|
Q&A: ADRIAN
VALLES vs CRAIG DOLBY
 The
2009 Superleague Formula by Sonangol championship battle reaches its
climax at Jarama next weekend when Liverpool and Tottenham go
head-to-head for the title. Spurs’ Craig Dolby has played catch-up for
most of the year but took points out of Kop star Adrian Valles’ league
lead at Monza last time out to set-up their Spanish showdown. Here the
pair discuss their chances ahead of the biggest weekend of their
careers.
Adrian, Liverpool haven’t won
a league title for 19 years. How confident are you of bringing that run
to an end at Jarama?
Adrian
Valles:
I’m quite confident. We’ve got a healthy advantage at the top but that
doesn’t mean we can relax because it’s a really tough championship to
win. There are a lot of strong drivers out there who will be pushing
hard. It’s best to treat it like any other race and hope that things
play out like normal. If I start thinking about pressure, trying to win
or not crashing instead of racing as I usually would then that’s the
wrong mentality. I’m just going to go there and try to do my best. The
whole team is working hard for it.
Craig, 49 points, although
achievable, is still a sizable deficit. Is it realistic to think you can
overhaul that?
Craig Dolby:
Yes! All Adrian needs is a mechanical failure or to make a mistake and,
if I have a good result, I’m right back in it for the second race. In
Estoril, where I was taken off in one of the races, I only got something
like 28 points so if he has a weekend like that then it will be close.
You never say never and as there’s still a realistic chance of the title
then I won’t give up. If it wasn’t for the problems in Portugal I think
we’d be within 10 points right now. It’s going to be difficult, I’ll
admit that, but I can still see there’s a chance there, especially as I
think we’ll be fast.
Are you happier chasing down a
deficit or would you prefer to be in Adrian’s position?
CD:
Obviously I’d prefer the situation to be the other way round because
Adrian hasn’t really got to do a lot to win the championship and if he’s
clever he’ll drive more reserved to pick up points. That’s a position
I’d love to be in but obviously in motorsport anything can happen.
As a Spaniard Adrian, presumably
Jarama’s a place you’ve raced at before in junior formula?
AV:
I’ve raced there a few times. It’s a really small track and normally
big, powerful cars don’t race there. But I personally think it will be
amazing – a fast single seater on such a narrow, bumpy and difficult
track. It will be really exciting, especially as I’m expecting a big
crowd travelling in from Madrid which is nearby. It’s not used that
often so it should be full.
Does that previous experience count
towards home advantage?
AV: There’s
plenty of time for others to learn the track in practice so I’m not sure
about that. It’s quite a difficult circuit and I haven’t raced there
since 2002 in Formula Renault 1.6 which only has 100bhp compared to the
750 we’ve got in Superleague. So I know the track direction but I
wouldn’t say the reference I have from before will be comparable when I
return next week.
Can you see anyone from outside you
two affecting the championship battle?
CD: With
Superleague how it is right now there’s any one of 15 drivers that can
be fast enough to be right at the sharp end fighting for the top five.
It’s great to be in a championship with so many strong drivers. I guess
you could say that Bourdais’ on form at the minute but equally I think
that I’m one of the strongest too so I’ll be hoping to pull off some
special moves at Jarama, that’s for sure!
You mentioned that you’re tackling
the race as if it were any other. There must be some pressure building
though?
AV:
At the moment there’s no pressure. I’m approaching it like any other
race. We know we have a good gap and are close to winning it but we
don’t want to put pressure on ourselves. The team and I are working on a
set-up to try and win the race which will obviously give us the
championship.
Does racing against another Premier
League side for the title offer any extra incentive to win?
AV: Of course
it’s always exciting when you’re up against another Premier League club
and I think it’s going to be a classic; Liverpool vs Tottenham. But we
know we have a good advantage which I hope we don’t ruin. I understand
that Craig is in a difficult position because he has to push to win the
title whereas we could afford just to collect points if necessary. As I
said though, we’ll still be pushing hard for the win.
CD:
Obviously
there’s a rivalry between Tottenham and Liverpool anyway so there’s a
bit more because it’s a Premier League club we’re up against and means
more to the fans. For me personally though I just want to win and that’s
obviously the same in football, regardless of the opposition. It’ll feel
a bit more like a Tottenham vs Arsenal game. In my mind it’s a big
deal.
Dolby vs Valles, Tottenham vs Liverpool: November 7/8, Jarama, Spain.
mail your news to
editorthegrid@yahoo.co.uk
|
