Super Nova International - Jose Maria Lopez 2nd Fairuz Fauzy 10th
Jose Maria Lopez started from first row today, and within seconds was leading the race, after Piccione came off. The Argentinean driver made a 2.8second head way between him and 2nd place, which was swapping between Pantano & Glock. Jose showed skill & continuity throughout the entire race, and looked set for his first pole finish this season. Unfortunately German driver Timo Glock (iSport) closed in and on the very last lap Jose lost speed and the iSport entry passed on the first corner, taking pole in his home country. Super Nova still take home 8 points from this weekend, including fastest lap from today!
Malaysian driver Fairuz Fauzy, drove a solid 27 laps, starting at the back in 22nd, gaining places throughout the 45 minute race to finish in 10th position.
Team Principal - David Sears: "The whole Super Nova team were cheering Jose Maria Lopez today as he led the race, nearly from start to finish, unfortunately he made a mistake and let Timo Glock pass him to win the race. However from qualifying last, 7th, and 2nd place today we get some still useful points, elevating Jose in the championship. But the team can't help but be a little disappointed.
Fairuz Fauzy drove well, finishing in the top ten, demonstrating he can find the speed. If Fairuz can qualify better, he will get some results, in our last few races. The teams' transporter continues from Hockenheim to Hungary where we will be looking for our first pole finish!"
Jose Maria Lopez: "I'm feeling pretty angry really, although I shouldn't as we only miss out on one point, but… Thinking of yesterday we started at the back and came right through to 7th. I was nervous but determined to win today. In the last 10 laps I found it hard to keep the pace. Unfortunately Timo Glock was the quicker one. The team have been fantastic though, and I'm feeling positive about Budapest."
Fairuz Fauzy: "I didn't get the best start unfortunately, although I managed to gain a place. The car felt good and I am pleased with the result, but would like to look forward to Budapest and hope to qualify better! We have a great team, so it's definitely possible!"
ART Grand Prix - Lewis Hamilton 3rd Alexandre Prémat DNF
With just three weekends to go before the end of the 2006 GPO2 championship, ART Grand Prix reinforced its position in both the drivers and team championships.
However, Hockenheim was not the best race of the season for the team, who despite leaving Germany with two more podium finishes from Lewis Hamilton to their credit, failed to take victory. There was also immense disappointment for Alexandre Prémat, whose race was ruined by an electric sensor.
Both Lewis and Alex knew the weekend was not over despite qualifying in eighth and tenth places on the grid respectively, knowing that they were both in with a good chance as they have proved on several occasions already this year that they are more than capable of working their way up though the field.
Lewis proved it yet again when he made it to the 2nd step of the rostrum, however Alex was struck down by a mechanical problem which forced him in for an unscheduled return to the pits. Recording the best lap of the race, proof that he had the speed at Hockenheim, the Frenchman finished race one down in 19th place, which basically ruined his chances of a good finish in race two on Sunday.
Starting seventh on the grid in the second race, Lewis displayed further aggressiveness and prudence to ensure another podium finish that enabled him to increase his lead in the championship.
Frederic Vasseur: Inevitably my feelings are somewhat two fold. Lewis now has a good lead in the championship, with two solid races and two podium finishes, but Alex's weekend was wasted due to a fault with a sensor. He recorded the best lap of the race all the same and once again took a point from Piquet. Overall they made good moves in regard to the championship, but Alex deserved better.
Alexandre Prémat: The disappointment is immense because even if our qualifying was not the best of the year, we were not overall anxious in regard to the race but some to be able to go up with the outposts. An electric crankshaft sensor cut off for me just 5 laps into the first race making me return to the pits to fix the problem and ruining my weekend. It is annoying that such a small mechanical hiccup like this can destroy all your efforts. After finishing way down in the first race, I could not hope for a lot in the second.
I went on maximum attack, all or nothing. It was a small consolation to finish as the fastest this weekend, but it proves I was the quickest in the first race and therefore enabled me to take a point from Piquet. Without this defective sensor things would have been different: I could easily have finished 4th on Saturday, and have been well placed on the grid for Sunday.
Lewis Hamilton: The car was great, and even though it did not go that well in qualifying, we needed the points for both championships and we got them. It couldn't get better in race 1 starting from 8th and finishing 2nd. Race 2 was fun with several nice battles and another podium in the end. The team did a fantastic job as usual, a big thank to all its members.
Trident Racing - Gimmi Bruni 6th Andreas Zuber 14th
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