EVANS ABOVE – MITCH SECURES MAIDEN GP3 WIN FOR MW ARDEN

In the slipstream of team patron Mark Webber’s pole position for tomorrow’s Spanish Grand Prix, 16-year-old New Zealander Mitch Evans made it an even better day for MW Arden with a dominant lights-to-flag victory in the first GP3 Series race of the weekend.
Evans didn’t make the best of starts from pole position, but he defended well on the run to the first corner and established himself in a lead he was never to lose. He was 1.3 seconds clear of the pack after the opening lap and drove a strong, controlled race thereafter to finish 1.8s ahead of closest rival James Calado (ART). Evans’s success was the first for MW Arden, which entered racing only last season.
There were leaner pickings for Evan’s team-mates. Lewis Williamson made a searing start to move up from 18th to 13th, but spent most of the race in a hotly contested multi-car battle and eventually finished 14th. Simon Trummer also made a good start to progress from 27th to 20th, but a subsequent tyre stop – the result of a puncture – dropped him back down the order and he finished 27th, one lap in arrears.

Mitch:
“My free practice sessions were mixed. I hit a bit of traffic in the first one, but managed a reasonable lap that put me second – not too bad a start to the weekend, although I knew there was definitely more to come from me. In the second session I slipped back to 10th, but I was focusing on race set-up and did a long run in the warmer conditions to get some useful data.
“The car felt really good on the first set of tyres in qualifying, but I wasn’t too happy with my times. We changed the set-up a bit, though, and I was able to put together a lap that was good enough for pole – albeit only just. I was hoping to start the race cleanly and maintain my advantage through the first two corners, but I didn’t get off the line particularly well and was neck and neck with Caldarelli into Turn One. I was on the outside, but managed to outbrake him and pull away to build up a decent lead. After that I put my head down for a few laps to increase my advantage, then went into tyre-saving mode to bring the car home safely. I’m really happy with the way things went. The only downside is that I have to start eighth tomorrow, but I can live with that little difficulty. I don’t know what track conditions will be like, but the target will be to pick up a few places and finish in the points. It’s very satisfying to score a victory so early in my GP3 career and I’d like to extend a big round of thanks to the team for all its hard work.”

Lewis:
“The car felt OK in the first free practice session, although I struggled to make the front tyres work effectively in the cool conditions. I had to bed the brakes in, too, which didn’t help. Things felt better in the second session, when the track temperature had picked up, and the car was definitely quick enough to challenge at the front. I made a couple of mistakes in qualifying, unfortunately, and ruined my chance of setting a good time by running wide at the final turn.
“Track conditions had changed again in the race, but we’d made a few adjustments to the car and it seemed to work well. I gained a few places at the start and whenever I had a clear track I was able to run at a quicker pace than the leaders. That gives me something to work on tomorrow, so I’m hoping for a good race.”

Simon:
“The car felt great during the first practice session, although there were so many yellow flags that it was hard to get a clear lap. In the second, unfortunately, I hit the new kerb at Turn Eight and had no idea it was quite so aggressive. I took off and damaged the chassis really badly when I landed, so Dallara delivered a replacement overnight and the guys did the best they could to get my car ready for qualifying. They did a brilliant job in difficult circumstances.
“I struggled to generate front grip during qualifying, which left me near the back of the grid, but I made partial amends with a flying start. The car felt really good and I was looking forward to making further progress, but Rio Haryanto then hit me at Turn One and punctured my right rear tyre. Effectively, that finished my race.”

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