Series interview with Duncan Tappy

Tappy: "I believe in my title chances"

Duncan Tappy definitely is among the Auto GP title contenders. With a very good weekend in Magny-Cours, worth a 2nd place in Race 1 and a 4th place in the second race, he climbed to P3 in the overall standings, 8 points adrift from series leader Piscopo. And with 2 full events to go the gap is far from overwhelming...

So Duncan, did you expect to be fighting for the title with two events to go?

"Honestly, yes. I feel that I am where I'm meant to be, and I'm not surprised. I always had great expectations on my performances and when I start in a championship winning the title is always my first aim. Auto GP wasn't any different, my aim was winning right from the start and I feel this third place is well deserved given my season until now. Then you must consider that in Spa I was rather unlucky, as my weekend was ruined by a mechanical glitch in Race 1: now I could have been even closer to the lead, maybe in second place".

When did you realize that you had some realistic chances for the title win? And is there something you need to improve to fight for the win in the best possible way?

"I think that Magny-Cours was the turning point for me. I managed to put together a weekend with no weak points: I was 4th in Qualifying, then 2nd in Race 1, and in the second race I was 4th with a great recovery from P7. Regarding the area to improve, I can still do better in Qualifying. I'm working with the DAMS staff to really make the most of new rubber, and we are already getting good results".

Among your rivals who do you think will be the hardest to beat?

"First of all we have to count them up, because they are a lot. Two of them are ahead, two are tied on points with me and then there's Filippi, just one point behind me. Anyway, looking at the latest events Grosjean seems the hardest to beat, at least looking at raw performance. Then there is Piscopo: maybe his consistency isn't good for the headlines, but it's what kept him in the lead until now and he won't let it go easily".

Three of the title contenders are racing with DAMS: do you feel that being part of the French team is giving you and your team-mates an advantage?

"I don't know how the other teams are working, so I can't really give an answer on that. What I can say is that DAMS are a really good team, with a proven working method and a perfect understanding between all team members. Then there is a lot of cooperation between the drivers: we are working together, sharing impressions and datas, and there are no secrets. Maybe this is what is giving us the edge on our competitors".

How are you going to cope with the last two events?

"I have to close a gap, so I think that 'maximum attack' will be the only possible strategy. I can't just sit down and wait for results to come, so I will be pushing all the team, session after session".

-source: autogp