Disappointment Today Front Row Tomorrow

Car  9: Oliver Turvey    (GBR) - 8th
Car 10: Davide Valsecchi (ITA) - 7th

iSport drivers Davide Valsecchi and Oliver Turvey finished seventh and eighth in today's GP2 Series feature race at Silverstone - not quite the result the team's fine qualifying performance promised, but the consolation is that both drivers will line up on the front row for tomorrow morning's sprint. Valsecchi started ninth and had an uneventful race until the final lap, when Giedo van der Garde ran wide and Davide was able to capitalise, taking seventh place. From fifth on the grid, Turvey found his car lacked balance on its first set of tyres and he lost several places as a result. He appeared destined to finish outside the points, but on the final lap he, too, passed van der Garde. That earned him eighth place... and pole position tomorrow.

Davide Valsecchi (ITA, iSport International). Credit: Jakob Ebrey/GP2 Media

"The car was quite difficult to drive at the start, on heavy fuel, but our pace picked up as the race wore on. Maybe our set-up choice was a little bit too conservative - we wanted to look after our tyres, because Silverstone traditionally takes its toll on rubber, but we probably went a bit too far in that direction. We can use the data from today's race to fine-tune our set-up for tomorrow - and obviously we are starting in an excellent position, even if it's not for quite the right reasons. It will be a tough fight with Oliver, but it will also be fair."

"It's a bit of a mystery, really. The car felt great yesterday, but during the first few laps of the race it was difficult to get a real feeling for what it was doing and I couldn't keep pace with the guys ahead. We both pitted quite early - Davide on lap seven and me on lap eight - and after that the car's behaviour changed significantly. The balance came back and I was able to lap more consistently, but it's difficult to pinpoint exactly why. It's just one of those things that sometimes happens between different tyre sets. I was pleased to pass van der Garde on the final lap - ninth is the worst finishing position, because you are outside the points and just miss pole for tomorrow. He left a gap, though, and I had to go for it. That gives me the chance to finish my weekend on a real high."

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