Raec Report

GP3 SERIES

Circuit: Abu Dhabi (UAE), Length 5.554 km, 2^nd/3^rd November 2013, Rounds 15 & 16
www.yasmarinacircuit.com

JENZER MOTORSPORT 2013:
Samin Gomez (VEN), Patric Niederhauser (CH) and Alex Fontana (CH)

Top ten place for Fontana at Abu Dhabi

After a long break of eight weeks since the last round at Monza in September, the eighth and final round of the season was held in the spectacular setting of the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, the series making its maiden voyage outside Europe. The championship had yet to be decided and exciting racing was expected. 26 drivers had entered the event and to put the icing on the cake, Race 1 was held under floodlights as GP3 had its first ever night race.

Race One Qualifying

Saturday, 02/11/13, 10.00 – 10.30, Weather: Sunny, 32°C

The only free practice session was run on Friday at midday in blistering heat. Patric showed with his 5^th place that a very good result could very well be possible, while Alex was 13^th and Samin was 24^th.
On Saturday morning the sun was still shining and temperatures had already risen above 30°C. Patric was now also setting very good lap times although he had a lot of traffic to cope with. Despite being blocked, he claimed a very good 8^th place for race one. Alex also started well, but was not able to improve later, which meant 16^th place for him while Samin drove very well and was classified 23^rd, ahead of the other women drivers Alice Powell and Carmen Jorda. That made her the fastest lady in the field, although it didn’t really help her because a penalty awarded after the 2nd race at Monza meant that she would be starting from the back row.

GP3 Series

Race One (30 Minutes)

Saturday, 02/11/13, 18.35, Weather: Night race, 30°C

Night had fallen, and the floodlights illuminated the track, giving the whole scene a very special atmosphere. The temperature had maybe fallen a few degrees since there was no bright sunshine anymore, but it was nevertheless still very hot. The start was chaotic, with Korjus stalling. The rest of the field was able to get past him safely, but then everybody started trying to make up places. Patric got away well and was quickly past Korjus, getting up to 4^th, though there was a lot of pressure from behind. Jorda was stranded with a damaged car in a dangerous position and the Safety Car was deployed for two laps. At the restart Daly piled on the pressure and eventually made it past Patric in what was a fast paced race, with everyone fighting fiercely to get to the front. Sainz was next to launch an attack on Patric. He attempted to get past on the outside, but there really wasn’t enough space, and the result was a collision that damaged Patric’s rear suspension. He went straight off and his race ended prematurely. Sainz was able to continue but was later excluded from the results for causing an avoidable collision, an apt punishment though it really didn’t help Patric at all. Alex made a good start and at the restart was able to hold position. He defended his place in the hard fought midfield battle and only gave in to Korjus on the very last lap, crossing the finishing line in a good 14^th place. Samin started well too and managed to avoid all the incidents safely. After the restart she drove over some debris from the last incident and needed to pit to get the car checked. One of her tyres needed to be changed before she could rejoin the race. She set some very good lap times but was unable to improve her position after that and was classified 23^rd. After the exclusion of Sainz, Alex and Samin were both promoted one place up the order.
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.

GP3 Series

Race Two (30 Minutes)

Sunday, 03/11/13, 12.00, Weather: Sunny, 35°C

The last race of the season was run in the fiercest heat of the day. The start went well, and there were no major incidents. However, almost immediately there were several changes as Patric managed to move up from 24^th to 18^th place, while Samin stayed 22^nd and Alex improved to 12^th. Alex was fighting with Visoiu, and they changed positions a few times. Because this race didn’t have a Safety Car phase in which to cool the tyres a bit, how well a driver could manage the tyres was vitally important. From around the middle of the race it was clear that several drivers were running into trouble. Kujala fell way back, and Alex was now able to keep Visoiu behind him, which netted him a beautiful 10^th place, which he was able to defend until the end of the race. Patric managed to overtake Regalia and Sa Silva, and came home in a good 15^th place. Samin was fighting hard for positions, but had to give in to Powell and lost a place, then on the very last lap she was late on the brakes and had a collision with Cullen, but was still able to cross the finishing line in 23^th.

The cars will only arrive back in Europe around the middle of December so the official GP3 winter test days will be held here in Abu Dhabi. They will take place in the coming week, on 5^th, 6^th and 7^th November 2013, the 2013 season coming to a close after that.

Meisterschafts-Endstand nach 16 Rennen:

1^st Daniil Kvyat (RUS), 168 points; 2^nd Facu Regalia (ARG), 138 points; 3^rd Conor Daly (USA), 126 points; 4^th Tio Ellinas (CYP), 116 points; 5^th Jack Harvey (GB), 114 points; 6^th Nick Yelloly (GB), 107 points; 6^th Kevin Korjus (EST), 107 points; 13^th Patric Niederhauser (CH), 33 points; 17^th Alex Fontana (CH), 18 points

2013 GP3 Series

For more information:

• www.gp3series.com
• www.italiaracing.net