The penultimate round of the GP2 Series, which took place at the Belgian circuit of Spa-Francorchamps, was truly difficult for the Portuguese team Ocean Racing Technology. After a promising start in free practice, where Nigel Melker was second and Victor Guerin eighth, the team’s two drivers were not lucky during the actual races. Disaster struck on Saturday when Nigel Melker had a violent accident that forced the safety car out on track and saw him taken to hospital. Victor Guerin looked to be having one of his best races, fighting for points scoring places, but a touch from an opponent near the end dashed those hopes.
In the second race, Melker was unable to join the grid after spending the night under observation in hospital while Guerin, forced to start at the back of the grid, finished in 18th place after having to make an unscheduled pit-stop.
Victor lamented the fact that he failed to take his first points in GP2: “It was a complicated week-end. It started with rain and just as I am getting used to the car in those conditions, the track dried and we were back to square one. It made everything more complicated. Races…the first was unusual due to Melker’s accident but after it restarted, I was having a good race and about to get my first points, but then I had contact from another driver and that was the end of it. That’s racing, but I always end up losing out. On Sunday, we went back and did what we could. We chose to make an unscheduled pit-stop and only managed 18th place. Now it’s time to look ahead to Monza, which I believe will be better than this,” he said.
Nigel is still reeling from his accident but is quite optimistic about his recovery: “Fortunately it was not anything serious. I have pain, which is normal. I was very excited about the race in Spa, but now it is not worth whining about, we just have to look ahead. I would like to thank all the doctors and staff for taking care of my during this difficult time.”
Tiago Monteiro and Jose Guedes lamented what happened to their team: “The violence of Nigel’s crash left the whole team apprehensive, but fortunately it was just a scare. Nigel is recovering well and will hopefully return to competition soon. Regarding Victor, what happened to him was a real shame. He has been struggling but managing to progress quite well, but for one reason or another he has not been able to match his performance with the desired results. We know his full potential and believe that sooner or later these results will come. The entire team is now focused on working for the last two races of the season.”
The next round of the GP2 series takes place at Monza this coming weekend.