Super Nova Silverstone Race One

Super Nova had a mixed race this afternoon, at the teams' home event in Silverstone, sadly missing out on any championship points.

Marcus Ericsson (SWE, Super Nova Racing). Credit: Alastair Staley/GP2 Media

The grid line up was adjusted prior to the start, due to DAMS 10 place penalty brought forward from Valencia, meaning Luca Filippi began from eleventh, Marcus Ericsson fifteenth.

Both drivers made a strong start, Marcus driving a determined first half, taking on and successfully passing several cars in the opening lap. Unfortunately it was in this first lap Luca's car was hit, puncturing his tyre and forcing him into the pits early. Nevertheless, on rejoining the race at the back of the field, the Italian set several impressive fastest laps, outpacing many of his rivals, to finish an unlucky P20.

In his attempts to defend his position, Marcus locked up when he went wide, allowing DAMS driver Jerome D'Ambrosio to pass. Preserving the tyres and finishing the race safely became Marcus' priority, which the Swede did to finish twelve.

Tomorrows' race will start 09:35hrs GMT

"I did a very good start and then got pushed out onto the grass, so lost a bit. Still the car was very good and I overtook four cars, which was good for the confidence. After the stop I started to struggle a little bit, and it was hard to keep D'Ambrosio behind me. When I was defending him I flat-spotted my front left tyres, and got a lot of vibrations after that, which made it quite hard. So when he did pass me, I eased off a bit not wanting to push it to the limit, and brought it home to finish P12. But you know, the positives are that we showed we were quick, and passed several cars. Tomorrow we get new tyres, starting from P12 it is possible to get some points, so we'll see what happens."

"It is a shame because Herck attacked me from the back and I got a puncture, so we lost a lot of time having to make an extra stop. However we found our pace was very competitive, setting consistent fastest laps. It would have been interesting to see where we were able to get, perhaps fourth or fifth position. It's a shame we will be starting from the back for tomorrow's race, its going to be tough race but we'll see what happens."

"Luca Filippi had his tyre slashed and got a puncture on the first lap, forcing him into the pit lane. He came out at the back of the grid, but his lap times were equivalent to the cars at the front, all except Maldonado, proving the pace is there.

Marcus Ericsson started off very strong, but unfortunately couldn't find the speed after flat spotting a front tyre following the pit stop. He will start P12 tomorrow morning, with a chance of finishing in the points"

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