Back to: News01 Nov 09
Vietoris claims maiden GP2 victory at Abu Dhabi !
Christian Vietoris led from start to finish in Sunday's GP2 Asia sprint race held at Abu Dhabi, the German ace already clinching his first victory in the winter series.
The runner-up F3 Euro Series champion crossed the chequered flag in front of Saturday's feature race winner Davide Valsecchi.
Vietoris had qualified 14th for the opening round of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix curtain raiser on the massively impressive new Yas Marina circuit, and finished Saturday's race in 6th position. On Sunday, the Gravity driver stormed off the grid from 3rd, passing polesitter Oliver Turvey into the first corner to take a commanding lead. But a safety car period enabled Kral, Rossi and Valsecchi to line up behind the DAMS contender. On the restart, Vietoris easily stayed in control, preserving his lead all the way to the finish.
"Well it was a pretty eventful first GP2 race weekend. Things didn’t start very well as we struggled in free practice and still a bit in qualifying. Fortunately, we improved the car for yesterday and that put me 6th at the finish. Today's race was a matter of staying in control and preserving my lead. Nevertheless, there's still alot to learn and I need more experience in the car and more knowledge on how to use the tyres better. Obviously, GP2 is even more competitive than F3 for a rookie. But to start this series with a win is a real confidence booster. Now I'm looking forward to the next round and I think we can definitely go for another win. We still have a lot of work to do, but DAMS is a very good team and I am sure that we can do great things again together."
