EVANS JUST MISSES A POINT, VITAL EXPERIENCE FOR WILLIAMSON AND TRUMMER

For the second time in as many days, Mitch Evans spearheaded the MW Arden GP3 Series attack at Istanbul Park, Turkey. The 16-year-old New Zealander dropped from third to fourth at the start of the race, but soon claimed the place back and ran a strong third for several laps. Tyre management is a critical issue at this particular circuit, though, and Evans was unable to maintain his early pace. He gradually dropped to sixth and looked set to score his second points finish of the weekend, but Dean Smith (Addax) passed him at the final complex on the last lap and Evans had to settle for seventh.

Starting on the back row of the grid in the wake of his accident yesterday, team-mate Lewis Williamson made stellar early progress and rose from 29th to 19th within just two laps. He spent the balance of the race in a tightly knit group of cars and crossed the line in 20th place, just ahead of third MW Arden driver Simon Trummer. The Swiss made a brilliant start to move up from 19th to 14th, but then spun on the second lap while trying to pass another car.

Mitch:
“The first two laps were good, after I’d established myself in third place. My initial pace seemed OK, but by lap four the rear tyres were beginning to fade and I was starting to struggle. Michael Christensen put me under pressure and I didn’t defend my position too hard, because I knew he was quicker than me and my rears were becoming worse and worse. I was losing more and more grip every lap and it became an exercise in damage limitation. I tried to hang on to sixth place, but I had a massive vibration and outbraked myself, which allowed Dean Smith to get ahead just before the end of the race. Overall, though, it has been an encouraging weekend and the whole team has done a great job, so I’m hoping for an even better performance in Barcelona.”

Lewis:
“We made lots of changes to the car before the second race, but the main objective was data accumulation. The team did an awesome job getting the car back together last night after my accident. I briefly ran as high as 17th, which was pretty good given my starting position, but the tyres began to go off after only a couple of laps. One of my tyres had already done a full race distance and in Turns Eight and Nine that really affected the balance. I kept locking the rear tyres and adjusted the brake balance in a bid to improve things, but the car wasn’t easy to drive and that made me quite vulnerable. When I was running in clean air, though, I could stay on line and keep the tyres clean. It’s obvious that the tyres have to be managed very carefully over a long race stint, but that’s one of many things I have learned this weekend. It will help me move forwards as we prepare for the next two races.”

Simon:
“What can I say? This has been a frustrating weekend in many ways, with early spins in both races, yet at the same time it has been immensely positive. I feel I have settled well at MW Arden and the atmosphere within the team leads me to believe we can have a very strong season together – everybody is working in the right direction. My results might not have matched my expectations this weekend, but I was encouraged by my race pace and hope to justify the team’s faith in me a fortnight from now, when GP3 supports the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona.”

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