The lights are shiny brightly and the champagne has just finished flowing - the Singapore Grand Prix has been over for barely 10 minutes, but the exhilarating elation in Joe Consiglio gives promise to be lasting. A superb comeback after a troubled start, a wheel-to-wheel fight with a fantastic opponent and, finally, winning the race in dazzling fashion are the main highlights of the evening for the Maltese champion, who took the chequered flag in the GPVWC's trademark night race season finale.
"It was a good race and a great way to finish the season" states the Nordsjoen driver, who got his first win of the season on the Marina Bay track, "I was hoping I’d nick a victory in 2010 and at the last possible opportunity it finally came! With Janne unable to attend and the Woods guys struggling a bit for raw pace I was quietly confident I could deliver a good result at Singapore. I’ve got to say it was a big relief to take the chequered flag after over a year of waiting." Joe showed his ability in Singapore in 2009 as well, pushing Lee Morris until the very last lap and having to settle for second only due to a spin when in the lead with five laps to go. "Marina Bay is a track I love and this time I found a great way to go with the setup. After qualifying on Pole by a nice margin I knew it would be my race to lose, so to speak. Obviously the incident with Jyri at turn 2 compromised things pretty badly though. With Kieran [Ryan] in the lead and not making any mistakes, I just had to stay calm and wait for the race to come back to me."
Unfortunately for a team which produced efficient displays of perfection throughout the season, the Nordsjoen mechanics risked denting Joe's hopes to get a win, forcing the Maltese driver to undergo two lengthy pitstops which prevented any possible strategy overtaking. "I never gave up hope, but I have to admit that, with the laps counting down and my pitstops being so messy, I was beginning to wonder if it was ever going to happen" Joe admits. And once behind, the 2009 World Champion knew catching up with Kieran was one thing, passing him another: "the dirty air effect made it extremely difficult to follow Ryan closely so I was just waiting, waiting, waiting
