Issue 79 - GP2 Series

Fo l low i n g yo u n g d r i v e r s o n t h e i r way to t h e p i n n ac l e o f m oto r s p o r t
79
ISSUE 9
2014, SEPTEMBER 10
MONZA
ROUND 9
Unsinkable!
Palmer powers to sprint race win after qualifying exclusion.
Vandoorne keeps on impressing.
GP3 SERIES™
MONZA
ROUND 7
Bouncebackability
Eriksson strikes back as Lynn builds his Series lead to 50 points
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ROUND 9
RACE 1 REPORTS
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ROUND 9
RACE 2 REPORTS
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#BackToSquareOne
AFTER
ROUND
09
Vandoorne victorious in the feature race.
Palmer winner of the sprint race. That
rings a bell… Oh yes, it’s the same film
as the one played at Sakhir, but with even
more drama.
2014 CLASSIFICATIONS
Palmer wins inaugural
Sparco Award
DRIVERS’ STANDINGS
1. Jolyon Palmer
1M 2M
2. Felipe Nasr
1M 3M
3. Stoffel Vandoorne Rookie 2M 1M
4. Johnny Cecotto Jr.
1M 1M
5. Mitch Evans
2M
6. Stefano Coletti 1M
7. Arthur Pic Rookie
1M
8. Julián Leal
9. Stéphane Richelmi 1M
10. Raffaele Marciello Rookie 1M
11. Adrian Quaife-Hobbs
12. Marco Sørensen Rookie
13. Daniel Abt
14. Simon Trummer
15. Rio Haryanto
16. Takuya Izawa Rookie
17. Sergio Canamasas
18. André Negrão Rookie
19. Tom Dillmann
20. Nathanaël Berthon
21. Alexander Rossi
22. Tio Ellinas Rookie
23. Jon Lancaster
24. Artem Markelov Rookie
25. Rene Binder
26. Conor Daly
27. Daniël de Jong
28. Kimiya Sato Rookie
29. Sergio Campana
30. Facu Regalia Rookie
31. Pierre Gasly Rookie
32. Axcil Jefferies Rookie
231
190
164
128
125
114
90
66
63
57
30
28
27
26
26
26
22
19
18
16
12 7
6
6
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The award season has started early this
year as Sparco organised their prize giving
ceremony last Thursday at the prestigious
Villa Reale di Monza. They presented
GP2 Series™ leader Jolyon Palmer with the
first Sparco GP2 Award.
From Monaco to Spa, a special jury of
motorsport journalists have been voting for
their favourite GP2 driver each race weekend.
The British ace from DAMS won the majority of
the votes and was thus presented the award, a
mounted Sparco steering wheel, by company
CEO Claudio Pastoris who said: “It was an
absolute delight for me to present Jolyon with
the inaugural Sparco GP2 Award. This Award
has been a new initiative for us this year and we
are thrilled with the response. We are proud to
support many GP2 drivers and to follow their
journey, so it has been especially nice to see
a Sparco driver take this year’s Award. Well
done to Jolyon and best of luck to all drivers
for the rest of this year’s Championship.”
CLICK HERE FOR
COMPLETE RESULTS
Now that’s more like it: Stéphane Richelmi
was back at the front, fighting for big
points and even added a podium finish to
his tally on Sunday.
The lucky one
Our competition winner Giulia Scalerandi
joined us last weekend at the Autodromo
di Monza with a friend, Marco, to enjoy her
prize: two days in our paddock, a walkabout
the starting grids of GP2 and GP3, the podium
ceremonies and the press conferences. She
also had the chance to follow the races from
the Red Bull F1 garage thanks to Arden’s
Team owner Gary Horner. A real treat!
We were very happy to welcome both of them
and share a bit of our racing lives with such
dedicated fans. Giuilia said: “Thank you very
much to GP2 Series™ organisers for
this wonderful experience which I will always
treasure. It was quite incredible to be able
to spend this time in the paddock, meet the
drivers, and to find ourselves on the starting
grid next to the polemen!” She added: “I know
I’ve been lucky to be picked out of thousands
of people who entered the competition of The
Insider magazine. I entered quite late too! I
hope there will be another competition next
year so that someone else can experience
what I had the chance to enjoy in Monza.”
