Kobayashi inherits Bahrain pole

GP2 Asia championship leader Kamui Kobayashi took a step closer to securing the title by taking pole position for the first race of this weekend's finale in Bahrain.

The Japanese driver only set the second quickest time in the qualifying session, behind his DAMS team-mate Jerome D'Ambrosio, but will start from the front because D'Ambrosio has to serve a 10-place grid penalty from his black flag in the last race in Malaysia.

D'Ambrosio's penalty not only gives Kobayashi pole, but also the two points that come with it, edging him closer to claiming the series crown.

Piquet GP's drivers repeated their front-running form from the day's earlier practice session and Roldan Rodriguez and Diego Nunes will start tomorrow's first race from second and third.

Pastor Maldonado (ART), Luiz Razia (Arden) and Giedo van der Garde (iSport) complete the first three rows of the grid.

Vitaly Petrov's already slim title chances were all but erased when, after completing just two laps in practice, he qualified 20th.

Pos Driver Team Time Gap 1. Jerome D'Ambrosio DAMS 1m43.752s 2. Kamui Kobayashi DAMS 1m43.863s +0.111 3. Roldan Rodríguez Piquet 1m43.910s +0.158 4. Diego Nunes Piquet 1m44.014s +0.262 5. Pastor Maldonado ART 1m44.101s +0.349 6. Luiz Razia Arden 1m44.141s +0.389 7. Giedo van der Garde iSport 1m44.174s +0.422 8. Davide Valsecchi Durango 1m44.310s +0.558 9. Javier Villa Super Nova 1m44.319s +0.567 10. Alvaro Parente Meritus 1m44.321s +0.569 11. Karun Chandhok Ocean 1m44.472s +0.720 12. Marco Bonanomi Meritus 1m44.477s +0.725 13. Sergio Perez Barwa 1m44.546s +0.794 14. James Jakes Super Nova 1m44.552s +0.800 15. Davide Rigon Trident 1m44.649s +0.897 16. Hamad Al-Fardan iSport 1m44.673s +0.921 17. Sakon Yamamoto ART 1m44.705s +0.953 18. Rodolfo Gonzalez FMS 1m44.747s +0.995 19. Edoardo Mortara Arden 1m44.864s +1.112 20. Vitaly Petrov Barwa 1m44.879s +1.127 21. Michael Herck DPR 1m44.921s +1.169 22. Giacomo Ricci DPR 1m45.676s +1.924 23. Fabio Crestani Ocean 1m45.837s +2.085 24. Kevin Chen FMS 1m46.428s +2.676 25. Ricardo Teixeira Trident 1m46.485s +2.733 26. Michael Della Stelle Durango 1m46.702s +2.950

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Mortara beats Grosjean to sprint win

Arden rookie Edoardo Mortara claimed victory in today's GP2 sprint race at Barcelona after withstanding sustained pressure from yesterday's feature race winner Romain Grosjean.

Mortara made an excellent start from third on the grid and led into the first corner but Grosjean had started equally strongly, climbing from eighth to third within the space of two laps, and then taking second from Jerome D'Ambrosio a couple of laps later.

At that point Mortara had a lead of 1.2 seconds, but Grosjean slowly ground that down and by lap 14 the Frenchman was within striking range. He made his move with a lunge at Turn 1, but Mortara was able to defend.

That would prove to be Grosjean's only genuine opportunity to pass, and Mortara gradually opened the gap again to eventually cross the line 1.5s clear.

D'Ambrosio did not have the pace to match the leaders but nor did he ever look in any real danger, and had a relatively quiet run to his second podium of the weekend. iSport's Giedo van der Garde had an equally solid if rather lonely run to fourth ahead of polesitter Kamui Kobayashi, who was never able to recover from a sluggish start.

The fight for the remaining points positions was considerably more heated. Super Nova's Luca Filippi got himself into sixth midway through the race, but as the laps ticked away the Italian was clearly struggling for pace and a queue quickly formed behind him.

ART's Pastor Maldonado, who had earlier had a lucky escape when he bumped team-mate Nico Hulkenberg, managed to get past and quickly vanished down the road, but Hulkenberg's hopes of doing the same were dashed when he spun following a touch from Diego Nunes.

