03/04/09
MORTARA OPTIMISTIC FOR MALAYSIAN CHALLENGE
SEPANG (MAL) 2 APRIL 2009: Edoardo Mortara will take part in the
penultimate race weekend of the 2008/2009 GP2 Asia Series this weekend at
the Sepang International Circuit, on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia.
The fast and technical circuit, which made its debut in the GP2 Asia
Series in the inaugural 2007/2008 season, will be the first opportunity for
Edo to race at a GP2 event in front of the Formula 1 community.
Comprising 15 challenging corners and a combination of hairpins and fast,
tricky corners, it’s not just the circuit that provides a challenge. With
temperatures rarely out of the 40s, and thunderstorms a frequent feature of
the seasonal weather, both car and driver will be tested this weekend and
it should be a track that plays to Edo’s strengths.
Edo arrives in Malaysia in ninth position in the GP2 Asia standings, and
with 40 points still to play for in the two remaining race weekends, there
is still every chance to move up the classification at the end of what has
been a stunning debut in the championship.
EDOARDO MORTARA:
I think we have a good opportunity for a good result this weekend. I will
try my best to do some good things this weekend as Formula 1 is watching,
so basically the season starts now. I am focused on this race and I think
that if I can do a good job in free practice and qualifying it will be
possible to do a strong performance in the races. I am looking forward to
it.
Basically I have a better feeling at the moment with the Asia car than the
European version so when I’m racing in Asia I have bigger hopes for the
races. It will be my first time at the track but the configuration seems to
be pretty OK. But the temperature is so high that it will be a big problem
and for sure fitness will count. I’m pretty optimistic in this aspect
though because I’ve been training very hard.
The conditions will be the same for everybody. I’ve never driven the car
in wet conditions but in the past I have won in the rain. I think it will
be possible to be competitive also in the rain, and as I said it will be
the same for everybody so it’s up to you and the team to make the
difference.
ARDEN INTERNATIONAL PERFORMANCE ENGINEER - MARCUS DUDLEY:
The team was here last year so we’ve got various pieces of information we
can use to help with our set-up. There are two very long straights here
where you need to be quite quick and there are also some high speed corners
as well, with a few low speed turns thrown into the mix. Everywhere is
important. I am fairly new to the team, having moved over from the former
Honda F1 team, and Edo and I are settling in together very well. He’s an
easy guy to get on with and is very keen to pour over the data. The GP2 car
is very similar to an F1 car in many respects. It’s not quite as fast or
powerful and there’s not so much we can change on it as it is a spec car,
but it is reasonably similar. My job here is a mixture of improving both
car and driver performance - just anything that’s going to get us overall
performance.
