Caterham Racing Monaco Race One

GP2 Race One

Friday 25th May

Monte Carlo 

Caterham Racing is celebrating taking the team's third trophy in as many races after Giedo van der Garde drove a determined and controlled race to finish P3 in the GP2 feature race in Monaco this morning. 

Team mate Rodolfo Gonzalez also did a good job, moving up the field despite getting caught in traffic early in the race to successfully complete the prestigious 42-lap race in P13. 

Caterham Racing Team Manager Phillip Spencer "I am absolutely delighted with our podium finish today! We had high expectations coming here this year and we have collected more points which was our main goal today, so well done to all the team. Both drivers had a good race - Rodolfo drove well but traffic slowed him down. We all know how difficult it is to pass in Monaco but he did a good job and we are all encouraged with the progress we are making. 

"Giedo drove a solid race from start to finish and everything fell into place. The team strategy worked very well today so I am really pleased for the entire team and I hope we can keep up this positive momentum for the rest of the season." 

Giedo van der Garde (P3 / Best Lap 1:23.291)"At the beginning of the formation lap I couldn't select first gear and I began to get a little nervous, but my engineer talked me through what to do and I was able to stay focused and then made a mega start! I overtook Chilton on the outside and nearly managed to pass Ericsson too but decided the risk was too big and let him go ahead. Cecotto and Ericsson pulled away early on in the race but after my pit stop we closed on them and in the end I was very pleased with my car and where we finished. It feels great to get another podium and it shows we are getting better every time which is very encouraging and great motivation for the whole team. This is not like any other circuit we race at but we'll aim to continue this success and bring home more points tomorrow in race two." 

Rodolfo Gonzalez (P13 / Best Lap1:24.905) "I was amongst a lot of traffic today which made it quite difficult to push ahead but I managed to gain a few positions in the opening laps to run P14 before we made our pit stop. I went back out behind Teixeira and it was hard to pass him so we lost some time there, but eventually I found some clear air and pushed hard to gain six places and finally finish P13. The tyre degradation was not as bad as I thought it would be today - there was a little oversteer but overall I am very pleased with the car and the progress we are making at every event." Caterham Racing Chief Engineer Humphrey Corbett "It is fantastic to be able to collect another Monaco trophy here today. Both drivers did a great job to bring the cars home in one piece. Rodolfo was unlucky with traffic but showed good pace and I am happy he had a clean race. As for Giedo - what can I say! He made a very good start, drove with his head up and showed good pace throughout the race. He was closing in on the front runners in the latter stages of the race but considering how difficult it is to overtake here P3 is a great reward for everyone in the team, so now we will keep working to ensure we have many more results like this during the 2012 season!"