GOOD EVANS – KIWI SIXTH ON GP3 DEBUT FOR MW ARDEN

Mitch Evans led the MW Arden challenge with an excellent sixth place on his GP3 Series debut at Istanbul Park, Turkey. From eighth on the grid, the 16-year-old New Zealander gained two positions at the start, although experienced rival Alexander Sims (Status GP) moved ahead of him after a clean outbraking manoeuvre on lap seven. Evans kept the Englishman under pressure, however, and recovered sixth when Sims ran wide on the penultimate lap.

Team-mate Simon Trummer made a good start from 14th and picked up a couple of places, but then spun down the field after rival Pedro Nunes (Lotus ART) nudged him at the hairpin on the opening lap. The Swiss launched a spirited recovery, but with time against him he was only 19th by the race’s conclusion.

After showing a terrific turn of speed throughout the weekend, Scot Lewis Williamson’s hopes of a strong result were swiftly dashed. Two three-place grid penalties – imposed for crossing the pit exit line prematurely – dropped him from third to ninth on the grid, although he gained one place at the start to run seventh, behind Evans. He passed his team-mate on the approach to Turn Nine, but then locked a wheel and spun off, which dropped him towards the tail of the field. His recovery was in its infancy when former MW Arden driver Leonardo Cordeiro clipped him on the approach to Turn 12. Williamson’s car spun around, hit the barrier and lost its rear wing and right wheel before careering into the gravel trap, where it gently rolled over, sparking a brief safety car period. The unhurt driver swiftly released himself, but has a mountain to climb in race two.

Mitch:
“This was my first time at Istanbul Park, so I wasn’t expecting too much, but I was happy to be fifth fastest in the first free practice session – particularly as the track was wet. It was really just a question of chipping away and learning the circuit. The second session was dry and I just wanted to find my way around in a different set of conditions and reach my limit as quickly as possible. I hit traffic during my first six-lap run, but still ended up third. I was really pleased with that, because I set my quickest time when the tyres were already past their best. I wasn’t getting too excited, though, because none of that would matter in qualifying.
“I went into the session feeling good and the car felt great on my first set of new rubber, although I ran wide at Turn 12 and put dirt on the tyres. It took quite a while to clean that off and I could definitely have done better, but I still felt confident for the race – it was just a matter of getting a good start and hopefully getting into the points. Before the weekend I would have been happy with a place in the top 10, but my pace was good – particularly early in the race, when I was putting pressure on Antonio Felix da Costa. He kept blocking me, but I still finished a solid sixth and I’m happy with that. Even so, we have some work to do on the chassis balance to make things even better in race two.”

Simon:
“The wet first session was good for me, because I got to relearn the track after one year away and I set ninth fastest time – just a couple of tenths from second place. The second session didn’t go so well at first, though, because I was caught out by traffic and yellow flags. Then my starter motor broke, so I didn’t manage much more running. Qualifying was better from a car perspective, but really I needed to find another tenth or three. I know I can do that if I get more laps under my belt.
“Even though I didn’t line up in the best of positions, I was hoping for a top eight finish. We didn’t make any big changes for the race – I just wanted to start well and pass some cars. Overtaking here is possible and I was up to 10th when Nunes pushed me off on the opening lap. My subsequent pace was good, though, so I’ll see what I can do in race two.”

Lewis:
“I spent the first practice session learning the track, because we only had 30 minutes and about 15 laps. I developed a really good feeling for both track and car and I was initially among the top three. The pace then dropped off a bit, but one of my tyres had lost a lot of pressure so at least the problem was easy to fix. I went into the dry second session with an open mind, but managed the tyres very well and still ran at a decent pace, only a couple of hundredths off the fastest time.
“In qualifying I was hoping to improve on what I’d learned in free practice, but the track had changed. The wind dropped so I tried to adapt as quickly as possible and was one of the fastest drivers out there. That gave me a lot of confidence for the race, even though my penalties affected my grid position. I was determined to drive a clean first lap, but things simply didn’t go to plan. I made a good start, but coming into Turn Nine I braked on a dirty bit of track and spun. I should have thought a bit more about that and waited until the next lap to attack again. Then I had the incident with Cordeiro, which left me upside down in the gravel. I have already taken a lot on board this weekend, though, and I need a good, clean second race to gather as much information for the team as possible. Starting from the back I’m not expecting much, but I’ll try to get the best from the car.”

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