And you know what? There just might be…
When Palmer had to start from P26, it
looked like the perfect opportunity for
Felipe Nasr to reduce the gap in the
standings. A lack of pace meant this
dream scenario for the Brazilian failed.
#SeasonBest
P9 in qualifying, P5 in both races: that’s a
season best for rookie André Negrão and
a total of sixteen points scored in Italy.
Dialling in… JOHNNY CECOTTO
Jolyon Palmer added: “It is a real honour to
win the first Sparco GP2 Award, so firstly
thank you to them for such a great prize. It is
great to have been nominated so many times
this season, especially when there has been
such fierce competition.”
TEAMS’ STANDINGS
1. DAMS
1M 3M 294 =
2. Carlin
1M 3M 256 =
3. ART Grand Prix
2M 1M 190 =
4. Racing Engineering
1M 1M 171 =
5. Trident
1M 1M 150 =
6. RT RUSSIAN TIME
2M 131 =
7. Campos Racing
1M 92 =
8. Rapax 56 =
9. Caterham Racing 40 =
10. Arden International 36 +3
11. MP Motorsport 36 =
12. Hilmer Motorsport 33 -2
13. Venezuela GP Lazarus 18 -1
#Showtime
#WindowOfOpportunity
In the beginning I was just a few months
old when I went to the race track for the first time
with my father. I have a picture of me where
I’m not even one year old and I’m already sat
in a race car holding onto a steering wheel.
I’ve always wanted to be a race car driver, but
I started quite late because I always thought
I needed to be older. When I was eleven or
twelve, someone asked me why I wasn’t doing
any karting yet, I told them that I wanted to, but I
needed to wait for a few years. That’s when they
said I could have actually started earlier! So I
pushed my dad to take me to a track for testing
and racing. I was thirteen when I did my first gokart race. I did two seasons and when I turned
fifteen I switched to Formula BMW. My father
never pushed me to do racing. He was telling
me to do something else. He never tried to help
me at the beginning until he saw this was really
what I wanted to do. But, soon enough, I started
to organise things by myself. By the time I was
sixteen, I was independent. It was me and my
then-future wife who planned everything. It was
difficult and hard work, but it’s nice now to see
that it’s paid off.
RACE DAY ROUTINE I don’t have a specific
routine. I’m not superstitious although I always
get into the car from the right-hand side and put
my right glove on first. The day mainly consists of
a lot of meetings with my engineers to talk about
the set-up and the strategy which is important
during the Saturday race. We look at what
happened in the previous races and the chances
of safety car periods and tyre degradation. We
prepare a few options for the strategy which can
still change up to three minutes before the start
of the race depending on what the other cars are
doing and what the weather conditions are like.
The best part of the day is to be sat in the car and
see the lights go off!
HEROES I’ve always looked up to my father. I
loved seeing him race. It was fantastic to be with
him to see him win championships, be with his
engineers and mechanics. I learnt a lot from him.
He’s always been my hero.
TRAINING Training is really important. You
need to be so fit to be a racing driver and be
able to drive for one hour without making any
mistake. The G-Forces are so high... I train two
to three hours a day, six days a week the whole
year through. Sometimes, my trainer joins me
and we do up to six/seven hours a day for a
week, especially at the beginning of the season
or during the summer break. I have a room at
home dedicated to training solely.
OFF TRACK Obviously my training takes up
a lot of time, and I spend long hours with my
engineers. Even when I’m not with the team, I
communicate with them every day either by
Skype, over the phone or by email. Then, there’s
not so much time for many hobbies. I have a lot
of interviews with Venezuelan media. I also need
to organise things from one race to the next. And
that’s without talking about the normal life stuff
like the bank, the post office… When I do find
some free time, I like to go to the sea and do
some water sports.
