The much-anticipated 2011 GP2 Main Series meeting at Monte Carlo went  underway on an high note for Davide Valsecchi. The third round of the season started one day before usual, following in a long-standing tradition of the Principality. Qualifying was held today, with Davide  ending up with a brilliant third place scored at the end of a session disrupted by several incidents. Much part of the day proved chaotic, with the track's activity often slowed down by yellow flags.

Davide displayed a perfect management of the many aspects of Qualifying, scoring the fourth fastest laptime of the day. Thanks to the on-grid penalty assessed to Jules Bianchi after Barcelona, the Air Asia racer will start from 3rd place, hand his team a well-deserved chance for a maiden podium finish at their first GP2 season.

“I really had fun today – told Davide – the car was really well-performing, and each time I was able to push I clocked some great laptimes. Our set-up proved to be well suited by the new SuperSoft tires we're going to use this weekend, and I was also surprised by their stability over long runs. I hope everything will go the right way tomorrow at the St. Devote. The braking zone in T1 is quite a critical point for everybody here, with high risk of contacts. Starting from the front end of the pack is definitely going to help, and on Race Day I hope to show the same potential of Qualifying.” Race 1, set to be run on a 42-lap distance, will be taking-off at 11:15, followed by Race 2, scheduled for Saturday at 16:10. Both the GP2 Main Series heats will be televised live in Italy by Rai Sport 1, with additional coverage of Race 2 starting on RAI 2 Sunday morning.

It's been a flawless run today for Davide Valsecchi at Monte Carlo. The Italian racer led from start to finish en-route to a sensational Race 1 win. Thanks to a perfect start, Davide took the lead at the first corner and never looked back, dominating today's 42 laps and leaving everybody speachless.

“Everything's been perfect! I made a great start, and I approached the St. Devote corner in the lead – said Davide – once I retained the top spot I was able to stay in control of a really long and demanding race. I pushed hard in the laps before the pit-stop, then I just focused on tire management as I was informed by the pits that I didn't need to push. With two to go, I tried to clock the fastest lap of the race, and succeeded. What I can say more?! I'm incredibly happy and I want to thank my team for having given me a perfect racecar. We were running at the top of our game today, both in terms of  performance and tire wear. It's a great win and I was proud to be praised also by the Formula 1 Lotus team. I hope this will be just the first of many great races. I think it's something that the AirAsia team really deserves.”

The final race of the weekend at  Monte Carlo will be held tomorrow on a 30-lap distance. The start is set for 16:10 CET, with live coverage in Italy by RaiSport1. Davide will be taking off from 8th place.

While just one day has passed after his sensational race 1 win, Davide Valsecchi was back at Monte Carlo for the second race of the GP2 Main Series weekend in the Principality. Davide managed to put together a great start from 8th place, and recovered up to 5th after the first corner. Race 2 proved long and uneventful, with drivers facing huge troubles in finding the right space to overtake.

“I'm satisfied with today's result – explained Davide – because it enabled me to get within 2 points from the championship lead. I just have one regret. I spent several laps behind Chilton, who was in fourth, and I kept controlling Filippi behind. I tried to attack Chilton more than once, and I even succeeded, though I cut the Port chicane and had to yeld. At that point, I didn't realize that Filippi was in Chilton's slipstream and I lost two spots in one. In the end though, I managed to get rid of Chilton and ended up in 5th.”

The GP2 Main Series teams and drivers will now have four weeks of rest. The championship will be back from June 24 to 26 on the Valencia street course for the fourth round of the season.