More points for Conway at Silverstone

8 July 2007

British single-seater star Mike Conway warmed up the Silverstone crowd for Lewis Hamilton by taking another solid points haul in the GP2 Sprint Race on Sunday. Mike finished fifth in his Super Nova International machine after another sparkling drive to add to his runner-up finish on Saturday.

From seventh on the grid, due to the reverse of the top eight positions from Saturday, Mike had a lot on his plate if he was going to score points again. He didn't get the best of starts, and became a little boxed in on the run to the first corner, allowing Saturday winner Andi Zuber to briefly nose ahead.

Mike repassed him with a smart move around the outside of the daunting Stowe corner to reclaim seventh. He then closed right up on team-mate Luca Filippi, but couldn't find a way past to get into the points again.

"I got stuck behind him really," said Mike. "I knew I was quicker than him, but it was very difficult to pass today, more so than I thought it would be.

There was less wind than we were expecting, so we were running out of revs on the main straight, which didn't make overtaking any easier."

Mike kept on trying, however, and his persistence paid off when Filippi made a mistake at Becketts after the two cars in front had swapped positions at the previous corner. Mike looked at the outside of Stowe, and then the inside of Vale, but Filippi stayed resolute.

Instead, Mike took a tight line through Club, giving him a better exit onto the following straight. He outbraked Filippi at Abbey, but was on the outside of the first left-hander. However, he stayed committed and claimed the inside line for the right-hander, and was now up to fifth place as poleman Roldan Rodriguez had skated off the track a few laps earlier.

Then he chased down fourth placed Lucas di Grassi: "I could see he was struggling big time, but my car was starting to lose grip too. I was getting big understeer in the fast corners, and although I was running very close to him, and I knew I was quicker, I just couldn't get past.

"I think I was only a tenth of a second behind him at the finish, but he just didn't leave any gaps on the last lap. Still, it's another good points haul and it puts us back on track in the championship and I believe we can be just as strong at the next race at the Nurburgring."

The GP2 series is the final stepping stone on a drivers path to Formula One, and with the races taking place at the Grands Prix, is a showcase of their talents in front of their peers and the F1 paddock. Conway is reigning British F3 champion and graduated to the GP2 series for this season.

The next GP2 round is at the European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring on July 21/22.