Jolyon Palmer
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No,
it’s SuperPalmer slicing his way
through the field from last on the
grid to P8 on Saturday. Our Series
leader then went on to win on
Sunday from reverse pole. Totally
unsinkable and looking mighty
unbeatable for this year’s crown.
Stoffel
Vandoorne
He was denied the win in Spa
and it stung. Stoffel thus came
to Monza with a mission: to get
pole and win, and that’s exactly
what he did. With 164 points in the
drivers’ standings, the McLaren
protégé lies in third place.
Arthur Pic
Following a pointless round in
Belgium, the rookie from Campos
was back in fine form in Italy:
quickest in free practice, P2 in
qualifying and second in the
feature race, Arthur struggled a
bit more with pace on Sunday, but
still grabbed another two points.
Simon Trummer
The Rapax driver qualified in a
superb fifth place, but a disastrous
getaway in the feature race meant
that all his hard work was blown
to smithereens. Onwards and
upwards!
Trident
A tough weekend for the Italian
squad at the Autodromo di Monza:
title hopeful Johnny Cecotto could
only score 1 point from P23 on
the grid on Saturday. Teammate
Sergio Canamasas received a
black flag on Sunday. Trident
will be fighting for champagne in
Russia next month.
STATS TO CHAT
A DAY IN THE LIFE
STATS FROM MONZA
41
8
Gap between
Jolyon Palmer
and Felipe Nasr
in the drivers’
standings.
Rookie Marco
Sørensen led
Saturday’s race
for 8 laps.
GP2
29
12
Number of points
scored in Italy by
Stoffel Vandoorne.
That’s the most points
anyone has scored.
Number
of podium
finishes by
DAMS in 2014.
PIERRE
GASLY
Lovers On The Sun
(feat. Sam Martin)
David Guetta
NAME THAT RACE
#NTRGP2
MIND BOGGLE
Recognise these
helmet designs?
Name the drivers.
06
I wake up, see the time and go back to
sleep !
06:00 ............................................................................................................................................................................................
How many
drivers snatched
a pole position
in the 2008 GP2
Series season?
#GP2TRIVIA
SATURDAY
(09) SEPTEMBER
ZONE
Enter the zone to accept the challenge! Answer our trivia questions, work out which
3 drivers’ helmet designs we’ve mixed up and name that race from the photo. Got it?
Tweet away!
GP2 trivia
Stéphane Richelm
Driver #8 DAM i,
S
Hamilton back
on top in Monza
Lewis
Hamilton
got
his
championship challenge back
on track after a tremendous win from
pole at Monza, taking advantage of a
mistake by teammate Nico Rosberg
during the race to claim the lead and run
away for the victory. The win was set up
in qualifying, when the Briton claimed
his first pole since Spain: although a
poor getaway pushed Hamilton back
to P4, he fought his way back to be in
position to capitalise when Rosberg
ran long at the first chicane, ceding the
lead to his teammate and reducing the
championship lead to 22 points.
Driver 1?
1
2
3
Driver 2?
Driver 3?
#GP2MINDBOGGLE
Proper wake-up (even if the alarm was
OUR GRADUATES IN F1
Sergio Pérez put in a superb
performance to claim 7th despite race
long battles with rivals in arguably better
cars, reminding everyone in the process
of the ability that has prompted links to
top teams all throughout his career. The
Mexican qualified 10th, 3 spots ahead
of teammate Nico Hülkenberg, and
fought his way up all race long, while
the German suffered with his tyres
in qualifying and picked the reverse
strategy to his teammate for the race,
which saw him struggle home in 12th
position after being mugged for much
of the race due to being on the wrong
compound.
Over at Lotus Romain Grosjean
suffered with car problems in practice
and qualifying, where a single run saw
him line up a spot behind teammate
Pastor Maldonado in P17, while a
gearbox issue in the race saw him
limp home in P16: the Venezuelan
had better luck with his car for once,
and drove an incredible (if unheralded)
drive to finish in P14. Esteban Gutiérrez
looked to be having better luck for once
too, qualifying in P15, but picked up a
penalty after hitting Grosjean during
the race and finished P20.
