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July 14, 2011
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The Turkish Grand Prix saw a return to form for Nordsjoen on the testing Istanbul track. For the post-race Press Conference, Mal McKee and Adam Smith are joined by race winner Joe Consiglio (MLT, Nordsjoen Racing), runner-up Lee Morris (ENG, Draig Racing) and third placed David Jundt (SWI, Red Archer VRT).
Q. Joe - you were our driver of the day, you controlled it from start to finish. How did that feel for you, not having raced competitively here before?
JC. What a feeling! This was maybe the best win of my career. Getting the pole was vital and I knew I had a great chance if I drove a good first stint. Fortunately I got a nice start and drove a quick first lap. This meant I was far enough ahead of Jason for him to not get my slipstream. I was driving like hell to keep behind but slowly I got the gap up to 6 seconds.After poor Jason got DC'ed it was a case of controlling the gap to Nick, who drove a great race by the way. As for the track, I love it!
Q. Would you now consider this to be one of your favourite tracks?
JC. Definitely, I knew on paper this track would suit my style but you never know until you actually race! For me this track is right up there with Suzuka, Spa and Silverstone.
Q. Where do you feel this leaves you for the championship bid, with similar tracks upcoming in the closing stages?
JC. I guess we'll wait and see. Of course, Lee finished 2nd so he minimised the pain of my win today. The guy is just so consistent which makes closing the gap extremely difficult. I think as Draig continue to be left behind in the development race it will be become more interesting. For now I'm just trying to maximise what I have. We'll give it everything we have, we have nothing to lose.
Q. And one final question for you Joe - do you think the Nordjoen has what it takes to keep you ahead of the game? Considering Draig's problems, Lee still seems every bit on pace.
JC. Yeah it's true and that's why Lee is such a successful driver in other top leagues! I still think their engine gives them some performance over us on traction circuits. Aero circuits like Mexico and Spa is were our car should do well. The team has plenty of developments in the pipe line. These will build up nicely over the summer break so I'm confident we'll able to challenge Lee more regualarly and put the pressure on.
Q. Thank you Joe, and congratulations once again. Lee, you qualified slightly off your normal pace here. Was that planned with strategy, or is this not one of your best tracks?
LM. Qualifying was ok but the car was not really up to the job today. We had a good strategy for both cars and we made the most of what we had, I'd like to think I could have challenged Joe a little more but unfortunately my start was abysmal and then I had contact with Ojay when he drove up the rear of me which caused damage to my rear end, so from then on it was damaged limitation for me.
Q. Do you feel the damage to you diffuser impeded your race pace, ultimately?
LM. Yes significantly, we had a lot of fuel onboard for the first stint and my car was approximatly 2-3 mph slower after the contact, which then pretty much defined my race pace. In the middle stint and final stint I could match Joe quite comfortably so we had the pace to win on one of our weakest tracks for the car.
Q. Joe seemed to have had a relatively incident-free race, but you had one at the start and one near the end. Can you talk us through those?
LM. Well, early on I had a collision with Ojay but I had no part in it at all, Ojay simply missed his braking point and hit me up the rear which, as you know, ruined my race. Tthe one with Nick at the end was nothing to do with me either, Nick simply lost his car under a traction zone, which was a shame as he deserved a great result. I drove a clean race, I must apologise to my teammate for a slight bit of contact early on but after the confusion I was a little shaken up.
Q. One last question for you then Lee. Do you find Turkey a circuit that suits you, or is it one you'd rather just get out of the way?
LM. I don't mind the track, to be honest personally but the car was never going to be quick here today. We knew this from free practice one and just resigned ourselves to a hard race, I think I got the most out of my car here, considering what happened and I'd like to congratulate my teammate Ryan on his recovery to 6th place and Well done to Joe on his win!
Q. Thanks Lee, and congratulations on winning second place in the 2011 Turkish Grand Prix. Now, David Jundt. This is your 12th top finish and 2nd podium finish. Were you expecting to add to the podium count when coming into this race?
DJ. No, actually, I wasn't counting on a podium even though I put in some training. But it surely helped me getting the track right more often than not. But if not for Nick crashing off, Jason disconnecting and Pavel having a scrap with Dave, this wouldn't have been possible.
Q. We know the Red Archer is arguably the best car on the grid, is there anything that needs to be improved to push you to the top spot of the podium?
DJ. I think there are still areas we can improve on our car. I won't go into detail. But it's more on my side that could improve to get closer to the first win, I think I am still a bit scruffy.
Q. Are you looking to challenge your team mate for the third spot of the championship this year?
DJ. At Red Archer, we have the policy of the faster being waved past. So, if one of us catches the other, he'll be let through if he has better chances or is just much faster than the other. Should we be alone and at about the same speed, we are free to drive, but we're always having an eye on the team standings at the same time, we want to avoid silly fights inside the team like some other teams in reality. To answer your question: Yes, I intend to hold the position now. I know Jason is fast, but he'll have to take it from me with some strong performances.
