Herck thrilled with breakthrough race
Michael Herck reckons he can maintain the form that saw him lead the majority of yesterday's GP2 Asia race if he can get more confident in qualifying
The 21-year-old Romanian had struggled for pace during his previous two seasons of GP2 and before this weekend he had not scored any points in either the main or Asia series.
But after coming from 19th to seventh in Friday's feature race at Yas Marina, Herck was able to start from the outside of the front row in the sprint yesterday - and went on to lead until Davide Valsecchi dived past on the penultimate lap.
"We have done a really good job, me and my team, during all the weekend," said Herck. "We have done a lot of hard work. I think we have a really competitive start for this season.
"Unfortunately it is only the qualifying that is not so good so that is a big important improvement I need to do to be sure to be in a top position in any race."
When asked if he knew how he could improve his qualifying form, Herck replied: "I don't know, maybe confidence in me. We have to find a solution in any case because you see yesterday I finished seventh and I started 19th which was a really good race.
"Today I had the chance to fight in the front with the others. I hope to continue doing this. But I think now the car is not perfect, but it is getting me up there in front with the others."
The race was also a breakthrough for the DPR team, which is now owned by Herck's family. The squad has not won a race since the first GP2 season, but Herck's team-mate Giacomo Ricci followed him in a one-two for much of the distance and finished third.
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