28/05/2010
NEWS STORY
iSport International - Davide Valsecchi (Pole) Oliver Turvey (3rd)
iSport were back to their best after a disappointing round in Monaco, as reigning GP2 Asia Champion Davide Valsecchi took pole in Istanbul. Valsecchi was lying in second for most of qualifying as Pastor Maldonado set the early pace. However a stunning lap just before the flag dropped put a jubilant Valsecchi on pole for tomorrow's feature race. iSport racer Oliver Turvey also left it late in the session to show his true potential after suffering from a sticking throttle on his first run leaving him way down the timesheets. As the clock ticked down, the iSport mechanics worked furiously to fix the problem. Turvey responded immediately jumping up to ninth and then in the final moments to third with a fantastic lap to wrap up a very successful qualifying session for iSport.
Davide Valsecchi: Today was perfect, the car was incredibly fast. The engineers did a good job because between the first and second run they made the car quick enough for pole. It was really good in the last few minutes of qualifying. So everything today was perfect, I'm really happy because I'm not usually brilliant in qualifying but today we got pole position so it's good for me and good for everyone in the team.
Oliver Turvey: I had a problem with the throttle damper, the throttle was sticking on which was affecting me quite a lot in the slow speed corners and also in braking. It kind of ruined my first run on the first set of tyres; we were quite a way down at that point. The team did a good job to change the throttle damper between the two runs because it's quite a fiddly job. We got that changed and on the second set of tyres it was much better and I was able to get two clear laps, and on my final lap I managed to get up to P3.
I'm pretty pleased with that after the start of the session and it wasn't a perfect lap so I know I could have improved and we could have fought for pole but I'm pleased to be third and to be the quickest rookie as well. It's my first time in Istanbul and I'm happy with qualifying and it gives us a good chance in the race tomorrow to fight for the win and a podium.
Racing Engineering - Dani Clos (7th) Christian Vietoris (11th)
Racing Engineering had an intense day at Istanbul Park, where Dani Clos qualified in seventh position on the grid for tomorrow's feature race, after encountering traffic and yellow flags during his best runs, whilst rookie Christian Vietoris qualified in eleventh position after suffering from engine problems during both Friday sessions.
Hot and humid conditions welcomed the GP2 field at Istanbul Park, where the tyre management of Bridgestone's medium compound will be determining the race results. Therefore, the insights achieved during free practice and qualifying are extremely important.
Dani Clos started Friday's free practice suffering from some technical gremlins which left him with little time to set up his car. Nevertheless the young Spaniard set the sixth fastest time of the session. Christian Vietoris, having never been to the Turkish circuit before, had a good start to free practice, until he suffered from engine problems again. The German finished the session in a promising 7th place.
In the afternoon, Dani had a tough qualifying session. While he was immediately setting top times on his first set of tyres, he dropped back with his second set of tyres seeing his best laps being hampered by either yellow flags or traffic. Still, and with close gaps between competitors, he managed to score the seventh fastest time of the session, just half a second off Valsecchi's pole position. Christian´s engine was still not running trouble free, but he managed to set the eleventh fastest time in qualifying while suffering from a loss of power.
Dani Clos: "We had some problems this morning and spent a long time in the pit lane. When we joined the session, there was not much time left, and we only made couple of laps as a reference. Qualifying was tough. We have good sector times, but on every lap with second set of tyres, there was some issue, either traffic or a yellow flag. But it's OK. We know our race pace is really good. For tomorrow we have a good chance and good starting position. We will give our best, like always."
Christian Vietoris: "I had a busy morning session and still suffered from an engine problem, which occurred in free practice, also during qualifying. But generally things went well. I had my focus on learning this track and was within the top 5 most of the free practice. Things went quite well from the beginning.The car is good and I quickly felt comfortable with the track and was happy with everything. Qualifying went well until the engine started to cause problems again. We all hope this engine issue will be solved now as the starting position is not too bad for tomorrow, the speed is good and we can hopefully score some points."
