Timetable:
Friday 9th October: Free Practice 17.00 – 17.45 Saturday 10th October: Qualifying: 09.30 – 10.00 Saturday 10th October: Race 1 (20 laps): 13:30 – 14.15 Sunday 11th October: Race 2 (15 laps): 10.00 – 10.35
Warm Up: Matheo Tuscher – Jenzer Motorsport“It is a special circuit as it was a new track for everyone last year. It was also my first time visiting Russia. I really like the circuit. It was a good one for me and the Jenzer Motorsport team as we were quite fast there in 2014.
“Since it’s still a new track, the asphalt is nicely done and consistent throughout the whole circuit. My favourite part is after the long back straight. After you brake, there is a small hairpin on the right which is pretty cool. There was not much tyre degradation last season, so it will be interesting to see how the tyres perform with the compound a softer version this time out.
“I like the different timetable for GP3 in Sochi. It’s nice to driver earlier than usual. It’s also good for the team, as with an earlier race, we get to have more time to go over the data which is very helpful.”
THE STAKES
Following a five week break, the GP3 Series returns for Round 7 of the 2015 season at the Sochi Autodrom. This marks the Series’ second visit to Russia. Last year the Russian track provided some epic racing so it’s game on for this weekend!
Round 6 saw Series leader Luca Ghiotto starting the Monza weekend with a 28 point advantage over Esteban Ocon and he extended that after he set his fifth pole of the campaign. Unfortunately for the Italian, he stalled at the start of his home race and was unable to resume. The race was then on between Ocon and Emil Bernstorff, with the Frenchman leading Race 1 for a large part of the race. The Arden International driver produced the best race of his life (according to the Brit) to claim his second consecutive feature race victory after passing the ART Grand Prix ace on the penultimate lap.
Race 2 was another lively affair: Koiranen GP’s Jimmy Eriksson took the lead after passing reverse pole sitter Alex Fontana in the early stages. The multiple race winner looked on course to repeat his Monza victory from 2014, but there was heartbreak for the unlucky Swede after technical gremlins struck his machine on the last lap but one. Marvin Kirchhöfer seized the opportunity and inherited the win, with teammate Ocon holding off his title rival Ghiotto to the flag. The Italian had started from P19 but carved through the field to take an impressive podium and bag bonus points for the fastest lap.
Following Ghiotto’s non score in Race 1, Ocon has reduced the deficit to Ghiotto considerably in the fight for the title. The top four drivers are all in contention for the crown with just 43 points covering them, with a maximum of 48 points available per weekend – and there are three rounds to go! This title fight is going to be a nail-biter…
The 5.848km Sochi circuit has been designed by Herman Tilke and features long straights and sweeping hairpins and is one of the longest on the GP3 calendar.
Pirelli have nominated the medium compound for this event.
Season stats
1 Luca Ghiotto, Esteban Ocon and Marvin Kirchhöfer have failed to score points in just one race this season.
14 Esteban Ocon has reduced the deficit to Series leader Luca Ghiotto by 14 points in the Drivers’ Standings following Monza.
107 ART Grand Prix’s points advantage over Arden International in the Teams’ Standings.
7 Luca Ghiotto has set a new record for the highest number of fastest laps in a season with seven to date.
Noteworthy:
20 year old Michele Beretta from Italy will make his debut in GP3 in the Trident #28 machine.
Konstantin Tereshchenko from Russia will complete the Campos Racing line-up this weekend. He will drive the #25 car. The 21 year old has not yet made his racing debut in the Series, even though he has participated in a Free Practice session in 2014.
Ghiotto has broken yet another record after achieving the most number of poles set in GP3 with five to date. The previous best was four recorded by 2012 title winner Mitch Evans.
Esteban Ocon has made seven consecutive podium appearances so far, setting a new record in GP3. If he scores one more podium in the remainder of the season, he will set another new record of highest number of podium finishes.
There have been six different winners from the first eight races: Luca Ghiotto (3), Marvin Kirchhöfer (3), Kevin Ceccon (2), Emil Bernstorff (2), Esteban Ocon (1), Oscar Tunjo (1)
Ghiotto leads the Drivers’ Standings on 170 points ahead of Esteban Ocon (156), Marvin Kirchhöfer (140) and Emil Bernstorff (127).
ART Grand Prix leads the way in the Teams’ Standings on 315 points. In second is Arden International on 208 with Trident on 191 points.
Pirelli’s Racing Manager Mario Isola commented: “As Russia was a brand new circuit last year we didn’t have much real circuit information. Now that we have some real data from the race last year, we’ve been able to fine-tune the nomination to match the specific demands of the track. Although it was brand new last year, the track surface has not evolved over the winter, so we’re expecting low wear and degradation once more. Also, the circuit has not been used much since last year, and this is one of the main reasons why the surface is not very different. The weather is generally quite mild, which should help to reduce the effects of thermal degradation, but there is the possibility of unexpectedly hot weather too. While the surface is in no way abrasive, a number of drivers were surprised last year by the amount of grip available.”
FUN WITH FIGURES:
1.00 – The pole margin (in seconds) set by Luca Ghiotto over Esteban Ocon in P2 at the previous round in Italy.
2.5 – Emil Bernstorff has the highest Race 1 average result of 2.5, ahead of Luca Ghiotto on 2.6.
4 – The most improved driver in the standings after Monza was Jenzer Motorsport’s Matheo Tuscher who jumped up four places.
12 – The number of places Ralph Boschung made up in Saturday’s Race 1 in Italy.
62 – Esteban Ocon has led the most number of laps this year – with one victory under his belt.
90 – The number of podiums achieved by ART Grand Prix since they joined the Series..
