Race Report

2015 Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
GP3 SERIES

Circuit: Abu Dhabi (UAE), Length 5.554 km, 28^th/29^th November 2015, Rounds 17 + 18
www.yasmarinacircuit.com

JENZER MOTORSPORT 2015:
Pal Varhaug (NOR), Mathéo Tuscher (CH) and Ralph Boschung (CH)

Final point for Varhaug in Abu Dhabi

Just one week after the last round in Bahrain (BRN), the ninth and final round of the season was held in the spectacular setting of the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, on the same bill as F1 as usual. The championship had yet to be decided and exciting racing was scheduled. 24 drivers entered the event.

Race One Qualifying

Friday, 27/11/15, 10.00 – 10.45, Weather: Sunny, 27°C

Free practice took place on Friday morning and everybody was keen to show one last time what they were capable of. All our three drivers were placed in the top ten: Ralph was 7^th, Pal was 9^th and Mathéo 10^th. The goal was to carry this excellent team performance through to the rest of the event.
The qualifying session took place in the heat of the day, a mere 2.5 hours after the end of free practice. Lap times were very tight, with 17 drivers within a second of the pole position time. Our drivers reached the following positions: Pal was 11^th, Mathéo was 13^th and Ralph was just behind him in 14^th.

GP3 Series

Race One (40 Minutes)

Saturday, 28/11/15, 12.25, Weather: Sunny, 27°C

Considering that the championship was not yet decided, it promised to be an exciting race. However, there was tyre management to be done, and everybody had to be careful if they wanted to finish the long race of the weekend. However all that seemed to be forgotten at the start which was hectic, with Pal returned in 11^th at the end of the first lap, Ralph in 13^th and Mathéo 15^th. The Safety Car had to be deployed for a short time to enable Fong’s car to be moved out of the way. At the restart Janosz snatched 11^th rom Pal, and Morris got ahead of Mathéo. Later in the race the Virtual Safety Car had to be deployed for a while when Ceccon’s car was stranded out on track. The last few laps proved unspectacular with next to no position changes. Pal took the chequered flag in 11^th, with Ralph right behind him in 12^th and Mathéo finished the race in 16^th. Ocon, who crossed the finishing line as the winner, was given a 5-second time penalty, which moved him back into 4^th position and which handed victory to Kirchhofer.

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 the finishing order in the first race.

GP3 Series

Race Two (30 Minutes)

Sunday, 29/11/15, 13.00, Weather: Sunny, 28°C

The final deciding race of the season started in the main heat of the day. Despite some heated action at the start and some interesting manoeuvres, the massive field made it through the first lap without any major incidents. Pal worked his way forward to 9^th, Ralph was 12^th and Mathéo 15^th. Later Parry fell off, which moved all our drivers up the order. Pal managed to keep up with Kirchhofer and had a strong race for which he was rewarded with an excellent 8^th place, collecting the last available point of the season as a result. Ralph closed the gap to Isaakyan and was quickly able to pass him in a clever move. That put him 10^th, which he held unchallenged until the very last lap when Ceccon launched an attack. He had been able to save his tyres after dropping out of the race yesterday. In one of the very last corners Ceccon managed to overtake Ralph which left Ralph to cross the finish line in a good 11^th place. Mathéo was battling for positions with Fontana, Morris and Stuvik, and finally took the flag in 14^th.
The 2015 Championship title was handed to Esteban Ocon (F), who did a better job this weekend than Luca Ghiotto (I). Third place went to Marvin Kirchhofer (D).

That brought an exciting 2015 GP3 Series Season to an end.
Next week the team remains in Abu Dhabi where a number of new talents will get their chance to impress over the three official test days on 2^nd/3^rd/4^th December 2015.
Next year the series continues with a new generation car which will make the GP3 Series more interesting and important once again.
The rollout of the new car is planned to be complete by the end of February 2016.

Championship final standings after 18 races:

1^st Esteban Ocon (F), 253 points; 2^nd Luca Ghiotto (I), 245 points; 3^rd Marvin Kirchhofer (D), 200 points; 4^th Emil Bernstorff (GB), 194 points; 5^th Jimmy Eriksson (FIN), 118 points; 6^th Antonio Fuoco (I), 88 points; 11^th Ralph Boschung (CH), 28 points; 13^th Mathéo Tuscher (CH), 22 points; 19^th Pal Varhaug (NOR), 5 points

2015 GP3 Series

For more information:

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