05/07/2008
NEWS STORY
Racing Engineering - Giorgio Pantano (Winner) Javier Villa (13th)
Giorgio Pantano put in a stunning performance in today's Feature Race at Silverstone, the Italian driver showing a wonderful combination of speed and intelligence as he increased his lead in the Drivers Championship. Javier Villa drove a steady race to finish 13th but the 3rd fastest race lap showed that the young Spaniard is starting to regain the speed he showed earlier in the season.
Fortunately for all the teams the threatened rain held off and the race started under blue skies as all the drivers made a clean start to the 36 lap Feature Race. Giorgio made a great getaway from 5th on the grid and immediately gained a place as a slow starting Grosjean caused Zuber to lift and the Racing Engineering driver took immediate advantage of the situation. On the third lap Giorgio gained another place as leader Senna made a mistake at Stowe and ran wide loosing several places.
Giorgio now began a very entertaining battle with his championship rival Grosjean as the two cars fought hard for second place and two soon became three as the recovering Senna joined in.
The leaders were all on a similar pitstop strategy and Giorgio stopped on lap 16, a lap after Grosjean, resuming once again hard on the gearbox of the French ART driver. Giorgio now began to attack Grosjean all round the circuit as the Repsol/Telefónica supported Dallara looked for a way to pass, the Italian giving every sign that he had the faster car. Unfortunately an abandoned car at Vale meant yellow flags and this was one of the areas where Giorgio was looking to pass. Suddenly as the two cars entered Abbey Grosjean left a small gap, it was barely a car wide but Giorgio dived down the inside and the two cars rubbed wheels but the Racing Engineering car was up to second.
Giorgio was now 3.7 seconds behind leader di Grassi but he quickly began to close the gap and on lap 30, as the cars exited Stowe, Giorgio was right behind di Grassi and as the cars entered Club Giorgio feinted to the left and as di Grassi covered the move Giorgio darted to the right and took the lead. The contest was finished and over the remaining handful of laps Giorgio pulled away to a confident four second victory.
For Javier Villa it was a case of doing the best he could from 13th on the grid but from the start he found himself caught behind Tung with Petrov close behind. Javier tried all he could to pass Tung but he was unable to pass the Chinese driver. As the cars in front of Javi made their pitstops the Spanish driver moved up the field even leading for a lap at the halfway point before stopping for his mandatory pitstop. Although he was able to resume ahead of Petrov he lost a place on the lap following his stop as he was still running on cold rear tyres. On lap 23 Javi was right behind Valles and he attacked and made the pass moving up to 16th place. Over the remaining laps he improved to 13th place as some of the cars ahead hit problems and this was his finishing position although he had the consolation of the third fastest race lap.
For tomorrow's Sprint Race Giorgio will start from 8th on the reversed grid and will be looking to further improve his 13 point lead over Senna whilst Javier will be looking to turn his undoubted race speed into a points scoring finish. Once again Racing Engineering showed how competitive their cars are and once again the Spanish team saw both of their cars finished the race.
Alfonso de Orleans Borbón (team principal): "Giorgio was absolutely fantastic, I think this was his best race to date. The whole team was able to make everything work absolutely perfectly and I want to thank every single team member for the effort and work they have been putting into the team this season so far. This is a team effort of everyone."
Javier Villa: "I am very happy with the race, I had a very good feeling with the car and I saw clearly that I have a problem in a straight line. Therefore I am very confident in regards to the upcoming race, because the mechanics and engineers have done a good job all year so far, so we all deserve a good result in Germany."
Giorgio Pantano: "Everything was wonderful today and I have to especially say thank you to the team for the car I had in this race and the fast pit stop. This is exciting for me, the team and everyone. This was a wonderful race."
iSport International - Karun Chandhok (3rd) Bruno Senna (6th)
iSport's GP2 racers obtained another strong double finish in the opening race of the Silverstone weekend - but not quite in the manner they had anticipated. Bruno Senna led away from pole position, but his chances of a second seasonal victory were compromised when he slithered wide on lap four and lost several places. He also surrendered a position during his mandatory tyre stop, although he fought back strongly after playing his part in one of the season's best battles to date. He passed Romain Grosjean (ART) around the outside of Stowe to take fifth in the race's closing stages, but then ran wide again and had to settle for sixth.
