Buurman fills Monteiro's first seat

Yelmer Buurman has been confirmed as the first driver for former grand prix racer Tiago Monteiro's new GP2 team, Ocean Racing.

Monteiro and his associates acquired the BCN Competicion team last week, and will compete under the Ocean name for the remainder of this winter's Asia series and next summer's main championship.

Buurman, who contested the first half of this year's GP2 championship with Team Arden - before being replaced by Luca Filippi - will join the squad for the second Asian series round in Dubai next weekend.

"It's exciting to race for this brand new team and I will do my best to impress Tiago and (co-owner) Jose Guedes enough to stay in the team for 2009," said Buurman, who recently finished runner-up in the inaugural Superleague championship for PSV Eindhoven.

"I would like to thank Tiago for getting a new chance in GP2 after my successful season in Superleague. My first races in GP2 Asia last year were quite good - in Dubai I finished on the podium and I hope to repeat this performance with Ocean Racing.

"Tiago explained to me his ideas and plans, and I am convinced the new team will soon be a front runner."

Monteiro says he rates Buurman highly and is looking forward to working with the Dutchman.

"I see him as a great driver with very good potential, and he really fits this project," said Monteiro. "He's fast and has good experience already in single seaters.

"He's very motivated and has a hard working profile. He's the kind of personality Ocean Racing needs."

Monteiro acquires BCN GP2 team

Monteiro acquires BCN GP2 team

The BCN Competicion GP2 team have been acquired by a company led by former Formula One driver Tiago Monteiro, it has been announced.

Monteiro, who has been racing for SEAT in the WTCC championship, will lead the project alongside businessman Jose Manuel Guedes and Edmar Monteiro, who has been Tiago's manager during his career.

The team, renamed Ocean Racing Technology, will now be the first Portuguese squad to compete in GP2.

"This is a step I have always wanted to make in my professional career but I would have never imagined taking it this early," said Monteiro, a former Jordan and Spyker F1 driver.

"We had the opportunity and we worked on the financial aspect of the project, then we started negotiations.

"The management of a race team is fascinating because not only do you need to have a good knowledge of what can happen on track but you also need to have some skills in the business. The GP2 Series is the ideal platform because it is very close to Formula One.

"Its popularity and competitiveness is on the rise. After careful consideration we think this project could be a springboard that is perfectly adapted to our ambition of promoting Portuguese motorsport beyond its frontiers."

Monteiro, 32, said the team were already in negotiations with several drivers.

"The team is under construction but our organization will soon be complete," he added. "We are gathering a group of professionals who have to have a bank of knowledge and quality because we are well aware the GP2 Series is one of the most competitive championships.

"We are hiring people we know, who have proved they're good at what they're doing in F1, GP2 or other international championships. The GP2 Asia series will be a warm up for the Main Series where we will operate with the full team. We have a lot of work ahead of us but the motivation is as big as this project is as we know it is a very important one.

"We know the identity of the drivers is something people would like to know. I can simply tell you that there is no obligation for them to be Portuguese even though it is a possibility. At this step of the team's construction, the most important thing is to make the right choices."

The team said they will soon announce where they will be based from now on, with the Technological Park of International Motor Racing in Algarve one of the possibilities.

"We have carefully studied several sites and it is clear the International Autodrome of Algarve offers all the conditions to host a GP2 team and that it is a powerful tool perfectly adapted to its needs," said Guedes.

"But our structure is diverse and our people come from various countries and several other sites could be potential candidates. The finale decision will be made over the next few days."

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Maki shelves GP2 Asia plans

Mika Maki has abandoned his GP2 Asia plans this winter to focus on a title push in his second season in the Formula 3 Euro Series next year.

The Red Bull-backed 20-year-old, who finished joint fourth in the Euro Series standings this year, raced for Team Arden in the GP2 Asia opener in China last month.

But this week's Autosport reports that he has shelved plans to complete the series after deciding to remain in F3 for another year in a bid to win the championship.

