The Shanghai FSR weekend resulted in another WC win and a double podium in WS.
The World Series qualifying resulted in somewhat of a surprise as Cyril Werdmuller took his second pole position of career. Jack Keithley completed the Precision front row and Fred Gosling started in 8th.
In the race Keithley took an early lead, closely followed by Werdmuller. The positions were kept until the first pit stops, after which Keithley had unfortunate contact with a slower car, resulting in permanent damage. Despite this, the Briton fought well to keep the lead, whilst Werdmuller lost a couple of positions in the second stint.
After battling with a bent steering for the remaining race, a rare mistake from Keithley eventually gave the lead to Philipp Puschke. Werdmuller was able to clinch back a podium spot in the final stint, passing Ivar Kalamees in the closing stages of the race. Gosling finished 10th after an eventful race. The 2-3 finish, however, increased the lead of Precision in the constructors championship.
In World Championship qualifying no surprises were seen, as Morgand Morand and Bono Huis took the front row of the grid for the third time in a row. At the start, however, it was Huis with the better launch, as the reigning champion squeezed himself through into the lead in turn 1. Huis was able to increase his lead slowly but steadily, until a mistake from Morand saw the Frenchman drop back out of reach from the top battle.
The returning Jaakko Mikkonen was meanwhile having a solid race, as the Finn regained positions after the first pit stops to take the net third place. With the whole field executing the three-stop strategy, the race saw no further surprises, as Mikkonen was able to defend third place with ease.At the chequered flag, Huis finished a flawless race, finishing 21 seconds ahead of Morand in P2, also setting the fastest lap of the race. Mikkonen made an excellent comeback into the Precision seat by scoring a strong podium finish.
The result gave Precision back the lead in the constructors' championship, now 12 points ahead of the nearest team, with Huis continuing in the lead of the drivers championship. The next race will be carried out between the narrow streets of Monaco in 1 weeks' time.
Bono Huis commented:
"Qualifying went as expected, P2. I had a great start and passed Morgan into turn 1, and this time I kept the lead. I think Morgan was a bit faster the first few laps, but towards the end of the stint the gap kept increasing lap by lap. Morgan made quite a big mistake in the final corner and that gave me a 10 second lead, so from then on I took it easy to bring the car home. Nice win and looking forward to the next race, who knows which track."
Jaakko Mikkonen commented:
"Q2 was nice. Better than I expected. I was worried whether I even get through Q1.
At start I saw Morgan slowing little bit front of me middle of T1, I reacted for it and lost a position. Looking the replay now I was a bit overly cautious. Well, I guess it's sometimes better to be safe than sorry.
First stint was quite poor. Quali lap had shifted my tyre wear towards rear, which was enough to cause problems, with already tricky car. I didn't bother to fight with Jim and Rasmus too much. We had cars reasonably close behind and they would have caught us all easily. My plan was to survive first stint and fight properly after first stops.
It turned out guys on front decided to crash, which gave me one position, Jim's speeding on pitlane gave another.
After first stops I didn't have much action. Saxén caused little worry by being so close, but it turned out he was doing short second stint and dropped further back later.
Third place at the end is definitely something to be happy about."
Jack Keithley commented:
"Well another second place which really should have been a win as the car was clearly good enough, so thanks to the team for all their hard work.
After getting a great start the race went perfectly for me until the first stop by which time i had built a small lead. Unfortunately on Lap 13 i had contact with another car which damaged my suspension and made the car very difficult to control, especially during the final laps of the stints, which resulted in a spin which cost me the lead and ultimately the victory which was very disappointing.
However, the team prepared a really great car, and with myself and Cyril on the podium I have to be pleased with another strong points day."
Cyril Werdmuller commented:
"Finally a race without badluck!
I had a great Q2 hotlap which gave me pole position. Unfortunately I couldn't make use of my first place as Jack passed me after a very good start. My first stints weren't that strong as it supposed to be for some reason. I felt back to p4.
In the last stint I felt more comfortable which resulted in better laptimes. After my last pitstop i was really close to Ivar who just got passed me. A few turns later I could make a move and get control of that third place.
After a bad start this season I am really happy to get on the podium. It gets me even more motivated for the next race.
Congratulations to my teammate Jack Keithley for being 2nd and also big thanks to the team for all the effort on the setup.
Monaco here we come!"
Team Owner Johannes Kunkel commented:
"Another victory in the World Championship and two drivers on the podium in both the World Series and the World Championship is a very good result for us. In the World Series Jack and Cyril did a great job, unfortunately luck wasn´t on our side keeping Jack from finally taking his first victory. Jaakko showed a great race on his return to the World Championship for 2012 taking home his 3rd podium in a row in China and Bono could show the superior pace we were used to see in 2010 and 2011. We are finally getting closer to fully understand how this car works so hopefully we will see more of these performances throughout the year."
To follow the progress of the team during the season, make sure to join us on Facebook and Twitter.