Karun Chandhok's race was very different. From 10th on the grid, he made constant progress and emerged sixth, ahead of his team-mate, following his pit stop on lap 18. He then passed Grosjean and capitalised on others' errors to move up to third and secure his second podium finish of the campaign.
Karun Chandhok: "You don't expect to finish third when you start as far back as I did, but that was a very good race for me. I was constantly quicker than the cars ahead as I was working my way up the field, but I opted for a strategy of patience and pounced whenever an opportunity arose. We set the car up to look after its rear tyres and that tactic paid off, because I was in really good shape at the end of both stints."
Bruno Senna: "I think we made one or two incorrect choices with today's set-up. My car was quite tricky to drive at the start and a gust of wind helped push me wide at Stowe on lap four. It was just too easy to make mistakes. My battle in the race's closing stages was great fun, but my tyres were finished by then. Overall, though, I'm not too disappointed. Given the problems I encountered, I'm happy to have scored a few points."
DAMS - Jerome d'Ambrosio (9th) Kamui Kobayashi (DNF)
DAMS competed in the first GP2 Series Championship race this weekend on the Silverstone circuit, one of the curtain raisers for the British F1 Grand Prix. The team's aim was to score points despite unfavourable grid positions. Unfortunately, the dice didn't fall in its favour as neither Kamui Kobayashi nor Jerome d'Ambrosio got into the top 8 despite a good strategy and a couple of top-class drives.
Kamui made a blindingly quick start from 9th on the grid. He refuelled early on and fought his way up the time sheets by pushing like crazy and setting fastest lap after fastest lap. His race ended at half distance due to an electrical problem that caused his engine to cut out when he was lying 4th.
Jerome d'Ambrosio also deserved better. He was 12th in the first corner, stopped early on and did not make any mistakes on one of the most demanding circuits in the championship. He crossed the line just outside the points in 9th place also missing pole for tomorrow's race by a whisker.
Despite this frustrating result, the team will be out to get the best out of tomorrow's potentially difficult track conditions and leave England with a few points.
Eric Boullier, team manager: "We're all very disappointed not to have scored points here today. Kamui drove a great race and was among the quickest drivers on the track; he would have finished in a well-deserved fourth place had he not suffered a technical problem. Jerome too has every reason to be pleased with his performance, and he crossed the finishing line just a few seconds off eighth place. It's very annoying but we've got to put this setback behind us and prepare for tomorrow. The conditions may be difficult and we'll do everything to make the most of them."
Kamui Kobayashi: "Yet another good result gone up in smoke! I was very much at home in the car and e xtremely competitive when a technical problem robbed me of a good result. The team bet on a strategy that was bearing fruit: it all looked very rosy until my race ended on the side of the track. It's frustrating but what can you do? Just hope for better luck next time!"
Jerome d'Ambrosio: "On the one hand, I'm satisfied with my performance: starting from fourteen and finishing ninth isn't a bad result. On the other, I finished just outside the points and that's very frustrating after such an effort. Eighth would have given me pole for tomorrow's race. It's a pity but it's not over yet. I can still aim for a place in the first six tomorrow and that's my target."
Super Nova Racing - Andy Soucek (12th) Alvaro Parente (16th)
It has been a disappointing home race for the Super Nova team this afternoon around the fast and challenging Grand Prix circuit of Silverstone, unfortunately collecting no championship points so far.
Forecasted heavy rain threatened overhead, yet for race one of GP2 conditions stayed dry. Alvaro Parente made an ambitious start gaining four places immediately, from his 10th row grid position. But unfortunately he pushed too hard, hit the curb & spun dropping back to 26th. He campaigned on, pending a call from the team for two new rear tyres. The Portuguese driver finally completed the 36 laps in 16th place.
Starting from 4th row on the grid, Soucek ran strong in 7th, with a pace to challenge the race leaders. Unfortunately though his tyres did not wear well, and he lost time and positions before and during the pit stop. He gained a place when he successfully passed Mike Conway, settling for 12th place at the chequered flag.
