Smith ninth in chaotic Hockenheim race

24 July 2010

Dean Smith finished ninth in round nine of the GP3 season today, having managed to survive a chaotic race which saw 12 cars crash out at the Hockenheimring in Germany. Josef Newgarden, who had started from pole position, was hit from behind on the last lap while fighting for eighth and failed to finish the race. Team mate Lucas Foresti saw his race end on lap one when he was also hit from behind at the third corner.

Lining up on pole for the first time in his GP3 career, 19 year-old Newgarden coped well with the pressure, despite having to deal with an aborted start. Having led the field for a second formation lap, Newgarden made a good getaway when the race finally got underway and pulled a small gap from second placed man Robert Wickens. The young American soon found himself under attack from the more experienced Wickens however, who managed to get past half way round the first lap. Behind the leaders Foresti found himself the innocent victim of a first lap multi-car incident which also brought out the safety car.

As racing recommenced at the start of lap four, Newgarden was under attack from third placed man Renger van der Zander. As van der Zander managed to pass Newgarden, a second big accident brought out the safety car again.
Green flag racing got underway at the start of lap seven and once again Newgarden was forced to act defensively. Team mate Smith meanwhile was now 13th and had moved up to 12th by lap nine.

Struggling for speed down the straight, Newgarden had dropped further down the order and was fighting with Roberto Merhi for eighth place and also the reverse grid pole for race two. The two were nose to tail for the final laps of the race, but Newgarden defended well to hold onto his place. Smith meanwhile had made up another place in 11th and was chasing down Daniel Juncadella for 10th.

As the race entered the final stages Newgarden looked to have held onto eighth, but contact from behind by Merhi pushed the Carlin man out of the race and into retirement. As the last person to retire, Newgarden was classified 18th, the position he will take on the grid for race two tomorrow. Newgarden's misfortune elevated Smith to ninth place, the position he will take on the race two grid tomorrow.

Reflecting on the race, Trevor Carlin said, "Obviously this is a very disappointing result based on Josef's pace in qualifying. He did a great job to handle the pressure of effectively two race starts but seemed to lack pace down the straights which we are looking into. To be taken out of eighth place on the last lap adds insult to injury. Dean drove a solid race and did well to avoid the numerous incidents which unfortunately claimed Lucas early on."