Will Bratt brought the curtain down on a solid maiden campaign in FIA Formula One World Championship support category GP2 Asia Series at Bahrain International Circuit this morning, Sunday, 14th March, with a competitive drive to 16th place during the final outing of the season.

Displaying impressive performances throughout the course of the eight-race championship for the Party Poker Racing.com Scuderia Coloni team, Banbury-based Will signed-off his debut campaign well at the 6.3km Sakhir track and showed once again he has what it takes to be a GP2 regular.

Lining-up 15th on the grid for today’s 20-lap Sprint Race, the British racer made a good getaway and also benefited from misfortune for pole-sitter Edoardo Piscopo who was unable to take the start when his right-rear wheel came loose on the formation lap.

Moving into 13th position through the first couple of corners, Will was then pegged-back a place by Super Nova’s Josef Kral but soon gained two positions at the expense of ART’s Jules Bianchi and iSport driver Oliver Turvey.

Running in the top 12, the reigning Party Poker Racing.it Euroseries 3000 Champion fought hard to keep Turvey’s faster car at bay but he had to relent on the third tour and this left Will exposed to an attack from Dani Clos.

Getting his lap times down below the 2m12 second barrier on lap four with a best of 2m11.836 seconds, Will raced strongly to keep 2009 Formula 3 Euroseries Vice-Champion, and GP2 Asia Series race winner, Christian Vietoris behind him.

At mid-distance though the German dived up the inside with a relatively clumsy late move, locking his brakes in the process, which forced Will wide on the exit and resulted in him being deposed from 15th place.

During the final half of the encounter, the British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) Rising Star continued his battle to try and secure his fourth top 15 finish of the campaign but just missed out with a nonetheless hard-fought 16th position.

Will commented: “It’s been a fantastic experience competing in GP2 for the first time during the Asia Series and I’ve certainly learned a lot. It was a big step-up for us, especially considering I’ve only been racing internationally for a couple of years, but I think we’ve done a good job and I’ve given a good account of myself without much at all in the way of testing.

“I do want to express my thanks to Party Poker Racing and Scuderia Coloni for putting this prize drive in place for the Euroseries 3000 Champion, it’s been a great opportunity to compete in GP2 Asia and I’ve certainly enjoyed the experience.”

While the 2009/2010 GP2 Asia Series has now reached its conclusion, the hard work continues for the 21-year-old Oxford University graduate as he aims to secure a competitive drive for the main 2010 motorsport season. Details regarding this will be announced in due course.

Photo Credit: GP2 Media Service