The second round of the 2013 GP2 Series was completed Sunday at Al Sakhir, Bahrain, with the running of Race 2.
Trident Racing ended up in 10th place with Kevin Ceccon while Nathanael Berthon finished in 22nd.Ceccon showed great performance levels in the second part of the race by logging some extremely competitive laps.
The 20-year-old racer from Bergamo managed to make his way into the top-10, getting close to a points spot and proving steady progress. On the other hand, Berthon suffered from tire degradation and did not achieve the results expected.
The GP2 Series will now be back in Europe for the next 7 rounds of the season - round 3 of the 2013 season is scheduled from May 10 to 12 at Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona.
Kevin Ceccon
I'm very satisfied with the results we achieved today. My only regret is not to have attacked harder in the closing laps when I was faster than the car I had in front. Of course, everybody was trying to defend their position - there were some risks to take and I really didn't want to end up with a retirement. I think we showed steady progress this weekend at Sepang. We are into the top-10 and the next goal will be to start scoring points.
Nathanael Berthon
My start has been quite good but during the first lap there was a lot of traffic in turn 4 and I lost two spots. From that point on, I tried to push and fight back but my tires started wearing out after 10 laps and I was forced to manage them in order to complete the race.
Race 1
The GP2 Series was back underway this weekend at Al Sakhir, Bahrain, three weeks after the 2013 opener at Sepang. The event reached its hottest stages today with the running of Race 1 and the heat came not only by the tough competition, but also from the 35-degree weather of the area.
Kevin Ceccon and Nathanael Berthon took-off respectively from the 8th and 11th row on the grid before ending up in 11th and 17th place. While Frenchmen Berthon was assessed a drive-through for exceeding the speed limit in the pits, losing a clear chance for a top-10 finish, Ceccon almost accomplished the feature as he continued to increase his confidence with the car in an effort to be back into the points zone.
Kevin Ceccon
My start has been good although not perfect. Then, I recovered a couple of spots in the first lap, putting together a good pace. After the pit-stop I feared that the tires would fade and I tried to be as clean as possible. I held onto tenth place as long as possible and I managed to keep Ericsson behind. Unfortunately though, in the closing stages, I had to surrender one spot to a driver with fresher tires. It's a pity but I think that we made a great step forward compared to Sepang.
Nathanael Berthon
I got a good start but after just a few laps the softer tires faded quickly so I went for an early pit-stop. Unfortunately, while entering the pit-lane, I exceeded the speed limit, and the following drive-through brought me down the order. We still have to improve in terms of tire wear and management, but I think we had the potential to score some points today.
