Italy’s Marco Bonanomi and Portugal’s Alvaro Parente and finished eighth and 13th in this afternoon’s 23-lap race in the GP2 Asia Series, last race of the 2008-2009 season.
They started in 14th and 21st respectively on a very hot 36 degrees track. They made it through the first corner accident involving Roldan Rodriguez, Karun Chandock, Davide Valsecchi, Rodolfo Gonzales and Pastor Maldonado to be placed ninth and 15th after the first lap.
That incident brought the safety car in for a lap. After the ten first laps Parente had gained two positions and was running in 13th with a regular pace of 1.47.949.
Parente said: “I am quite disappointed to leave the season having scored only one point for the team at their home Grand Prix three weeks ago.
"I enjoyed very much racing for My Qi-Meritus.Mahara. I liked their dedication and the warmth of the Questnet fans. This race went well, but was not long enough. I started from 21st and finished eight positions higher.
"Giacomo Ricci made it difficult in the last lap. At the start, I was a bit careful to avoid the first corner incident. Then later I pushed and gained more places during the race. There was not much else we could do to improve, but I did set good laps in 1.48.432.
"A good end of the season with MY Qi-Meritus.Mahara. It is always hard to come in the middle of a season and try to resolve the small and big problems. The atmosphere in the team is very professional and that saved the season. "
Bonanomi said: “I was inside and did not get involved in the first lap incident, but close to! I am glad that the safety car after the accident did not destroy the pace of our race. After avoiding the first corner accident everything worked well.
"The car showed good potential. In the last laps of the race, I was able to go for one place and finish the race in 8th . Unfortunately this position does not bring points in Race 2!
"I came in late this year. Sorry I have not attended all races. I hope to be with the team next season to maximise the potential and I want to thank all for the wonderful work we did together."
Peter Thompson, team founder, said: “It is a very positive way to end. The season is over now and I would like to thank the team, the engineers, the mechanics, the drivers and our sponsor QuestNet for their efforts. We scored one podium in the season.
"This shows the potential of the team and we cannot wait for a third season to start in Abu Dhabi, the last race of the season for F1.”
Raad S. Abduljawad, Team Chairman, My Qi-Meritus.Mahara commented: “Marco Bonanomi and Alvaro Parente did a good job, but the second season is always the hardest. We had positive additions and good feedback in the second half. Now we have to sit-down and see how we can target forces for a third year together.”
