Dramatic start in Qatar leads Arden to finish in double points

The race start was soon under safety car following an incident with Sakon Yamamoto and Yelmer Buurman. Buurman hit Yamamoto after he failed to pull away from his grid position, smashing the ART cars rear left side to bits and spraying debris across the track. Luiz Razia did well to stay clear of the drama and made up eight places on his start.

The race conditions were taking toll on everyone’s tyres with the majority of the grid pitting early. Both Arden drivers improved their lap times despite the challenges faced to an extent that they both completed the race in the points. Luiz Razia scoring his first point of the season finished in eigth place and Edoardo Mortara finishing just ahead in seventh, earning himself two points to add to his established GP2 scoreboard.

 Luiz: “The start was the key for the race because I was 19th and then I made it to p11. I saw that I was faster than the guys in front of me, so we decided with to pit. After the pit I improved my laps until I was in sixth place. Then the tyres were wearing fast and Edoardo & Davide Valsecci overtook me.  I changed my driving style and the car responded well, but it wasn’t enough to overtake Edoardo so I decided just to keep my position and push through to the end. Im happy it’s my first point of the season and even better, tomorrow I start on pole!”

Edo: “That was one of my toughest races ever . The conditions were so difficult, the track was dirty and the tyres wore so quickly. My goal was to finish in the top 8 and we managed to do this. I was being pushed from the people behind, so it was hard to finish here without losing my place or making mistakes. I

t is hard to adapt to these conditions, its easy to struggle. In the middle of the race I was fast but my tyres just went and I couldn’t use them anymore. I hope tomorrow we will finish with a good result, it will be hard as the conditions will be the same but we will find the best solution for set up and try to improve. I am sure we can do it and if I can make a good start and stay out of trouble for the first two corners I think we will be ok


-Deborrah Lyall - photos on automobisport.com under PHOTOS - SLIDESHOWS  Photos Ecards to follow