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| July 17, 2012 |
| Renault 3.5: Top-Five and Valuable Points for Rossi in Russia |
 | Alexander Rossi earned a valuable top-five finish in the first-ever Formula Renault 3.5 Series visit to Russia
(Photo: Renault) |
RUSSIA (July 16, 2012) - An eventful weekend in Moscow ended with a positive result for Alexander Rossi of Arden Caterham at the first round of the Renault 3.5 Series to be held in Russia.
Bad luck dominated Saturday's results for the American driver, with red flags interrupting what could have been a potentially successful qualifying session, and a last lap incident on the final corner seeing Rossi finish 17th, despite running P8 for most of race one.
On Sunday Rossi's luck turned, and while high qualifying positions still remained elusive, he drove a fantastic race to rise from P11 to P5, bringing home 10 valuable points for the team and ending the weekend in Russia on a high.
"Friday started off on a good note in FP1 where I was running high up early on, and for FP2 we continued to develop the car in a positive direction. As it's such a new circuit the grip evolution was very high so we used the practice sessions to work on setup options that would allow us to take advantage of that evolution.
"The times we ran on Friday gave us reason to be positive about qualifying, but unfortunately a red flag on my quickest lap meant I had to abort that run. I had been as high as fifth before that lap, but the red flag meant I didn't get another lap in and started 11th. In the first race I had made my way up to 8th, but again encountered a bit more bad luck when I was hit on the final lap and finally finished where I'd started in 11th.
"For race two I again started in P11 after qualifying and then fcused on ending the weekend with as strong a race performance as possible. I managed to avoid the mess on the first lap and after a solid race ended in P5 which is very positive for the whole team.
"I want to thank everyone in Arden Caterham for doing such a fantastic job on the pitstops and for making exactly the right call on strategy. Finishing fifth is a good reward and puts the team on a high as we head towards a break of just over a month until the next race. We'll keep working as hard as ever in the time between races and make sure we come back and tackle the second half of the season in a very positive manner."
"Friday free practice was good, added Julian Rouse, Sporting Director Arden Caterham. "Obviously we were learning a new circuit, but we were strong in both sessions and it was probably our most successful Friday so far this season, running within the top eight with both cars for the majority of the time.
"Saturday's qualifying was looking equally competitive for us. We were happy with the setup of the car and felt we made a reasonable step forward after the Nurburgring rounds, but Alexander was particularly unlucky during the session when a red flag meant we had to abort his best lap. Despite that we knew he was much quicker than his qualifying time suggested and he proved that in the race, moving up to eighth after overtaking several cars. His bad luck then struck again and contact on the final lap pushed him back to 11th.
"Moving to Sunday, qualifying was disappointing as we couldn't get the car working quite as well as we wanted to. We made a few changes to the car for the race and it seemed to work for Alexander as he did a great job to push through the field and finish the weekend fifth.
"That's a good way to conclude our first weekend in Russia. The mechanics performed very well in the stops and it looks like we've made good progress on strategy and setups. All in all this has been a positive race weekend for the whole team and I'm happy we ended in such a strong position."
Rossi's 2012 Partners include Caterham F1 Team, AirAsia, Alaska Coffee Roasting, CS&A, SunCore, Read Racing, FIA Institute Young Driver's Excellence Program, InterVision, Astech Consulting, Kial James Design, National Breast Cancer Foundation, Leader's Choice Insurance, Meyers Investment Group, North Miami Travel, Century Equipment Company, AlpineStars, McSweeney and Associates
From 147 formula car starts, the 20 year-old Rossi has 38 wins, 64 podiums, 33 poles and a current win percentage of 25.85% He is the 2012 Caterham F1 Team Official Test Driver. In Rossi was third Overall and the rookie champion in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series, as well as part of the AirAsia Team Lotus Driver Development Program and a FIA Institute Young Driver Excellence Academy member. With ART Grand Prix he was fourth in the 2010 GP3 Series. In 2009, Rossi took part BMW Sauber F1 Testing, earning his F1 Superlicense Qualifications. He also raced in GP2 Asia with Meritus Racing and Ocean Racing, finishing ninth with three Top-fives. Rossi was additionally the International Formula Master Championship rookie champion with ISR Racing, finishing fourth overall. In 2008, Rossi was the Formula BMW World Champion, and Formula BMW Americas champion with 10 wins.
Follow Alexander Rossi on Twitter @alexanderrossi and on Alexander Rossi Official Facebook
Arden Caterham Motorsport formed in 2012 to compete in the FR 3.5 World Series by Renault Championship. This joint venture by Arden International and the Caterham Group builds on the successes of the Arden GP2, Arden GP3 teams and Caterham Racing GP2 team. Learn more at Twitter @ArdenCaterham and http://www.arden-motorsport.com
Rossi is this year competing in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series in the World Series by Renault for the Arden Caterham Motorsport team. 26 drivers are competing in 17 races at iconic circuits including Spa-Francorchamps and Monza, and new venues in the calendar such as the Moscow Raceway. The series is widely regarded as a stepping series into Formula One with drivers including Fernando Alonso, Robert Kubica and Sebastian Vettel all having competed in the series.
The FIA Institute Young Driver Excellence Academy is a project to develop young driver talent worldwide. It offers a fully-funded training program that helps drivers develop their motor sport careers, whilst increasing safety skills and actively promoting the principles of safety, fairness and responsibility on and off the track.
In its first year the Academy has selected 12 drivers to take part, with at least one driver chosen from each of the following five regions: North, Central and South America; Western and Northern Europe; Central and Eastern Europe; Middle East and Africa; Asia and Oceania.
The Academy program is fully funded by the FIA Foundation, and managed by the FIA Institute, as part of the Motor Sport Safety Development Fund's Young Driver Safety Program.
The FIA Institute is an international not-for-profit organization that develops and improves motor sport safety and sustainability. It leads projects that encourage the rapid development of new and improved safety technologies, that facilitate higher standards of education and training, and that raise awareness of safety and sustainability issues. It also promotes excellence and achievement in all areas of motor sport. |
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