Q. Thank you all, it was a spectacular race. See you next in Mexico!
Q. Joe - you were our driver of the day, you controlled it from start to finish. How did that feel for you, not having raced competitively here before?
JC. What a feeling! This was maybe the best win of my career. Getting the pole was vital and I knew I had a great chance if I drove a good first stint. Fortunately I got a nice start and drove a quick first lap. This meant I was far enough ahead of Jason for him to not get my slipstream. I was driving like hell to keep behind but slowly I got the gap up to 6 seconds.After poor Jason got DC'ed it was a case of controlling the gap to Nick, who drove a great race by the way. As for the track, I love it!
Q. Would you now consider this to be one of your favourite tracks?
JC. Definitely, I knew on paper this track would suit my style but you never know until you actually race! For me this track is right up there with Suzuka, Spa and Silverstone.
Q. Where do you feel this leaves you for the championship bid, with similar tracks upcoming in the closing stages?
JC. I guess we'll wait and see. Of course, Lee finished 2nd so he minimised the pain of my win today. The guy is just so consistent which makes closing the gap extremely difficult. I think as Draig continue to be left behind in the development race it will be become more interesting. For now I'm just trying to maximise what I have. We'll give it everything we have, we have nothing to lose.
Q. And one final question for you Joe - do you think the Nordjoen has what it takes to keep you ahead of the game? Considering Draig's problems, Lee still seems every bit on pace.
JC. Yeah it's true and that's why Lee is such a successful driver in other top leagues! I still think their engine gives them some performance over us on traction circuits. Aero circuits like Mexico and Spa is were our car should do well. The team has plenty of developments in the pipe line. These will build up nicely over the summer break so I'm confident we'll able to challenge Lee more regualarly and put the pressure on.
Q. Thank you Joe, and congratulations once again. Lee, you qualified slightly off your normal pace here. Was that planned with strategy, or is this not one of your best tracks?
LM. Qualifying was ok but the car was not really up to the job today. We had a good strategy for both cars and we made the most of what we had, I'd like to think I could have challenged Joe a little more but unfortunately my start was abysmal and then I had contact with Ojay when he drove up the rear of me which caused damage to my rear end, so from then on it was damaged limitation for me.
Q. Do you feel the damage to you diffuser impeded your race pace, ultimately?
LM. Yes significantly, we had a lot of fuel onboard for the first stint and my car was approximatly 2-3 mph slower after the contact, which then pretty much defined my race pace. In the middle stint and final stint I could match Joe quite comfortably so we had the pace to win on one of our weakest tracks for the car.
Q. Joe seemed to have had a relatively incident-free race, but you had one at the start and one near the end. Can you talk us through those?
LM. Well, early on I had a collision with Ojay but I had no part in it at all, Ojay simply missed his braking point and hit me up the rear which, as you know, ruined my race. Tthe one with Nick at the end was nothing to do with me either, Nick simply lost his car under a traction zone, which was a shame as he deserved a great result. I drove a clean race, I must apologise to my teammate for a slight bit of contact early on but after the confusion I was a little shaken up.
Q. One last question for you then Lee. Do you find Turkey a circuit that suits you, or is it one you'd rather just get out of the way?
LM. I don't mind the track, to be honest personally but the car was never going to be quick here today. We knew this from free practice one and just resigned ourselves to a hard race, I think I got the most out of my car here, considering what happened and I'd like to congratulate my teammate Ryan on his recovery to 6th place and Well done to Joe on his win!
Q. Thanks Lee, and congratulations on winning second place in the 2011 Turkish Grand Prix. Now, David Jundt. This is your 12th top finish and 2nd podium finish. Were you expecting to add to the podium count when coming into this race?
DJ. No, actually, I wasn't counting on a podium even though I put in some training. But it surely helped me getting the track right more often than not. But if not for Nick crashing off, Jason disconnecting and Pavel having a scrap with Dave, this wouldn't have been possible.
Q. We know the Red Archer is arguably the best car on the grid, is there anything that needs to be improved to push you to the top spot of the podium?
DJ. I think there are still areas we can improve on our car. I won't go into detail. But it's more on my side that could improve to get closer to the first win, I think I am still a bit scruffy.
Q. Are you looking to challenge your team mate for the third spot of the championship this year?
DJ. At Red Archer, we have the policy of the faster being waved past. So, if one of us catches the other, he'll be let through if he has better chances or is just much faster than the other. Should we be alone and at about the same speed, we are free to drive, but we're always having an eye on the team standings at the same time, we want to avoid silly fights inside the team like some other teams in reality. To answer your question: Yes, I intend to hold the position now. I know Jason is fast, but he'll have to take it from me with some strong performances.
Q. Thank you all, it was a spectacular race. See you next in Mexico!
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