Portugal's Alvaro Parente earned Malaysian team My Qi Meritus.Mahara a point in today's GP2 Asia Series when he set the fastest lap in the second race at Sepang International Circuit. His teammate, Marco Bonanomi, who started 21st on the grid after failing to finish yesterday's race, worked his way up to 14th in the 26-car field.
Parente earned My Qi-Meritus.Mahara team a point after setting the fastest lap of 2:03.508 on lap 20. Only the top eight drivers earn points in the race but the organisers reward any driver inside the top 10 an extra point if they set the quickest lap. Parente and Bonanomi were the quickest drivers in Doha and Dubai previously, but as they finished the race outside the top 10, they did not earn the bonus point.
Today's success in earning a point means My Qi Meritus.Mahara now have nine points with two more races to go and remain eighth in the standings
.
The the start of the race had been delayed by 30 minutes because of torrential rain that fell just as the cars were lining up on the grid. After the four first laps were run behind the safety car in a flood of surface water, Parente was running seventh and and Bonanomi 19th, but lap-by-lap the track began to dry out.
Parente said: "I am very pleased to have scored a point for the team at their home Grand Prix. I was a bit careful behind the safety car because there was so much water on the track at the start. I tried to pass Yelmer Buurman but we lost a bit of time as Kobayashi and Gonzalez went by, and as we touched wheels and I lost pace and fell back to ninth. It seemed such a short race! It felt as if the engine was not running cleanly until the last laps, due to all the water. There was not much we could do to improve, but I did set fastest lap in 2.03.693s."
Bonanomi said: "In the first laps, my car felt almost undriveable in the terrible conditions, but it felt better as the track dried and I had none of the problems I encountered yesterday. Even though this is a wide track, it was not easy to overtake here in the wet, and it was a tough race. By the end of lap 12 I had climbed up to 15th, and then 14th by lap 17. That's where I finished. I hope to build on this for the last round in Bahrain."
Meritus team founder, Peter Thompson, said: "I am very pleased that the team scored a point in their home race. It is good to come back with the fastest lap for Alvare, and Marco climbed from 21st to finish 14th. All this shows the potential of the team for the last race in Bahrain in a few weeks time. The team maintains its high level of motivation thanks to the incredible support of 7,000 fans at the circuit who were invited by sponsor QuestNet."
Contacts for press enquiries
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email: acarlier@capp.ch
For Malaysian Media -
Dhinnesh Kumaran
tel: +60193827962
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About QI Ltd
QI Ltd, a multinational conglomerate with
regional offices in Malaysia, Hong Kong, and
Singapore, was established in 1998 to spearhead
the development of a dynamic group of companies.
The rapidly expanding QI Group of Companies'
business portfolio covers retailing, travel and
leisure to interactive marketing, technology,
financial services, corporate investments,
training and education, business consulting and
logistics. The QI Group, through its subsidiaries
and associate companies, has a presence in nearly
30 countries, including an operational
headquarters in Malaysia, a marketing and product
development team in Thailand and a
telecommunications arm in the United Kingdom. The
QI Group has over 1,000 employees, and a global
customer base of more than three million spread
across 160 countries. For more information,
please visit http://www.qi-ltd.com/.
About QuestNet
QuestNet is the "proud sponsor of My
Qi-Meritus.Mahara in the 2009 GP2 Asia Series"
and flagship business of Qi Ltd. It is a leading
network marketing company serving almost four
million entrepreneurs across the globe. Through
its industry leading marketing services, QuestNet
is a distributor of wellness products, limited
edition coins and medallions, watches and
jewellery, holiday memberships, and technology
products. QuestNet is supported by an extensive
network of representative offices and associate
companies in Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong,
Indonesia, the Philippines, South Korea,
Thailand, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates, India and
Brazil. Find out more at www.quest.net.
About The V
V Global Management Sdn Bhd (The V) is an
international marketing, training events, network
management and development company focussed on
providing quality training to a growing number of
global entrepreneurs. The V is headquartered in
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with offices and V
Training Centres (VTCs) in Philippines, India and
Canada. Its subsidiaries include V- Studios
(Production Company), GITA (Training Academy) and
PR World Wide Live (Events Company). The V is a
member of the QI Group of Companies. For more
information, please visit http://www.the-v.net/.
