10/07/2010
NEWS STORY
Racing Engineering - Dani Clos (3rd) Christian Vietoris (6th)
Racing Engineering had a successful day at Silverstone today, meeting all the targets for this weekend's feature race. Spanish driver Dani Clos drove another intelligent race, managing his Bridgestone tyres and controlling his rivals to reach the finish line in third position which put him on the podium gain. German rookie Christian Vietoris, starting 12th, drove a fantastic race, and this, together with a very fast pit stop, had him finish today's race in an excellent 6th place.
The GP2 field gathered in Silverstone today for the fifth feature race of the season. The abrasive track surface, along with warm temperatures, indicated that tyre management would be one of the key issues to keep in mind during the 29 laps of the race.
The start was very clean, with Maldonado overtaking Bianchi and quickly setting himself as the leader. Dani Clos, starting from third, had a trouble free start and secured his third position by the time he exited Becketts. Christian Vietoris, on the other hand, who was starting twelfth due to a penalty handed down from Valencia, quickly passed Filippi and finished the opening lap in eleventh place. He gained another position when Pic spun. Christian found himself at the back of a field of drivers with d'Ambrosio just ahead of the Racing Engineering driver. Knowing that the German was faster than those cars in front of him, but with no possibility to pass, a risky strategy was applied and Christian was called in for his obligatory pit stop on lap 6. It was the most decisive moment of the German's race today. A very quick pit stop, a very fast out lap and a sequence of fastest lap times allowed Christian to climb up to fifth place once all the other drivers had picked up their new tyres as well.
It was on lap 9, when Dani Clos entered the pitlane for his tyre change and another swift pit stop from the Racing Engineering crew allowed the Spaniard to maintain his third position ahead of Bird. Dani drove a consistent race in third position and, although Bird reduced the gap to the Spaniard towards the end of the race, he was quick to respond with improved lap times, having his race under control at all time. Dani finished yet another race on the podium which allows him to continue defending his second position in the championship standings.
Christian found himself under pressure from a recovering Perez, who put the Racing Engineering driver under pressure for the last ten laps of the race. But it was only on the second to last lap that the experienced Mexican passed the German rookie, who drove a fantastic race to finish in 6th position.
Given the reverse grid rule, Christian will start tomorrow's sprint race at Silverstone on the clean side of the track from third position, while Dani Clos will start from 6th. Both Racing Engineering drivers have a clear goal to score more points in race two, which is scheduled to start at 10:35 CET.
Dani Clos: "I had a pretty good start, although Pastor had a mega start today. I was able to stay in third position. Today was a race where conserving the tyres was the main objective. The cars in front of me showed a very good rhythm and I was able to keep the distance to the ones behind me. It was a good race, a calm one, which I finished in third. I am happy with the podium and we are optimistic for tomorrow where the goal is to score more points."
Christian Vietoris: "This was a very good race. The boys made a fantastic pit stop and after that I was able to set several fastest lap times. I actually had the fastest lap of the race until shortly before the end, which shows that we definitely have the speed. Starting from 12th and finishing in 6th shows that we are there and now I am only waiting for a normal weekend as I know we can win races."
Alfonso de Orleans-Borbon, President of Racing Engineering: "I am really, really happy since both drivers have been able to make it into the points and Dani had another wonderful podium. I would like to thank everyone in the team for the great job they've done. Now let's get ready for tomorrow's race, where I hope both drivers will be scoring again."
iSport International - Davide Valsecchi (7th) Oliver Turvey (8th)
iSport drivers Davide Valsecchi and Oliver Turvey finished seventh and eighth in today's GP2 Series feature race at Silverstone – not quite the result the team's fine qualifying performance promised, but the consolation is that both drivers will line up on the front row for tomorrow morning's sprint. Valsecchi started ninth and had an uneventful race until the final lap, when Giedo van der Garde ran wide and Davide was able to capitalise, taking seventh place. From fifth on the grid, Turvey found his car lacked balance on its first set of tyres and he lost several places as a result. He appeared destined to finish outside the points, but on the final lap he, too, passed van der Garde. That earned him eighth place... and pole position tomorrow.
Davide Valsecchi: The car was quite difficult to drive at the start, on heavy fuel, but our pace picked up as the race wore on. Maybe our set-up choice was a little bit too conservative – we wanted to look after our tyres, because Silverstone traditionally takes its toll on rubber, but we probably went a bit too far in that direction. We can use the data from today's race to fine-tune our set-up for tomorrow – and obviously we are starting in an excellent position, even if it's not for quite the right reasons. It will be a tough fight with Oliver, but it will also be fair.
Oliver Turvey: It's a bit of a mystery, really. The car felt great yesterday, but during the first few laps of the race it was difficult to get a real feeling for what it was doing and I couldn't keep pace with the guys ahead. We both pitted quite early – Davide on lap seven and me on lap eight – and after that the car's behaviour changed significantly. The balance came back and I was able to lap more consistently, but it's difficult to pinpoint exactly why. It's just one of those things that sometimes happens between different tyre sets. I was pleased to pass van der Garde on the final lap – ninth is the worst finishing position, because you are outside the points and just miss pole for tomorrow. He left a gap, though, and I had to go for it. That gives me the chance to finish my weekend on a real high.
Super Nova - Marcus Ericsson (12th) Luca Filippi (20th)
Super Nova had a mixed race this afternoon, at the teams' home event in Silverstone, sadly missing out on any championship points.
The grid line up was adjusted prior to the start, due to DAMS 10 place penalty brought forward from Valencia, meaning Luca Filippi began from eleventh, Marcus Ericsson fifteenth.
Both drivers made a strong start, Marcus driving a determined first half, taking on and successfully passing several cars in the opening lap. Unfortunately it was in this first lap Luca's car was hit, puncturing his tyre and forcing him into the pits early. Nevertheless, on rejoining the race at the back of the field, the Italian set several impressive fastest laps, outpacing many of his rivals, to finish an unlucky P20.
In his attempts to defend his position, Marcus locked up when he went wide, allowing DAMS driver Jerome D'Ambrosio to pass. Preserving the tyres and finishing the race safely became Marcus' priority, which the Swede did to finish twelve.
Marcus Ericsson: "I did a very good start and then got pushed out onto the grass, so lost a bit. Still the car was very good and I overtook four cars, which was good for the confidence. After the stop I started to struggle a little bit, and it was hard to keep D'Ambrosio behind me. When I was defending him I flat-spotted my front left tyres, and got a lot of vibrations after that, which made it quite hard. So when he did pass me, I eased off a bit not wanting to push it to the limit, and brought it home to finish P12. But you know, the positives are that we showed we were quick, and passed several cars. Tomorrow we get new tyres, starting from P12 it is possible to get some points, so we'll see what happens."
Luca Filippi: "It is a shame because Herck attacked me from the back and I got a puncture, so we lost a lot of time having to make an extra stop. However we found our pace was very competitive, setting consistent fastest laps. It would have been interesting to see where we were able to get, perhaps fourth or fifth position. It's a shame we will be starting from the back for tomorrow's race, its going to be tough race but we'll see what happens."
David Sears Team Principal: "Luca Filippi had his tyre slashed and got a puncture on the first lap, forcing him into the pit lane. He came out at the back of the grid, but his lap times were equivalent to the cars at the front, all except Maldonado, proving the pace is there.