Strong Sunday in Singapore gives Daniel Abt reason for
hope
 Convincing performance in sprint race on Sunday
 Disqualification deprives Abt of well-deserved points
 13th place after recovery in main race on Saturday
Kempten (22 September 2013). A brilliant drive but no points scored.
Daniel Abt’s GP2 season is marked by a string of misfortune. The driver
from Kempten is leaving yet another event, the tenth race weekend at
Singapore, empty-handed. 13th place and a disqualification are the
frustrating results.
Right in qualifying, which had been held at night, Daniel Abt, as had
frequently been the case at previous events this season, encountered
technical problems. He was only able to drive one fast lap before having
to park his 612-hp Dallara-Mecachrome of the ART team with battery
failure: grid position 17. “It seems like there’s a jinx on it,” said Abt. “But
the track is really good fun. In the race, we’ll be moving forwards.”
No sooner said than done! In the main race on Saturday Abt was able to
strictly concentrate on what he likes best: driving races. The defect devil
did not strike against him. The highlight of the race was a duel with
Johnny Cecotto that saw Abt as the winner: 13th place on finishing.
The sprint race on Sunday initially took a positive course for the 2012
GP3 overall runner-up. From grid position 13 Daniel Abt advanced one
position after the other on the Marina Bay Street Circuit, was running in
sixth place some of the time and one of the quickest drivers in the field.
But then he received a drive-through penalty for being too fast in a
section that was under yellow flags. “That was my mistake. I didn’t
reduce my speed enough,” said Abt. To top things off, he was informed
of the penalty too late due to communication problems with his team.
When he was about to sit the penalty, he was disqualified with a black
flag.
The GP2 Series is taking a break. The grand season finale will only be
held in six weeks from now (1–3 November) at the Yas Marina Circuit in
the United Arab Emirates. Abt: “The second race in Singapore gives me
reason to hope. Maybe I’ll be able to score some points after all.”
Contact: Mark Schneider; mobile: +49-172/4115378; e-mail: [email protected]