A CONTACT STRIPS FILIPPI AND SCUDERIA COLONI OF A POSSIBLE WIN IN RACE 2After an amazing Saturday that saw Scuderia Coloni and Luca Filippi clinch a dominant win, the team experienced a bitter Sprint Race as Luca took the flag in P22 and Fabio Onidi retired after a crash on lap 2.It was a pity because right at the start things were looking good: from P8 on the grid Filippi made a great start and at the exit of the first chicane he was 5th already. Unluckily, yesterdays winner had to cope with some overzealous driving by his rivals: he was first slowed down by Ericsson, who instead should have backed off to give the position back after a huge chicane cut, and then he in the first Lesmo corner he was touched by Chilton. The contact damaged the right side of Lucas front wing and slowed his pace considerably as he dropped to 11th place in just a couple of laps. The team had no other choice than calling him in the pits to change the wing and mount soft tyres, and thats what they did on lap 5.With his car back to full efficiency the Italian needed no time to show what his real pace was. He posted just one lap over the 134 mark, the first one on cold tyres, and then for the sixteen remaining laps all his times where in the 1335-1338 bracket, a pace that nobody else on track could match.
When Luca exited the pit-lane he had race leader Valsecchi right behind, but by the end of the race the Scuderia Coloni driver had disappeared in the distance, stretching a gap of 7 on the leading pack. As a final effort, Luca improved the fastest lap of the race on the very last lap posting a 133507 that was a testament to the drivers and cars performance and showed that without the initial contact another win would have been possible.
Fabio Onidis race, meanwhile, lasted just two laps: after a good start from P21 the Italian driver managed to keep his position but on lap 2 he lost the car under braking at the first chicane and collided with a rival. Fabio was unharmed, but he had to retire from the race.
Luca Filippi: Its such a pity. Again we had an incredibly quick car and after the start I was fifth, so Im sure that I could have gone for the win. We couldnt do that because some drivers still think they can win the race at the first corner, but anyway we can still be happy because with that long sequence of fastest laps we showed that we were the ones to beat once again. I want to thank Scuderia Coloni for this chance, it was a dream weekend for me.Fabio Onidi: Im really disappointed. Something happened at the first chicane because the cars ahead slowed down too much and that caught me a bit by surprise. I braked harder but the rear got too light, the car just snapped into oversteer and I couldnt avoid the crash. It was a really hard
LUCA FILIPPI AND SCUDERIA COLONI CLINCH DOMINANT MONZA WIN IN RACE 1
Luca Filippi and Scuderia Coloni took an amazing success in Monza, winning the GP2 feature race in dominant fashion. One year after winning the very same race, the all-italian pair made another clean sweep crossing the line with a 4 gap on the nearest competitor. Lucas performance was even more remarkable considering that this one was his first single-seater race in the last 12 months.Starting from third place Filippi was immediately very quick off the line, and nearly managed to take the lead at the first corner: he got side by side with polesitter Chilton and then decided to cut the chicane in order to avoid a clash, immediately giving the position back and settling for P2.Luca sticked himself to the Britons rear wing and never allowed the gap to reach the one second mark. The teams plan was to overtake the Carlin driver at the pit-stop and Luca got back into the pits for his mandatory tyre change on lap 8; Chilton followed two laps later and when he came back on track the pair was wheel to wheel once again. The british driver got the upper hand at the Prima Variante but it was just a matter of time: Luca was on his tail and at the braking for the Variante Ascari he got past, immediately opening the gap. Despite being on the harder compound while the others were on the softer one, Filippi kept posting one fastest lap after the other and stretched his lead on Chilton up to 6 seconds. The situation didnt change even when a charging Cecotto passed the Carlin driver: Luca was in full control and just slowed a bit in the last two laps, taking a comfortable win that delighted the home crowd.The race still had a bitter side for the team, and it was Onidis: after boasting a good performance in Qualifying that gave him a 7th place on the grid Fabio had a good start and closed the first lap in P8. He was ready for a good race but in the first corner of lap 2 a contact with Nasr ruined the right side of his front wing, altering the balance of his car. Fabio did his best to cope with the issue but the car was lacking front load and so the braking for the first corner became too difficult. Onidi had to come into the pits on lap 6 to get a new nose and change 4 tyres but that dropped him below P20, ruining his race. He crossed the line in 21th place.
Paolo Coloni: Today we were on a league on our own. We were so confident that we opted for a different strategy, deciding to save the soft tyres for tomorrows Sprint Race. It worked because even with the hard compound our pace was still quicker than the competition, something that speaks for itself. Everything went to plan and I think its a big testament to the skills of the whole team, from the team principal to the driver and to the technical staff. I hope that people will realize how great the performance we boasted today is.
Luca Filippi: It might be a year since I last drove, and it feels like yesterday, it's like time just stopped. The difference is that compared to last year the emotion feels even bigger now. My career looked finished, but now I believe in myself more than ever. The Coloni family believed in me, and in Italian drivers. They gave me a chance, and I gave them a return. It's an amazing team, and what happened today is an amazing thing. The race itself wasnt too difficult, I nearly got into the lead at the first corner but I knew it was just a matter of time because our pace was much quicker than our rivals, even on harder tyres. I showed what I can do once again, I hope that somebody will realize that and make a call.
Fabio Onidi: It was really an hard day for me. Yesterday we were quick and I was ready to enjoy a good race, but a contact with Nasr spoilt everything. We were side by side at the first chicane and I was on the outside when he suddenly decided to cut the corner. He just crossed my line and torn my front wing apart, and after that I just couldnt brake. Its a real pity, because we had the potential to do much better.
