Christian Vietoris admitted he was fortunate to finish first on his debut GP2 Asia race weekend at Yas Marina Circuit.
The German won the second race of the GP2 Asia series yesterday after finishing ahead of Saturday's winner Davide Valsecchi, but the iSport Italian driver displayed far greater speed throughout the 22-lap race. Josef Kral of the Czech Republic finished third.
Valsecchi, who won the first of the weekend's two GP2 Asia races, found himself eighth on the grid for yesterday's contest. In GP2 the eight fastest drivers in race one line up in reverse order on the grid for the following day's event. Despite his starting position, the Italian drove a remarkable race to finish only 2.447secs behind his DAMS rival.
Vietoris said he was happy to get off to a strong start, but conceded that Valsecchi would probably have finished first had he been able to escape the traffic he found himself embroiled in.
"The start was important," he said. "It was not perfect - I still have to work on it. We also have to work on our race pace. I didn't use the tyres very well. I think I need more experience in this car. I need to get used to how to use the tyres a little bit better, but in the end, it was a good weekend.
"I kept control of the race. It was a bit lucky that Valsecchi was stuck in traffic as he was much faster than me, but that's part of racing."
Vietoris was taking part in only his second race in GP2 after joining from Formula Three where he drove for Mücke Motorsport. In Saturday's race, the German finished sixth, 15.46secs off the lead and more than five seconds behind fifth-placed Kral.
"I am more confident," said Vietoris. "I'm quite happy with this result. [Saturday] was the first time I had a pit stop and the first time I have the clutch with the steering wheel. But now I'm looking forward to the next round. I think we can definitely go for the win in race one.
"We still have a lot of work to do, but DAMS is a very good team and I am sure that we can do great things together."
Valsecchi displayed some superb driving in his iSport GP205 - the same car that Formula One's Timo Glock drove to the GP2 Series title in 2007.
"The car was unbelievable," he said. "The driver's job is so much easier with that. If you are confident, and the car is brilliant, you can do just about anything. That's what happened today. It was perfect. iSport are a great team; sure they know how to make a great car, but also, they made me part of their family. That's special. And I had so much fun overtaking cars."
In all likelihood, had the race continued for one more lap, Valsecchi would have been celebrating his second victory in as many days. But the 22-year-old refused to discredit his opponent's performance.
"You know, you don't think about 'what if there had been one more lap?' There was no more lap and Vietoris completely deserved his win.
"He did a really good job and I am extremely satisfied with 19 points scored this weekend. It's fine that way."
gmeenaghan@thenational.ae
'Texas Chainsaw Massacre'
Rating: 1 out of 4
Running time: 81 minutes
Director: David Blue Garcia
Starring: Sarah Yarkin, Elsie Fisher, Mark Burnham
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
A Bad Moms Christmas
Dir: John Lucas and Scott Moore
Starring: Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell, Susan Sarandon, Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines
Two stars
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
SPECS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%201.5-litre%204-cylinder%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20101hp%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20135Nm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20Six-speed%20auto%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20From%20Dh79%2C900%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
RESULT
Bayern Munich 0 AC Milan 4
Milan: Kessie (14'), Cutrone (25', 43'), Calhanoglu (85')
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Where can I submit a sample?
Volunteers can now submit DNA samples at a number of centres across Abu Dhabi. The programme is open to all ages.
Collection centres in Abu Dhabi include:
- Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC)
- Biogenix Labs in Masdar City
- Al Towayya in Al Ain
- NMC Royal Hospital in Khalifa City
- Bareen International Hospital
- NMC Specialty Hospital, Al Ain
- NMC Royal Medical Centre - Abu Dhabi
- NMC Royal Women’s Hospital.
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
Last-16 Europa League fixtures
Wednesday (Kick-offs UAE)
FC Copenhagen (0) v Istanbul Basaksehir (1) 8.55pm
Shakhtar Donetsk (2) v Wolfsburg (1) 8.55pm
Inter Milan v Getafe (one leg only) 11pm
Manchester United (5) v LASK (0) 11pm
Thursday
Bayer Leverkusen (3) v Rangers (1) 8.55pm
Sevilla v Roma (one leg only) 8.55pm
FC Basel (3) v Eintracht Frankfurt (0) 11pm
Wolves (1) Olympiakos (1) 11pm
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5