"The only possible target now is the title - that was always the plan," said Maki. "I'm better prepared now to show my real speed."

Maki drove for Mucke Motorsport this year, but declined to comment on which team he will race for next year, following Volkswagen's claim that all Red Bull-backed F3 drivers will have VW power next season.

Renger van der Zande, who tied Maki for fourth in the Euro Series standings this year, will replace the Finn at Arden for the remainder of the GP2 Asia series, while Maki added that he still hopes to graduate to the main GP2 Series in 2010.

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Pantano returns to test 2009 updates

GP2 champion Giorgio Pantano was invited back to the series at the end of last week to test a package of updates for the Dallara-Renault used in the championship.

The Italian completed 400 kilometres of running at Paul Ricard, focusing mainly on ensuring that the new clutch that will be introduced for 2009 was sufficiently reliable.

GP2 technical director Didier Perrin declared himself highly satisfied with both the upgrades and Pantano's contribution.

"We enjoyed a trouble-free session and are very satisfied with the clutch in particular: I believe both the teams and the drivers will enjoy its input," he said.

"It was a real pleasure to benefit from Giorgio's expertise and experience. He is not only able to run fast laps one after the other with impressive regularity, but he can also analyse with great finesse the behaviour of the car."

Pantano, who has competed in GP2 since its inception and beat Bruno Senna to this year's title, said he was pleased to be invited back to help.

"I am really grateful to have been given the opportunity to help develop the car," he said. "The GP2 Series will always be a very important part of my career, and I am glad to help them."

The Italian has yet to finalise his 2009 plans, but has been linked to a return to the IndyCar Series, where he raced briefly in 2005.

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DPR amazed by Bratt's performance

DPR team boss David Price has admitted he was wowed by the pace of rookie Will Bratt in Tuesday's GP2 testing at Paul Ricard, and is interested in signing him in the future.

Bratt, 20, ended the test second only to recent pacesetter Kamui Kobayashi of DAMS, and the result marked a return to the top of the times for the DPR team.

"He did an outstanding job," said Price. "He had tested for us once before and did a good job.

"When you consider he's got no real track record behind him, and has been in Spanish F3 this year, he surprised us all with his speed.

"There's definitely something there, and it would be nice to see more English guys in GP2. He's very bright and he's well worth us looking at him for next year."

In between his racing, Bratt is studying English History at the famous Oxford University. He switched to Spanish Formula 3 this season after three years in Formula Renault in the UK.

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Rodriguez leads wet final test day

Roldan Rodriguez was quickest on a wet second day of GP2 testing at Paul Ricard.

In the final testing session until March next year, all the GP2 teams bar BCN took this last opportunity to evaluate potential contenders for 2009 seats or just to gather data with stalwart drivers.

But a foggy start to the day, then persistent rain and red flags, disrupted both today's sessions.

Piquet Sports driver Rodriguez, who currently leads the GP2 Asia Series after a victory at the Shanghai season-opener last month, beat DAMS' Kamui Kobayashi to the top spot in the afternoon - the pair enjoying a 0.5-second margin over the rest of the field, which was led by Vitaly Petrov (Campos).

Asian Series competitor Luiz Razia took fourth for ART, with Formula 3 graduate Dani Clos the best of the rookies in fifth place for main series champions Racing Engineering.

Durango's Davide Valsecchi had led the way in the slower morning session, lapping 0.024 seconds quicker than Rodriguez.

Kobayashi, Clos and Petrov completed the top five.

