Trident Racing secured its first double points finish of the 2007 campaign in the opening race at the Nürburgring, and is aiming for even better in Sunday's sprint.

Having lined up 14th and eighth respectively, Kohei Hirate – sporting a bright new orange haircut for the weekend – and Pastor Maldonado would take the chequered flag in fifth and sixth positions at the end of the 35-lap duel, following a faultless performance that earned the squad seven points in the constructors' battle and a second row starting spot for both drivers in race two.

“I made a good start that allowed me to move up five positions,” remarked series rookie Hirate, for whom the result marked his maiden GP2 points. “The outside line I chose at the first corner paid off, avoiding any contact.

“We opted for a late pit-stop strategy, so I was even able to push while leading and, thanks to a very driveable car, reach my team-mate after the pit-lane exit. At that point, I closed up on (Giorgio) Pantano, but the race ended when I caught his slipstream. I'm glad I finally managed to score a points finish and clinch a good starting spot for Sunday.”

Monaco winner Maldonado, meanwhile, had looked set for even greater things after an equally meteoric getaway had him up in third place at the end of lap one. A tyre issue would cost him places later on, however, and the Venezuelan elected to allow his faster team-mate through in the race's closing stages.

“What a start!” the 22-year-old enthused afterwards. “Right after take-off I found a hole in the field, passing four cars at the first corner. Then during the first lap I also made a move on Pantano, finding myself in third, but I just couldn't keep the rhythm imposed by (Lucas) Di Grassi and (Timo) Glock. In the final stages I had a tyre problem, being forced to slow down to make it to the end.

“Sixth place is nevertheless a great result, and has allowed me to earn valuable points in the standings. That's very important because at the beginning of the championship we lost a lot of points due to problems with the car.

“Now the car is good, especially in qualifying. We just need to understand it better and improve the set-up on long runs, and if we can make it a little bit more consistent we can fight for the podium for sure.”

“All the team showed a great professional level today,” added delighted team owner Maurizio Salvadori, “earning a valuable double points finish. Maldonado was slowed down by a notable consumption of his set of tyres, but he kept it up to score points that are vital for his position, and he acted like a real professional when the pits showed him he was slower than Hirate.

“I'm very happy for Kohei, who captured his first GP2 points. On a well-known track, he finally deployed a growing potential, and I hope this will be a positive turn-around for his future.”