Qualifying#26 Giacomo Ricci, 20th#27 Chris Van der Drift, 16th
The 2008-2009 season of the GP2 Asia Series officially took off today at Shanghai. On the Chinese racetrack, 26 drivers joined the field for qualifying starting the second edition of the Asian-bound tournament. In the single session, determining the starting grid for today`s Race 1, rookie Chris Van der Drift took 16th place, 4 spots in front of team-mate Giacomo Ricci.
Unfortunately, one of the two red-flag interruptions that stopped on-track activities caught both drivers out with sticker tires, jeopardizing any effort. Despite the results were behind expectations, all the team is looking forward to a possible recovery starting from the first race, starting tomorrow morning at 9:00 European time (GMT+2). Race 2 is scheduled for Sunday at 4:00 GMT+2. TV coverage is still yet to define, with the possible involvement of Eurosport.
Chris Van der Drift“Today`s qualifying result was conditioned by a really weird problem, as the car was tending to the right side. We noticed the issue for the first time in practice, and we tried to find a solution by replacing all the car`s dampers. Unfortunately the issue came back during qualifying. The team is now working on a global check, in order to be ok for Race 1. After the disappointing 16th place scored today, I feel I`ll have the chance to rebound tomorrow and climb up the order".
Giacomo Ricci“I`m not satisfied with today`s 20th place, and the team was clearly not rewarded by the result. I suffered from understeering during the whole session but, maybe I`m being optimist, I feel with such a great team like Trident Racing we`ll be ready to fight back to the top as early as tomorrow".
Maurizio Salvadori, Team Owner“Trident Racing started today its 4th season of activity with the opening round of the GP2 Asia Series. Although the second edition of the Asian trophy started just weeks after the conclusion of the GP2 Main Series, we were able to field two fully-staffed cars for rookie driver Chris Van der Drift and young Italian talent Giacomo Ricci. The team is still working for next year`s Main Series, as teams and drivers will be back on-track soon at Jerez, with another round of collective testing. I also want to welcome on-board Riccardo Corbari, who joined Trident Racing with his huge load of experience and motivation. Corbari will be working together with Alessandro Alunni Bravi in order to strengthen the team`s organizational compartment in this moment of strong and fast expansion".
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