pace throughout the whole race. He definitely deserves this podium finish. Dani, on the other hand, was once more extremely unlucky.

We still need to analyze the engine problem in detail when the car is back, but water most probably caused it. I am sure that Dani could have had just as a fantastic race as Lucas if his engine ran at its best. Fantastic work also from all the boys in the team. I am very happy their hard work is being rewarded with a podium finish today.


- Racing Engineering - photos GP2