Barwa Campos' Vitaly Petrov was also on target for points, but outbraked himself and fell behind the two ART cars while trying to pass Filippi.

Pos Driver Team Time 1. Edoardo Mortara Arden 39m55.235s 2. Romain Grosjean Barwa Campos + 1.251s 3. Jerome D'Ambrosio DAMS + 6.518s 4. Giedo van der Garde iSport + 14.638s 5. Kamui Kobayashi DAMS + 17.170s 6. Pastor Maldonado ART + 20.099s 7. Luca Filippi Super Nova + 28.971s 8. Diego Nunes iSport + 29.258s 9. Vitaly Petrov Barwa Campos + 29.433s 10. Lucas di Grassi Racing Engineering + 31.038s 11. Alvaro Parente Ocean + 32.026s 12. Luiz Razia Fisichella + 33.167s 13. Alberto Valerio Piquet + 33.789s 14. Nico Hulkenberg ART + 34.278s 15. Giacomo Ricci DPR + 38.913s 16. Davide Valsecchi Durango + 40.811s 17. Sergio Perez Arden + 42.258s 18. Nelson Panciatici Durango + 59.664s 19. Dani Clos Racing Engineering + 59.747s 20. Ricardo Teixeira Trident +1m00.052s 21. Davide Rigon Trident + 1 lap Retirements: Karun Chandhok Ocean 21 laps Javier Villa Super Nova 17 laps Michael Herck DPR 13 laps Andi Zuber Fisichella 8 laps Roldan Rodriguez Piquet 0 laps

Rodriguez wins as Kobayashi spins

‘Frank TV,’ take two

Grosjean pleased with strong start

Romain Grosjean believes that the hard work put in between himself and his new team Barwa Addax was rewarded after he took pole position for tomorrow's opening race of the GP2 season at Barcelona, although he concedes that he still faces some difficult opposition.

Grosjean switched to the former Campos Racing squad for this season after spending his rookie year with ART, and says he and the team are starting to gel despite a tough start.

"We had the chance to work with each other in the Asia Series to see how each other was working and what we could improve, and today being on pole is something that is very good for all of us," he said. "Especially because it is the first race of the season and it means that everything is going well between the driver and the team.

"When you don't race you have some doubt, and when you first come you don't know what's going on. But testing was not fantastic, we had to see why that was. We worked very hard with the team and in the end it worked. This morning [in practice] we were fast and this afternoon we were fast again. So I think this is the best way to start the season."

Pre-season expectations were that Grosjean's main threat for the title would be Racing Engineering's Lucas di Grassi, and the Brazilian bore that out by qualifying second, falling just 0.021s short of Grosjean's time, while Grosjean's Barwa team-mate Vitaly Petrov will start from third.

"We were expecting Lucas to be here, he is here, and it is very good to have Vitaly here as well," Grosjean said. "Expectations? The best thing would be to win. Everybody knows it will be a tough and long race; we know that we will have to be careful with the tyres.

"I'm sure Lucas will be there again. But let's work with the team now and try to set up the car for tomorrow. It is going to be a long race, but I am really looking forward to it."

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Price concludes sale of DPR stake

Veteran team owner David Price has confirmed the sale of his final shares in GP2 squad DPR to new owner Andre Herck.

Price, who has run the team since the advent of GP2 in 2005, will concentrate on driver management. It is unknown whether Herck will now rename the team, which runs his son Michael in the series.

The identity of Herck's team-mate for the main series, which kicks off at Barcelona next month, remains in flux as James Jakes, who tested for the team at Barcelona, is understood to have turned down a deal. Technical chief Andy Miller has also left the squad.

Price will continue to manage Diego Nunes, who has won the last two GP2 Asia feature races with Piquet GP, and switches to former series champions iSport for the main series.

Price is also going to monitor the budget-capped Formula 1 situation, and has not ruled out starting a new team in future.

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Razia scores maiden GP2 victory

Luiz Razia converted his reverse grid pole position into a maiden GP2 victory in the Asia series finale in Bahrain today.

