Reigning British F3 champion and current GP2 racer Mike Conway was denied another points finish in the seventh round of the GP2 Series at Magny-Cours in France. Mike was on course for a top-six finish when his Super Nova International car lost all hydraulic pressure, which meant his car was jammed in fourth gear.
From ninth on the grid, Mike made a decent start and was running with the leaders when they arrived at the Adelaide hairpin, where yesterday he was punted into a spin by his team-mate Luca Filippi.
“It was very messy at the hairpin, ” said Mike. “There were cars going all over the place. I just wanted to keep my nose clean and stay out of trouble, which I did. “
Mike gained a place when Bruno Senna ran off the track at the Nurburgring chicane, which was still greasy after a shower of rain before the start, promoting him to eighth. He then hunted down and passed Monaco race winner Pastor Maldonado on lap six and latched onto the tail of series frontrunner Lucas di Grassi.
“The car had a very strong pace, ” said Mike. “I was able to catch di Grassi quite easily and got right on his tail. Then he passed [Vitaly] Petrov, so I was right behind him and looking for a way past. “
With race leader Nicolas Lapierre crashing out at the hairpin on lap 16, Mike was now in the points. With Petrov in his sights, he was just lining up an attack for fifth place when his technical gremlin struck, forcing him into the pits to retire.
“I had no warning, I just became stuck in fourth gear because the hydraulics had failed, ” said Mike. “The point was in the bag for sixth, and I’m sure I would have made fifth or maybe even better. Things just aren’t going my way at the moment. “
The next GP2 round takes place at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone on July 7/8.
Mike said: “I’m really looking forward to my home race. I’ve had a lot of success at Silverstone in the past, and if we can find a good balance, I’m sure we can get a great result there. ”
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