Photo by: XPB Images
The first of this weekend’s Monaco GP2 races might have been relatively straightforward, but the second was anything but. The event began dramatically, with pole-sitter Stéphane Richelmi (Trident) crashing out at the first corner, and continued in similar vein as several cars became embroiled in a multiple pile-up on the following straight. The safety car was deployed and the race didn’t resume until the end of lap four.
Arden team-mates Luiz Razia and Simon Trummer avoided the early carnage and had moved up from 15th and 12th to eighth and 10th by the time the field was released. Razia passed Nathaniel Berthon (Racing Engineering) within moments of the restart and then moved up to sixth when James Calado (Lotus) pitted to replace a damaged front wing. The Brazilian was unable to make any further progress, but netted bonus points for setting fastest lap at the race’s end.
Trummer remained a model of consistency, just as he was in race one, and went on to take ninth place after a faultless first race weekend in Monaco.
Luiz Razia comments:
“Good starts have been a constant this season and I made another today. I was lucky to avoid the big accident on the first lap, because I was quite close to Johnny Cecotto when he spun – and that’s what started the whole mess.
“I knuckled down to pass as many people as possible after the restart, but once I caught Rodolfo Gonzalez there was no way through. At that point I decided to save my tyres and push for bonus points with fastest lap. It looked as though Esteban Gutierrez was trying to do the same, but I beat him right at the end. Yesterday might have been a bit disappointing, but today has been very positive – this was a great way to bounce back.”
Simon Trummer comments:
“My target today was to make progress – and a flying start put me in good shape. Unfortunately, I then had to brake because of an accident at the first corner and that cost me one place. I had to back off again to avoid the big shunt, at which point Fabio Leimer passed me, but after the restart I was able to concentrate on running my own race. Gutierrez passed me, but overall I’m pleased with the way things have gone this weekend and it’s just a pity I wasn’t able to score any points.”
Be part of Motorsport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
F2 preview: Who will begin the new era on top?
Albon heads second day of Barcelona F2 test
McLaren junior Matsushita tops first day of F2 testing
Paul Ricard ELMS: Racing Engineering wins on series debut
Racing Engineering drops out as F2 names 2018 teams
Deletraz joins Racing Engineering for GP2 2017
Full-time IndyCar move “an option” says supersub Pourchaire
When Senna broke his F1 duck by walking on water
Josh Berry "not necessarily panicked" over tough 2024 season
Greg Biffle among new 2025 NASCAR Hall of Fame nominees
Why Alpine’s rigorous training camp yields telling insights into its juniors
Can F2's relaxed title favourite prove a point to Alpine?
Why F1's junior logjam isn't entirely a product of current issues
The brightest lights in F2's departing six-year warhorse
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments