Javier Villa demonstrated that he knows very well how to get off to a good standing start on the grid, he overtook several cars and at the same time as he avoided any type of problems with those stuck on the grid when the lights went out to start the race. When the cars were heading to the Eau Rouge, Villa was 7th, ahead of Tung and closing in on Negrao. He got tucked in behind the Minardi Piquet Sports car and the pressure from the Repsol driver soon bore its fruits, because Negrao made a mistake on the second lap and the Repsol car got past into 6th place. One lap later Javier was 0.3 seconds behind Petrov, attacking him on the section that goes from Raidillion to Kemmel, and there he finally overtook the Russian on the outside and move into 5th position.
Villa soon got away from Petrov and when the leaders began to make their pit-stops he was in 3rd place, and then into the lead on the eighth lap. On the next lap it was the turn of the Repsol Racing Engineering car for its obligatory tyre change. When Villa got back on the track he was eighth – sixth in reality as the two drivers in front of him still had to make their pit-stop. On lap 12 Villa got close to Conway and he got ahead of Negrao, on the next lap he was 2.1 seconds behind Conway and two laps after that he was just behind the Briton, and he got past him after another brilliant overtaking manouevre moving into 5th place. The next objective for Villa was to catch Di Grassi who was 3.3 seconds ahead of him, a distance that he soon started to cut. But in the end his 5th position became fourth when Carrol span on lap 19.
Marcos Martínez got off to a good start at the back of the grid and on the third lap he was 15th. Without making any mistakes Marcos carried on attacking and took advantage of the other drivers` pit-stops, and he reached third position on the ninth lap and even led on lap 11 whilst fighting with García. On the following lap Marcos entered the pits and went back onto the track in 15th place. Unfortunately on lap 16 he was forced to retire as the engine on his car overheated and the radiator broke.
Javier Villa
“Things really went well for us today. I made a good start and was 7th at the end of the first lap. I started to drive faster and kept the same pace as the leaders. In the end I could have got a podium finish if there had been two or three laps more, something that I think is possible to achieve tomorrow.”
Marcos Martínez
“A good race, I had a good speed and I moved up a few positions, but when I was 14th the radiator burst and that meant I had to retire. I hope that tomorrow everything goes well and I can at least finish the race.”
Race 2
Today`s sprint race at Spa did not turn out as well as the Racing Engineering team and drivers – Javier Villa and Marcos Martínez – had expected after the magnificent fightback that was seen yesterday. This took Javier Villa to fourth position, and Marcos Martínez`s put in a good performance before he had to retire with a broken radiator.
The race began with a good start by the two Repsol drivers. Villa moved into 3rd place after passing La Source, although a small error a few curves later made him drop down two places. His teammate was also making good progress, moving up seven places in spite of going off the track onto the asphalt at the Belgian circuit. Javier Villa stayed right behind Tung trying to find a way past him, half a second behind at the end of the third lap. Unfortunately for Marcos Martínez, that third lap saw his participation in the race at Spa Francorchamps end after spinning on the oil that had leaked from Buemi`s engine.
Javier Villa continued to put pressure on Tung as he sought the 4th position, and he was even alongside the Chinaman on several occasions, although he could not get past him. The first seven gradually got away from the rest and the Repsol driver kept up the pressure on Tung until on lap 6 he had to do “drive–through” because he had overtaken at the start. He was back on the track in 18th position, and then he reached Borja García, he got past him on lap 10. His next objective was Negrao, who he had overtaken on lap 12, to move up to 16th. After overtaking Bakkerud to move up one more place, he tried to hunt down Pantano, although with only 4 laps left and two seconds to make up he managed to finish just 3 tenths behind the Italian, in 15th position.
Javier Villa
“It was a pity because we could have finished on the podium. Winning was difficult, but being 2nd or 3rd I think was possible without too many problems. The “drive through” made us lose a lot of time and we fell to the back. At least we demonstrated that we are very fast as we set some good times. We`ll do it next time!”
Marcos Martínez
“I started well and got into 16th place, I tried to keep up a fast pace but I span because there was oil on the track, left behind by another car when its engine brokedown, and so my race finished. Now we have to think about Valencia.”
