Round 8 - Silverstone - Driver quotes

Yvan Muller – VX Racing – 1st place

I wasn’t very confident with my set-up in the first race. After yesterday I didn’t have the chance to test the car, so between the first and second races I adjusted the set-up. Plus the fact that Jimmy took 40 kilos and I lost ten, so that of course went my way.

With the pit stops, did you ask your team to bring James in first so he wouldn’t get an extra point for leading?

No, it was more that there were dark clouds in the sky, so we waited as long as we can in case it starts to rain.

It’s starting to look easy for Vauxhall!

But at the beginning of the race the Hondas were very quick. All the quick guys were at the back. It’s never easy to win. Firstly Jimmy is very hard competition, it can rain, there can be traffic, you can make a mistake in the pit lane.

James Thompson – VX Racing – 2nd place

The first stint was just dire; I couldn’t wait to get that first set of tyres off the car to be honest. Yvan took four seconds out of me in the first ten laps, which was horrendous.

The second set was much better but the damage was done in the first ten laps, which was a bit frustrating. I’m not saying there was anything wrong with the tyres, maybe it was the way we’d scrubbed them in or whatever, but the second set was about a second a lap faster, which is where we should have been. You just can’t give time away in the first part of a race.

I think we’re all still all learning on the tyre front. Maybe Yvan’s one step ahead having done all the tyre testing through the winter. Hopefully I’ll catch up before it’s too late.

We’ve got the same car, so it’s going to be about who makes a mistake or who beats who on the day. If I come to a meeting and beat him in both races I’ll take ten points out of him. That’s what I was hoping to do today. I’ve out-qualified him in three of the four rounds so far, now it’s a matter of getting our race balance knocked into shape.

I’m happy though; I’ve won three races out of eight and been on pole three times!

Your thoughts on Rockingham?

I’ve never seen it, except on “Faking It”! I’m sure the silver fox will be lightning round there in his Proton! Well, for the first two laps until we all know the track!

Warren Hughes – MG – 3rd place

It’s satisfying to have race like that but it’s bloody frustrating to be down there in the first place. I should have had two podiums, having had the problem with the alternator in the first race. But you can’t do anything about that, it’s just the rub of the green and we didn’t get it.

Two podiums for MG though was a good weekend, but spread about a bit too thinly in my opinion.

We just made a few subtle changes for this weekend, but the car on the tyres this year is incredibly sensitive. As James mentioned earlier it’s very easy to pop out of your little operating window, it’s the same for us but they’re a bit higher up the grid when it happens to them.

We qualified on the second row, which is roughly where the car’s capable of at the moment. From there we can do a lot in the race so I hope it stays that way for the rest of the season.

Warren Hughes behind Anthony Reid at Silverstone How frustrating was it running behind Anthony Reid for all that time? Did you just want the team to get on the radio and tell him to move over?

He wasn’t holding me up a great deal but while you’re that close you probably are losing a little bit. He developed a problem at some stage with the exhaust and was very good about it, saw that I was quicker and didn’t make life too hard. Good team work.

I did enjoy it but I don’t like getting too close to Anthony – not because he’s Anthony! – it was a good result in the end. At least we’re finishing the weekend on a high note but it’s a missed opportunity. We’re making life difficult for ourselves but it’s not through any lack of effort. We’ve got a car with potential, we’ve just got to make the most of every weekend.

I feel that we’re learning all the time, even race to race. We’ve found something quite significant, which I believe, will put us in good stead for the rest of the season. The car was very consistent in the second race, the lap times were strong right through. That’s been the problem up until now: the consistency and the degradation of the tyre. It might be quick over one lap but it drops off. But we made a breakthough in the second race.

Paul O’Neill – VX Racing – 5th place

A bit of a nightmare weekend! I think if we’d have got past Turkington and not been hit by someone else then I think we could have been 1-2-3, but that’s the way it goes sometimes.

What happened between you and James Kaye?

I dunno, I’m not blaming anyone. I just remember being hit from behind then I got hit on the side. My mirrors were all bent so I don’t know if I drove into him or what.

On to Rockingham, a track that’s new to you and everyone else.

I’ve been round it once, in a Caterham! I’m going down in the week to get some laps in and take it from there.

Gavin Pyper – GA Motorsport – 7th place

You’ve had a good weekend, great qualifying and some close battles.

Testing and qualifying were good, the car was great here. I think we’re proving to be the best independents, especially with Gareth here proving that he’s fast. It’s really good for the team and myself.

You’ve shown this weekend that you can race really hard but fair as well. We’ve seen you give some, shall we say, friendly taps to people trying to pass you but nothing more than that. Does that answer the critics who’ve been saying that in the first few rounds you were a little rough with people?

Yes, I don’t think there’s any criticism apart from Rob Collard. He wrote his own car off then blamed it on me. I think I’ve have some good hard racing, but fair.

Matt Neal – Honda Racing – DNF

That was a fantastic start to get up into third place, but then what happened?

We developed a vibration at the end of the first lap. I warned the guys that they’d better get ready but it didn’t seem to get any worse – but no better. By the third lap they were asking if I was coming in and I said “no way! I’m in third place!”. It wasn’t getting any worse so I thought I’d continue and check it out at the pit stop.

I was pulling the Vauxhalls in because they’d got some traffic, it felt really good. But then I got a burning smell coming through Bridge, went round Luffield ok, coming out of Luffield - BANG! - the left front driveshaft went.

All other things being equal, do you think you could have won that race?

I think we’d have smoked them! I’m not one to blow my own trumpet but I think the car was awesome today in both races, even with some weight in we’d have been right up at the sharp end.

You come away today empty handed, but at least you know the car’s got the pace. What do you think you can do at Rockingham?

Well, Rockingham’s new to us all. My famous old saying for this year is “at least we’re light for the next race”. The Honda’s going well - it’s a great car to be in - but what do I have to do? Vauxhall are having mega luck and we’re having terrible luck. I just can’t believe it.



Thanks to all the drivers for their time.

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