San Marino GP: Minardi race notes

It was a race of contrasting fortunes for Wilux Minardi Cosworth drivers, Gianmaria Bruni and Zsolt Baumgartner in today's San Marino Grand Prix. Both men started well and ran on the anticipated pace during the first of their four scheduled stints. Unfortunately, soon after his first stop, on lap 13, Bruni felt he was experiencing a problem with the brake balance of his car and came into the pits.

As it was a clear safety-related issue, the car was withdrawn from the race, and the team is currently analysing the relevant data in an effort to discover the problem. By comparison, Baumgartner had a solid race, setting his quickest time on the final lap and finishing 15th - his best result so far this season.

Zsolt Baumgartner:

"I'm happy to have finished the race and pleased that we had a reliable car today. There were no problems and no mistakes, and I now hope we can build on this and start to generate some momentum in the coming races. We need to work some more on our new aerodynamic package, but I think it is promising and will become better with a little more development time. I want to thank all the guys on the team, who did a fantastic job this weekend and got through a huge amount of work."

Gianmaria Bruni:

"It just wasn't our day. I felt a problem developing with the brake balance about seven laps after my first stop and came into the pits. Although the team couldn't find anything wrong, they decided to retire the car as a precaution. I'm disappointed, but now it is best just to focus on the next race, in Barcelona."

Paul Stoddart, Team Principal, Wilux Minardi Cosworth:

"It's always sad not to get both cars home, but that said, Zsolt did a fantastic job and persevered to the end, setting his fastest time of the day on his final lap of the race. Clearly, we have a lot to learn from this weekend, and hopefully, we'll put in a stronger performance in Barcelona."

ZSOLT BAUMGARTNER
Chassis: PS04B/04
Best lap: 1 min 26.075 secs
Position: 15th

GIANMARIA BRUNI
Chassis: PS04B/02
Best lap: 1 min 26.857 secs
Position: DNF

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