Afternoon times: Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Roldan Rodriguez Piquet Sports 1:27.038 32 2. Kamui Kobayashi DAMS 1:27.259 48 3. Vitaly Petrov Barwa Int Campos Team 1:27.718 57 4. Luiz Razia ART Grand Prix 1:27.775 52 5. Dani Clos Racing Engineering 1:27.813 31 6. Julien Jousse Fisichella Motor Sport Int 1:27.822 53 7. Karun Chandhok iSport International 1:27.858 39 8. Mike Conway iSport International 1:27.922 37 9. Nico Hulkenberg ART Grand Prix 1:27.955 41 10. Sergio Perez Piquet Sports 1:28.006 41 11. Fabio Onidi Super Nova Racing 1:28.077 46 12. Marcello Puglisi Durango 1:28.232 59 13. Koudai Tsukakoshi Barwa Int Campos Team 1:28.313 50 14. Charles Pic Super Nova Racing 1:28.400 23 15. Jerome D'Ambrosio DAMS 1:28.425 38 16. Davide Valsecchi Durango 1:28.448 43 17. Diego Nunes Trust Team Arden 1:28.536 48 18. Michael Herck DPR 1:28.692 37 19. Nelson Panciatici Trident Racing 1:29.066 48 20 Sten Pentus Racing Engineering 1:29.098 44 21. Alvaro Parente Trust Team Arden 1:29.127 35 22. Fabrizio Crestani DPR 1:29.786 19 23. Christian Ebbesvik Fisichella Motor Sport Int 1:29.806 34 24. Carlos Iaconelli Trident Racing 1:30.689 33 Morning times: Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Davide Valsecchi Durango 1:27.826 46 2. Roldan Rodriguez Piquet Sports 1:27.850 47 3. Kamui Kobayashi DAMS 1:28.213 50 4. Dani Clos Racing Engineering 1:28.247 45 5. Vitaly Petrov Barwa Int Campos Team 1:28.332 50 6. Jerome D'Ambrosio DAMS 1:28.344 55 7. Alvaro Parente Trust Team Arden 1:28.395 49 8. Nico Hulkenberg ART Grand Prix 1:28.423 54 9. Koudai Tsukakoshi Barwa Int Campos Team 1:28.697 44 10. Fabrizio Crestani DPR 1:28.757 61 11. Luiz Razia ART Grand Prix 1:28.852 45 12. Michael Herck DPR 1:28.895 49 13. Karun Chandhok iSport International 1:28.972 24 14. Mike Conway iSport International 1:29.010 20 15. Sergio Perez Piquet Sports 1:29.244 25 16. Fabio Onidi Super Nova Racing 1:29.598 40 17. Christian Ebbesvik Fisichella Motor Sport Int 1:29.600 47 18. Charles Pic Super Nova Racing 1:29.626 37 19. Nelson Panciatici Trident Racing 1:29.830 48 20 Sten Pentus Racing Engineering 1:30.406 17 21. Diego Nunes Trust Team Arden 1:30.582 47 22. Marcello Puglisi Trident Racing 1:31.215 36 23. Michael Dalle Stelle Durango 1:36.497 34 24. Julien Jousse Fisichella Motor Sport Int 1:37.736 3

Kobayashi dominates Paul Ricard test

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Kobayashi on top in Paul Ricard test

Kamui Kobayashi continued to show impressive form in GP2, the Japanese topping the times on the first day of testing at the Paul Ricard circuit.

The DAMS driver posted a best time of 1:15.434 in the afternoon session to finish over three tenths of a second ahead of the impressive rookie Will Brat in the DPR machine.

Track conditions were far from perfect during the day after rain hit the French circuit both in the morning and near the end of the session.

Another rookie, Koudai Tsukakoshi, was also very quick today, setting the third fastest time in the Campos car, ahead of Luca Filippi and Charles Pic, also a rookie.

A total of 12 drivers finished in the same second.

Female racer Natacha Gachnang also made her GP2 debut today at the wheel of the FMS car, the Austrian completing 22 laps in the afternoon on her way to the slowest time. In the morning, however, she was 19th quickest.

The test continues tomorrow.

