Maldonado and Perez victorious in Silverstone11/07/2010

High temperatures at Silverstone for GP2 weekend

Pastor Maldonado (Rapax) took his third consecutive feature race win, at Silverstone on Bridgestone’s medium specification dry tyre, with Sergio Perez (Barwa Addax Team) claiming victory in the sprint race.

Silverstone’s new Grand Prix Circuit increased the challenge for both the drivers and tyres at this high- speed track. Higher temperatures than usually experienced at this round meant the tyres became one of the most influential factors effecting race performance. Those drivers with an understanding of how to get the best from their Bridgestones benefited considerably.
 

Maldonado quickest on Saturday at British GP

Saturday’s 29 lap feature race was lead by Maldonado after he overtook pole sitter Jules Bianchi (ART Grand Prix) as they left the start line. Both of the front runners pitted on the same lap to change rear tyres, with Maldonado maintaining his lead by returning to the track ahead of the Frenchman. Bianchi finished second, with Dani Clos (Racing Engineering) in third. Maldonado was the quickest on-track setting the fastest time on lap 23.

Perez won Silverstone sprint race

In Sunday’s 21 lap sprint race, under dry conditions, Perez worked his way up the field from fourth on the grid to take victory ahead of iSport’s British driver Oliver Turvey. Clos secured his second podium finish of the weekend, once again taking third. Perez took the point for fastest lap.

Maldonado increases his lead in the drivers’ championship standings with 56 points, followed by Clos on 37 and Bianchi in third with 31. Rapax continues to impress in the teams’ championship with 76 points, while Barwa Addax Team remain in second place, now on 57. ART Grand Prix is a close third with 53.

Hockenheim provides the venue for the sixth round of the GP2 Series on 23-25 July, where Bridgestone’s medium compound GP2 dry tyre will be the chosen specification.

Higher temperatures than normal at Silverstone

“Pastor Maldonado gave a strong performance in race one and conserved his tyres. His lap times were very stable which is why he was able to finish 10.1 seconds ahead of Jules Bianchi.  I believe Bianchi had a chance to win but unfortunately his tactics and pit stop timing did not work in his favour. Throughout the weekend we have seen numerous overtaking manoeuvres on the new circuit layout, with Sunday’s sprint race providing exciting battles among the podium contenders. Congratulations to Sergio Perez, who started from fourth, for his race win and lead of over 15 seconds as he crossed the line. This weekend’s higher track temperatures affected the tyres here in a way that we don’t usually see at Silverstone,  leading to some external heat damage, but this did not affect overall tyre performance.”
Hirohide Hamashima - Director of Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development