Trident Racing completed the Italian's team trip to Belgium for the 8th round of the 2011 GP2 Main Series. As already reported, the results scored at Spa-Francorchamps became the background of the serious crash that involved Stefano Coletti during race 1.
After being held overnight in observation in Liège, Stefano went back to Montecarlo thanks to a private flight which was kindly offered by Felipe Massa. Right after having landed in the Principality, Coletti was admitted to the country's Institute of Sports Medicine, followed by his personal doctor, Giancarlo Raffermi.
Further checks will be completed today to confirm the earlier diagnosis made in Belgium, which highlighted a compound fracture of Coletti's third and fourth thoracic vertebrae. After at least one week of complete rest and an evaluation of the early calcification process, more details will become availble over the recovery time. The first estimate is of about four or five weeks for Stefano to be back in a driving suit and on-track.
Trident Racing entered race 2 at Spa-Francorchamps with the lone car of Rodolfo Gonzalez, who suffered from an annoying gearbox problem during the day but successfully managed to hit the checkered flag in 17th place.
For the whole team, the loss of a driver like Coletti represented an huge blow, but like him, Trident Racing is ready to be back in shape. The closing round of the 2011 GP2 Main Series is scheduled between September 9th and 11th at Monza. Following to Stefano's injury, the Italian squad will have to select a candidate to replace him. An announce is expected in the coming days.
Rodolfo Gonzalez (17.)
“First thing of all, I want to say good luck to Stefano. I know how strong he is, and I'm sure he'll be back at the top of his game really soon. Regarding yesterday's race, I believe it were basically two things that prevented me from scoring a positive result. First, the starting spot which wasn't favourable at all, and then a faulty gearbox sensor that kept delaying every shift by almost one second. Apart from that, the car was running great and I would have been able to have my say at the top. Now I'm fully-focused on Monza. It's one of my favourite racetracks, and also really different from any other. If we can reach high top speeds and still keep the car stable under braking, we'll be battling for some rewarding spots."
