After a trying season in 2005, things appear to slowly be coming good for Ernesto Viso, the diminutive Venezuelan determined to make it big in GP2.
Having graduated early from F3, hoping that a part-season in F3000 would equip him well for the switch to GP2, Viso found that his pre-season pace counted for little when competition began, the BCN Competicion team suffering more than most with reliability problems, even when the rest of the field appeared to have conquered their early demons.
Although his speed was never in question, and was often confirmed in practice and qualifying on race weekends, the results refused to come, with just three podiums in 23 outings and only six scoring appearances in all, including a fastest lap bonus at Imola. Only at the end of the season, with the title already well out of reach, did BCN's luck begin to turn, and Viso's star again begin to rise.
Having been deprived of a score by an underweight car in Germany, Hungary provided a welcome three points, before the conditions at the new circuit in Istanbul appeared to have presented the team with a first glimpse of victory. Having started 14th in Sunday's sprint event, it took Viso less than five laps to be running in the top two, but BCN elected not to call either the Venezuelan or team-mate Hiroki Yoshimoto in for slicks as the track dried and the opportunity was lost.
The rain returned in Belgium and, at the notoriously difficult Spa-Francorchamps, provided the drivers with a tricky tyre choice. Saturday was drier, and Viso risked fresh grooved rubber at his mandatory stop despite increasingly heavy drizzle - a move that rewarded him with a surprise second place, and effectively kick-started his end of season revival. Worse conditions on Sunday saw the Venezuelan at his best, charging through the field almost at will, but appearing to blot his copybook with a heavy off at the top of Eau Rouge. However, with three cars tangling at the foot of the hill and spreading debris across the track, the race was halted and, when the results were calculated, Viso was credited with third.
