#20 Mike Conway, 8th
#21 Ho Pin Tung, 16th
Mike Conway made his way to 8th place yesterday at Spa-Francorchamps, in the first race of the GP2 Main Series weekend, and will start Race 2 from the pole spot. Ho Pin Tung crossed the line in 16th place, enough to let him take off from row 8 today.
Yesterday`s race started under thick rain, though the racetrack started to dry out after the early stages, and all the drivers eased to the pits, profiting from the mandatory stop to move to slick tires. Unfortunately, during Mike`s pit-stop, a the left front lug nut got stuck, forcing the British driver to lose 14 seconds and get stuck in the 2nd half of the charts. He was able to recover though, clinching the top spot for today`s reversed grid. Race 2 will start at 10:00 GMT+2.
Alessandro Alunni Bravi, Managing Director
"Bad luck used to hit us in the past races, but we can say we were somehow helped today, also thanks to the great pace kept by Mike over the whole 26 laps. Unfortunately, during the pit-stop made at lap 8, we lost 14 additional seconds than the ideal time due to a lug nut problem. Mike eventually found himself relegated from 6th to 11th place. In the final laps, thanks to the issues happened and to the mistakes made by the rivals in front of him, he was able to climb up to 8th place, enough to take 1 point and tomorrow`s pole spot. Ho Pin was penalized by the decision to postpone the move from rain to slick tires, though he told by the radio that he preferred to wait for a better track condition. Today`s balance leaves us with a bitter taste in our mouth, due to a pit problem that deprived us of a possible podium finish".
Mike Conway
"The first part of the race has been pretty linear, though the track`s condition wasn`t optimal, and changed quickly. We decided to pit at the right time, but a problem made us lose valuable time. When I retook the track, I found the first laps difficult due to the damp track and the slick tires, and it was easy to make a mistake. In the end I managed to keep a good pace, climbing back to 8th place. It`s a good result for tomorrow`s Race 2: I hope to make a good start and try pull away from the rest of the pack."
Ho Pin Tung
"I was unable to improve my position t the start because it was given behind the safety-car, but I took some spots back during the first laps. A bad timing choice for the pit-stop cost us a lot of time, since it happened too late compared to the track`s conditions, and I found myself at the back".
