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Formula Sprint 2
San Marino Grand Prix
Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari
Tuesday 30th of April 2024 19:00:00
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September 19, 2003
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Winner Joe Consiglio, 2nd placed Daniel Wilkinson, and 3rd placed Mikko Jakonen gave their views on the recent Italian GP.
Winner - Joe Consiglio (Stealth GP)
Q Joe, congratulations on not just a great first win for you - but on a dominant race weekend. You've returned - even better - after an absence of 5 months. How did you get onto the pace so quickly?
A Well for starters the Stealth today was the best car I have ever driven! The strategy was right, the setup was great and I guess without the pressure of a championship, I was really able to push the car to limit all weekend. It's funny because last year the Italian GP was probably the worst race I've had with Stealth, I qualified 11th and finished 8th, so to come back this year and win is just amazing! I mean this was the whole reason I did this one off race, to give myself and Stealth their first VWC victory, but it's not quite sunk in yet!
Q Daniel Wilkinson had a magnificent first lap, moving up to 2nd place from 6th on the grid. Were you worried when you saw the EIRE in your mirrors on that first lap?
A The opening laps were the only time in the race where I felt a little under pressure. As I crossed the line to complete the first lap I looked in my mirrors and saw Daniel overtaking Mikko. I remember thinking to myself 'I hope he doesn't do that to me!' Fortunately, the two seemed to be having quite a battle, this enabled me to open up a nice lead of about 8 seconds before my first pit stop. The Stealth boys were just awesome in the pits today, my second stop was only 7 seconds and I rejoined with a comfortable lead of 25 seconds. From there it was just a matter of staying on the circuit and being careful when lapping backmarkers.
Q Your first win ever, and Stealth's first in the GPVWC/F1VWC. What does the future hold for you and will that be solely with Stealth?
A The future, who knows... I know I will definitely be free in Summer 2004, so I may return as a free agent for Stealth or any other team for that matter!
2nd Position - Daniel Wilkinson (EIRE)
Q Daniel, that first lap of yours was magnificent. Six tenths quicker that Consiglio and 2nd by the end of the lap from 6th on the grid, overtaking Jakonen as you got his slipstream just before the start/finish line. Describe that first lap to us.
A We'd been working on our launch control at the last test for just such a situation and it worked brilliantly. It took me by surprise at first as I nearly ran into the back of Petri and almost side swiped Kieran, which allowed me to move alongside Toby and edge past at the first chicane. After that I just stuck with the front runners, managed a good run through the Parabolica and made it past Mikko.
Q You had a tough battle with Mikko all race long. But clearly you had the slightest edge which helped you stay in front, increasing that lead to around 5 seconds by the end of the race. It must have been tough knowing that you were fighting for position on track and in the Drivers Championship?
A Yeah, the pressure to stay on track was my concern as I had an unbalanced car, keeping the rear on course in some of the corners was the problem. I was surprised to be doing so well and I knew catching Joe was too much of a risky effort so I concentrated on staying in front of Mikko, although I failed before the first pitstop! The rest of the race pretty easy after that though.
Q With current Drivers Championship leader Shiro Ryong finishing 6th, you are now exactly 10 points behind him with 2 races to go. Surely you must realise that the Championship is a real possibility?
A Yes it's a mathematical possibility. As I said before a lot has to go my way at the next race for me, and Mikko, to have a realistic shot at the title. We both need our team mates to perform. I think Shiro will be a lot faster at Indy than people think.
3rd Position - Mikko Jakonen (Mapes-VO)
Q Mikko, 2nd on the grid and 3rd in the race. Were you surprised to see Wilkinson overtake you just before the start of the 2nd lap?
A I knew him to have the potential to fight for podium, but it was surprising to see him there so soon. My tyres weren't at optimal temperature until lap 5 onwards, so that maybe helped him a bit. But I don't really have excuses, he was really fast.
Q You challenged Daniel hard all race, particularly in the first stint - overtaking him just before your pitstops. But you seemed to struggle to keep up the same pace in particular after your 2nd stop. We are only talking a 5 second gap here, but did you have any particular problems in the race today?
A The car was quite good, but throughout the race I had problems going through the first sector. My 1st split time fluctuated way too much. If I had managed to be a bit more consistent through the first two corners, I probably would've kept Daniel behind me, but I had problems there too many times. Also I got caught in the traffic quite a lot near my pitstops. I'm a bit disappointed that I had to settle for 3rd.
Q 9 points now separate you and Drivers Championship leader Shiro Ryong. What will your approach be at the next race in Indianapolis? Your last win was over 6 races ago. Does Indianapolis suit you and the Mapes-VO-Honda?
A It should, we have the power for the oval sector and the infield should suit us quite well also. I'm looking forward to it. 9 points is quite a lot... if I hadn't spun in Hungary, and managed to keep Daniel behind me at Monza, it would be only 3 points to Shiro.. Now my goal is to win both remaining races and let Shiro be 3rd and 4th at the most. It's going to very hard, but not impossible, especially since Petri is picking up speed too.
