12/06/2008
NEWS STORY
David Price Racing, concluded two days of testing at the official GP2 test in Paul Ricard yesterday. Michael Herck returned to driving duties with the team following his forced absence with a wrist injury. The 19-year-old Romania born driver partnered with his team mate Diego Nunes for the mid-season testing session, and both drivers had extensive running at the French track, preparing for the race weekends ahead.
Nunes ran consistently around the top ten throughout the two days, making improvements as the sessions progressed. On the final afternoon he posted 13th fastest lap time, The team worked through a busy programme and were pleased with the results of their labours by the conclusion of the test. The track configurations used during the two days allowed the team to prepare for the Monza and Spa events as well as the upcoming Magny Cours races.
Herck was driving for the first time since picking up an wrist injury in the Bahrain event of the GP2 Asia Series and having only had the cast taken off the day prior to the test, he felt the effects of not being at full fitness as although his injury has healed, his muscles have been weakened. Despite this, Herck impressed the team with his stamina and commitment, and he made steady progress during the course of the test, finishing 19th fastest on the second day of running.
David Price, Team Principal, DPR said at the conclusion of the test, "Diego was making improvement during the test and is working well with the team. Michael isn't back to full fitness yet and I think his times reflected this, but with another week before he's back in the car, he will be able to train hard and be ready for the race weekend.
"We're pleased with the overall progress we've made in testing and the investment in our engineering capabilities is paying dividends now. We're working with more engineering capability than we've ever had previously and this is proving extremely beneficial."
The DPR team now moves on to Magny Cours, with the fourth race weekend of the ten event GP2 Series. The venue hosts the French Formula One Grand Prix for the last time this year, but DPR is looking forward to racing at the venue. The track, although lacking in character, is fast and smooth. It is a technically challenging circuit, with long fast straights and heavy braking and acceleration areas.
Price says of the next race weekend, "It'll be a real test for Michael, as he hasn't raced since the beginning of April, but having had two days of running this week, he's close to being ready and I expect by this time next week he'll be back to full fitness. I hope that we'll see Diego continue to make good improvement as he's been doing at each round so far. He not only has experience of the track, but he took a win and a second place here last year. This success should give him extra confidence, and will certainly be an advantage to him at the start of the weekend."
The fourth event of the 2008 GP2 Series at the Magny Cours circuit will support the French Formula One Grand Prix. The first of the two races will be held on Saturday afternoon with the second taking place on Sunday morning.