JOHNNY CECOTTO AND JOSEF KRAL OUT TO MAINTAIN HISTORIC TRIUMPHS IN VALENCIA.
Barwa Addax Team compete this weekend at the street circuit of Valencia, as host team for the event and are really looking forward to putting on a good show for their home fans. Both drivers, Johnny Cecotto and Josef Král are excited and fully aware of what is expected of them when taking into consideration the great record that the team has had at this circuit since it was introduced as a venue for the championship.
The team has by far the best record at this track since it first became part of the GP2 Main Series in 2008, in which Vitaly Petrov was 3rd in qualifying and went on to win the first race and team mate Lucas di Grassi followed that up by winning the 2nd race. In 2009, Petrov finished the qualification session in 2nd place and won one of the races, finishing 3rd in the other. In 2010, Sergio Pérez took pole position and Giedo van der Garde finished 2nd on the podium. Last season, Charles Pic took pole position once more for Barwa Addax Team with van der Garde ending up on the winner’s rostrum twice, finishing 2nd and 3rd in the two races.
With such a great record here and after the recent victory in Monaco, with Johnny Cecotto winning the first race for Barwa Addax Team at one of the most legendary events on the racing calendar, has meant that the team are now looking forward to the rest of the season with a bit more hope and optimism. After what has been a disappointing and unfortunate start to the season, they are now eager to turn things right round.
The timetable will be typical of European events: Friday 22nd, Free practice at 12.00 and qualifications at 4.00 p.m. local time. The first race will get under way at 3.40 p.m. on Saturday 23rd and will be raced over 30 laps of the 5,419 meter circuit. The event will conclude with the 2nd sprint race, which starts at 10.35 and will be competed for over 23 laps.
Johnny Cecotto, official Barwa Addax Team driver: “Valencia is a special race for the team and me, it's the home race for them and my home since the beginning of this year. We have been working since two weeks to prepare this race, we have never been prepared better this year. The team has a great history on this track and I like this track a lot as well, with it's quick corners but also driving very close to the walls in some places which reminds me the excellent weekend in Monaco”.
Josef Kràl, official Barwa Addax team driver: “I hope that this will be my breaking race because so much bad luck what we had in the races before is just unbelievable. We had very good pace all the time but we just did not prove it. I am very happy for Johnny that he showed the potential what we have in the car in Monaco. I believe that the car will be as good as it was before or maybe better because this is our home race and in past years the team was very successful here in Valencia and if we have a bit more luck than we should turn it to some good result”.
