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Pirelli’s GP2 tyres pass second test in Bahrain

A week after the Bahrain Grand Prix drew to a close, the GP2 drivers – exclusively supplied by Pirelli – took part in the second two races of the feeder championship’s double-header held at the Sakhir circuit.

The two races at the first stand-alone GP2 event followed the usual format, with a feature race including a pit stop during which at least two tyres must be changed, followed by a sprint race with no pit stops. Ambient and track temperatures in Bahrain were however a little cooler than they had been during the previous grand prix weekend.

The drivers had three sets of the Pirelli P Zero hard GP2 tyres at their disposal, along with just one set of the P Zero medium tyre. This a new measure introduced by Pirelli to GP2 this year, designed to introduce an element of strategy to the races. Knowing when to use the softer tyre proved to be key to the strategy at Sakhir, which was as usual characterised by warm temperatures and a track made dirty by sand blowing in from the surrounding desert.

Caterham’s Giedo van der Garde used the medium tyres to set his pole time of 1m 42.451s in qualifying: one-tenth of a second quicker than DAMS driver and championship leader Davide Valsecchi, who had dominated the previous Bahrain weekend.

But it was Valsecchi who went on to claim his third consecutive win in the feature race, when he passed van der Garde, who was struggling with tyre wear, just before they both pitted. “As soon as van der Garde was struggling, I caught him and overtook him immediately,” said the Italian. “That gave me a bit of an advantage for the rest of the race. It’s the perfect situation to be leading before the pitstop. We were lucky, but we were also competitive.”

There was a new winner in the sprint race the following day, when Frenchman Tom Dillman claimed his first-ever GP2 victory for Rapax.

Haider ton powers WHADG

Irfan Haider stroked a solid century to steer William Hare Abu Dhabi Gymkhana to a huge 143-run victory over Interface Transworld CC in the 38^th Bukhatir League ‘A’ Division Tournament, organized by the Sharjah Cricket Council, at the Sharjah stadium on Saturday night.

The talented batsmen hit 106 off 120 balls with six fours and two sixes as the defending champions, batting first, scored 301 for seven in the allotted 50 overs.

Mohammed Faisal (62 off 47 balls with seven fours) and Asim Khurshid (40 off 56 balls) and Mohammed Shafiq (26 off 27 balls) also contributed to the score to their team on the front foot.

Mohammed Ibtisham snared four wickets for 56 runs, but his spell failed to prevent the Abu Dhabi from posting a highly competitive score.

Interface Transworld, in reply, were bowled out for 158 in the 35^th over with Adeel Raja doing most of the damage, taking four wickets for 26 runs. Mohammed Nadeed (three for 11) and Humayun Gill (two for 21) further hasten the end of the Interface inning with some fine bowling.

Adnan Arif (39), Fawad Ghafoor (30) and Fahad Tariq (28) were among the runs for Interface, but they failed to convert their starts into big innings they needed to match the ever-increasing asking rate.

Brief scores

William Hare Abu Dhabi Gymkhana CC beat Interface Transworld CC by 143 runs: William Hare Abu Dhabi Gymkhana CC 301 for seven (Irfan Haider 106, Mohammed Faisal 62, Asim Khurshid 40, Mohammed Shafiq 26; Mohammed Ibtisham 4-56, Wasim Bari 2-45) Interface Transworld 158 all out in 34.2 overs (Adnan Arif 39, Fawad Ghafoor 30, Fahad Tariq 28; Adeel Raja 4-26, Mohammed Nadeem 3-11, Humayun Gill 2-21). Man of the match: Irfan Haider of William Hare Abu Dhabi Gymkhana. Umpires: Iftikhar Ali and Hamid Mukthar. Scorer: Zameel Hameed.