The second round of the 2011 GP2 Main Series went underway today at Barcelona. With a much warmer weather than in preseason testing, teams and drivers had to review their set-up choices in order to achieve a good car balance. Davide was off to a great start in practice, but then in qualifying the weather conditions changed dramatically, with temperatures almost reaching the 25°C-mark.

“I'm satisfied with how my car performed today - told Davide - I just regret not to have been among the first men out when the green lights came. In what ended up being my fastest lap I had to deal with two slower cars in the third sector, and I reckon I might have lost a couple of tenths. I don't think I could have had a shot at the pole, but maybe we could have aimed at row 2. I expect a really tough race tomorrow, and the drivers able to manage their tires during their runs are definitely going to be rewarded”

The GP2 Main Series weekend at Barcelona will continue tomorrow with the running of Race 1, starting at 15:40. Race 2 will follow on Sunday at 10:35. Both this weekend's heats will benefit from a wide international TV Coverage, while the RAI network will televise both race 1 (RaiSportSat) and race 2 (RAI2) live in Italy.

At the end of a really consistent run, Davide Valsecchi rounded out the top-5. It's been a really valuable 5th-place finish for him, as it came at the end of a constant improvement in terms of car performance, and with a clean race that highlighted Davide's skills. After an unlucky start, he rebounded with a great recovery.

“The beginning of the race has been quite wierd – he said – because my start was really good then the car got a lot of wheelspin and I lost some positions, ending up 8th. So we opted for an aggressive strategy with an early pit-stop. Once back on-track I put together some really good laptimes and I was running in 5th when everybody cleared their stop. I'm satisfied with the result as well as with the car's performance. It's something that really makes me look forward to the rest of the season”

The final race of the weekend at Istanbul is set to start tomorrow at 10:35 Italian time, with live TV coverage on RAI2. Davide will be taking off from 4th place on the grid.

At the end of a sensational closing stint, Davide Valsecchi cruised to a well-deserved fourth-place finish at Barcelona. It's been a new, positive day of racing for Davide, who was provided with additional motivation and momentum for the upcoming rounds of the championship.

“The early stages have been really animated - he said - In the opening laps I struggled to keeping Stefano Coletti behind, as he was faster than me in some corners. In the second half of the race the situation improved dramatically. When many other drivers started to suffer from the increasing tire wear, I kept a good pace and even got close to Sam Bird. I though I would have no problems in passing him, but my rev limiter kept going on and I couldn't try at the first corner. With two laps to go, I finally succeeded and I also caught Markus Ericsson, who was in third. Unfortunately, it was the last lap and I had to settle. I'm still happy though, and I'm already focused on Monte Carlo, where I hope to rebound after the bad luck suffered in 2010.”

The GP2 Main Series will be back running on Thursday, as traditionally happens in the Prinicpality, while race 2 will be held on Saturday.