Paddock Postcard from Sepang 05 Apr 2009
Najib Razak, the newly sworn-in Prime Minister of Malaysia and Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin, the King of Malaysia, joined Jamiroquai singer Jay Kay and Tony Fernandes, the CEO of Air Asia who was a guest of the Williams team, as avid spectators in the Sepang paddock. Former Formula One racer Ralf Schumacher stood in for Niki Lauda as a German TV commentator.
Diego Nunes scored a great GP2 Asia series encounter on Saturday, finishing clear for Piquet Sport of a tough battle between series leader Kamui Kobayashi of DAMS and Briton James Jakes of Super Nova Racing. They finished second and third, 8.3 seconds behind Nunes but only 0.789s apart. It was Jakes’s most impressive performance to date.
Polesitter Jerome d’Ambrosio did not start after a suspected driveshaft failure, while Jakes’s team mate Javier Villa stalled on the grid but set fastest lap.
David Valescchi starts from pole for Sunday’s race, for Durango, with Pastor Maldonado of ART Grand Prix alongside him.
