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CARBONE ROBBED OF PODIUM PLACE AT SUZUKA
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[23-11-2007]
CARBONE ROBBED OF PODIUM PLACE AT SUZUKA
 Up-and-coming Brazilian Fabio Carbone was deprived of a podium finish in the final round of the Formula Nippon Championship at Suzuka last weekend, due to a clutch problem in the closing stages of the race. The Dandelion Racing driver had aimed to end his season on a high after a promising performance in testing, and a good start in qualifying. However, with just five laps to go, his hopes were dashed.
Suzuka is a tricky and technical circuit, featuring some legendary corners such as Spoon and 130R. On this occasion Fabio was working with a new race engineer, and the partnership soon turned out to be extremely productive.
Fabio was seventh in the first free practice session, but more importantly he established a set-up with which he felt comfortable for qualifying – on probably the most difficult circuit that the drivers face all year. Thanks as well to a clever tyre strategy, Fabio improved his grid position with every lap and ended up qualifying a solid sixth on the grid. He was confident that he could improve the car still further, and decided to start the race with a full fuel tank in order to run for as long as possible. Fabio knew that he would then be pitting towards the end of the 300-kilometre race, enabling him to run light and push hard on new tyres to make up places.
The strategy worked well as Fabio was in sixth place when he pitted on lap 29 of 51. He then worked his way up to what was third place (as the race winner was subsequently excluded for a technical infringement) before the clutch failed with five laps to go, forcing Fabio into retirement.
The 26 year-old commented: “It was very disappointing to end the race like that as we were so close to a podium, which would have been a fantastic way to end the year. The most important thing though is that the car was extremely competitive throughout the weekend and that we were able to fight for the top positions. I’d like to thank the Dandelion Racing team for all their hard work this year: I feel that we’ve made a lot of progress this season.
Formula Nippon is one of the most competitive championships in the world, and I’ve learnt a lot from my first year in the category. I feel very well-prepared now for the 2008 season, which will be my focus from this point on.” Fabio will now return home to Brazil for a break while he finalises his options for 2008. Although a deal is yet to be confirmed, it is likely that the Brazilian will be racing in Japan again next year and putting his hard-earned experience to good use.
For more information please contact: media@quadrasports.com
www.fabiocarbone.com
Geneva, 23/11/07
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