Valencia

Lotus ART seized the opportunity of the third GP3 Series meeting to solidify its potential that it had demonstrated at the start of the season...

The team secured its first win of the season on the Valencia street circuit thanks to James Calado, and added to its Sunday success with a 3rd place finish by Valtteri Bottas. On Saturday, Valtteri and James converted their 9th and 8th respective positions on the starting grid in the first race with promising 8th and 9th place finishes, giving Lotus ART 3 points, as well as securing the entire front row of the starting grid for the second race.

Pedro Henrique Nunes abandoned in the first race following a collision with a competitor that the race stewards ruled his fault. Starting in 30th position in the second race, he made a solid comeback, finishing in 15th place.

Lotus ART returns from Valencia with its best score of the season so far. The team moves up to 4th place in the overall ranking, 9 points from the leaders. James and Valtteri are 5th and 6th in the drivers' championship respectively, and 10 and 14 points out of first.

James Calado:

"After a learning phase in Turkey, I knew from our work in Barcelona that we had the potential to aim for a win, despite my inexperience in the championship, which I make up for with Lotus ART's skills and experience. I am very happy to be able to pay the team back with this first win, which I am proud of because it came on a tough circuit, and thanks to a team effort. The car was not at its best in the first race, but in the second one the grip and feeling were much better, which allowed me to push harder than ever in the first few laps and to establish a definitive gap. My objective is to continue on this path and to bring home a win in the first race. To do that, I will have to properly negotiate qualifying, where still we have some progress to make."

Valtteri Bottas:

"The free practice gave us hope of fighting for a pole position. My 9^th place, in qualifying, shows us we still have to improve our new tires performances. On Saturday, the main thing was to get in the points in order to get a good position on the starting grid on Sunday. The only positive side of my 7^th place in the race 1 was because it handed me in front row start for the next day. I had a good start on Sunday but I lost one place, and after that it was difficult to get back into contact with Sims to make an attack and try to overtake. Despite everything, 3rd place is very positive. It's my first podium this year and it enables us to reposition ourselves in the championship, which will be long and where everything is still on the line."

Pedro Henrique Nunes:

"I think that we made good progress, as was shown by the free practice as well as the second race where I moved up 15 places. I am reaching maturity in this championship and now I need to manage a perfect weekend to turn my and my team's potential into good results."

Frederic Vasseur:

"The slightest hitch and the slightest technical imperfection will compromise your place in the pecking order of this championship, where tires play a dominating role and where the field is very competitive. That's why we went downhill between the free practice and qualifying. I am proud that Lotus ART was able to raise the bar come race time. This first win is important because it demonstrates that we are heading in the right direction, both collectively and individually. It calls for some more!"