MAGNY COURS FAILS TO DELIVER FOR CLIVIO

© Hoch Zwei

After a long mid-season break – punctuated only by a two-day test at Paul Ricard at the end of June – the GP2 circus once again resumes its carousel rides for the world’s up and coming single-seater drivers with round 7 of the 2006 GP2 Series.

The 4.25km Circuit Nevers Magny Cours in central France is a tough circuit at the best of times – a mix of long, wide straights, hard braking zones and fast, flowing corners. It’s one of the tracks with the least traction/grip and the high temperatures also had an affect on the performance of cars, tyres and drivers alike.

Clivio was pleased to be on his way home at the end of a difficult race meeting. “I’m glad it’s finished, to be honest, and nothing has changed to make me like Magny Cours any more than I did before this weekend. We had a tough weekend from the start and weren’t really on the pace from practice.”

Qualifying

“We made some changes and went into qualifying not really knowing what would happen with the car. I went off at the second chicane in qualifying as I was trying too hard. I damaged the car a bit, the barge boards and floor, but the boys managed to fix it in time to get me out again with my second set of tyres. Unfortunately it was a big struggle to get a good time in and I qualified well down in 24 th.”

Race 1 – Saturday, 15 th July

“We went into the first race having changed the car again and it was a lot better. We had a really hard strategy planned of stopping very early (on the second lap) which would have worked really well for us but I got hit from behind by Filippi on the first lap. I went off the track, lost a bunch of time, and when I rejoined was in last place.

“The car wasn’t great but I was driving to the limit and all the time trying to save the tyres. It was a long race and the tyres were getting quite worn so the last ten laps or so were difficult. I finished in 13 th position and don’t think we could have done better from where we started. If Filippi hadn’t hit me who knows where I would have finished.”

Race 2 – Sunday, 16 th July

“Today I had a good start from my 13 th place on the grid and, by choosing the right line through a few cars, I found myself in p7 on the first lap, then p6 and then p5 which was really good. I held that for about 15 laps but then had a problem with the front suspension which affected the steering of the car so it became undriveable. I had to stop.

“We learnt a lot this weekend and will carry that through to Hockenheim. I’m disappointed not to bring any points back from Magny Cours but sometimes s**t happens. It’s hard to recover when you have a bad start, you are always trying to make up lost ground.”