Race Reports

Magny-Cours 30/06/2007

Magny Cours Race 1

The GP2 race was suspended for an hour this afternoon after two severe incidents, that witnessed the two leading iSport drivers collide, and Ernesto Viso spectacularly thrown up into the air when his Racing Engineering car was hit on the opening lap.

Strong starts from both Luca Filippi and Mike Conway along with two quick pit stops before the race was halted, earned Super Nova several places, & into the important top eight.  Once restarted, an unlucky spin caused Mike to drop back to 19th, however the talented Brit fought furiously, reclaiming an impressive 10 places to clinch 9th in the final lap, taking a championship point.

Meanwhile team mate Luca pushed forward putting pressure on the front-runners, claiming 3rd position until the very final lap when his gearbox began to fail further more. Bruno Senna stole the last podium position, leaving Luca to follow in a respectable 4th place, collecting 5 points.

Team Principal David Sears: “After a huge accident on the first lap, the race was stopped & restarted under a safety car. Mike Conway & Luca Filippi began again in 8th & 9th places & starting to charge through the field. Unfortunately Luca caught Mike’s car exiting the hairpin and spun, so he had to start at the back again. Mike drove superbly through the field to finish 9th.

Luca worked his way up to impressive 3rd from 16th on the grid, but his gearbox started not selecting gears, with 14 laps to go & finally finished in 4th place. Luca has closed the gap by gaining 5 points today, so strengthening his 2nd place in the driver championship. ”

Mike Conway  “It’s a shame I got spun around, as I could have had a top 4 finish…so obviously I’m a bit disappointed not to get more points. However the pace was good towards the end, & I was able to catch up and pass easily. The balance and tyres were consistent…I start with good guys around me tomorrow so I hope to be able to carve my way through amongst them.”

Luca Filippi “Starting from 16th it was difficult to imagine such a good result, but I had a good first 3 corners, & was ready to gain some positions when I saw Viso’s car in midair. When we restarted, I was very happy with how the car worked, & the pace was strong. Unfortunately the gearbox issue became more and more of a problem, & I struggled, losing one second per lap. The top 5 driver championship points are very now close!”