The Brazilian held his nerve through a safety car restart after a five-car crash at the start, and had the legs of second-placed David Rigon throughout the race.

The accident at the start was triggered when Roldan Rodriguez and Davide Valsecchi were taken out by Karun Chandhok and Pastor Maldonado, with Rodolfo Gonzalez also involved.

D'Ambrosio had moved up to fourth from sixth off the line and set about chasing Sakon Yamamoto once racing resumed. He caught and passed the Japanese driver and then chased down Rigon in the closing stages of the race to take second place.

Newly-crowned champion Kamui Kobayashi finished fifth, ahead of race one winner Diego Nunes who recovered to sixth after a making a mistake and losing a couple of places at the restart.

Pos Driver Team Time 1. Luiz Razia Arden 43m47.690s 2. Jerome D'Ambrosio DAMS +11.494s 3. David Rigon Trident +12.646s 4. Sakon Yamamoto ART +13.349s 5. Kamui Kobayashi DAMS +13.892s 6. Diego Nunes Piquet +19.362s 7. Giedo van der Garde iSport +23.183s 8. Marco Bonanomi Meritus +27.813s 9. Sergio Perez Barwa +31.989s 10. Giacomo Ricci DPR +34.428s 11. Vitaly Petrov Barwa +36.252s 12. Javier Villa Super Nova +36.666s 13. Alvaro Parente Meritus +37.230s 14. James Jakes Super Nova +39.266s 15. Fabrizio Crestani Ocean +41.122s 16. Edoardo Mortara Arden +42.111s 17. Hamad Al-Fardan iSport +52.089s 18. Kevin Nai Chia Chen FMS +1m05.417s 19. Michael Dalle Stelle Durango +1m10.175s Retirements Michael Herck DPR 16 laps Ricardo Teixeira Trident 13 laps Roldan Rodriguez Piquet 0 laps Karun Chandhok Ocean 0 laps Davide Valsecchi Durango 0 laps Rodolfo Gonzalez FMS 0 laps Pastor Maldonado ART 0 laps Fastest lap, D'Ambrosio 1m46.648s on lap 6

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Piquet team on top after practice

The Piquet GP team set the pace in the first practice session for this weekend's GP2 Asia season finale in Bahrain.

Diego Nunes and Roldan Rodriguez were first and second fastest, and set the best laptime, nearly half a second clear of the rest of the field. Rodriguez was able to match his team-mate's time despite missing half the session while the team fixed an ignition problem.

Luiz Razia was third quickest for Arden, with Alvaro Parente's Meritus car fourth. The title protagonists were next up, chaser Davide Valsecchi just a whisker quicker than points leader Kamui Kobayashi.

Edoardo Mortara made it two Ardens in the first seven, ahead of Jerome D'Ambrosio's DAMS car, with James Jakes (Super Nova) and Marco Bonanomi (Meritus) completing the top 10.

Vitaly Petrov completed just two laps of the session before stopping his car with an electrical gremlin.

Pos Driver Team Time Gap 1. Diego Nunes Piquet 1m44.290s 2. Roldan Rodriguez Piquet 1m44.290s 3. Luiz Razia Arden 1m44.768s +0.478 4. Alvaro Parente Meritus 1m44.805s +0.515 5. Davide Valsecchi Durango 1m44.827s +0.537 6. Kamui Kobayashi DAMS 1m44.881s +0.591 7. Edoardo Mortara Arden 1m44.943s +0.653 8. Jerome D'Ambrosio DAMS 1m45.012s +0.722 9. James Jakes Super Nova 1m45.181s +0.891 10. Marco Bonanomi Meritus 1m45.227s +0.937 11. Giedo van der Garde iSport 1m45.338s +1.048 12. Michael Herck DPR 1m45.382s +1.092 13. Sakon Yamamoto ART 1m45.553s +1.263 14. Rodolfo Gonzalez FMS 1m45.567s +1.277 15. Sergio Perez Barwa 1m45.594s +1.304 16. Javier Villa Super Nova 1m45.628s +1.338 17. Davide Rigon Trident 1m45.871s +1.581 18. Hamad Al-Fardan iSport 1m45.891s +1.601 19. Pastor Maldonado ART 1m45.941s +1.651 20. Fabio Crestani Ocean 1m46.351s +2.061 21. Karun Chandhok Ocean 1m46.756s +2.466 22. Giacomo Ricci DPR 1m46.886s +2.596 23. Ricardo Teixeira Trident 1m47.730s +3.440 24. Kevin Chen FMS 1m48.392s +4.102 25. Michael Della Stelle Durango 1m50.378s +6.088 26. Vitaly Petrov Barwa 2m02.117s +17.827

