Sakhir, Bahrain – April 6 2008. After a 100 per
cent points-scoring record in the first six GP2 Asia races
of the year, Fairuz Fauzy encountered a double dose of
bad luck at the Bahrain International Circuit failing to
finish both races.
Despite a strong qualifying performance, a puncture and
engine failure dropped the Malaysian out of a points-scoring
position in the Feature Race, while he was unlucky to lose
his front wing in an opening lap incident in Sunday morning’s
Sprint Race.
Despite not finishing both races, Fairuz’s consistent
scoring in GP2 Asia ensures he still holds a good chance
of finishing runner-up in the championship overall as the
series heads to its season finale in Dubai next weekend.
For the second event in succession, GP2 Asia supported
Formula 1 and at the opening race in Bahrain, Fairuz was
set for a points finish. After a promising dash from the
lights to the first corner, the Super Nova driver retained
sixth place, but ahead of him Marco Bonanomi and Luca Filippi
collided sending bits of carbon fibre and gravel back into
the path of the cars running behind them.
With the safety car deployed to clear up the mess, Fairuz
dived into the pits to make his mandatory pit-stop. Most
of the rest of the field followed suit and his speedy Super
Nova crew enable him to leapfrog up two positions during
the stops.
“Then at the restart I noticed that something started
to feel funny at the rear of the car,” says Fairuz. “I
carried on but then it became clear that I had a right
rear puncture. As a result I couldn’t keep any cars
behind me and I ran wide at the last corner.”
Fairuz came into the pits for a tyre change, but he slipped
down to the tail of the field. Because the incident came
in the early stages of the race, the team felt it was still
worth circulating to try and take advantage of others’ misfortune.
But 24 laps into the race the engine failed on the Super
Nova machine and he ground to a halt.
“That is racing, but I suppose it’s better
to have an engine problem and retire on the same day that
I get my first ever puncture,” adds the 25-year-old. “The
team are going to analyse the problems, as we think the
tyre damage was caused by the accident ahead of me on the
opening lap.”
In the second GP2 Asia race of the weekend Fairuz avoided
the mayhem on the opening corner, but halfway round the
lap encountered a car going very slowly ahead of him.
“
I got to Turn Nine and it was crazy with cars going all
over the place. One braked in front of me and it was impossible
to react quickly enough,” says Fairuz. “That
broke my front wing, cut my tyre and it was then impossible
to continue after that.”
Next weekend GP2 Asia moves to Dubai and with just six
points covering positions second to sixth in the title
race, Fairuz has every chance to finish in the runners-up
place.
He says: “Everyone at the team is going to push hard,
as the gap is so close. At the end of the day we need to
keep our head down and focus to go forward. I never had
a retirement in this series until here, so we need to come
back and be strong.”
Results
GP2 Asia Series, Bahrain, Feature Race:
1 Romain Grosjean, ART Grand Prix, 34 laps in 1h 04.3.530s
2 Sébastien Buemi, Trust Team Arden +12.030s
3 Kamui Kobayashi, Dams, +19.148s
DNF Fairuz Fauzy, Super Nova Racing, +10 laps
Sprint Race
1 Kamui Kobayashi, Dams, 23 laps in 40m 59.270s
2 Sébastien Buemi, Trust Team Arden, +0.861s
3 Vitaly Petrov, Barwa Team Campos, +6.526s
Points
1 Grosjean 48
2 Petrov 28
3 Buemi 24
4 Fauzy 23
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