Silverstone: P1 Motorsport race two report

P1 MOTORSPORT ON THE PODIUM

Giedo Van der Garde claimed a close second position in Silverstone's feature race behind Carlin Motorsport's Robert Wickens. The two battled it out for the victory and it could have gone either way, but unfortunately for Van der Garde, Wickens just beat him to the chequered flag. However, Van der Garde remains very much in control of the championship, leaving the Silverstone round having added 18 points to his total.

Van der Garde got a fantastic start off the line and eased ahead of pole sitter Wickens. The P1 Motorsport car led from the first corner and pulled away from the field to have a comfortable lead. As the cars peeled into the pitlane for the mandatory stop, the Dutchman was catching back-markers and this was costing him valuable time. The team made the call to bring the No.21 car into the pits on lap ten. The team managed a great stop, and sent the race leader back out onto the circuit, re-joining down in fifth position. When the cars ahead stopped for their tyre changes, Van der Garde crossed the line in the lead, but Wickens was exiting the pitlane and it was a race to be first to the corner. The crowds held their breath as the two cars were almost side by side, but Wickens had the line and took the lead from Van der Garde.

Although the Dutchman was catching Wickens in the closing stages, he was unable to find a safe way past the Canadian, and settled for a strong second position. Reflecting on the race, Van der Garde said, "I was unlucky with traffic on my in laps, and subsequently lost some time to Robert (Wickens), but overall I'm pleased to take second position."

British female Pippa Mann drove a solid and consistent second race to take a deserved 20th position. The 23 year-old jostled for position and endured a couple of fantastic battles with fellow Brit Duncan Tappy (RC Motorsport) but in the end, after much hard work and sensational racing, Mann finished where she had begun.

"It was quite nice to beat another Brit at our home race," said Mann, "as we had a really good battle. It was another tough race and again I'm pleased I do put the effort in at the gym! This wasn't the result I was looking for here at Silverstone, but with two top 20 finishes, no DNF's, and the team got a second place with Giedo and are still leading the championship, I cannot complain too much. However, I'll be looking for some more points when we head to Hungary in a couple of weeks time."

-credit: p1