An exciting battle for the podium was led by Lucas Di Grassi for most of the race. However Racing Engineering's Giorgio Pantano stole the lead just several laps from the end, the Brazilian Barwa Intl Campos driver finishing 2nd, and Karun Chandhok taking 3rd for iSport.
Team Principal David Sears "What an incredibly disappointing race, with Andy Soucek running 7th behind Luca Filippi until his tyre wear slowed him up, and ending in 12th position. Alvaro Parente made a mistake and made a huge spin, luckily not to be hit by any other cars. Alvaro ended up in 16th place having gone to the back. Alvaro must solve his qualifying problems to start in the top eight where he surely belongs with his team mate."
Alvaro Parente: "The start was great! I past 4 cars! I was on the attack to gain places as quickly as possible, but unfortunately this is when I made my biggest mistake, I hit the curb and spun, and so I sadly ruined my race. The pace of the car was good, so tomorrow I plan to be focused and just try and gain as many positions with no mistakes."
Andy Soucek: "I maintained position at the start, even though there was little grip. I was a lot quicker than Filippi, but my tyres dropped, and got worse and worse, losing a second a lap before my pit stop, so when I came back out I had lost a lot of positions. I got held up by Conway for a bit, but managed to pass him. But then my pace and tyres dropped again, and Petrov caught up with me. I hope it rains tomorrow!"
DPR - Diego Nunes (17th) Michael Herck (DNF)
David Price Racing (DPR) were on the most familiar territory for the team today, out on the British Silverstone track, the nearest GP2 race venue to the team's base in Surrey. The team's two rookie GP2 drivers, Michael Herck and Diego Nunes, made their UK debuts in this afternoon's feature race with a capacity crowd at the Northamptonshire circuit enjoying the hard racing that epitomises this F1 feeder series.
Preparations for the two races this weekend began yesterday with only a one hour practice session giving the drivers experience of the Silverstone circuit in their GP2 machines before the qualifying session. Nunes began the session well posting ninth quickest time on his first set of tyres, but was unable to improve on his second set of new rubber, finally lining up in 18th place for today's start. Herck, in only his second race weekend with the team, improved throughout both sessions, and lined up in 26th position on the grid.
The start produced a clean getaway for most of the field, but Herck was left behind after stalling. He was able to join the race but having lost over 60 seconds, he found himself running far behind the others, and a lonely race ahead of him. Despite this, he pushed onwards. Nunes made a good start, but was knocked off the track by rival, Davide Valsecchi, dropping him right to the back of the field. He recovered and began to improve his lap times, but on the 5.14 kilometre track with few overtaking opportunities, the young Brazilian also had a tough time ahead.
The pitstop window opened early in the race, but with the ever-present threat of rain, the majority of the teams opted to stay out. Nunes was turning laps which comfortably matched the pace of the top ten, pitting after 13 laps of racing. Over the course of the first half of the race the GP2 field completed the mandatory stop, with Nunes lying in 20th and Herck behind in 25th place when all were on new tyres. As the race reached half distance Nunes had moved up two positions, then he began hounding Adrian Valles ahead of him, closing down the gap to lie 0.1 seconds behind him with eight laps remaining, whilst having to defend from Alvaro Parente, sitting on his rear, only 0.3 seconds adrift. As the laps counted down Nunes kept making moves on Valles, and when both Nunes and Valles ran wide in their fight, Parente slipped through to pass both. Nunes then finally overtook Valles, salvaging a 17th place finish, to start in this position for tomorrow's sprint race.
Herck battled through a tough race, avoiding being caught in the many incidents, and using the valuable track time to gain experience of the GP2 car. He brought the DPR car home in 23rd place, his first Feature race distance completed so far.
David Price, Team Principal said of the Feature race, "Diego was lapping well within the times of the top ten guys, but on such a long circuit, and having lost ground at the start, he was never able to make much inroad into the field. He didn't get the best out of the tyres yesterday, so started further back than we would have liked. This, compounded with his opening lap incident, compromised his race today. Michael just needs time and experience. Today he racked up more miles, and he's making progress. It won't be easy for either of our drivers tomorrow, but we'll pull together as a team to do the best we can."