Jose Maria Lopez 5th in Valencia
In the opening weekend of the 2006 GP2 Series, Jose Maria
Lopez and Lucas DiGrassi - both members of the Renault Driver
Development Programme – finished 5th and 17th in the
first race this Saturday which took place in Valencia, Spain.
Argentine Lopez started 6th on the grid with his Super Nova
car. He made a good start and managed to keep his position.
Keeping up with the pace of the leaders, Jose observed his
compulsory pit-stop early in the race. Unfortunately, handicapped
by some over steering, he was unable to close the gap with
the car in front of him. By the end of the race, Jose fought
hard in order to keep his position from Bruni. When Frenchman
Premat, who was then second, made a mistake and went off track,
Jose was 5th and crossed the finish line in this position.
Brazilian Lucas DiGrassi, meanwhile, had a more difficult
time on the Spanish track. Starting 20th of the grid, Lucas
made a brilliant start and gained three positions by the end
of the first lap. He then kept pushing, but quickly lost grip.
Even after his compulsory pit-stop and a change of tires,
Lucas' car kept sliding. Unable to contain Adam Carroll's
attacks, the Brazilian was overtaken by the Briton. He finished
17th.
For the Sunday race, Jose Maria will start 4th and Lucas
will start 17th.
Jose Maria Lopez (Super Nova): "I made a good start.
Even though Viso pushed me a little bit, I kept my position.
But then, I've had a lot of problems with controlling the
car in the corners. Trust me, if I didn't spin today, I will
not spin this season! It's been a really long race and my
fight with Bruni in the last laps was tough as he was much
faster than me. I'm still happy I finished fifth which means
I'll be starting 4th on the grid for tomorrow's race. Even
though this is not the best circuit for us, I still have high
hopes for the second race."
Lucas DiGrassi (Durango): "It's been a really weird
day: we've always been quick during the winter testing and
then, suddenly, we are struggling a lot with the car today.
After a few laps, it started sliding a lot. I had almost no
grip and as the race was going, it was getting even worse.
I don't expect a lot from tomorrow's race as I'll be starting
so far back on the grid… But my team and I will work
really hard today in order to try and find some helpful solutions."
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