09/07/2010
NEWS STORY
Racing Engineering - Christian Vietoris (3rd) Dani Clos (4th)
Racing Engineering had a successful qualifying session today in Silverstone in preparation for tomorrow's feature race. German driver Christian Vietoris had a very strong performance all day and qualified with the third fastest time, whilst Spaniard Dani Clos set the fourth fastest time of the session. However, with the 10 place grid penalty Christian was handed down after the Valencia sprint race, the German rookie will start from 12th position, whilst his team mate Dani Clos, will start from third.
Racing at Silverstone, the heart of British motorsport, is always something special for drivers and teams. The new configuration of the now 5.901km track, was adding an extra challenge for the GP2 field with its newly added Arena section, which includes two hard breaking points. Warm temperatures welcomed the GP2 field for this season's fifth round of the 2010 GP2 Series.
Free practice brought stable results for both Racing Engineering drivers Christian and Dani, who finished in 5th and 6th position respectively. However, during the last moments of the session, Dani went a bit wide and had an encounter with one of the new curbs of the track. Higher than before, they damaged Dani's car and the Racing Engineering crew had to push very hard to have Dani's car back in shape for qualifying.
When the green lights marked the start of the qualifying session, the championship contenders quickly took the lead, with Perez setting the first reference time. The Racing Engineering drivers didn't wait long and, after their second flying lap, were in the top positions with Dani Clos in third and Christian Vietoris in sixth. But, after six laps, and just before coming into the pits for a tyre change, Dani set the fastest lap time and took over provisional pole. The Racing Engineering boys faced different fortunes during the second half of the session. There was a lot of traffic on the track, and Dani Clos wasn't able to improve his time. Christian Vietoris however, managed to find a clear spot with just four minutes to go, and set an impressive third fastest time, just two tenths off Bianchi's pole position. Dani finished qualifying in 4th position, while Christian finally got the result he deserved for some time, setting the third fastest time.
With the penalty from Valencia being applied to Christian, Valerio and Cecotto, the starting grid of Saturday's feature race sees Dani starting from the clean side of the track in third position and Christian in 12th position. Race start is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon at 15:40 CET.
Christian Vietoris: "Mission completed. So far, and given the circumstances, it has been a good start to the weekend. Free practice went very well and there was still some margin. In qualifying everything fell into place and we finally had a trouble-free run with no traffic. I set the third fastest time and although it's a pity I have the penalty from Valencia, I think starting from 12th is not bad. A lot is possible tomorrow and my goal is to finish in the points, which would allow me to start from the front in Sunday's sprint race."
Dani Clos: "Things went well today. On my first set of tyres it went really well and I was able to take the top spot. On the second set we couldn't improve the lap time and I finished the session in fourth. But we are very optimistic for tomorrow. We have done a good job today and have to now work even harder for tomorrow's race."
Alfonso de Orleans - Borbon, President of Racing Engineering: "Two drivers in the top 4 is fantastic and now the boys have to prepare for tomorrow. I think the drivers as well as the team have done a great job today. It's a pity about Christian's grid penalty, but both drivers can score points. Let's see what tomorrow's race brings."
iSport International - Oliver Turvey (5th) Davide Valsecchi (11th)
British drivers have high hopes of success in this weekend's British Grand Prix at Silverstone – and the same is true in the GP2 Series curtain-raiser. iSport driver Oliver Turvey is one of those in contention and he'll line up fourth after a strong performance in today's qualifying session. He was classified fifth at the end of the session, but moves up one position because rival Christian Vietoris has to serve a 10-place penalty for causing an accident during the previous race, in Valencia.
Silverstone has been extended since the GP2 Series last visited – and the leading drivers were closely matched around the revised, 3.666-mile circuit. Davide Valsecchi was 0.2s shy of team-mate Turvey, but starts only 11th.
Oliver Turvey: That was a decent session. The car felt quick and every change we've made seems to have worked. I was always in contention for pole and briefly went quickest on my first set of new tyres, but traffic tripped me up during my second run. I managed to improve my time, but with a cleaner lap I could perhaps have gone a tenth or three faster.
I'm not unhappy, though, because the car is definitely competitive and starting from the second row gives me a realistic chance of challenging for victory. The new-look Silverstone has a nice flow and I have traditionally done well here. I won in Formula BMW and F3 and scored two podium finishes last season in the World Series by Renault, so I hope I can maintain that run of form this weekend.
Davide Valsecchi: My starting position might not look too good, but it doesn't reflect reality. The car felt well balanced and I was very happy with the set-up, but I didn't get a properly clean lap on either set of tyres. In both instances, I set my quickest time on rubber that was several laps old. But for that I'm sure I would have been able to challenge at the front, with Oliver, so I know I definitely have the potential to do well tomorrow. I had a small off towards the end, when I ran wide through the gravel, but I was simply pushing to improve and tried to ask a little too much from my tyres. It has been a disappointing day in some respects, but at the same time it's encouraging, too.
Super Nova - Luca Filippi (13th) Marcus Ericsson (16th)
Silverstone circuit was showered in sunshine this afternoon, whilst the GP2 cars went out for free practice and qualifying, taking in the new track layout for the first time.
Luca Filippi quickly reacquainted himself with the teams GP2 car. His final flying lap saw the eager Italian ace through sectors two and three, with the potential to qualify top five. Unfortunately he made a small mistake further round the track, which ultimately cost him time, and concluded the 30 minute session P13.
Marcus Ericsson will start a row behind his new team mate Luca Filippi for tomorrows feature race, after a difficult session today. The young Swede ran eighth quickest early on, but unfortunately couldn't find the time in the second set of tyres to improve his ranking, qualifying in 16th place.
Luca Filippi: "It's good to be back! Free practice earlier went well, we proved quick and again in qualifying we were very fast through the second and third sectors, we just lost a little in the first sector. But you know I didn't want to take any risks today. The car felt good, I think the gap between me and the front car was 0.3 seconds, so I think if we get a good start tomorrow, we have a good chance catch up and get some points."
Marcus Ericsson: "I think we did alright today, although it could have been better. The car felt quite good, it was just hard for me to find the lap time, so it has been a tough day. But we are working hard, and going through all the data in detail. I know we always have a very good race pace, so I'm quite confident for tomorrow, but we do need to work on the qualifying performance. Starting from 16th I will be in the middle of everything, which can be tricky. I know we can bring it together tomorrow, if we get it right and I drive it right, which I aim to do! Hopefully we can get some points, but for sure it's going to be a tough day."
David Sears Team Principal: "The whole team were looking forward both cars qualifying in the first half of the grid. But unfortunately things did not go according to plan. Luca Filippi was P10 on his first set of tyres, only 0.3 seconds from pole position. On his second set of tyres Luca was 0.3seconds up on the two sectors, but then he made an error losing one second, finishing P13. Still, not bad for his first outing back in the car.
Marcus Ericsson did not feel confident over the in bumps of the new section of the circuit, and lines up P16 for tomorrows' race. Perhaps Marcus can repeat some of his magic from the last race in Valencia, and end up in the top eight places by the end of the race."