Giacomo Ricci: Trident 1-2-3 at Imola “really special” along with pole for Ramos

It was a momentous day for Trident as the Italian team locked out the top three positions in Qualifying around Imola, with rookie Santiago Ramos leading the way.For Team Manager Giacomo Ricci, it was a feat he described as “truly special” with their work and strategy paying dividends to earn a memorable result on home soil.“It’s something really special because it's the first time for us ever in the team’s history achieving this kind of result,” Ricci said afterwards. “I still remember, it’s a long time ago now, but in F3000 I won both races here, so it’s one of my favourite places here. QUALIFYING: Ramos heads Trident 1-2-3 at Imola“I felt extremely sorry last year when we had to cancel the race for obvious reasons, but I can’t stop smiling at the moment. I have to thank everyone involved at the team for what we’ve been able to achieve.”Ricci said that Trident opted to go bold with their Qualifying strategy, opting to hold all three cars until the very last minute in the session in order to give each the best possible track conditions.“We've been working extremely hard on preparation - a lot of time and energy in looking after all the details"It was a move that only MP Motorsport appeared to replicate in any way, with the majority finishing their laps earlier than the Trident trio.“We've been working extremely hard on this, the preparation. Like Monza, it's like a home race for us and so we invested a lot of time and energy in the driver preparation and looking after all the details. Trident locked out the first three places in Qualifying with what Ricci says was a meticulously-prepared strategy“Even with a strategy we took a gamble that now is easy to smile and say we did the right thing, but it could have easily gone in the complete opposite direction. But everything went smoothly, there was no Red Flag and so our strategy really paid off in the end.“In that moment right at the end, it decides everything. Then you just have to hope that there’s no red or yellow flags in that push lap because you’re a lap behind everybody with less fuel, brand new tyres and the drivers’ confidence at its highest.”It was a manoeuvre that almost backfired though, as with polesitter Ramos’ car, the team had to fix an issue in quick order to get him out onto circuit in time for a flying lap."I’m very happy especially for Santiago, he did something special here"Ricci also heaped praise on the Mexican driver for the manner in which he has rebounded from a difficult Round 2 in Melbourne, alongside handling the issue in the pitlane at Imola and delivering the pole lap.“I’m really pleased with the job that everyone did, the mechanics, engineers, everyone involved and of course, the drivers. I’m very happy especially for Santiago. He was coming off the back of a really bad weekend in Australia and that was really difficult for him.“He never really got the track and rhythm there, so he did something special here. But he’s been quick since Free Practice. That’s the main difference.Ramos' pole lap was thoroughly deserved says Ricci after a tough weekend in Melbourne“It’s funny how things happen sometimes. In that final run, just before, the car wasn’t starting and it took a lot of time to get the car fired up and I was keeping quiet on my radio, trying my best to help him out in the best way possible along with his engineer managing the traffic, that kind of thing.“But he did a great job. There was an issue on the car, we sent him out late and he was able to keep his calm and still deliver, so for me it’s an extra special pole position.”With the top three places on the grid locked out for the team in the Feature Race, focus now switches onto the Sprint and what Saturday holds for the team.Going from 10th, 11th and 12th positions on the grid, Ricci says that all three of the drivers will be aiming to bring home important points for the Championship before what he hopes is a momentous Sunday.“Tomorrow, everything is transformed. Imola is not the easiest place to overtake so I think that the biggest target for tomorrow is if we can start to recover some positions and score points.“For Sunday’s race, we’ll do our best to finish in those top three positions again.”