iSport International - Bruno Senna (Winner) Karun Chandhok (DNF)
iSport racer Bruno Senna scored a textbook victory in this morning's rain-hit GP2 Series sprint at Silverstone. From third on the grid, the Brazilian worked his way into the lead on the opening lap as he adapted quickly to the treacherous conditions. He didn't put a foot wrong throughout the 24 laps, even when rain became torrential halfway through the race. He went on to take a comfortable win, his second of the campaign, and closed the gap to championship leader Giorgio Pantano, who finished third.
There was disappointment for Senna's team-mate Karun Chandhok. Sixth on the grid after his stellar run to third place yesterday, he spun off at Club Corner before the first lap was complete and was unable to restart.
Bruno Senna: "Conditions were obviously quite difficult, but from where I was sitting everything felt reasonably straightforward. Once I'd got into the lead I took things fairly easy, although I started to push harder when Lucas di Grassi closed in a little. I was able to pull away from him without any problem and after that I just settled into a rhythm - I know Silverstone very well and there was no point pushing too hard when I didn't have to.
"There were all sorts of incidents going on - blue flags, yellow flags and so on - but none of them caused me any real worries. The team had done such a good job setting up the car that I was able to put it almost anywhere I wanted on the circuit."
Karun Chandhok: "I'm beginning to hate Sundays - this is the fifth successive sprint race in which I've failed to score. There isn't much to say, really. I was following Pantano and trying to pick out where the track went, which was very difficult in the spray. The next thing I knew I was going backwards and the engine stalled. Visibility was awful and I must have caught an outside kerb with my left-rear wheel."
Trident Racing - Mike Conway (4th) Ho Pin Tung (21st)
The second race of the GP2 Series' British weekend at Sliverstone was much better than the first one for Trident Racing, as Mike Conway recovered up to 4th place and took some extremely valuable points. The Briton managed to fight back in the initial stages and ended up in a consistent fashion, repaying the team's hard work after a disappointing Race 1, and boosting the staff's confidence for the second half of the season. Chinese driver Ho Pin Tung once again had one of his trademark great starts, but was forced to retire early after ending up off-track.
Mike Conway: "I was really concerned in the closing stages when my engine gradually lost power: I rounded the last lap completely flat-out to prevent it from stalling. Today's start wasn't one of my best ones, but I passed a lot of cars in the initial laps, climbing up to 4th. I even caught Pantano and hoped for a mistake by him, but I didn't have a true chance to dive in and pass. In the end, fourth place is good for points, and for our standing position".
Ho Pin Tung: "I really had a good start, and climbed back to 8th place after moving on several cars. I made a mistake at the beginning, due to the wet track, but I was able to keep my engine on and continue. Unfortunately, another error brought me to stall and ended my day for good".
Graziano Michelacci, Engineer - Mike Conway: "We opted for a full-wet set-up, without compromises, and we had the same great feedback of Magny-Cours. Mike improved his position and lapped on some extremely fast lap-times. Once in the slipstream of Giorgio Pantano, he waited for a mistake by the Italian that eventually didn't come. In the final laps we were concerned with Mike's engine, but he managed to come to the flag".
Daniele Rossi, Engineer - Ho Pin Tung: "Today's race was disputed on extremely tough conditions. From a technical standpoint, our choices turned out to be really positive, as the circuit stayed wet all-day long. Ho Pin made a great start and kept a good pace in the initial laps, but was latter penalized by a driving mistake that ended his day. We're keeping concentrated for Hockenheim: Ho Pin has a good knowledge of the venue, and that might be a good advantage in qualifying".
Racing Engineering - Giorgio Pantano (3rd) Javier Villa (16th)
Giorgio Pantano is looking more and more like the number one candidate for the GP2 series title after scoring another podium finish in today‘s Silverstone Sprint Race. The Racing Engineering driver was third in a very difficult rain-hit race, while his team mate Javier Villa was one of the many victims of the bad conditions, having to withdrawn after spinning near the end.
As predicted by most weather forecasts, it was raining this morning at Silverstone and the Sprint Race started on a very damp track. The first lap clearly showed that the track conditions were very difficult so the key was not to make any mistakes. Giorgio Pantano was one of the drivers who best understood this, gaining no less than five positions in the first lap and he was already lying third first time over the start/finish line after starting 8th due to the GP2 reversed grid system and his Saturday victory.
sign in