Kamui Kobayashi, reinstalled in the
Caterham after a race on the sidelines,
won the battle with Marussia in Monza
by qualifying in 18th, one spot ahead
of Jules Bianchi and another ahead of
Max Chilton, before staying ahead of
Bianchi all race long to finish 17th, one
ahead of the Frenchman, while the
Briton failed to finish after crashing at
the second chicane: Marcus Ericsson
started from the pits after picking up
a penalty for not heeding yellow flags
in practice, but fought back to finish
behind Bianchi.
set at 9.30)
09:15 ............................................................................................................................................................................................
I have a small breakfast with my manager,
my father and some friends who came for
the weekend.
09:45 ............................................................................................................................................................................................
After a little pleasant traffic jam, we
arrive at the track.
10:45 ............................................................................................................................................................................................
Start the pre-race work (I talk with the
engineers and study last year’s data).
11:00 ............................................................................................................................................................................................
Strategy meeting (It should have started
at 11.30 but Jo is late…again :-))
12:00 ............................................................................................................................................................................................
I go to the famous F1 Game Zone with only
Italian speaking guys. It’s cool!
12:45 ............................................................................................................................................................................................
I go for a light lunch because it’s already
too late for proper digestion! ;)
13:45 ............................................................................................................................................................................................
I start watching the F1 quali in our truck
and at the same time I study the last
important things I need to know to make a
good race.
14:00 ............................................................................................................................................................................................
I get changed before Q3.
14:45 ............................................................................................................................................................................................
A final kiss to my girlfriend who arrived
this morning.
15:00 ............................................................................................................................................................................................
Racing time!
15:15 ............................................................................................................................................................................................
Debriefing sheet and with my engineer.
17:00 ............................................................................................................................................................................................
A quick chat with my friends who came to
support me.
17:45 ............................................................................................................................................................................................
I watch our race on Sport+.
18:00 ............................................................................................................................................................................................
Meeting with my engineer to talk about
tomorrow’s race.
19:00 ............................................................................................................................................................................................
I leave the track.
19:30 ............................................................................................................................................................................................
I meet with my friends who just bought
some stuff after their luggage were
stolen in their car!
20:00 ............................................................................................................................................................................................
I have a much needed shower.
20:15 ............................................................................................................................................................................................
We finally find a restaurant.
21:00 ............................................................................................................................................................................................
In bed. I watch my idol Roger Federer lose
in the semi-Final of the US Open.
23:15 ............................................................................................................................................................................................
I fall asleep next to my lovely girlfriend.
00:00 ............................................................................................................................................................................................
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#yoursay
Stoffel Vandoorne @svandoorne
YEAH! 3rd win of the season. Awesome
job by everyone @ARTGP and solid
points for the championship!
Mitch Evans @mitchevans_
3rd today Monza podium is always
special. Few tweaks to try make my girl a
bit faster. Thanks @RTGP2official
Pirelli comes home to Monza
Jolyon Palmer @JolyonPalmer
What a weekend! Winning today after
starting last yesterday feels incredible.
Great job from @damsracing to bounce
back.
@teamrussiantime
@dinozamparelli
Karun Chandhok @karunchandhok
Well done to @JolyonPalmer - would
certainly deserve the title this season if
he does end up winning it. @GP2_Official
Pirelli has been based there for a little
less time than that: since Giovanni
Battista Pirelli founded the company in
1872. But the Italian tyre maker’s head
office moved to its present site, in the
Bicocca district of Milan, in 1907.
@ArdenMotorsport
@GP2_Official Race 2: @NegraoAndre
p5, Rene dnf. Another 6points for
Andre. That’s it for Europe races. Next
destination: @SochiAutodrom !
Juan Pablo Montoya @jpmontoya
@marco_sorensen
@patric_niederhauser
En camino a monza a acompañar a
@JulianLealC este fin de semana a la
carrera de GP2.
Dean Stoneman @TheDeanStoneman
Great day today. Really enjoyed my battle
with @alexlynnracing
@MartinHaven
Just too many racing moves to count...
