01/07/2007
NEWS STORY
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Javier Villa brought joy to his beleaguered team at the conclusion of their troubled weekend today by holding on in changable conditions for his first GP2 win, soaking up massive pressure in the late stages of race two from Luca Filippi and Giorgio Pantano.
The Spaniard started on the front row and held his nerve as the rain came, stopped, and started again while many of his more fancied rivals struggled, claiming the top spot when poleman Nicolas Lapierre ran off track midway through the race and was never headed again, despite the best efforts of the Italian pair.
The long threatened rain started 20 minutes before the race, and although it stopped again fairly quickly the conditions were far from ideal: Mike Conway, Pastor Maldonado and Andi Zuber all spun on their outlaps, with the latter having to start from the pits after coming in for some small repairs. But all of the drivers started on slicks despite the conditions as the rain had stopped, all of them hoping that a dry line would soon form.
Considering the conditions, and the events of yesterday's first race, most of the drivers started conservatively, with Lapierre leading Villa, Adrian Zaugg and Vitaly Petrov through the first corner safely. One man who made a strong start was Bruno Senna, who was able to leap up a few spots to put himself on the tail of his teammate, although a bump between the pair at the back of the track saw the South African spin off, and he was soon back in the pits for good.
The move clearly affect the Brazilian as well: two corners later he ran wide, and Filippi was there to clean up fourth position. The Italian was on a charge, and on the next lap he easily disposed of Petrov at the Adelaide hairpin to put himself on course for another podium finish, a previously unthinkable position for him after his troubles in qualifying. He was easily the fastest man on track, and was soon catching up to the pair up front.
Senna's off track excursion meant that he dropped down to ninth position, with a slow starting Lucas di Grassi and Mike Conway between him and a shot at a points finish: a very fast starting Pantano led teammate Petrov and Pastor Maldonado behind the front three.
Further back and the pace was scintillating: Zuber was trying to make the best of a bad lot by banging in fastest laps, while Michael Ammermuller was also rapid. Slightly too fast in fact, as he spun off before fighting his way back, and was soon back on pace, albeit a long, long way back.
The fight for the final points finish was red hot, and on lap six Conway's pressure on Maldonado finally paid off as he muscled his way through at the hairpin, with Senna watching and waiting behind the pair. The Briton was soon on the tail of di Grassi, and the pair were making their presence known in Petrov's mirrors all the way around the circuit.
Kazuki Nakazuki was looking inspired further back, slicing his way through as he looked for a clear piece of track to put in his usual fastest lap efforts. Every time he looked like he was on for the fastest lap he found another car, which he rapidly pased before trying again: the end result meant that, although he wasn't getting a chance at the fastest lap, he was putting himself in line for points the traditional way, by finishing towards the front.
On lap sixteen everything changed: Lapierre had made a gap back to Villa and was pushing for more, but he ran too deep at the hairpin and was soon across the gravel and into the wall. The Frenchman was clearly gutted as he got out of his car and looked back on the track he grew up on as a boy, while the marshals, many of them known to him personally, led him gently away from the scene.
The mistake meant that Villa was leading Filippi by just half a second, with Pantano further back but not making any headway, while Petrov and di Grassi came through the hairpin together, with the Brazilian stealing the inside line and the run back to the front straight, while Senna, now with Nakajima all over his rear wing, was trying to do the same thing to Maldonado for sixth.
The fight was soon for another point when Conway slowed coming out of the hairpin two laps later, with the three way battle running past in a blur: the Briton's torrid weekend had come to a close when his recalcitrant car refused to continue, and he limped back to the pits and retirement as the rain started up once again.
With no one wanting to cede ground by coming in for wet weather tyres, and equally not wanting to give way on track, it was clear that the fireworks were going to begin again: the top three drivers were soon running nose to tail, but their experience at this level meant that the fight was always going to be a fair one. More interestingly the three way rookie fight for fifth place was hotting up, and no one could predict what was to come.
At the front of the field Villa, Filippi and Pantano were pushing with everything they had, but the Spaniard had a clear track in front of him and the obvious advantage that presents: for the final few laps the trio ran nose to tail, and when the chequered flag fell Villa had done just enough to hold off Filippi and Pantano, while di Grassi was a distant fourth.
It was on the final lap that the fight behind him clarified, with the hairpin playing its part in proceedings once again: Senna looked to get by Petrov but tapped the rear of the Russian's car, unsettling the pair and opening a gap on the inside for Nakajima to squeeze through Senna. The Brazilian fought back as he tried to run down the inside at Nurburgring, but the pair came together and Senna was soon in a spin.
Petrov punched the air as he crossed the line in fifth position, with Nakajima delighted to finish just behind him: a dejected Senna limped back home in seventh with nothing to show for all of his efforts during the race, while Nakajima's usual fastest lap today claimed by Zuber, who doesn't get the point for same as he started from the pits: that honour goes to Ammermuller, his first point of the season.
But in the pitlane there were smiles all around as everyone watched the diminutive Spaniard spray the champagne from the top step, the perfect end to a weekend his team would otherwise rather draw a line under and leave behind in Magny Cours.
Provided by the GP2 Series Media Service
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