08/10/2007
NEWS STORY
David Price Racing (DPR) concluded the 2007 GP2 Series with consecutive podium finishes at the final two races. The team then travelled to Jerez for post- season testing and proved their competitiveness by topping the time sheets on the first afternoon and recording strong results on both days of running.
DPR's 2007 driver, Andy Soucek drove on the first day alongside Luca Filippi who finished fourth in this season's championship with Super Nova. In the morning both drivers were lapping at the top of the time sheets. Filippi headed the field in the wet, and stayed at the top for much of the session, just slipping to sixth in the closing stages. Soucek was close behind in seventh. In the afternoon it was Soucek that took top honours, posting fastest time of all 26 drivers, with Filippi recording tenth quickest lap.
David Price, Team Principal, DPR, said of the first day's running, "We came straight from Valencia, not changing anything, and on the back of two podiums we were confident that we had the package that can match anyone out there. I think we proved that today, with both drivers able to get the best out of the car. Luca gave us a good benchmark, while Andy was able to work on setup development with Andy (Miller) and his engineering team, as well as having a shot at topping the timesheets, which he achieved in the afternoon.
"We had a slow start to the season, but from the mid-point we began to make real progress, so that by the end of it we were up there challenging for the win. Right from the first test with Andy I've believed in his abilities as a driver and never doubted how quick he can be. I think through this season he's grown in confidence with the team and we've helped him to be more of a complete driver. I really hope that he'll stay with us, so that we can both benefit from all the hard work this season."
On the second day of running Filippi remained in one of the DPR cars, with the other being filled with potential GP2 entrants. Italian Paulo Nocera partnered with Filippi in the morning, following a day of testing with Super Nova. Filippi clocked the fourth fastest time, with Nocera in 24th. In the afternoon the Nocera was joined by Federico Rossi and both drivers enjoyed their first experience of the GP2 racer, finishing 19th and 26th fastest respectively.
Price commented on the young drivers, "I think Paulo and Federico learned from their experiences this week. Federico's times didn't reflect his potential as he ran all his laps on used tyres, but he was able to gain experience with carbon brakes in a powerful car, and coped well with this new challenge."
The team will return to the track for further testing later this month at Paul Ricard circuit, France, alongside the other GP2 teams.