Audacious passes attempted (and mostly
pulled off) everywhere... @GP3_Official
#magicalMonza
@julianlealc
@johnybm
@M0TGN
The company’s buildings were housed
within the ‘Pirelli Citadel’ off Viale Sarca,
shaped like an ancient fortress, which
can still be seen today. By the end of the
1930s, the factory had reached its peak
in size and by 1950 there were more
than 12,000 employees. It was a real
village, which even had its own railway
line to transport products between the
warehouses.
On 26 April 1985, work began on “Project
Bicocca”: the old factory buildings were
pulled down and a new cutting-edge
research and development headquarters
was created. A total of 20 architects from
countries as far afield as Japan and the
USA contributed to the project, once more
giving Pirelli a stunning home.
Not all of the old buildings were destroyed
though: the iconic 46-metre high cooling
tower was incorporated into Pirelli’s main
headquarters building and now hosts
meeting rooms and offices: a spectacular
centrepiece symbolizing Pirelli’s past
meeting its high-octane present.
Pirelli’s competition tyres were previously
made in Italy as well, but motorsport
New methods of tyre manufacture production was shifted over to Turkey in
meant that a cooling tower was needed, 2007, at the famous ‘factory of champions’
as Pirelli built an on-site power station in Izmit, Turkey.
in 1957. And so an enormous cooling These days, the GP2 tyres are now made
tower soon emerged, which became a in a new state-of-the-art facility that was
powerful symbol of Pirelli’s industrial recently opened by Pirelli in Slatina,
presence in Milan, supplying tyres for all Romania. But the GP2 tyres are still
of Italy and beyond.
designed in Milan, in the shadow of Monza.
Option (Medium) > Prime (Hard)
@CallumRowe_
Well that was something special. Thanks
to Stoneman, Lynn, Bernstorff and others
we just witnessed the race of the season
#GP3
@caterhamgp2
@matheotu12
Abt Medium (used) 6 laps • Hard (new) 12 laps* DNF
Canamasas Medium (used) 6 laps • Hard (new) 24 laps
Quaife-Hobbs Medium (used) 7 laps • Hard (new) 23 laps
Lancaster Medium (used) 9 laps • Hard (new) 21 laps
Negrão Medium (used) 10 laps • Hard (used) 20 laps
Gasly Medium (used) 10 laps • Hard (new) 20 laps
Richelmi Medium (used) 11 laps • Hard (new) 19 laps
Nasr Medium (used) 11 laps • Hard (new) 19 laps
M Vandoorne Medium (used) 12 laps • Hard (used) 18 laps
Leal Medium (used) 12 laps • Hard (new) 18 laps
Pic Medium (used) 13 laps) • Hard (used) 17 laps
Evans Medium (used) 13 laps • Hard (used) 17 laps
Markelov Medium (used) 13 laps • Hard (used) 16 laps
Trummer Medium (used) 15 laps • Hard (used) 15 laps
SOCHI
RUSSIA
Sochi Autodrom
A fire in 1962 destroyed a large proportion
of the factory, and with the onset of
automation, new factories were opened
that were more suited to modern production
techniques. Throughout the 1970s and
1980s the factory declined, so it was clear
that drastic action was needed.
MONZA GP2 Feature Race Pit Stop Recap
WOW WOW WOW… That @GP3 was an
epic race. Supreme race craft. Great way
to start a Sunday Well done
@TheDeanStoneman #GP3
CLICK HERE to access
GP2 Paddock
For Pirelli, GP2 came home last
weekend – as the Monza circuit is
located just half an hour’s drive away
from the company’s global headquarters
in Milan. Many drivers and spectators
base themselves in the city for the race
weekend, enjoying the elegance and
style that has characterised Lombardy’s
capital for centuries.
