Race Report
GP3 SERIES
Circuit: Hungaroring (HU), Length 4,381 km, 27th/28th July 2013, Rounds 9 & 10
www.hungaroring.hu
JENZER MOTORSPORT 2013:
Samin Gomez (VEN), Patric Niederhauser (CH) and Alex Fontana (CH)
Top ten place for Fontana
The GP3 Series met up for their fifth race event on the fluid and demanding Hungaroring Circuit near Budapest, racing as one of the support races for the Formula 1 ING Magyar Nagydij 2013.
Race One Qualifying
Saturday, 27/07/13, 09.45 – 10.15, Weather: Sunny, 31°C
In free practice on Friday Alex was 10th, Patric was 20th and Samin was 23rd. All our drivers had used one set less of new tyres than two thirds of the field, and were planning to have an advantage in qualifying by having an additional set of new tyres available. At first the plan seemed to work, but with their last sets of new tyres our drivers didn’t manage enough of an improvement. That left Patric 13th just ahead of Alex, and Samin was in 24th on the grid for race one.
Race One Grid | |||
---|---|---|---|
1st | Aaro Vainio(FIN) | Koiranen GP | 1:32.811 |
2nd | Conor Daly (USA) | ART Grand Prix | 1:32.987 |
3rd | Daniil Kvyat(RUS) | MW Arden | 1:33.070 |
13th | Patric Niederhauser (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:33.599 |
14th | Alex Fontana (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:33.614 |
25th | Samin Gomez (VEN) | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:35.491 |
GP3 Series
Race One (30 Minutes)
Saturday, 27/07/13, 17.20, Weather: Sunny, 29°C
The start went well with no big incidents and Patric overtook Venturini for 12th. Alex held his place and Samin was 23rd at the end of the first lap. Patric was right behind Ellinas and soon managed to overtake him. Then he closed the gap to Williamson and was soon right on his gearbox. Meanwhile McKee attacked Visoiu for 8th place, it went wrong and McKee lost a few places, handing Patric 10th place. Alex started from 14th and moved up to 11th in the course of the race. Samin drove very well and overtook Lichtenstein, then closed in on Fong and was able to pressure him into a mistake. That moved her up behind Sa Silva. However Zonzini closed in on her and managed to overtake her, and shortly after Zonzini and Sa Silva clashed in front of her. Samin was happy to get away with minor contact damage. However Lichtenstein was able to benefit from the situation and was able to get ahead of Samin once again. The Safety Car had to be deployed until the two cars had been cleared away, and at the restart there were only two racing laps left. Williamson attacked Visoiu for 8th, Visoiu blocked him, and Patric, who was close behind them, couldn’t avoid pushing Williamson off. Williamson spun out of the race, Patric crossed the finish line in 9th, Alex was 11th and Samin 20th. After the race Patric was deemed to be responsible for the accident with Williamson and was handed a 20-second penalty, which pushed him back to 25th in the results, and thus also on the grid for Sunday’s race. That moved Alex and Samin up a place each, which meant that Alex scored the final point for 10th place.
The grid for the second race of the weekend was set by reversing the order of the first eight finishers in the first race, with the rest of the places set according to finishing order in the first race.
Results Race One | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
1st | Aaro Vainio(FIN) | Koiranen GP | 29:17.213 | |
2nd | Conor Daly (USA) | ART Grand Prix | Gap | 0.691 |
3rd | Daniil Kvyat(RUS) | MW Arden | Gap | 4.853 |
10th | Alex Fontana (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
19th | Samin Gomez (VEN) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
25th | Patric Niederhauser (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
Fastest lap: Aaro Vainio(FIN) in 1:36.054 |
Race Two Grid | |||
---|---|---|---|
1st | Robert Visoiu (ROM) | MW Arden | |
2nd | Kevin Korjus (EST) | Koiranen GP | |
3rd | Facu Regalia (ARG) | ART Grand Prix | |
10th | Alex Fontana (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | |
19th | Samin Gomez (VEN) | Jenzer Motorsport | |
25th | Patric Niederhauser (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport |
GP3 Series
Race Two (30 Minutes)
Sunday, 28/07/13, 09.25, Weather: Sunny, 32°C
It was already hot in the morning. Alex bogged down at the start, then outbraked himself and spun off. It was a long time after the pack had passed that he was able to get going again. That put an end to his chances of another top ten position. Samin and Patric were 16th and 17th respectively at the end of the first lap. Then Williamson got in between them, though it took him another 8 laps to overtake Samin. After that Samin tailed Williamson closely and was followed equally closely by Patric. Williamson attacked Zamparelli, and Zamparelli went off as a result. A few laps later Williamson attacked McKee, and both cars crashed out of the race. This time the Safety Car had to be deployed until the cars were cleaned away. At the restart once again only two laps remained. Alex was able to catch up with the field during the Safety Car phase and was thus able to overtake several drivers in the remaining time, finished the race in 19th place. Samin drove well and defended her position until the end of the race, crossing the finish line in 14th place, and Patric, who couldn’t find a way past her, finished right behind her in 15th place.
The next event will be part of the program of the F1 GP at Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium, on the weekend of 25th August 2013.
Results Race Two | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
1st | Robert Visoiu (ROM) | MW Arden | 28:59.150 | |
2nd | Carlos Sainz (E) | MW Arden | Gap | 4.168 |
3rd | Kevin Korjus (EST) | Koiranen GP | Gap | 4.848 |
14th | Samin Gomez (VEN) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
15th | Patric Niederhauser (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
19th | Alex Fontana (CH) | Jenzer Motorsport | ||
Fastest lap: Facu Regalia (ARG) in 1:35.736 |
Championship standings after 10 out of 16 races:
1st Tio Ellinas (CYP), 91 points; 2nd Facu Regalia (ARG), 90 points; 3rd Aaro Vainio (FIN), 75 points; 4th Jack Harvey (GB), 75 points; 5th Kevin Korjus (EST), 75 points; 6th Conor Daly(USA), 71 points; th Patric Niederhauser (CH), 29 points; 15th Alex Fontana (CH), 18 points
2013 GP3 Series
11th/12th May | 2013 Formula 1 Gran Premio de Espana (Catalunya) | Barcelona (E) |
15th/16th June | 2013 Stand alone race weekend at Valencia (Ricardo Tormo Circuit) | Valencia (E) |
29th/30th June | 2013 Formula 1 British Grand Prix (Silverstone) | Silverstone (GB) |
06th/07th July | 2013 Formel 1 Grosser Preis von Deutschland (Nürburgring) | Nürburgring (D) |
27th/28th July | 2013 Formula 1 Ing Magyar Nagydij (Budapest) | Budapest (HU) |
24th/25th August | 2013 Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix (Spa-Francorchamps) | Spa-Francorchamps (B) |
07th/08th September | 2013 Formula 1 Gran Premio d’Italia (Monza) | Monza (I) |
02nd/03rd November | 2013 Formula 1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi (Yas Marina Circuit) | Abu Dhabi |
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