FIFTH PLACE FOR CECCON IN ABU DHABI RACE 1

Kevin Ceccon keeps boasting amazing performances: the Italian driver indeed clinched fifth place in today's Race 1 of the Abu Dhabi GP2 weekend, driving a masterly race despite being just a t his fifth race weekend in the Series widely recognized as the best stepping stone to F1.The 18 year-old Italian, who was 7th on the grid, had an amazing start and managed to take P4 despite having to avoid Kral’s spinning car. In the following laps Kevin had a fair but close fight with Gutierrez, that came to an end when the Mexican was forced in the pits to change his rear wing, damaged in a collision at the start.Ceccon kept P4 with no issues in the central part of the race, until the mandatory pit-stop. The tyre change saw Ericsson emerge from the pits just inches ahead of the Italian, who then decided to settle for a fifth place that was an amazing result, especially considering that Ceccon has contested just 4 race weekends in GP2 so far, and so he’s still a rookie..

Kevin Ceccon: “I’m satisfied with this 5th place, it’s a great result, but I could have done even better without having to avoid Kral, who spun in fron t of me. Without that I could have been even third at the end of first lap; instead, apart from losing time, I even flat-spotted my front tyres not to hit him, and this hampered me for the whole race. Anyway I had a very good start, we were really quick and this gives me high hopes for tomorrow: starting from second row anything is possible"

CECCON AGAIN IN THE POINTS IN ABU DHABI GP2 FINALE

Kevin Ceccon ended in the best possible way the first part of the "magic week" that on 16 an 17 November will see him jump behind the wheel of a Scuderia Toro Rosso F1 car for the rookie test.The 18 year-old italian talent contested another top-notch race with Scuderia Coloni, clinching the second point finish in a row in GP2: the Italian 18 year-old talent didn’t have the best possible start and closed his first lap in P13, but he made up for that mistake with an aggressive race that saw him boast a staggering recovery lap after lap.He first passed Melker on lap 1, and then he did the same at the chicane braking zone with Ricci on lap 7 and then with Berthon on lap 11, entering the top 10. A few laps later Kevin took advantage of mistakes made by Da Costa and Razia to take eight place, and then he catched the group that was fighting for the points, sticking to the tails of Rossi, Coletti and Leimer. When the three ahead went wide in Turn 1 in a last lap drama, Ceccon found the gaps to recover another two spots and then he closed a masterly drive with a last turn pass on Leimer to clinch sixth place and one point, earning a praise by Team Principal Paolo Coloni.

Kevin Ceccon: “If on one side I’m satisfied with my driving, on the other hand I’m really angry with myself for that start. Looking at my pace and at how the race developed at the front, I surely had a chance of winning today, and spoiling the chance to give it a try was a real pity.Anyway, I think I showed that my pace was the same as the leaders and I’m happy of my recovery, overtaking so many cars was pretty fun from inside the cockpit!Now I will try to relax a bit, because in the next days I will need all my focus to face the Toro Rosso F1 test in the best possible way". Ceccon3_Abu.jpg

Paolo Coloni: “Kevin had already taken 13 point finishes in 14 races with Auto GP, and now he also managed to get points twice in a row with GP2. We should be used to that but his confidence is growing so quickly that he still manages to surprise us, day after day. The way he raced today, making the most of every single gap to succeed in his recovery, is something you should expect from a veteran, not from a rookie. Anyway he did it and this also shows that we did a good job, because he obviously had a car that allowed that kind of performance".