OCTOBER,
10-11-12
De Jong Medium (used) 1 lap* DNF
Sato Medium (used) 1 lap* DNF
Izawa Medium (used) 1 lap* DNF
Prime (Hard) > Option (Medium)
Berthon Hard (new) 16 laps • Medium (used) 14 laps
Coletti Hard (new) 18 laps • Medium (used) 12 laps
Campana Hard (used) 18 laps • Medium (used) 12 laps
Cecotto Hard (new) 19 laps • Medium (used) 11 laps
Sørensen Hard (new) 20 laps • Medium (used) 10 laps
Palmer Hard (new) 20 laps • Medium (used) 10 laps
Haryanto Hard (new) 20 laps • Medium (used) 10 laps
Binder Hard (new) 20 laps • Medium (used) 10 laps
5.853 km
18
17
19
16
14
12
13
15
1
11
3
4
10
2
9
8
5
7
6
RACE 1 30 LAPS > 175.590 KM
RACE 2 21 LAPS > 122.913 KM
RACE 1 15 LAPS > 87.795 KM
RACE 2 15 LAPS > 87.795 KM
GP2 Series> Prime Medium
> Option Soft
CHOICE GP3 Series> Medium
TYRES When Saturday September, 06 _ 16:36
WhereAutodromo Nazionale Monza,
Monza, Italy
Who Stoffel Vandoorne . ART Grand Prix
Whom Sam Bloxham
With Canon EOS-1D X
EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM
400 ISO • 75mm
1/500 @ F10.0
CLICK HERE FOR MORE
GP2 SERIES™ PHOTOS
When Sunday September, 07 _ 10:01
Whom Sam Bloxham
WhereAutodromo Nazionale Monza,
With Canon EOS-1D X
Monza, Italy
EF600mm f/4L IS USM
Who Alex Lynn . Carlin
160 ISO • 600mm
1/640 @ F4.0
Dean Stoneman . Marussia Manor Racing
CLICK HERE FOR MORE
GP3 SERIES™ PHOTOS
ROUND 7
What’s
UP! PICK YOUR LID
From today, we will upload one photo per
racer showcasing their helmet design on our
official Instagram accounts:
http://instagram.com/GP2_Official
and
http://instagram.com/GP3_Official
2014
CLASSIFICATIONS
AFTER
To vote, just “like” the photo of your favourite
helmet design and see if others agree with
your choice. Only “likes” on our official
Instagram accounts will be taken into
consideration. Reposts and “likes” on other
people’s pages will not count towards the
overall results on the competition – so please
be careful.
ROUND 7/9
DRIVERS’ STANDINGS
1. Alex Lynn Rookie
2M 1M 173
2. Richie Stanaway
1M 1M 123
3. Jimmy Eriksson
2M 115
4. Emil Bernstorff Rookie 1M 111
5. Marvin Kirchhöfer Rookie 1M 107
6. Nick Yelloly 102 7. Dino Zamparelli 101
8. Dean Stoneman
1M 2M 95
9. Jann Mardenborough Rookie 1M 61
10. Patric Niederhauser 1M 37
11. Mathéo Tuscher Rookie
29
12. Robert Vișiou 22
13. Patrick Kujala 22
14. Alex Fontana 20
15. Riccardo Agostini Rookie 18
16. Pål Varhaug 11
17. Roman de Beer Rookie 8
18. Luís Sá Silva 6
19. Kevin Ceccon 4 20. Luca Ghiotto Rookie 4
21. Nelson Mason Rookie 0 22. Alfonso Celis Jr Rookie 0
23. Adderly Fong 0
24. Santiago Urrutia Rookie 0
25. Ryan Cullen Rookie 0
26. Mitchell Gilbert Rookie 0
27. Beitske Visser Rookie 0
28. Carmen Jordá 0 29. John Bryant-Meisner Rookie 0
30. Victor Carbone Rookie 0
31. Sebastian Balthasar Rookie 0
32. Nikolay Martsenko Rookie 0
33. Ivan Taranov Rookie 0
34. Denis Nagulin Rookie 0
35. Christopher Höher Rookie 0
NC Konstantin Tereshchenko Rookie
.
