GP2 Series. Turkey
THE VICTORY AND LEADERSHIP GOES TO GIORGIO PANTANO
IN TURKEY
 The
Repsol driver won the long race, came fourth in the short
race, and now leads the general classification. A complicated
weekend for Javier Villa
Giorgio Pantano is the new leader of the GP2 Series after
the victory taken in the long race disputed yesterday afternoon
on the Istambul Circuit, and a fourth position taken this
morning in the short race. The Istambul Grand Prix has not
been too positive for Javier Villa, as while yesterday he
had to make do with a seventh position, in today's race he
was unable to improve his performance. The Repsol driver skidded
off the track when a rival attempted to overtake him, and
did not feel comfortable at all behind the wheel of his single-seater.
1st Race
When the red lights blinked off, Giorgio Pantano took the
lead of the first race held yesterday afternoon on the Istambul
circuit. Starting from Pole Position, the Repsol driver led
the race with authority right from the start, and by the end
of his first lap already had a one second advantage. Lap by
lap, Pantano increased the difference, which was already seven
seconds ten laps into the race. Javier Villa, who started
from eighth position on the starting grid, managed to climb
two places during the first lap, and fought a tough struggle
with Petrov to take fifth position.
The Repsol driver made the compulsory pitstop in the eleventh
lap, and the traffic caused him problems when entering the
track again. In order to avoid a collision with Maldonado,
Villa was forced to wait before returning to the Turkish track,
losing two positions. The classification remained untouched
until lap number 24, when Valerio spun and forced the entry
of the Safety Car. Pantano took the opportunity to change
his tyres, as did his rivals, but the fast and efficient pitstop
carried out by the Racing Engineering team meant he returned
to the track again in first position. After lap 28 the Safety
Car left and the Repsol driver continued to dominate the race.
Once again, Pantano set a pace that no other driver was capable
of following. The Repsol driver thus took his first victory
this season and leads the general classification.
Javier Villa was sixth when the Safety Car intervened, but
when the race restarted, he opened up too wide after a turn,
and with the still-cold rubbers, he was overtaken by Buemi
and Carroll. The Repsol driver had not given up yet, and immediately
started to pressure Carroll, finally overtaking him at the
end of the lap and climbing to seventh position, which he
held until the end of the race.
2nd Race
In this morning's race, yesterday's winner Giorgio Pantano
got off to a superb start from eighth position, placing himself
fifth by the end of the first lap. Javier Villa, in turn,
lost a position at the end of the straight, and fell to third
place. Once again, a number of incidents during the first
lap forced the intervention of the Safety Car. When the race
restarted three laps later, Javier Villa, who was trying to
catch up with Buemi, saw how Romain Grosjean, the final winner
of the race, overtook him.
During the fifth lap, Villa managed to overtake Grosjean,
but the latter soon recovered his position, and Villa saw
how teammate Giorgio Pantano also overtook him. In the eighth
lap, Conway also passed the Spanish driver, who had started
to struggle for sixth position with Chandhok. However, bad
fortune crossed the Repsol driver's path, because during the
following lap, Villa's attempt at overtaking Chandhok ended
up with both drivers off the tarmac. Villa lost a number of
positions, and when he attempted to recover the lost ground,
he spun around again and fell to seventeenth position.
Meanwhile, at the head of the race, Giorgio Pantano was fourth,
chasing Buemi. The Security Car had to return to the track
during lap 12, when two dogs ran onto the track and Senna
hit one of them. The animal was unhurt, but Senna's car was
very damaged. The race restarted two laps later, with Pantano
still chasing Buemi. In spite of coming close on two occasions,
the Repsol driver decided to take it easy in order to stack
up points in the general classification thanks to a solid
fourth position. Javier Villa finally managed to climb to
15th position.
Quotes
Javier Villa >>
First Race >> 7th at 14.894 secs
“Today wasn't bad. I got off to a good start and during
the first half of the race I was sixth, which is quite good.
After the pitstop everything was on course, because I was
still sixth, but then the Safety Car appeared, and when we
restarted I skidded off the track in turn 6. I was overtaken
by two cars, though I managed to pass one of them again and
finished seventh. Tomorrow we'll try out new lines in the
curves and a few other things. I'm starting in second position
and it's important to push hard during the first lap; I think
we can make it to the podium and that'll be our goal.”
Second Race >> 15th at 27.449 secs
“Today was bit tough. I didn't get off to a very good
start and was in third position, though I was still doing
OK. However, I had a few problems and it was a very difficult
race as I could not keep up with the rest. In the last turn
there was this other car which made me spin, and I fell many
positions. I tried to push back, but the difference was simply
too great. Now we have to check everything correctly to try
and find out what the problem was.”
Giorgio Pantano >>
First Race >> 1st
“Today was fantastic, both for myself and for the team.
I'd like to thank them for making the right decision regarding
the correct setup, because we've improved with respect to
Barcelona.
We knew what we had to do, and won. So everything is perfect.
I'm very satisfied with everyone because we understood what
improvements the car needed, so I'm very, very happy. I'm
sure that tomorrow we'll score some points, I'll give it my
best, it's difficult to overtake here so I'll try to score
as many points as possible.”
Second Race >> 4th at 9.897 secs.
“I'm very happy about his weekend. I think that since
last Friday we've done a very good job. The team has worked
really well and I've had a geat car. Scoring 15 points during
this weekend is not bad at all. I hope we keep this up because
we're in the lead and fighting for the Championship.”
Official Results
>> First Race
1. Giorgio PANTANO (RACING ENGINEERING) 24 Pts.
2. Romain GROSJEAN (ART GRAND PRIX) at 1.792
3. Andreas ZUBER (iSPORT INTERNATIONAL) at 2.252
4. Karun CHANDHOK (iSPORT INTERNATIONAL) at 11.321
5. Vitaly PETROV (BARWA) at 8.019
7. Javier VILLA (RACING ENGINEERING) at 14.894
>> Second Race
1. Romain GROSJEAN (ART GRAND PRIX)
2. Vitaly PETROV (BARWA) at 8.019
3. Sébastien BUEMI (TRUST TEAM ARDEN) at 8.447
4. Giorgio PANTANO (RACING ENGINEERING) at 9.897
5. Mike CONWAY (TRIDENT RACING) at 11.508
15. Javier VILLA (RACING ENGINEERING) at 27.449
>> Overall Classification
1. Giorgio PANTANO (RACING ENGINEERING) 24 Points
2. Romain GROSJEAN (ART GRAND PRIX) 19 Points
3. Sébastien BUEMI (TRUST TEAM ARDEN) 14 Points
4. Andreas ZUBER (iSPORT INTERNATIONAL) 13 Points
5. Vitaly PETROV (BARWA) 12 Points
10. Javier VILLA (RACING ENGINEERING) 3 Points
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