The Repsol driver got off to a good start and was fortunate to avoid damage when several cars were involved in an accident just in front of him the the first time they took the chicane. The Safety Car came out immediately and Villa made an obligatory pit stop as soon as the pit-lane opened, after two laps. On the following laps Villa started to overtake his rivals, and on lap thirteen he was 13th just behind Glock and ahead of Zuber. One lap later the Safety Car had to come out again. The race restarted with Villa in 13th position, fighting with Tung for 12th place.
On lap 18 an accident involving Zuber and Soucek, when he was coming back onto the track after going onto the grass, made the Safety Car come out again for another 3 laps. Villa moved into 11th position and four laps later the Repsol driver had managed to climb up to 8th place. Villa got closer and closer to Senna and Chandhook, and he reached them one lap later. The retirement of one of the leaders and problems on Di Grassi`s engine allowed Villa to move up to 6th, just a few tenths behind Chandook, although he was not able to improve on his sixth position at the chequered flag.
For Marcos Martínez yesterday`s race was another race to be forgotten. The Repsol driver saw his first gear break on the grid, and although the team tried to solve the problem, it was impossible for him to start the race.
Javier Villa:
“I made a good start and was ninth when some of the cars in front hit each other and I dropped down a few places when I avoided them. I took advantage to make a it stop when the Safety Car came out. Then I dropped further down after the second Safety Car, then Tung braked suddenly in front of me, two other drivers took advantage of that and got away. I tried to go at a fast pace and I finished 6th after a tough race.”
Marcos Martínez:
“I could not start because of the problem with the gearbox that left the car stranded on the grid. There is no much more to say.”
Race 2:
Today`s race started promisingly thanks to Javier Villa`s excellent start. The Repsol driver started in third position on the grid and after braking later than his nearest rivals, he was first going into the chicane. Nevertheless, all hopes of another victory vanished right then as his car began to lose power. At the end of the first lap Villa was 11th. A clutch problem made him take the curves very wide, his rivals overtook him without any difficulty.
As the laps went by Villa was still slowly dropping down the leaderboard as the clutch problem plagued him. That affected the engine performance and he was soon forced to retire.
Things did not go much better for his teammate Marcos Martínez. The Repsol driver also got off to a good start, trying to overtake as many cars as possible since the gearbox problems on the day before meant he had to bring up the rear on today`s grid.
In spite of his best efforts his race also finished early. At the end of the first lap several cars hit each other entering the famous parabolic curve. Zaug`s car stopped halfway across the track and the Repsol driver was not able to avoid hitting the South African`s car. The serious damage to the front end of his car did not allow him to continue the race.
Javier Villa:
“The race was very difficult and the key was to do a good start and then set a fast pace. I got off to a flyer and I was first at the chicane, but coming out of it the clutch began to slip and I dropped a few places. I carried on for a few laps but the problem was still there and that caused the engine to start failing, so in the end I opted to retire. It was a pity, as I think I could have won today.”
Marcos Martínez:
“I started well and I overtook some cars, but there was an accident in front of me on the parabolic curve and I was not able to avoid crashing. This has been a bad weekend for me; at Spa things will go better for us.”
