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Esteban achieves the podium in Bahrain

April 21, 2012

Esteban achieves the podium in Bahrain
Sakhir, Bahrain - An impressive last lap saw Esteban Gutierrez make an overtake move for third place to reach the podium on the Feature race at the Bahrain International Circuit.
 
Lotus GP’s driver finished the first race of the weekend in 59:44.643, adding 15 points to his tally and placing himself third in the GP2 Series Championship standings with 33 points.

Esteban Gutiérrez
Lotus GP / Car # 10 / Telmex / Telcel / Multigama / Fastenal / Vector Casa de Bolsa / Interproteccion / DeAcero / Total Health Nutrients / Sundisc Abrasives / Milwaukee / Alpinestars / Bell Helmets
 
“It was really very exciting, despite having to come from behind after we lost six seconds in the pit stop, it was a big challenge to gain positions back in the second stint.
 
“During the first laps I was trying to save my tires in the best way possible, but I was not able to keep close to Davide Valsecchi and then my race was further affected because I had to pit too early and that had a consequence later on”, explained the driver.
 
Apart from having been forced to pit earlier, there was a problem with one of Esteban’s tires during the pit stop, losing him more time and race positions. When the Mexican left the pits he was tenth and climbed back to reach the podium.
 
“There was a problem with the wheel nut and we lost a lot of time; such things happen, it cannot be perfect but we definitely have to improve on this aspect; we are going to try and be more consistent because the little details have a great impact.
 
“Losing six seconds in a closely fought race of a very competitive series like this has a great impact on the performance but we are going to try and move forward improving on those aspects to become even more competitive than what we are now”, he added.
 
Little by little, Gutierrez climbed up and had an intense race with British driver Max Chilton from whom he took third place in the last lap of the race.
 
“It was very exciting; for me it was very important to read his driving style and see how he protected his position, I had to decide where I was going to overtake him to leave no place for doubts and that is what I did on the final moments of the race, it was a very exciting moment.
 
“Then again I could not let myself get carried away by my emotions; it was a great experience and a great practice where overtaking was so intense that it made the difference between reaching the podium or not; it was part of our strategy and in the end things turned out as planned”, he remarked.
 
Gutierrez said that it will be critical to make a good start on the sprint race at Bahrain, where he will start from sixth on the grid.
 
“Tomorrow’s race will be difficult and a big challenge. We have to make a good start, gain positions at the beginning and save our tires to try to take advantage of those benefits for the final laps”, he said.

DAMS´ driver Davide Valsecchi won the race with a total time of 59 minutes and 31.115 seconds, followed by Brazilian driver Luiz Razia, who finished in 59:38.885. 

Race 3 Complete Results:

POS / NO / DRIVER / NAT / ENTRANT / LAPS / TIME

1 3 D. VALSECCHI ITA DAMS 32 59:31.115
2 23 L. RAZIA BRA Arden International 32 59:38.885
3 10 E. GUTIERREZ MEX Lotus GP 32 59:44.643
4 26 M. CHILTON GBR Carlin 32 59:45.203
5 9 J. CALADO GBR Lotus GP 32 59:47.393
6 21 T. DILLMANN FRA Rapax 32 59:47.674
7 5 F. LEIMER SUI Racing Engineering 32 59:48.358
8 15 F. ONIDI ITA Scuderia Coloni 32 59:59.224
9 27 R. HARYANTO INA Carlin 32 1:00:03.961
10 24 B. HARTLEY NZL Ocean Racing Technology 32 1:00:07.208
11 16 S. RICHELMI MON Trident Racing 32 1:00:08.492
12 17 J. LEAL COL Trident Racing 32 1:00:09.792
13 7 M. ERICSSON SWE iSport International 32 1:00:11.742
14 18 F. CRESTANI ITA Venezuela GP Lazarus 32 1:00:12.124
15 11 R. GONZALEZ VEN Caterham Racing 32 1:00:15.143
16 22 S. TRUMMER SUI Arden International 32 1:00:15.667
17 20 R. TEIXEIRA POR Rapax 32 1:00:18.891
18 19 G. SERENELLI VEN Venezuela GP Lazarus 32 1:00:23.579
19 2 D. CLOS ESP Barwa Addax Team 30 56:46.414
20 25 N. MELKER NED Ocean Racing Technology 30 57:24.250
21 6 N. BERTHON FRA Racing Engineering 29 55:39.158
NOT CLASSIFIED
1 J. CECOTTO VEN Barwa Addax Team 16 29:17.172
4 F. NASR BRA DAMS 16 29:17.404
12 G. VAN DER GARDE NED Caterham Racing 16 29:56.391
14 S. COLETTI MON Scuderia Coloni 2 3:44.769
8 J. PALMER GBR iSport International 0
FASTEST LAP
3 D. VALSECCHI ITA DAMS 1:44.380

Itinerary:

SUNDAY, APR. 22

Race 4 - (23 laps o 45 mins)

02h50 (CT Mexico)
08h50 (UTC/GMT +1 hrs, London)
10h50 (AST Manama)

 


GP2 Series 2012 Calendar :

Date Place Race
Mar. 23-25
Apr. 20-22
Apr. 26-28
May 11-13
May 24-26
Jun. 22-24
Jul. 6-8
Jul. 20-22
Jul. 27-29
Ago. 31 - Sep. 2
Sep. 7-9
Sep. 21-23		 Sepang, Malaysia 
Sakhir, Bahrain 
Sakhir, Bahrain (No F1) 
Barcelona, Spain 
Montecarlo, Monaco 
Valencia, Spain 
Silverstone, England 
Hockenheim, Germany 
Budapest, Hungary 
Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium 
Monza, Italy 
Singapour, Singapour		 1 y 2 
3 y 4 
5 y 6 
7 y 8 
9 y 10 
11 y 12 
13 y 14 
15 y 16 
17 y 18 
19 y 20 
21 y 22 
23 y 24

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

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For more information about Esteban Gutierrez, the Lotus ART Team, the GP2 Series, or his sponsors Multigama, Telcel, Telmex, Fastenal, Vector Casa de Bolsa, Interproteccion, DeAcero,  Total Health Nutrients, Sundisc Abrasives, Milwaukee, Alpinestars and Bell, you can visit their official websites:  www.estebanracing.com, www.art-grandprix.com, www.gp2series.com, www.escuderiatelmex.com, www.telcel.com, www.fastenal.com, www.vector.com.mx, 
www.interproteccion.com.mx, www.deacero.com, www.totalhealthnutrients.com, www.sundiscabrasives.com, 
www.milwaukeetool.com, www.alpinestars.com, www.bellsports.com