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Bakk Chat: Excitement building.

Thursday, 12th April 2007

It was a jump I wasn’t really expecting and I underestimated it. There is a massive leap in power - these cars are seriously quick – but there is also plenty of aerodynamic grip, the car’s a lot heavier and they have carbon brakes, all of which you need to get used to.

Hi there, and welcome to my first column for Crash.net. I hope that, over the next few months, I can give you some insight into how it feels to be a rookie in the GP2 Series, one step away from Formula One.

Having spent months of preparation to get to this point, I should probably be feeling confident ahead of my GP2 Series bow at Bahrain but, while I can’t wait to get going, I still think there is more to come from me and the DPR team.

Still, the excitement is really building for me big time, even if I think it will only really hit me when I get down to Bahrain and see all the Formula 1 circus and everything for the first time.

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I think the racing is a lot more interesting knowing that we will be doing it in front of the F1 circus, and in front of big crowds, which is a big plus for me. The fact that the F1 guys are watching as well adds a bit of tension, but I think that is all good too.

I don’t think it will necessarily add pressure because, whether I am racing at Croft in front of ten people or racing in Bahrain in front of a few hundred thousand, I’m always going to be doing my best and pushing as hard as I can.

Instead, I am going to be concentrating on getting the most out of the DPR car, which really is a massive difference compared to the Formula Three car I drove last year. It was a jump I wasn’t really expecting and I underestimated it. There is a massive leap in power - these cars are seriously quick – but there is also plenty of aerodynamic grip, the car’s a lot heavier and they have carbon brakes, all of which you need to get used to. Then there are pit-stops and all these others things that you need to get your head around too…

I have to say though that I am not entirely on top of it just yet, because there are few bits and pieces that I still need to learn. Still, I would say that I have adapted to it pretty quickly. I think this was shown by the way we were able to set much better times on the second days of pre-season testing compared to the first when we were still learning out way around the circuit and the car.

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