November 18, 2009
Published on tags: Superleague
As the dust settles on a memorable GPVWC season, Constant Racing can finally reflect on their first year in the series. As well as producing one of the leagues' most striking liveries, the team managed to finish a credible 8th in the Constructors Championship and emerge from the year as regular point scorers. Co-owners Joe Consiglio and Mark Stanton recently organised a press conference, looking back on a successful debut season and outlining the team's future plans and objectives.

Newly crowned 2009 Champion, Joe Consiglio, started the press conference with his personal assessment of the team's 2009 campaign. "I believe we had a solid first season here at Constant Racing, I'm certainly happy with the guys' efforts. Mark, Rich (Bayes), Ryan (McConkey) and Will (Ponissi) all drove well for the team and scored valuable points. Emerging as regular point scorers was our aim when we started this project and that's exactly what we achieved. Ryan really helped us out in those first few races so on behalf of the team I just want to thank him for that. Rich and Mark both showed flashes of qualifying brilliance, as well as bringing home some solid race results. Will's steady improvement from Canada onwards was outstanding too. That's very much our ethos at Constant, we want to develop our drivers and get the best out of them. Now and again, I was able to help the guys out with setups and driving tips. I think Will is a good example of how much this can help a driver progress."

When asked to pick out Constant's best moments of year, Consiglio was quick to respond, "Locking out Row 3 on the grid in our debut qualifying session was a proud moment for us. Bahrain stands out too, with Mark finishing 4th and Rich coming home in 6th, it was certainly our best result of the season. For me Mark finishing 5th in the season finale at Singapore was particularly impressive and very good for the team. We needed a strong result going into the winter and once again Mark was able to show his natural flair for street circuits. Also, Rich's 3rd place on the grid at Mexico and subsequent P6 finish was excellent."

Consiglio continued "Obviously because I was fighting for the championship this year I had to take a bit of a back seat with the management side of things. Mark did a really good job though, bringing in drivers and handling car development. We managed to field two drivers in most races this season which was good for us and good for the league too."

Before handing over to Stanton, Consiglio concluded, "This season has given the team a very solid base to grow. Hopefully next year we can fight for podiums and finish in the top 5 overall."

"For me this has been a very mixed season. As a driver I started at Evans Blue Racing as a seat filler and finished 3rd in Shanghai which was my best finish, but it wasn't a secure seat and just before Suzuka I was given the opportunity to begin a new team. The car was ready for Charade, though for me it was the beginning of a mid season slump. I had several issues at Charade, Monaco and Silverstone to name a few which put me in poor positions on circuits I knew I could do well on. Rich (Bayes) joined as my team mate mid season and was with us until Zandvoort were he couldn't compete. After the summer break I chose to step back from the car and let William (Ponissi) take over the #22 car. He quickly improved and seemed very thankful to take the chance with the team. I returned for the final races and just hoped for decent results. I retired from Zandvoort, but finished 5th at Singapore on the lead lap. I was very happy with the result as I proved, more to myself than anything, that I could hold decent position even after the few months out of the car.

Talking about running a new team, he had this to say, "It's not been the easiest thing ever, basically had a week to get the car painted, get the sponsorship finalised and to find drivers, but we managed it. Joe focussed mostly on the driver scouting, which secured us Ryan (McConkey) for a few races, and the press releases. I on the other hand designed the vehicle graphics and controlled the development of the car. Ryan was a big help to us while he was available to us. Rich filled his seat and proved quick also. Will joined us after the summer break and although not as quick initially with the right setups he can definitely get up there. Next year we're hoping to improve to the top 6 in the constructors standings and will be sporting a livery with "Cenacle" as the primary sponsor." Stanton then briefly reflected on his first season at the GPVWC, "Being my first season I wasn't really expecting much. This is my first league in general so to be top 10 in the driver's standings, to begin a new team and finish 8th in the constructors I'm very happy. Although I won't be driving next season other than as tester, Constant will still be around for sure."