Damage limitation the key for Razia in Hockenheim Sprint race

Luiz Razia

Photo by: GP2 Media Service

Razia ran wheel to wheel with Giedo van der Garde (Caterham) through Turn One, the pair duelling for second place, but then lost a couple of positions after being forced wide over the kerbs. The Brazilian then touched another kerb at the hairpin, as he tried to avoid a knot of cars ahead, and spun around into the path of the oncoming traffic. Nobody hit him, but team-mate Simon Trummer ran into one of the cars that stopped to miss Razia: the Swiss subsequently ahead had to pit for a new front wing.

The race was briefly neutralised while a couple of stranded cars were removed from the circuit and Razia commenced a strong recovery drive that carried him from 22nd to 12th. Trummer was unable to make quite such brisk progress and finished 19th after his stop.

Luiz Razia comments:

“Overall this has been a difficult weekend and I never really found a good balance for the changeable conditions. I made a fairly poor start today, then slipped up at the hairpin and from there it was obvious that I was unlikely to score points. There are some positives, though, because we’ve learned lessons during the past few days and will be able to capitalise on those in future races. I’m definitely looking forward to next weekend. Budapest is a great circuit. I had pole there last year and will be looking to go into the August break on a positive note.”

Simon Trummer comments:

“I probably made my best start of the season this morning, but didn’t really profit because of the first-lap hairpin incident that damaged my front wing. I managed to recover one place after my stop, but then had to follow a busy midfield train and was unable to show my true pace. I have been pretty quick this weekend when circumstances allowed, so I’m hoping things will be a little more straightforward in Hungary. I certainly feel as though i’m improving with each passing race – and that’s the main thing.”

Source: Arden Motorsport