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Neel
Jani starts in the top 10!
The most spectacular meeting of the GP2 calendar is taking place
this weekend at the legendary city circuit of
Monte Carlo. Racing Engineering is looking forward to participating
in what drivers as well as teams regard
already as one of the season’s most exciting races.
Racing Engineering’s Swiss driver, Neel Jani has achieved the
ninth position on the starting grid for the race, which is to be
held tomorrow in the streets of the small principality. Once more
the young Red Bull backed driver delivered a profound
performance, although he was unlucky in finding a gap on the track
where other cars wouldn’t disturb him during his flying
laps. Being content with the car itself, Neel is confident and hopes
to get a top position in tomorrow’s race. This aim doesn’t
seem to be out of reach given his experience, but there is a high
risk of touching the barriers and finishing the race early on
this track. The convincing performance Neel delivered during the
previous race meetings, scoring in three out of four races,
allows us to be optimistic.
 Borja
Garcia’s Friday results obviously have to be looked at from
a different perspective. While his teammate, Neel, already knew
how to maneuver a racecar through the streets of Monte Carlo, for
the young Spaniard everything was completely new.
Monaco isn’t a racetrack like all the others. It is important
to know the little ins and outs to obtain a top 10 lap time. Borja
knew that it was important to take advantage of the 30 minute free
practice session so as to get to know the track as quick as possible
so as to be ready for the qualifying session. Borja didn’t
take unnecessary risks and aimed at bringing the car back in perfect
conditions. However, the Spaniard marked the fastest lap times from
the drivers that hadn’t driven on this particular track. Borja
will start the race from 14th, a difficult position, but could finish
scoring points.
At the end of the two Friday sessions, Neel Jani commented, “In
the first session everything went well until I came into the pits
in
first position. Rejoining the track I hit a lot of traffic and didn’t
even get a flying lap. During the qualifying I wasn’t able
to get
everything out of my first set of tyres. When I came into the pits
to pick up a new set of tyres, I lost a lot of time due to a problem
with my gearbox. Once this was solved, I rejoined qualifying but
only had one fast lap due to Pla’s accident and the yellow
flags
out for the rest of the session”.
Borja Garcia on the other hand mentioned, “This is a very special
weekend and from the very beginning my aim was to
gain experience, get to know the track and not get into an accident.
I can just say that after this morning I am satisfied as
nothing contrary has occurred”.
Alfonso de Orleans-Borbon, team principal, declared, “I am
satisfied. Our goal was to get a good starting position for Neel
in
the race as he already knows the track and Borja needed to gain
as much experience as possible. In this respect both
drivers have fulfilled their duties and we are looking forward to
tomorrow’s race. If we everything goes as planned, we should
have both drivers in the points. Neel on the podium? Why not? Everything
is possible on a track like this one”.
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