Sam Bird: “Who wins Auto GP can win anywhere else”
Romain Grosjean will start from pole in today’s Auto GP Race 1 in Monza. The Frenchman from DAMS managed to put the whole group behind him with a great lap (1’36”171), closing with an half second gap on the second placed rival. Doing this he also clinched the pole extra point, putting another little brick on his championship lead.
Behind Grosjean, the fight for the top spots was very close and the gaps are very very tight: Duncan Tappy was second and will start from front row, but both Adrien Tambay and Fabio Onidi behind him are in the same tenth.
The same goes for the drivers following them: Giorgio Pantano was fifth but with just a 0.001 gap on Federico Leo, that with the dry track managed to make the most of the Trident Lola.
Behind them was Jan Charouz, leading a tight pack including Edoardo Piscopo, Davide Valsecchi and Julian Leal, all in the same tenth.
So today’s race should be very exciting, especially because the long straights of Monza usually provide a lot of overtaking chances thanks to the slipstreams. Furthermore, some usually very quick drivers as Luca Filippi, Jonny Reid and Alexander Sims will do their best to recover after an unlucky qualifying session.
Romain Grosjean: “As i said yesterday I love Monza, and pole position is the best way to prepare for today. I hope that everything will be fine at the start and then I should be able to do a good race, because also our race pace is very good”.
Duncan Tappy: “I’m very happy for the front row, but I think there’s more to come. I can still push a bit more, and I will try to do that in the race. I have to look at the datas with the team, but I believe that in Sector 2 I should be able to cut the gap from Romain a bit”.
Adrien Tambay: “It seems that Italy brings me good luck! Anyway I want to wait the race finish to say that. The starting position is good and the laptime is too, considering that in my best lap I did a little mistake and that I had no slipstream, a big handicap in Monza. We can also improve the car a bit under braking, we will work on that for the race”.
Monza, Qualifying results
1 Romain Grosjean DAMS 1’36”171
2 Duncan Tappy DAMS 1’36”685
3 Adrien Tambay CHAROUZ-GRAVITY RACING 1’36”726
4 Fabio Onidi LAZARUS 1’36”760
5 Giorgio Pantano OMBRA 1’36”877
6 Federico Leo TRIDENT RACING 1’36”878
7 Jan Charouz CHAROUZ-GRAVITY RACING 1’37”000
8 Edoardo Piscopo DAMS 1’37”014
9 Davide Valsecchi RP MOTORSPORT 1’37”027
10 Julian Leal TRIDENT RACING 1’37”048
11 Luca Filippi SUPERNOVA RACING 1’37”238
12 Alexander Sims CHAROUZ-GRAVITY RACING 1’37”529
13 Carlos Iaconelli DURANGO 1’37”676
14 Stefano Bizzarri RP MOTORSPORT 1’38”357
15 Jonny Reid SUPERNOVA RACING 1’38”600
16 Natacha Gachnang CHAROUZ-GRAVITY RACING 1’38”788
17 Giuseppe Cipriani DURANGO 1’41″658
Sam Bird: “Who wins Auto GP can win anywhere else”
In Monza Auto GP has a special guest: Sam Bird, GP2 driver with ART Grand Prix and winner of the Feature Race just some weeks ago on the italian circuit, came back to the “Autodromo Nazionale” to be an advisor for Duncan Tappy: the two brits are good friends and they have the same management, so it was a pretty natural choice.
“Duncan is one of my best friends so I’m happy to help. I don’t think he really needs any advice, but as he’s fighting for the championship, 10 points adrift from the leader, he needs some support, just a little push. I’m here for that and to answers all his questions, if he has some”.
What do you think about yesterday’s sessions?
“Third place yesterday was good, but the track conditions were so changeable that you really can’t judge on that. Today in qualifying, finally with a dry track, we will understand something more”.
Duncan is 10 points far from Grosjean and 9 from Piscopo, what do you think is the key for the title run?
“I think that ignoring them is the best thing he can do, just focusing on his weekend and trying to win the races. What the others will do doesn’t depend from Duncan, he just has to put pressure on them”.
All the three main title contenders are racing with DAMS: what does this means for a driver?
“Well for the drivers it’s surely good, because they are sure they will be given the same chances. For the team it must be very difficult because all three drivers will push them to give their best, they will have a lot of pressure”.
It’s your first weekend in the Auto GP paddock, what’s your impression?
“It looks very good, everything is top notch, also the facilities and the food! Apart from this, the staggering thing is the grid quality: I see here guys that race against me in GP2, like Filippi and Valsecchi, former F.1 drivers like Grosjean and Pantano, and other talented guys. If you are competitive here you are showing the world that you are very talented. Who wins Auto GP can win anywere else, you can be sure about that”.
And the car?
“I used to dream about this car when it raced in A1 GP and now it’s even quicker! Now I’m in GP2 and I’m fine, but for drivers that want to race on a powerful car with a reasonable budget, this is the best option around. Furthermore, the atmosphere is very friendly, and it’s good to race where you feel at home”.
source: autogp.org