Precision Motorsports Press
Official Press Release
written by John-Eric Saxen
www.precision-motorsports.de
The World Series qualifying resulted in somewhat of a surprise as Cyril Werdmuller took his second pole position of career. Jack Keithley completed the Precision front row and Fred Gosling started in 8th.
In the race Keithley took an early lead, closely followed by Werdmuller. The positions were kept until the first pit stops, after which Keithley had unfortunate contact with a slower car, resulting in permanent damage. Despite this, the Briton fought well to keep the lead, whilst Werdmuller lost a couple of positions in the second stint.
After battling with a bent steering for the remaining race, a rare mistake from Keithley eventually gave the lead to Philipp Puschke. Werdmuller was able to clinch back a podium spot in the final stint, passing Ivar Kalamees in the closing stages of the race. Gosling finished 10th after an eventful race. The 2-3 finish, however, increased the lead of Precision in the constructors championship.
In World Championship qualifying no surprises were seen, as Morgand Morand and Bono Huis took the front row of the grid for the third time in a row. At the start, however, it was Huis with the better launch, as the reigning champion squeezed himself through into the lead in turn 1. Huis was able to increase his lead slowly but steadily, until a mistake from Morand saw the Frenchman drop back out of reach from the top battle.
The returning Jaakko Mikkonen was meanwhile having a solid race, as the Finn regained positions after the first pit stops to take the net third place. With the whole field executing the three-stop strategy, the race saw no further surprises, as Mikkonen was able to defend third place with ease.At the chequered flag, Huis finished a flawless race, finishing 21 seconds ahead of Morand in P2, also setting the fastest lap of the race. Mikkonen made an excellent comeback into the Precision seat by scoring a strong podium finish.
The result gave Precision back the lead in the constructors' championship, now 12 points ahead of the nearest team, with Huis continuing in the lead of the drivers championship. The next race will be carried out between the narrow streets of Monaco in 1 weeks' time.
Bono Huis commented:
"Qualifying went as expected, P2. I had a great start and passed Morgan into turn 1, and this time I kept the lead. I think Morgan was a bit faster the first few laps, but towards the end of the stint the gap kept increasing lap by lap. Morgan made quite a big mistake in the final corner and that gave me a 10 second lead, so from then on I took it easy to bring the car home. Nice win and looking forward to the next race, who knows which track."
Jaakko Mikkonen commented:
"Q2 was nice. Better than I expected. I was worried whether I even get through Q1.
At start I saw Morgan slowing little bit front of me middle of T1, I reacted for it and lost a position. Looking the replay now I was a bit overly cautious. Well, I guess it's sometimes better to be safe than sorry.
First stint was quite poor. Quali lap had shifted my tyre wear towards rear, which was enough to cause problems, with already tricky car. I didn't bother to fight with Jim and Rasmus too much. We had cars reasonably close behind and they would have caught us all easily. My plan was to survive first stint and fight properly after first stops.
It turned out guys on front decided to crash, which gave me one position, Jim's speeding on pitlane gave another.
After first stops I didn't have much action. Saxén caused little worry by being so close, but it turned out he was doing short second stint and dropped further back later.
Third place at the end is definitely something to be happy about."
Jack Keithley commented:
"Well another second place which really should have been a win as the car was clearly good enough, so thanks to the team for all their hard work.
After getting a great start the race went perfectly for me until the first stop by which time i had built a small lead. Unfortunately on Lap 13 i had contact with another car which damaged my suspension and made the car very difficult to control, especially during the final laps of the stints, which resulted in a spin which cost me the lead and ultimately the victory which was very disappointing.
However, the team prepared a really great car, and with myself and Cyril on the podium I have to be pleased with another strong points day."
Cyril Werdmuller commented:
"Finally a race without badluck!
I had a great Q2 hotlap which gave me pole position. Unfortunately I couldn't make use of my first place as Jack passed me after a very good start. My first stints weren't that strong as it supposed to be for some reason. I felt back to p4.
In the last stint I felt more comfortable which resulted in better laptimes. After my last pitstop i was really close to Ivar who just got passed me. A few turns later I could make a move and get control of that third place.
After a bad start this season I am really happy to get on the podium. It gets me even more motivated for the next race.
Congratulations to my teammate Jack Keithley for being 2nd and also big thanks to the team for all the effort on the setup.
Monaco here we come!"
Team Owner Johannes Kunkel commented:
"Another victory in the World Championship and two drivers on the podium in both the World Series and the World Championship is a very good result for us. In the World Series Jack and Cyril did a great job, unfortunately luck wasn´t on our side keeping Jack from finally taking his first victory. Jaakko showed a great race on his return to the World Championship for 2012 taking home his 3rd podium in a row in China and Bono could show the superior pace we were used to see in 2010 and 2011. We are finally getting closer to fully understand how this car works so hopefully we will see more of these performances throughout the year."
To follow the progress of the team during the season, make sure to join us on Facebook and Twitter.
Precision Motorsports Press
Official Press Release
written by John-Eric Saxen
www.precision-motorsports.de
