Written by:
SPEED Staff
SPEEDtv.com
05/23/2009
Monte-Carlo (MC)
Monaco Grand Prix Photo Gallery HERE
Maldonado claimed his second career Monaco GP2 victory on Saturday (LAT)
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Provided by the GP2 Series press office
Pastor Maldonado has claimed another win for his glittering collection at Monaco as a result of leading the sprint race today when it was red flagged for an accident by Romain Grosjean, taking the top step on the podium ahead of Jerome d'Ambrosio and Nico Hülkenberg.
The Venezuelan didn't have it all his own way though: despite starting from pole he was handily beaten to Ste Devote by front row starter Karun Chandhok, who was in imperious form as he left the rest of the field in his smoke, while d'Ambrosio and Hülkenberg started their own race long battle for supremacy.
Further back Michael Herck took himself out of contention with an ill-advised move on Edoardo Mortara at the hairpin, after which the order of the race stayed fairly static as they accordioned around the fabled circuit.
Ocean Racing were looking to claim their first ever win with Chandhok easily in control of the race until the end of lap 20 when the Indian slowed across the line, heartbreakingly stopped with a suspected broken drive shaft, which handed the lead to Maldonado and prompted a safety car to compact the pack behind him.
Five laps later and Andreas Zuber was once again under pressure by Romain Grosjean, who jinked right but caught the Austrian's rear wheel and was sent barrelling into the barriers at Tabac, prompting another track visit for the safety car. With just two laps remaining and plenty of debris to clear, the race was red flagged soon after.
The upshot of which was another Monaco win for Maldonado, just ahead of d'Ambrosio and Hülkenberg, with Lucas di Grassi and Zuber in an improbably undamaged car just behind, while Vitaly Petrov picked up a point for sixth and another for fastest lap. The Russian closed his teammate's championship lead down to 13 points, with Grosjean on 31 and d'Ambrosio joining Petrov on 18 points.
Sprint Race Results
1 Pastor Maldonado (ART Grand Prix) 27 laps
2 Jerome D'Ambrosio (Dams) 1.505s
3 Nico Hulkenberg (ART Grand Prix) 3.545s
4 Lucas di Grassi (Fat Burner Racing Engineering) 4.480s
5 Andi Zuber (Fisichella Motor Sport) 6.494s
6 Vitaly Petrov (Barwa Addax Team) 9.349s
7 Davide Rigon (Trident Racing) 10.448s
8 Javier Villa (Super Nova Racing) 53.234s
9 Sergio Perez (Telmex Arden International) 56.237s
10 Luiz Razia (Fisichella Motor Sport) 57.770s
11 Giedo van der Garde (iSport International) 58.582s
12 Kamui Kobayashi (Dams) 59.696s
13 Edoardo Mortara (Telmex Arden International) 1:03.710
14 Diego Nunes (iSport International) 1:04.840
15 Nelson Panciatici (Durango) 1:07.681
16 Michael Herck (DPR) -1 lap
17 Romain Grosjean (Barwa Addax Team) Collision
18 Davide Valsecchi (Durango) -2 laps
Not classified:
Dani Clos (Fat Burner Racing Engineering) -4 laps
Alberto Valerio (Piquet GP) -4 laps
Luca Filippi (Super Nova Racing) -4 laps
Karun Chandhok (Ocean Racing Technology) -6 laps
Giacomo Ricci (DPR) -9 laps
Alvaro Parente (Ocean Racing Technology) -12 laps
Roldan Rodriguez (Piquet GP) -25 laps
Drivers' Championship
after 4 of 20 races
1 Grosjean 31
2 Petrov 18
3 D'Ambrosio 18
4 Maldonado 12
5 Mortara 10
6 Hulkenberg 8
7 Zuber 8
8 Di Grassi 8
9 van der Garde 5
10 Filippi 5
11 Kobayashi 3
12 Chandhok 2
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