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TEAMS’ STANDINGS
1. Carlin
2M 2M
2. ART Grand Prix
1M
3. Status Grand Prix
1M 1M
4. Arden International 2M
5. Marussia Manor Racing 1M 2M
6. Koiranen GP
2M
7. Jenzer Motorsport
8. Hilmer Motorsport
9. Trident
290
228
225
120
117
115
44
18
12 CLICK HERE FOR
COMPLETE RESULTS
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The 2014 GP2 and GP3 Prize Giving
Ceremony will take place in Abu Dhabi on
Sunday 23rd November and we need you –
our best and most loyal fans to help choose
the winners of two awards. We will present
a trophy to the winning driver for the Best
Helmet Design in each Series – as chosen
solely by you!
Hot LAP
ROUND 7
RACE 1 REPORTS CLICK HERE
And if you want to make sure your favourite
wins, feel free to promote the competition
by directing your peeps to our Instagram
accounts. All official photos will be tagged with
the hashtag #GP2Helmet or #GP3Helmet.
RACE 2 REPORTS CLICK HERE
NOTHING BUT THE BITS
#Thriller
An epic GP3 race weekend in Italy –
what a fight we saw in Race 2 – we love
you Monza!
#ChampagneOnIce
Two rounds to go and Alex Lynn has a
50 points lead over Stanaway – will he
become champion in Sochi?
#Respect
A titanic tussle between Stoneman &
Lynn for honours on Sunday: clean, fun,
fair and with total trust. Awesome!
#TheGrin
Kevin Ceccon kept the home fans
happy after a great drive to P6 from
twelfth on the grid in Race 2.
TRAINING I used to train at Pro Performance
– a speciality training place nearly ever day
for 3-4 hours a week. I went to a fitness camp
back home in Australia recently, it’s another
level out there. It made me realise I will need
to push my fitness to another level again.
I’m quite heavy for a driver, nearly 80kg with
all my kit on. I was spending hours on an
exercise bike with heaters on and wearing
lots of layers. I do a lot of circuits and cardio.
As soon as I use weights, I get big. I haven’t
touched a weight for years.
HEROES I have two: David Beckham and
Ken Block. Beckham because of what he’s
done for himself with “Brand Beckham.” It’s
another level and you can’t teach that. He was
an amazing footballer but not the best yet he
is still the one everyone speaks about. It’s the
same with Ken Block. He’s not the greatest
rally driver on earth either but his videos and
PR are amazing. I think it’s very important in
the modern sporting world now. How many
drivers have a good brand? I think focusing
WEEK
Jimmy Eriksson
Jimmy Eriksson returned to form
and top scored this weekend
with 30 points. The Super
Swede converted pole into a
commanding victory in Race 1
to move up to third place in the
Drivers’ Standings.
Dean Stoneman
The Marussia Manor Racing
star delivered his third win of
the season and what a victory it
was! A fantastic duel with Alex
Lynn saw Stoneman come out
on top and bag 25 points for his
weekend’s work.
The competition will close on Friday 17th
November 2014 with the results revealed
during the Series Award ceremony – may the
best lid win!
Marvin Kirchhöfer
MITCHELL
GILBERT
In the beginning My Dad wasn’t a racing
driver or anything but he loved cars and one
day he said did I fancy a go and I thought why
not. I was 7 years old and it sounded great.
It grew from there and for my Dad to see me
race was like his dream. I got hooked after a
few years and I knew I wanted to make it to
Formula 1 one day.
GOOD
The smiley German grabbed two
rostrum finishes in Monza. The
ART Grand Prix rookie sits pretty
in P5 in the standings with two
rounds to go.
Status Grand Prix
on that is as important as finding the funding
so teams keep you not only because they
want you, but because they need you.
RACE DAY ROUTINE I always get into the
car from the same side: the left. I always twist
my Hans post before getting in the car as
one time it was stuck and it’s not the safest
thing so I always do that. My Mum comes with
me to all races, I always say to her “See you
afterwards” and she always says “Yes see
you afterwards.” I shower before I drive too
as we spend so much time waiting around.
