Monza, Italy: Team Abu Dhabi's Sean Edwards clinched second place at the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup season finale here as teammate Sascha Maassen clawed back four places to end 12th, leaving the outfit fourth overall for the 2010 Team Championship.
Starting the day's action in fifth from the grid, Edwards put in a good display on the 5.7km ‘Autodromo Nazionale' to clinch his second podium finish in as many races, after an impressive run last month saw him take his first season win at Belgium's Spa-Francorchamps.
"The car was really great in qualifying and I think realistically I should have been fighting for second or third. Unfortunately, I was held up in both of my session's fast laps," said the Briton, who was just 0.3 seconds off winner Nick Tandy in the Italian showpiece.
Crazy race
"This was one of the craziest races I've contested with a lot of overtaking. Our car was super-fast and I was finally able to put myself behind Nick in second position. It's great to be fourth in the team championship. It was a fantastic first season with Team Abu Dhabi and I hope to win the next one," added Edwards, who finished sixth overall in the Drivers' Championship.
German veteran Maassen experienced a weekend of mixed feelings at Monza. Having qualified in 16th, the 40-year-old posted one of the day's fastest race laps to end at just 12th — leaving him six positions behind Edwards in the Drivers' Championship.
"It was a typical Monza race with a lot of pushing and shoving. It's difficult to play catch up if you constantly have to fight against others. However, it was a lot of fun," said Maassen.
Team Abu Dhabi's Emirati driver Khalid Al Qubaisi also had a tough last race. Despite starting well and posting a string of impressive lap times, a premature braking manoeuvre saw the 34-year-old Abu Dhabi resident spin out on to the gravel, ending what has been a solid debut season with the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority-backed outfit. "The qualifying was not as good as I liked, which meant I was back on the grid for the race start. In the first fast lap, I pushed too hard. In the second, I was able to improve, however, the track was packed so overtaking was difficult," said Al Qubaisi.
"At first it went well and I was able to set a fastest lap in the first sector. I am proud that I can now contest with some competitors that beat me at the beginning of the season. Unfortunately, I made a braking mistake when overtaking but I am happy about the six points that I contributed to the team's fourth place standing."