Winner - Joe Consiglio (Stealth GP)
Q Joe, congratulations on not just a great first win for you - but on a dominant race weekend. You've returned - even better - after an absence of 5 months. How did you get onto the pace so quickly?
A Well for starters the Stealth today was the best car I have ever driven! The strategy was right, the setup was great and I guess without the pressure of a championship, I was really able to push the car to limit all weekend. It's funny because last year the Italian GP was probably the worst race I've had with Stealth, I qualified 11th and finished 8th, so to come back this year and win is just amazing! I mean this was the whole reason I did this one off race, to give myself and Stealth their first VWC victory, but it's not quite sunk in yet!
Q Daniel Wilkinson had a magnificent first lap, moving up to 2nd place from 6th on the grid. Were you worried when you saw the EIRE in your mirrors on that first lap?
A The opening laps were the only time in the race where I felt a little under pressure. As I crossed the line to complete the first lap I looked in my mirrors and saw Daniel overtaking Mikko. I remember thinking to myself 'I hope he doesn't do that to me!' Fortunately, the two seemed to be having quite a battle, this enabled me to open up a nice lead of about 8 seconds before my first pit stop. The Stealth boys were just awesome in the pits today, my second stop was only 7 seconds and I rejoined with a comfortable lead of 25 seconds. From there it was just a matter of staying on the circuit and being careful when lapping backmarkers.
Q Your first win ever, and Stealth's first in the GPVWC/F1VWC. What does the future hold for you and will that be solely with Stealth?
A The future, who knows... I know I will definitely be free in Summer 2004, so I may return as a free agent for Stealth or any other team for that matter!
2nd Position - Daniel Wilkinson (EIRE)
Q Daniel, that first lap of yours was magnificent. Six tenths quicker that Consiglio and 2nd by the end of the lap from 6th on the grid, overtaking Jakonen as you got his slipstream just before the start/finish line. Describe that first lap to us.
A We'd been working on our launch control at the last test for just such a situation and it worked brilliantly. It took me by surprise at first as I nearly ran into the back of Petri and almost side swiped Kieran, which allowed me to move alongside Toby and edge past at the first chicane. After that I just stuck with the front runners, managed a good run through the Parabolica and made it past Mikko.
Q You had a tough battle with Mikko all race long. But clearly you had the slightest edge which helped you stay in front, increasing that lead to around 5 seconds by the end of the race. It must have been tough knowing that you were fighting for position on track and in the Drivers Championship?
A Yeah, the pressure to stay on track was my concern as I had an unbalanced car, keeping the rear on course in some of the corners was the problem. I was surprised to be doing so well and I knew catching Joe was too much of a risky effort so I concentrated on staying in front of Mikko, although I failed before the first pitstop! The rest of the race pretty easy after that though.
Q With current Drivers Championship leader Shiro Ryong finishing 6th, you are now exactly 10 points behind him with 2 races to go. Surely you must realise that the Championship is a real possibility?
A Yes it's a mathematical possibility. As I said before a lot has to go my way at the next race for me, and Mikko, to have a realistic shot at the title. We both need our team mates to perform. I think Shiro will be a lot faster at Indy than people think.
3rd Position - Mikko Jakonen (Mapes-VO)
Q Mikko, 2nd on the grid and 3rd in the race. Were you surprised to see Wilkinson overtake you just before the start of the 2nd lap?
A I knew him to have the potential to fight for podium, but it was surprising to see him there so soon. My tyres weren't at optimal temperature until lap 5 onwards, so that maybe helped him a bit. But I don't really have excuses, he was really fast.
Q You challenged Daniel hard all race, particularly in the first stint - overtaking him just before your pitstops. But you seemed to struggle to keep up the same pace in particular after your 2nd stop. We are only talking a 5 second gap here, but did you have any particular problems in the race today?
A The car was quite good, but throughout the race I had problems going through the first sector. My 1st split time fluctuated way too much. If I had managed to be a bit more consistent through the first two corners, I probably would've kept Daniel behind me, but I had problems there too many times. Also I got caught in the traffic quite a lot near my pitstops. I'm a bit disappointed that I had to settle for 3rd.
Q 9 points now separate you and Drivers Championship leader Shiro Ryong. What will your approach be at the next race in Indianapolis? Your last win was over 6 races ago. Does Indianapolis suit you and the Mapes-VO-Honda?
A It should, we have the power for the oval sector and the infield should suit us quite well also. I'm looking forward to it. 9 points is quite a lot... if I hadn't spun in Hungary, and managed to keep Daniel behind me at Monza, it would be only 3 points to Shiro.. Now my goal is to win both remaining races and let Shiro be 3rd and 4th at the most. It's going to very hard, but not impossible, especially since Petri is picking up speed too.
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