ZIMBABWE’S Axcil Jefferies says he was happy with the experience he gained on his GP2 Series debut after recovering from a huge crash on Saturday to finish on position 21 out of the 26 competitors in the opening round of the 2014 championship in Bahrain at the weekend.
DANIEL NHAKANISO
Jefferies, who was racing for the Italy-based Trident Racing Team, suffered an early setback as his first race ended after just two laps following a collision with Campos Racing’s Kimiya Sato.
Sato was handed a ten-second stop and go penalty for the offence and luckily for Jefferies he came out of the crash without any injury despite his car being sent into the barriers at 270 kilometers per hour.
The 19 year-old Zimbabwean star who is strongly tipped to break into the Formula One World Championship in the future, returned on Sunday for the 124,476-km GP2 Series sprint race where he had to start from the back of the grid after the collision the day before.
This did not deter Jefferies, who had a great start in the sprint race, overtaking two opponents in the early stages of the 23-lap race before finishing in position 21 not too far behind his teammate Johnny Cecotto who settled for 14th position.
Speaking after the race, Jefferies said he had gained some valuable experience ahead of the next race of the season in Barcelona next month.
“After a tough start to our GP2 debut, I’m happy to finish my first race. We had to start from the back after yesterday’s result and we made a few positions “Today (Sunday) was the first time we ran more than four laps in a row, pushing, so it was always going to be jumping into the unknown. I am happy as we gained a lot of valuable experiences that I am sure will pay off in Barcelona.”
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“There were a lot of positives to take from today and I had a really good start. “So, overall, I am happy, I know I have a lot to learn, but I am looking forward to the challenge. I would like to thank the whole Trident Team, and especially the mechanics and engineers for getting the car ready after Saturday’s a big crash,” Jefferies, whose next race will be at the Circuit de Barcelona in Catalunya, Spain, from May 9 – 11 said.
