01.11.09 TURVEY BEATS SNAG TO FINISH FOURTH Oliver Turvey had to settle for fourth place in today's GP2 reverse grid race in Abu Dhabi after an electronic glitch prevented him from capitalising on his pole position start. The RSF driver, with sights fixed firmly on a podium finish, floored the throttle when the lights went out only to bog down on the line and lose the momentum. Unfortunately for the GP2 rookie, by the time the recalcitrant engine's management system decided to dance to the tune of the throttle, he was down in fourth place with the Italian Luca Fillipi and team mate and race one winner Davide Valsecchi snapping at his heels. With the engine back on song, Turvey kept the chasing pair at bay until lap 14 when Valsecchi, having got by Fillipi on the long straight, swept around the outside to chase down the lead trio of Christian Vietoris, Josef Kral and Alexander Rossi. Following a brief spell behind the safety car, Valsecchi closed in on Rossi, quickly dispensing with the American after the restart, a move that Turvey was more than happy to repeat on the final lap to cross the line in fourth. "Obviously it's a bit disappointing to have pole and then lose places at the start but other than that the race was quite strong," Turvey said. "It turns out the problem at the start was down to the engine getting too hot and a sensor taking preventative action which deprived me of full throttle. "The good thing is my pace was a lot better than yesterday and I finished in the points again, so, under the circumstances it's not a bad way to end my first GP2 weekend. "Clearly qualifying didn't go as well as we hoped but I've been getting stronger and stronger as I've developed a better feeling for the car. So having learned a lot about the car and developed a good working relationship with iSport, I'm optimistic that we're going to get stronger still as the series progresses." << back to news