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Petrov wins wet Sepang GP2 sprint

Vitaly Petrov put in a faultless performance to win a tricky wet GP2 Asia sprint race at Sepang.

The start was delayed by around half an hour after a monsoon swept across the track as the cars went to the grid. The race was eventually started behind the safety car, with Sakon Yamamoto having been pushed into the pitlane failing to get away.

The field ran a full four laps under caution before it was released on a track that was still well and truly soaked.

Pastor Maldonado gave pole man David Valsecchi a tap at the last corner even before they took the green flag, but both survived and Valsecchi held on to the lead in the difficult conditions. James Jakes was an early victim of the conditions, spinning off on the first flying lap.

On the second racing lap both Maldonado and Vitaly Petrov slipped past Valsecchi, and the pair gradually dropped the Italian.

Petrov then took the lead in a neat move, and with the track gradually drying out, he stayed there to the flag, steadily edging away until the race was ended a couple of laps early when the time limit clicked in.

Behind Maldonado and Valsecchi, Saturday sprint winner Diego Nunes moved up from eighth on the grid to fourth, while Hamad Al Fardan put in a solid drive to fifth.

The final point went to Sergio Perez, who snuck ahead of Kamui Kobayashi in a cheeky move at the last corner.

Pos Driver Team Time 1. Vitaly Petrov Barwa Campos 45:41.349 2. Pastor Maldonado ART + 2.914 3. Davide Valsecchi Durango + 4.339 4. Diego Nunes Piquet + 6.357 5. Hamad Al Fardan iSport + 21.539 6. Sergio Perez Barwa Campos + 24.489 7. Kamui Kobayashi DAMS + 24.522 8. Rodolfo Gonzalez FMS + 26.108 9. Alvaro Parente Qi-Meritus + 26.956 10. Giedo van der Garde iSport + 35.725 11. Yelmer Buurman ORT + 37.306 12. Roldan Rodriguez Piquet + 37.683 13. Davide Rigon Trident + 44.390 14. Marco Bonanomi Qi-Meritus + 46.358 15. Giacomo Ricci Trident + 47.818 16. Fabrizio Crestani ORT + 48.476 17. Edoardo Mortara Arden + 48.640 18. Javier Villa Super Nova +1:09.849 19. Ricardo Teixeira Trident +1:21.557 20. Michael Dalle Stelle Durango +1:56.537 RetirementsDriver Team Laps Jerome D'Ambrosio DAMS 14 Sakon Yamamoto ART 14 Michael Herck DPR 9 Luiz Razia Arden 9 Kevin Nai Chia Chen FMS 5 James Jakes Super Nova 4

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D’Ambrosio bags pole at Sepang

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Nunes takes first GP2 win for Piquet

Diego Nunes gave the Piquet GP team an impressive victory in the GP2 Asia feature race at Sepang, watched by both Nelson Piquet Sr and Jr.

There was drama even before the start when pole man Jerome D'Ambrosio returned to the pitlane after a problem with the DAMS car. He failed to make the start, leaving Nunes effectively on pole. Alongside him James Jakes got away sluggishly, while immediately behind the Briton his team-mate Javier Villa failed to get away at all.

Miraculously everybody made it past the stranded Spaniard, although there were some close calls. From 16th Giedo Van der Garde was adjudged to have jumped the start, and the iSport man soon got a drive through for his troubles.

Helped by the trouble behind, Nunes shot into the lead at the start, and soon opened a comfortable cushion over Vitaly Petrov and Kamui Kobayashi, while Jakes soon passed Yelmer Buurman and Pastor Maldonado to get into fourth.

