29/07/2008
NEWS STORY
David Price Racing (DPR) heads to the Hungaroring Circuit near Budapest, Hungary this weekend for the seventh round of the 2008 GP2 Series. Romanian-born Michael Herck and Brazilian Diego Nunes will be aiming to master the tight and twisty Circuit as they both continue learning and gaining race experience in their rookie year of GP2.
At the previous round in Hockenheim DPR endured two tough races, Michael Herck scored 17th place in the first race but was punted off the grid and unable to continue in the second, while Diego Nunes was the first to reach a wet track on dry tyres, sliding out of the first of the two races yesterday. He finished back down the order in 20th place in the second race after being spun round in the early stages. DPR will be looking for the same up turn in form as they did towards the end of last season, which started at the Hungaroring when Soucek secured the team's best qualifying position with a tenth place grid slot.
The Hungaroring which is 12 miles north of Budapest has been known to be compared in style to Circuit de Monaco, due to its tight and twisty corners, and slow nature, a far cry from the Hockenheim Circuit they've left behind. The circuit is almost flat, and the only notable change in elevation is a valley in the straight after turn three. Due to the twisty style of the circuit the Hungaroring is not notorious for its overtaking spots, however the GP2 Series has always managed to throw up exciting races at the circuit, the track being in a natural bowl means that about 80 percent of the racetrack is visible from any point. It is narrow, with many slow speed corners and the sheer number of turns (13) means that the drivers have little time to rest.
Team Principal David Price commented ahead of the weekend, "The Hungaroring is a demanding circuit for the drivers, but Michael has raced there before in World Series, so he will have some knowledge of the track and Diego tasted success in Euroseries 3000 last season with a second place finish. There is an emphasis on the importance of qualifying and pit stop strategy at this race, because the only real chance to overtake at this track is at turn one, which means we need to work hard on our pace in the run up to the races to get the best result possible. It will be hot and tiring for the drivers, so keeping up the concentration will be vital.
"We've had some tough races recently which have been character building for the two drivers, we've had a lot of bad luck and incidents putting paid to any chance we would have of scoring a strong finish. Our aim for this weekend is to have two trouble free races for both of our drivers and continue to improve on our results so far."