Interview with Dani Clos

Racing Engineering’s Dani Clos is heading to Silverstone, where the fifth round of the 2010 GP2 Series is taking place this weekend, being second in the championship standings. However, the young Spaniard is not looking back at the great results he achieved so far this season. He regards each new race weekend to come as a new challenge on his task list, where things start from zero after ever round. His focus is not on the championship standings, but making the best out of each time he sits in Racing Engineering’s Dallara GP2 car. While Dani is not yet familiar with the new sector of Silverstone’s Arena configuration, he doesn’t regard this as a disadvantage and is motivated to make it onto the podium again.

You achieved your first ever GP2 win in the sprint race at Istanbul after dominating the race with an impeccable drive. How has this victory affected you and has anything in your outlook changed because of it?

Well, we had a tough weekend in Istanbul, but it ended with good results, which is very important. And, yes, things obviously changed after having celebrated my first win. I have to work even harder now, work more every single day to continue on the same path, or preferably, even better. So, winning was great, but when you make it to the highest step on the podium, you want to get back there quickly. And this requires hard work.

Four rounds into the championship, and you are second in the overall standings. How does your current situation fit in regards to your expectations for the season?

My expectations are on a race by race base. At the moment, I am not looking at how many points I have, which position in the championship I currently occupy. I concentrate on the upcoming race weekend and know, if I work hard and bring back good results and points from every race, then I am fighting for the championship lead. But right now my focus is on Silverstone and my expectations are limited to this race weekend only.

Valencia has been a rather complicated weekend for you, as well as your team mate, but the focus is on the upcoming races now. Which are the tracks to come which you are looking forward to and why?

I am looking forward to every single track. There is none which I regard as more special for me than others. Every track is of importance and counts, so I am looking forward to all of them.

Silverstone is presenting its new layout, the so-called Arena configuration, which you are not familiar with. How do you learn such a new section of a track and do you think it is a disadvantage for you to not know it yet?

There are many ways for us drivers to learn a new track or in this case a new sector. Nowadays simulators are so good, so well defined, that you get a perfect impression on how the track will look like. I think for all of us, the track will be a bit different and new.

Switching from a street circuit, like the one in Valencia, to one of the fastest race tracks on the calendar, the new Grand Prix Circuit at Silverstone, what challenges do you face and what are your expectations for this weekend?

The expectations are always the same. We start a new weekend from scratch and without looking back on the previous events. We start from zero and Silverstone will be a new challenge for me to score the maximum points possible. Therefore, it’s all about hard work and getting the best out of me every single time.