Trident Racing - Mike Conway (3rd) Ho Pin Tung (22nd)

Trident Racing had a perfect start at Monte Carlo, as Mike Conway took third place in today's qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix. The joy for the 2nd-row starting spot captured by the British driver partially compensated the disappointment for the mistake committed by Ho Pin Tung, who ended his session early after clipping the inside barriers at swimming pool. Mike clocked his fastest lap with four minutes to go, right before a red flag forced all the cars to come back to the pits due to an accident. In the final stages, no driver was able to improve, and the charts were unchanged.

Mike Conway: "I had a good feeling since this morning's free practice, as I was constantly into the top-4. Unfortunately I was forced to stay into the pits due to a technical problem in the second part of the session, while other drivers managed to improve their best laps. We finally had the chance to prove our potential, despite the huge traffic and the fact that I preferred to go easy and avoid troubles. In the final minutes of qualifying I managed to find a clean lap, pushing really hard and clocking what resulted to be the third fastest time of the day. I could have even clinched front row without a small error in the middle section, but it's ok. I know tomorrow's race will be extremely tough, but I think I'll have a clear shot to a podium finish".

Ho Pin Tung: "I made an irreversible mistake in the initial stages of qualifying. There's not a lot to add, except that I really had a top-10 potential. I touched the kerb at swimming pool and I ended up into the barriers. I hope to be able to come back during the first race: it won't be impossible on such a selective track".

Alessandro Alunni Bravi, Managing Director: "It's tough not to be satisfied with today's results. We were deeply convinced to have a well-performing car, and we were targeting a front row start with Mike and a top-10 position with Ho Pin. Mike was great in qualifying despite a problem that cut his practice session short and prevented him from completing his programmed work. Today's third place, with just two tenths of a second from the pole time, is a great result mainly due to the efforts of Mike and our three engineers, Graziano Michelacci, Daniele Rossi and Matteo Frolino. That said, this time I wish I wouldn't have to content myself: Ho Pin will start in 21st after an unfortunate off-track happened while having set his best splits in the first two sectors. The Chinese driver has obviously a much higher potential than shown by his starting position. Strategy will be crucial tomorrow, and the team have already started to work in order to enable our drivers to set sights on the best possible result".

Racing Engineering - Giorgio Pantano (5th) Giorgio Pantano (19th)

Luck, always such a part of racing at Monaco, both on and off the track, again played a decisive role in the qualifying session that decides the starting grid for the first race of the weekend at the Monegasque track.

Getting a clean lap without the traffic that could impede the driver from giving his best not to mention the many yellow and red flags which are so usual because of the incidents that always occur on the Monaco track is almost as difficult as guessing the winning number at the roulette wheel of its famous casino. Despite the fact that both Racing Engineering drivers were looking for the final prize they couldn't get the reward they were seeking with both men having to settle for places further back than they would have liked for tomorrow's race.

At least Giorgio Pantano finally finished near to the pole he was aiming for after running really quickly throughout day and scoring the fifth fastest time in the decisive session. This despite, when he was looking for a better time with his second set of fresh tyres, getting involved in the frantic traffic jam at the end of the session that prevented him from finding the clean lap needed to be involved in the fight for first position on the grid.

Javier Villa had worse luck, as his best lap was totally ruined by a red flag triggered by one of his competitors having one of the several contacts with the barriers that occurred during qualifying. This left the Spaniard with no other option than to abort his attempt to be in the front rows of the starting grid, finishing in 18th position which means he will have to move up a lot tomorrow to, at least, get close to the point scoring positions.

Nevertheless the most positive outcome of the day for Racing Engineering was that, once more, both the Repsol and Telefónica backed Dallaras worked perfectly being always competitive and without any problems. Thus the two drivers of the Spanish team will have, for tomorrow's first race of the weekend, the perfect conditions to fight for a good result as well as a better starting position for Saturday's sprint race.

Alfonso de Orleans Borbón (team principal): "Giorgio did quite well considering the extreme amount of traffic he encountered. We know he could have done much better, but considering the circumstances we are happy. Javi obviously found himself in a worse situation as right when he was on his fast lap the red flag being shown didn't help. The cars were once more in very good condition and the entire crew did a great job. So we should be ready for tomorrow's race."

Javier Villa: "It was really difficult in both free practice and qualification, with 26 cars on the track we impede each other all the time. I did just a lap at the beginning of the session and I was sixth, but later we couldn't do anymore. I feel very comfortable with the car and that gives me positive feelings for tomorrow. It will be a tough race starting at the back so we'll have to wait and see as it's a long race."