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Race Report

Formula 1 Ing Magyar Nagydij Grand Prix 2017
GP3 SERIES

Circuit: Hungaroring (HU), Length 4,381 km, 15th/16th July 2017, Rounds 7 & 8
www.hungaroring.hu

JENZER MOTORSPORT 2017:
Alessio Lorandi (I) and Arjun Maini (IND)

 

Lorandi Within Reach of Podium at Budapest

The GP3 Series met up for their fourth race event on the fluid and demanding Hungaroring Circuit near Budapest, racing as one of the support races for the Formula 1 ING Magyar Nagydij 2017. The temperature was high, and the drivers faced major challenges in terms of tyre management and track limit observation.

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Race One Qualifying

Saturday, 29/07/17, 09.45 – 10.15, Weather: Sunny, 24°C

The free practice session took place on Friday evening and saw Arjun finish in an excellent 5th place, and Alessio, who was on a different tyre strategy, was placed in 17th.

The qualifying session on Saturday morning was held in optimal conditions. A very exciting battle for positions began, and our drivers were doing well, but then a technical defect in Arjun’s engine interfered with his progress, and he stopped on track. This happened a few minutes before the end of the session, just when everybody was improving their lap times. The session was not restarted, the remaining time was not run, and that meant Arjun was lucky to be classified in 13th. Alessio, who had just started his fastest lap and had to abandon it, was in a good 9th given the circumstances.

Race One Grid
1st Jack Aitken (GB) ART 1:31.754
2nd George Russel (GB) ART 1:31.936
3rd Nirei Fukuzumi (JPN) ART 1:32.009
9th Alessio Lorandi (I) Jenzer Motorsport 1:32.701
13th Arjun Maini (IND) Jenzer Motorsport 1:32.880

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GP3 Series

Race One (40 Minutes)

Saturday, 29/07/17, 17.20, Weather: Sunny, 28°C

Race one was run in blazing temperatures, and Russell hit problems during the green flag lap, and then stalled at the start. Arjun was another who didn't get far and was stranded out on track after the first corner, his race at a premature end. After the race it was found that his clutch had burned out. Then there was an incident involving Calderon, who also had to retire, causing the immediate deployment of the Safety Car. At the restart there was a problem with Schothorst, and so the Virtual Safety Car was deployed. After the track was cleared, the race began anew and the DRS was finally enabled. Joerg snatched the place from Alessio, but it didn't take Alessio long to win it back again. Now Alessio was up to 6th place and a very determined drive saw him steadily reduce the gap to Alesi. He didn’t hesistate to overtake, and then repeated the feat with Boccolacci shortly after, closing the gap, finding the DRS distance, making the best of it and overtaking in a spectacular move that put him 4th. The race was close to the end now and so Alessio crossed the finish line proudly in an excellent 4th place.

The grid for the second race of the weekend was set by reversing the order of the first eight finishers in the first race, with the rest of the places set according to finishing order in the first race.

Results Race One
1st Jack Aitken (GB) ART 40:20.435  
2nd Nirei Fukuzumi (JPN) ART Gap 4.489
3rd Anthoine Hubert (F) ART Gap 8.946
4th Alessio Lorandi (I) Jenzer Motorsport    
DNF: Arjun Maini (IND) Jenzer Motorsport    
Fastest lap: Jack Aitken (GB) in 1:34.440

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Race Two Grid
1st Ryan Tveter (USA) Trident  
2nd Kevin Joerg (CH) Trident  
3rd Giuliano Alesi (F) Trident  
5th Alessio Lorandi (I) Jenzer Motorsport  
18th Arjun Maini (IND) Jenzer Motorsport  

 

GP3 Series

Race Two (30 Minutes)

Sunday, 30/07/17, 09.15, Weather: Sunny, 25°C

Alessio started well and immediately gained a place to go up to 4th, and on lap two he recorded the fastest lap of the race, clearly showing his determination, but he might just have been pushing too hard too soon. He ran wide and went over the kerbs a few times, and on lap seven he paid the price for it; he'd picked up a puncture and he had to retire from the race. This was a shame because another podium position was within his reach. After failing to finish in Race One Arjun had to start Race Two from the back of the grid. He drove well and managed to avoid numerous incidents around him during the race, steadily moving up the order. Arjun took the chequered flag after an exiting race in a good 9th place. Some penalties were handed out after the race, which promoted Arjun to 8th and meant he claimed the last available point.

 

We are now looking forward to the next race at Spa-Francorchamps (B), which is on the program on the weekend of 27th August 2017.

Results Race Two
1st Giuliano Alesi (F) Trident 29:05.379  
2nd Ryan Tveter (USA) Trident Gap 0.620
3rd Kevin Joerg (CH) Trident Gap 2.416
8th Arjun Maini (IND) Jenzer Motorsport    
DNF: Alessio Lorandi (I) Jenzer Motorsport    
Fastest lap: George Russell (GB) in 1:33.715

 

Championship standings after 6 out of 16 races:

1st George Russell (GB), 92 points; 2nd Jack Aitken (GB), 83 points; 3rd Anthoine Hubert (F), 78 points; 4th Nirei Fukuzumi (JPN), 72 points; 5th Giuliano Alesi (F), 66 points; 6th Alessio Lorandi (I), 63 points; 8th Arjun Maini (IND), 37 points

 

2017 GP3 Series

11th/14th May 2017 Formula 1 Gran Premio de Espana Catalunya (E)
6th/9th July 2017 Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix RedBull Ring (A)
13th/16th July 2017 Formula 1 British Grand Prix Silverstone (GB)
27th/30th July 2017 Formula 1 Ing Magyar Nagydij Hungaroring (HU)
24th/27th August 2017 Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix Spa-Francorchamps (B)
31st Aug/3rd September 2017 Formula 1 Gran Premio d’Italia Monza (I)
5th/8th October Stand alone event with FIA F2 Jerez de la Frontera (E)
23rd/26th November 2017 Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Abu Dhabi (UEA)

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