Thomas Couyotopoulo, Sporting Director of Racing Engineering: "This morning has been difficult. We had to solve a minor technical problem on Dani's car in free practice. Dani did a good job with the little time left in the session and was able to get some good laps in and prepare his feedback for the qualifying session. Christian did a very good job as well with the focus on getting to know the track. Unfortunately, during the last two laps of free practice, Christian suffered from a problem with the engine. This has been solved, but in qualifying a different problem with the engine occurred and he suffered from some loss of power. He was in the top positions at the beginning of the session, but could not hold on to it and dropped back to P11, when the engine problems started again. Dani's results are mainly due to traffic and yellow flags he found on the track. He set reasonably good sector times, but wasn't able put them together. However, tomorrow is a long race and the medium compound tyres will have a big drop off as we could already see in qualifying. Our goal has to be scoring points in both races."
Super Nova - Josef Kral (17th) Marcus Ericsson (19th)
After a productive practice session this morning the Super Nova team had high hopes for qualifying but unfortunately Josef Kral and Marcus Ericsson will be lining up in 17th and 19th positions on the grid for tomorrow's feature race. Both drivers had solid runs on their first set of new Bridgestone slicks, setting similar times, only a few tenths off the fastest. After making some set up changes Josef went out on track for his second qualifying run. On his first flying lap he was half a second up on his previous best when some traffic caught him out on the series of fast left-handers, resulting in a spin and slight contact with the tyre wall. Marcus' struggled with a steering problem on his second run and was unable to improve his time. With plenty of overtaking opportunities on the Istanbul Park circuit Josef and Marcus are both very confident that they have the pace to swiftly move up the field tomorrow.
Josef Kral: "Out on the first set we were good and I was pretty happy with the car. I was just pushing as hard I could. I got traffic on the first lap, so on the third lap and I just put all the sectors together which looked fine. I was quite confident, so I did a cool down lap and another one where I didn't improve. Then we stopped and made some changes, got a bit more traction, which helped me. On the first lap I was already 2-tenths faster in the first sector, and another 3-tenths maybe in the second sector, so the car was much better.
But then when I was overtaking Maldonado, and I turned a little early. I was pushing as hard as I could into the long corner nine but went too close in first apex and then too wide in the second, and there was no chance to do something else. I just tried to get back, but I reached the dusty space & spun. It's a very big shame, as I think we could have been quite high in the field. Hopefully tomorrow the pit stop will be good, good overtaking and be able to move up the field like we did in Monaco and Barcelona."
Marcus Ericsson: "In qualifying we had some problems with the steering which held us back a bit. Also I was over driving it a bit and didn't get what I should have out of the car, which is frustrating. But it's all about experience and I've got another session under my belt and you know, we showed in the first session we can be close to the top guys. We have to learn from this and go into the race tomorrow and try to do the best. The good thing about Turkey is you can overtake here so hopefully we can have everything right for tomorrow and I will drive well and we can do a good race, and see how far we can get up."
David Sears Team Principal: "After a promising start for Marcus Ericsson in the untimed session where he was 10th on his first visit here, and only half a second off quickest, he was looking good for qualifying. Unfortunately he ended up 19th, with a problem with his steering, so it looks like he'll have a hard race tomorrow.
Josef Kral was again looking very good on his first set of tyres, and looked to be capable of qualifying between sixth and eighth, but unfortunately on his second set he spun off. A character building weekend for both our drivers, but hopefully we can demonstrate some of the pace we had here last year as a team."
Trident Racing - Adrian Zaugg (18th) Johnny Cecotto Jr (20th)
Trident Racing lined-up today at Istanbul for the first day of the third GP2 Main Series meeting of 2010. The team's drivers, Adrian Zaugg and Johnny Cecotto Jr., respectively ended the day in 18th and 20th in qualifying.
The Turkish round of the series started under a clear sky, with really high tempertatures, constantly over 30 degrees celsius. Tomorrow's race is set to be extremely tough for drivers. Physical fitness will probably do the difference on the 34-lap long distance.
Adrian Zaugg: "Practice have ended in a really promising way, and I really hoped to stay into the top-10. Then in qualifying the track changed, with much more traction. Between the first and the second set of tires we made som set-up changes that proved useful, though there's still a lot of work to do before tomorrow."
Johnny Cecotto Jr: "It's been my first day on this racetrack, great but definitely demanding. I did about 10 flying laps in practice, but then, during qualifying, there was much more grip. With the second set of tires, I almost went off at T8, despite using the same line of the previous laps. In the following laps I decided to go easier there, and I lost 2, 3 tenths on the laps. I hope to finalize today's job with a good result on Race 1, which I expect to be really tough".