09/09/2007
NEWS STORY
Timo Glock (iSport International) Winner - We knew it would be quite difficult to be on the podium but we fight everytime until the last moment, and thats the reason why we are sometimes on the podium where some guys would not expect us to be and that's a positive thing about the whole team.
Luca Filippi (Super Nova International) 2nd - I am so happy to have scored two podiums here, in front of thousands of Italian fans. Its makes it more special for me, but it is a shame that there was no Italian anthem today! Anyway we showed great potential today, the car was fantastic! We definitely had the strongest pace today. Now I am looking ahead to the next race in Spa.
Bruno Senna (Arden International) 3rd - It's good to be back on the podium! It's been a while and we had a bit of a struggle at some of the races. Right now I'm very satisfied that we can be competitive again. It was a tough race because I touched with Luca [Filippi] on the second chicane and I had bent steering for the rest of the race, which wasn't easy! I was quick enough to fend off whoever was behind me though and we finished on the podium so I'm very happy. It's easy to say that we can build from here, but we have a lot of work to do to get the car competitive for Spa and Valencia, so we will continue to work hard and push.
Lucas Di Grassi (ART Grand Prix) 4th - With two laps less I would have taken the lead of the championship again and would have been better placed to defend my position in race two. But that's racing... With three laps to go for the end of the first race, each time I went down the gears I found myself in neutral. I had to stop to be able to select a gear and then restart. It is frustrating because the 2nd step of the podium was in sight. The following day I had a good start and avoided any incidents at the beginning of race. I had a good rhythm and I went quickly up the classification. Then I had a new problem with some electronic failures. I preferred not to take too many risks and push things with the gearbox, so I finished the race with some important points for the championship. I must thank the team who worked until 3 in the morning to fix the gearbox problems from Saturday.
Andy Soucek (DPR) 7th - We hadn't had the best weekend leading up to the feature race, but we made some positive changes after qualifying and the car was better in the race. I just pushed too hard and ended up crashing out. I have to thank the DPR crew for working hard to repair the car in time for today's race. At least we produced a good finish after all that and at last we're making progress. The car felt good and that has grown my confidence, and I was able to take quite a few cars on my way through the field. I'm happy with the outcome. Ending up seventh was good, but I would have liked to have had a point!
Mike Conway (Super Nova International) 9th - I was kind of cautious to start, not wanting a repeat performance of yesterday, so just stayed in position, then after that I made up a couple of places. It was at Parabolica, Zaugg spun in front of me, and whilst narrowly missing him I spun too. However we seemed to have a quicker car and I found it easy to catch them up & move onto the next ones! Which was good! We have Spa next week, which is a mega circuit. I've won there before, so I'm really looking forward to it.
Kohei Hirate (Trident Racing) 10th - Today's race was an hard and grueling one. I experienced minor troubles in getting the car into the chicanes but, in the end, I had good chances to recover and pass other cars. I'm glad I was able to bring my Dallara to the finish untouched, and that's not so easy considering the fights we always see at the first chicane, especially among the back of the pack. I think this race will be a great prelude to the one we'll be entering next weekend at Spa-Francorchamps. I know the Belgian track well and I'm determined to bring home a good result.
Olivier Pla (DPR) 13th - I just ended up with nowhere to go on the opening lap yesterday and ended up stranded in the gravel. Race over. That meant that I had no race data for today and hadn't done a long run to get more experience so that made my job tougher, especially not having raced this car for so long. We had a good run though and completed the race distance, so it was better, but starting so far back was always going to make it difficult. I enjoyed my weekend, it was good to be back in the GP2 paddock!
Sébastien Buem (ART Grand Prix) 14th - It was better but the final result is quite frustrating. I clocked some very fast sectors in qualifying but I was unable to put them together. It could have been much better. I made a good start in race one and overtook Senna. All was going well until I tried to get passed Hirate. I did not expect him to fight as hard as he did, it was useless and stupid as he was one lap down. He hit me hard which twisted my steering. Then we lost 10 more seconds during my pit stop when we lost a wheel nut. I resumed the race in P18 and climbed up to P7, which was very satisfying as I scored points and was assured of a good position in race 2. I had some wheel spin at the start of Sunday's race but was still P3 at the end of the first lap. Then I had an interesting battle with Glock, who eventually overtook me by cutting the chicane! I let Lucas go through but did not see Pantano's suicidal attack coming and it ruined my race. Well, all in all the weekend was quite positive. I hope I showed some good performances but I want to do more and better and results must come. I hope everything will go smoothly at Spa and that lady bad luck will leave me alone.
Adam Carroll (FMS International) 15th - This weekend was difficult but today was the first race I've finished in Monza for three years; I've always been quick here but have just never got the results. Yesterday was unfortunate because we could have been at the front but it was one of those things. The second race started okay but unfortunately I couldn't avoid Zaugg. He spun right in front of me so I was quite lucky to only end up with the damage that I did end up with. We changed the front wing and went out for the fastest lap, which luckily I got. So we've got something out of the weekend, which is a good thing. We'll go to Spa now which is a great place. It's one of the great circuits, I really love it there. I think we can have a good car, hopefully win another race and fight for third place in the championship.
Jason Tahinci (FMS International) 20th - I didn't have a great start and it seemed that the people in front cut the chicane into the first corner so I lost some time there. Then I got the puncture which I think was caused when I spun off onto the gravel. It was a big spin but I kept my momentum and got myself back onto the circuit. I did a complete lap but then realised something was wrong, so I came into the pits and we had to change the tyre. After that, the balance of the car was never the same. I pushed but I got caught a lot by the blue flags, and it's so difficult being so far back. So it was a disappointing day but hopefully things will be better for Spa.
Ricardo Risatti (Trident Racing) DNF - I had a good start from pole position, and managed to keep the lead with ease in the initial stages. After 9 laps, I saw Pantano coming behind me on a very fast pace; I was ready to give room and let him pass when he tried a desperate and senseless move at Prima Variante. Due to the following contact, I found myself with a damaged right rear suspension and a successive contact with Glock left me with no steering. It's a real shame to see a race started so good end in that way, also because the team and I really made made no mistakes.
Javier Villa (Racing Engineering) DNF - The race was very difficult, the key was to make a good start and then push hard. I made a great start and I was first into the chicane but on the exit the clutch began to slip badly and I lost a lot of places. I continued for a few laps but the clutch problem continued and began to damage the engine so I retired. It was a real pity as I think I could have won today.
Marcos Martinez (Racing Engineering) DNF - I made a good start and overtook several cars but there was an incident in front of me in the Parabolica and I couldn't avoid an accident. It has been a very bad weekend for me but it will be better in Spa.
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