Carlin field Chilton and Parente for GP2 finale

Max Chilton and Alvaro Parente will be racing for Carlin this weekend in the final of the 2011 GP2 Series in Monza. Parente makes a welcome return to the team after missing the previous two rounds of the championship due to prior commitments with the McLaren GT3 team.

The last race weekend at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium was a challenging one for British driver Chilton who suffered - along with his team-mate Mikhail Aleshin and several others drivers – technical problems as his engine went into safety mode in the cold conditions behind the safety car.

While Chilton was able to recover and finished 15th, Aleshin was out of the race after being hit from behind in a very unfortunate accident with Stefano Coletti.

With race one incidents hampering the team’s progress for the rest of the weekend, the Carlin team are aiming for a more positive outcome in Italy. Monza is a high speed 5.793km circuit with the majority of the lap consisting of long, fast straights and very little in the way of corners. The corners that do feature prominently on the circuit are always exciting to watch and provide a tough challenge around the Italian track in a car which is primarily set-up for being quick on the straights.

Having missed the two previous rounds, Portuguese racer Parente is looking forward to getting back into the Carlin GP2 car, “I’m feeling great heading into this weekend. It’s a track that I really like and know quite well. I’m looking forward to working with the team again and finishing the season in Europe on a high.”

Qualifying gets underway at the iconic Italian circuit on Friday 9th September at 14.55 UK time, with race one taking place on Saturday and race two on Sunday.