I read in Andre Agassi’s book that he always
did that before a match and it makes me feel
awesome after a shower and like my whole
day has just begun.
OFF TRACK I love sports, it’s a very Australian
thing. All of my family love sports, my Dad
tried to push each one of us into becoming a
professional. I love to play football, tennis and
squash or even running. I’ve been living just
with my Mum for the past year and it’s nice
just to hang out at home with her too.
More trophies for
Evans and Coletti
2012 GP3 Series Champion Mitch Evans
pocketed another podium after a strong
drive in the GP2 Feature Race saw him
cross the line in third. Unfortunately, the
Kiwi wasn’t so lucky on Sunday after
contact saw him retire from the race.
Stefano Coletti also grabbed some welldeserved silverware in the Sprint Race after
carving his way through the field from ninth
to second with a superb drive. Evans and
Coletti hold fifth and sixth in the standings
with two rounds remaining.
WHERE ARE
THEY NOW?
2011 GP3 title winner Valtteri Bottas made a great
comeback drive after dropping to 11th at the start,
the Finn ending the day P4 and up to fourth in the
Drivers’ Championship. Reigning GP3 champion
Daniil Kvyat drove a remarkable race after starting
from last on the grid after an engine penalty: the
Russian ended his race in P11 and was unlucky
to suffer a brake problem on the penultimate lap
which cost him the chance of taking the final point
on offer. After making it into Q2, Gutierrez’s woes
returned after a clash with Grosjean meant the
Mexican limped home in 20th.
A poor weekend by their high
standards saw them score just 9
points and drop down a place in
the Teams’ Standings. Reliability
woes cost Stanaway; however
the green and black squad will
fight back in Russia.
Arden International
After three successful rounds
of late, the British squad had
a nightmare weekend scoring
zero points. Visoiu was set for a
podium until he was penalised.
Expect Arden to be back
amongst the front-runners in
Sochi.
BAD
WEEK
Stats FROM MONZA
4
15
ART Grand Prix have
the most fastest laps
this season.
The number of
positions made up
by Pål Varhaug in
Sunday’s race.
7
16
STATS
TO CHAT
Luís Sá Silva’s best result in
his GP3 career in Race 2.
The number of
drivers covered by
just one second in
Monza qualifying.
GP3 GAME ZONE
GP3 trivia
NAME THAT RACE
Which current
GP3 driver has
recorded the most
podium finishers in
their career so far?
#GP3TRIVIA
RYAN
CULLEN
#NTRGP3
SHAKE YO HELMET
Lovers On The Sun
(feat. Sam Martin)
David Guetta
#20 PÅL VARHAUG
#21 Mathéo tuscher
#22 kevin ceccon
mathéo I had the white
KEVIN The orange pattern is
PÅL
This is the design I
helmet when I started karting the main design and this is the part
had from when I first painted
– and the first one I bought
my helmet when I started
I like the most as it’s not a normal
had the arrows pattern at
karting. I looked at designs on
orange. I made this helmet for the
the top. I then made my own
the internet and used parts
F1 test I had with Toro Rosso in
design and I wanted to keep
I thought were cool. I picked
2011. I put “KC” at the top for my
the arrows. I took some ideas
yellow as the main colour as
initials and #5 as it was the car
from the internet. I designed
it’s easy to recognise me plus
number I chose back in 2011 when
some stars to add on too
it also matched the karting
I raced in Auto GP. It was also the
brand I raced with. I have kept amongst the orange, blue and year of 150 years of Italy so I have
white. I also have the Swiss
the top design the same but
the Italian flag on there to celebrate
let my designer to be creative flag on there and my name in the anniversary. I want to make the
and revamp the design a little a written scrawl to be different. blue brighter and make the Italian
On the back of my helmet it
each time to make it look
flag smaller and put beside my
says “Eat My Shorts” which is
cooler. For my next helmet I
name. As this helmet is my face
want something more simple what Bart Simpson says and I
when I’m racing I wanted some
but also more rough.
happy bright colours.
think it’s cool.