Afternoon timesPos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Kamui Kobayashi Dams 1:15.434 29 2. Will Brat DPR 1:15.749 48 3. Koudai Tsukakoshi Barwa Int Campos Team 1:16.072 40 4. Luca Filippi Super Nova Racing 1:16.082 23 5. Charles Pic Piquet Sports 1:16.221 32 6. Giedo Van der Garde iSport International 1:16.268 15 7. Jerome D Ambrosio Dams 1:16.368 41 8. Roldan Rodriguez Piquet Sports 1:16.394 33 9. Andreas Zuber Racing Engineering 1:16.395 17 10. Nico Hulkenberg ART Grand Prix 1:16.432 31 11. Luiz Razia FMS International 1:16.520 46 12. Davide Valsecchi Durango 1:16.541 16 13. Mike Conway iSport International 1:16.557 25 14. Vitaly Petrov Barwa Int Campos Team 1:16.638 23 15. Alberto Valerio ART Grand Prix 1:16.893 14 16. Michael Herck DPR 1:17.268 16 17. Marcello Puglisi Durango 1:17.457 27 18. Julien Jousse Trident Racing 1:17.472 32 19. Fabio Onidi Super Nova Racing 1:17.656 39 20. Sten Pentus Racing Engineering 1:18.205 22 21. Fabio Leimer Trident Racing 1:18.353 34 22. Christian Ebbesvik Trust Team Arden 1:18:549 20 23. Nelson Panciatici Trust Team Arden 1:19.404 17 24. Natacha Gachnang FMS International 1:28.710 22

Morning timesPos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Davide Valsecchi Durango 1:18.496 28 2. Jerome D Ambrosio Dams 1:19.969 53 3. Luca Filippi Super Nova Racing 1:20.022 37 4. Michael Herck DPR 1:20.779 37 5. Kamui Kobayashi Dams 1:20.980 26 6. Oliver Turvey iSport International 1:21.161 43 7. Luiz Razia FMS International 1:22.126 63 8. Koudai Tsukakoshi Barwa Campos Team 1:22.255 36 9. Vitaly Petrov Barwa Campos Team 1:23.783 21 10. Fabio Leimer Trident Racing 1:23.844 49 11. Andreas Zuber Racing Engineering 1:24.220 34 12. Giedo Van der Garde iSport International 1:24.237 30 13. Nelson Panciatici Trust Team Arden 1:24.408 41 14. Julien Jousse Trident Racing 1:24.479 36 15. Will Brat DPR 1:24.728 50 16. Fabio Onidi Super Nova Racing 1:25.135 37 17. Sten Pentus Racing Engineering 1:25.414 40 18. Marcello Puglisi Durango 1:25.501 41 19. Natacha Gachnang FMS International 1:26.060 68 20. Christian Ebbesvic Trust Team Arden 1:26.144 41 21. Roldan Rodriguez Piquet Sports 1:26.744 10 22. Nico Hulkenberg ART Grand Prix 1:27.336 23 23. Charles Pic Piquet Sports 1:28.200 19 24. Alberto Valerio ART Grand Prix 1:28.498 38

Kobayashi tops first session at Ricard

Kobayashi dominates Paul Ricard test

Maldonado to race for ART in 2009

Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado will race for the ART Grand Prix team in next year's GP2 Series championship, it was announced on Monday.

Maldonado will also compete with the team in three races of the GP2 Asia series this season.

The 23-year-old finished in fifth place in the 2008 championship with Piquet Sports, after a strong end to the season.

Next year, he admits he will be trying to go for the title.

"I am very proud to be part of a team with the most titles and winners in the history of the GP2 Series and of course, I hope to contribute to winning the teams championship again as well as fighting for the drivers' title in the new season," said Maldonado.

"ART Grand Prix is a highly professional team combined with an environment which has great human qualities. We instantly got along together during testing and I am sure that it will be a great experience for both of us: let's learn from each other and make a great team which will be ready to fight for both championships."

Team boss Frederic Vasseur added: "Pastor had an exceptional end to the 2008 season, scoring more points than any other driver and three time as many as the GP2 Europe champion during the last eight races. There is no doubt he is one of the fastest and more complete drivers in the series.

"With his raw speed his experience of the series and his knowledge of the tracks it will make him one of the favourites for the 2009 championship. Pastor and the team got along really well during recent testing at the Paul Ricard HTTT circuit. All the lights are green and our aim will be to secure both titles next season."

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