British GP2 racer, Mike Conway, showed what might have been in Sunday’s sprint race at Monza when he stormed from 21st position to 10th.
Conway, who suffered the disappointment of a first corner retirement on Saturday, bounced back in style with a storming performance in his Super Nova International car. Mike was lucky to escape two dramatic moments on the opening lap. First of all, he had to take evasive action when Xandi Negrao slowed in front of him, and Kazuki Nakajima wouldn’t give him racing room.
“I had two wheels on the grass exiting Turn 3, ” said Mike. “Nakajima gave me no room at all. There was some dirty driving going on out there, I was put on the grass a couple of times at very high speed. “
His second scare was at Parabolica, when Adrian Zaugg spun in front of him: “There was half a car’s gap to the left, so I thought about going for it, but that closed. I turned the wheel hard right and spun the car - I don’t know how I missed him! I even had my hands off the wheel, braced for the impact, but it never came. “
Mike rejoined after his high-speed spin and was running in 20th position early on, but would work his way towards the front of the field. He was up to 14th by lap 10, 12th by lap 20, and finished a fraction behind Roldan Rodriguez in 10th position at the chequered flag.
“I caught up with the cars ahead, passed Nakajima, Hirate and a couple more, ” said Mike. “I got very close to Petrov, but made a mistake at Turn 1 and dropped back. Then, when I caught him up again, he went off at the Parabolica.
“I caught up with Roldan Rodriguez next, but he then touched wheels with Ho-Pin Tung at the Parabolica on the last lap. I got right up with Rodriguez on the sprint to the finish. If the finish line was at the end of the straight, I would have finished ninth. “
The GP2 series is the final stepping stone on a drivers path to Formula One, and with the races taking place at the Grands Prix, is a showcase of their talents in front of their peers and the F1 paddock. Conway is reigning British F3 champion and graduated to the GP2 series for this season.
The next GP2 round is at the Belgian Grand Prix venue of Spa-Francorchamps next weekend, a track Mike is looking forward to.
“I really love Spa, it’s such a challenging track, ” said Mike. “I was quick in F3 there last year, so I hope I can do it again in GP2. ”
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