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More podium joy for Matt
in Hungary GP3!
 Having
taken his maiden GP3 podium in his home race at Silverstone
earlier this month, Matt Parry showed his desire for more by
returning to the top three in round four of the championship at
the Hungaroring. Buoyed by his British
performance - which netted a maiden series podium in Saturday's
feature race and fifth in Sunday's sprint - Parry arrived in
Hungary confident that his racecraft was a match for anyone in
the field. With prior knowledge of the tricky Budapest venue
from his time in Formula Renault, he was optimistic of another
strong showing, especially with the Koiranen GP team in good
form over the opening third of the season. Practice, however,
showed not only how close the GP3 Series can be, but also how
thin the line is between success and disappointment, as Parry,
despite some early pace, was limited to just 13 laps by an
engine problem and left down in 20th on the timesheets.
Photo - Matt (car 12 )puts the
pressure on!
Overnight repairs allowed him to join the
early morning qualifying session on Saturday and, despite his
lack of track time in practice, the Welshman immediately showed
what he was capable of by vaulting to the top of the times. He
remained in the hunt for a top six position throughout the 30
minutes, but was unable to take full advantage of an extra set
of tyres and had to settle for the outside of row three ahead of
race one later in the day.
“Silverstone gave me a major boost, and
showed just what I can do at this level,” Parry said, “It was
good confirmation after last season's frustration and, with the
Hungaroring being a similar challenge to Silverstone despite
their different appearance, it allowed me to come here in
confident mood. Practice was disappointing after a coil failed
in the engine, but the team sorted the problem overnight and
allowed me to qualify as normal. It's just a pity that I
couldn't get everything out of the spare set of tyres that I
had, as finding another couple of tenths would have put me third
on the grid...” With no respite in the
Hungarian heat and humidity ahead of the late afternoon start,
40 minutes of racing would test Parry's physical preparation as
well as his car, but the Sport Wales ambassador showed no signs
of fatigue as he produced a battling performance in search of
the top three.
Having got the better of veteran Koiranen
team-mate Jimmy Eriksson off the line, the Welsman settled into
fifth place through the opening laps, before closing in and
putting pressure on Arden's Emil Bernstorff. Despite appearing
to have better pace than his fellow Briton, however, Parry was
unable to find a clear opportunity to complete a move, and
remained fifth to the chequered flag, crossing the line just
four-tenths shy of third place as the chasing group bunched up
in the final laps.
“I made a decent start and was able to get
the better of Jimmy into turn one but, after that, it was
something of a procession - albeit an exciting one,” Parry
confirmed, “Just as at Silverstone, I was right behind
Bernstorff for much of the race but, again, there just wasn't a
clear opportunity to pass him. I didn't want to risk anything,
but we were all so close crossing the line, I know that a podium
would have been possible."
Under GP3's reverse grid policy, fifth
place in race one meant that Parry would line up fourth on the
grid for race two early on Sunday morning but, this time, there
would be no gaining of places off the line, with the 21-year old
initially going backwards as Saturday's top three all came past
into turn one. His position was improved
midway around the lap as Bernstorff was taken out by Antonio
Fuoco, but Parry helped himself to fourth by pulling off one of
the overtaking moves of the season, going around the outside of
race one winner and championship leader Luca Ghiotto at turn
one. Having fended off the Italian's riposte through the
following left-hander, Parry made good his escape, closing
rapidly on Eriksson for the final podium position. Again, as in
Silverstone's second race, the pair ran nose-to-tail, with the
Swede prevailing despite telling his rookie team-mate that he
had never known anyone able to run as fast in 'dirty air'.
Parry's dogged pursuit would ultimately pay
dividends, however, as Eriksson, having enjoyed the podium
ceremony, was later penalised for exceeding track limits in his
defence, promoting the Briton to third place.
“If there is one area where I need to
improve, it is my starts,” Parry conceded, “There are two ways
of getting the car off the line and I'm still playing it safe
while the more experienced drivers are taking the riskier option
and making the most of it. Despite dropping back, I was handed a
couple of places back by the accident and, once the safety car
went in, I was able to get around the outside of Ghiotto at the
end of the main straight. He made it difficult for me, but it
was a very satisfying move!
"I was able to catch up to Jimmy but didn't
want to make a silly move on a team-mate, even if the podium was
at stake. It's a shame for him that he picked up the penalty,
but I think I deserved a top three position this weekend and
will happily take the points.” With both Seb Morris and
Jan Mardenborough failing to score, Matt is now the leading
Welsh points scorer!
Round five of the 2015 GP3 Series season
takes place at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium over the weekend of
21-23 August.
Current points
2015 GP3 Championship
1st Luca Ghiotto (Italy)
121 Points
7th Matt Parry 43
pts
9th Jann Mardenborough 32 pts
13th Seb Morris 6 pts
http://www.gp3series.com
http://www.sebmorris.com @SebMorris31
Team Web:
http://www.statusgp.com
Twitter: @StatusGrandPrix
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/statusgrandprix
Instagram: statusgrandprix
http://www.mattparryracing.co.uk/
@Mattparryracing
Team Web:
http://www.koiranengp.com
Twitter: @KoiranenGP
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/KoiranenGP
Instagram: koiranengp
@Jannthaman
Team Web
http://www.carlin.co.uk
Twitter: @CarlinRacing Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/CarlinRacing
Instagram: carlinracing
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