Petrov was clearly slow, and a frustrated Kobayashi got out of his slipstream with an early stop on lap seven. Jakes then passed Petrov for second, but by then Nunes was long gone.

Petrov and Jakes both made their pitstops before leader Nunes came in on lap 13. That put Hamad Al Fardan into lead, the iSport driver having not yet stopped, and he remained in front until a relatively late stop on lap 18.

That handed the lead back to Nunes, and he stayed safely ahead to the flag, clinching his first GP2 win.

The early stop had ensured Kobayashi stayed ahead of Jakes, but the Japanese driver soon came under pressure from the Super Nova car, but Jakes couldn't quite find an opportunity to pass.

A late stop gained Roldan Rodriguez some ground and got him up to fourth, ahead of Buurman, Petrov and Maldonado. The latter had a couple of moments during a typically scrappy race, and was pushing Petrov hard in the closing stages, while Davide Velsecchi caught them both and claimed the final point after a delay in his stop.

Results to follow

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D'Ambrosio bags pole at Sepang

Jerome D'Ambrosio took pole position for the first GP2 Asia race at a hot and muggy Sepang today.

It was two-by-two in morning practice when Kamui Kobayashi edged out DAMS team mate D'Ambrosio by 0.2s, while Roldan Rodriguez and Diego Nunes were third and fourth for Piquet GP.

But D'Ambrosio showed the better form of the two DAMS drivers in the afternoon, securing pole with a lap of 1m45.410s.

Incredibly, just 0.9s covered the top 22 drivers on what is a quite a long lap, while the top 10 was within 0.4s.

Nunes will share the front row with D'Ambrosio, while James Jakes had a good run to third for Super Nova, despite a spin. Kobayashi had to be content with fourth place, ahead of Javier Villa and Vitaly Petrov.

ART had a low key day with Pastor Maldonado eighth and Sakon Yamamoto only 15th. Returning to the series, Alvaro Parente took 10th for the local Meritus outfit. Bahrain sprint race winner Sergio Perez is only 18th.

Because of the changed schedule for the grand prix, the Saturday race starts at noon local time, before the first F1 practice session, rather than after qualifying as is usual.

Pos Driver Team Time Gap 1. Jerome D'Ambrosio DAMS 1:45.410 2. Diego Nunes Piquet 1:45.522 +0.112 3. James Jakes Super Nova 1:45.527 +0.117 4. Kamui Kobayashi DAMS 1:45.577 +0.167 5. Javier Villa Super Nova 1:45.649 +0.239 6. Vitaly Petrov Barwa Addax 1:45.720 +0.310 7. Davide Valsecchi Durango 1:45.748 +0.338 8. Pastor Maldonado ART 1:45.755 +0.345 9. Roldan Rodriguez Piquet 1:45.767 +0.357 10. Alvaro Parente Meritus 1:45.816 +0.406 11. Yelmer Buurman Ocean 1:45.954 +0.544 12. Davide Rigon Trident 1:45.978 +0.568 13. Luiz Razia Arden 1:45.989 +0.579 14. Rodolfo Gonzalez FMS 1:46.053 +0.643 15. Sakon Yamamoto ART 1:46.087 +0.677 16. Giedo van der Garde iSport 1:46.105 +0.695 17. Fabrizio Crestani Ocean 1:46.108 +0.698 18. Sergio Perez Barwa Addax 1:46.169 +0.759 19. Edoardo Mortara Arden 1:46.184 +0.774 20. Michael Herck DPR 1:46.259 +0.849 21. Hamad Al-Fardan iSport 1:46.265 +0.855 22. Marco Bonanomi Meritus 1:46.315 +0.905 23. Giacomo Ricci DPR 1:46.604 +1.194 24. Ricardo Teixeira Trident 1:47.838 +2.428 25. Kevin Nai Chia Chen FMS 1:49.642 +4.232 26. Michael Dalle Stelle Durango 1:49.857 +4.447

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Petrov wins wet Sepang GP2 sprint

Kobayashi snatches pole in Dubai

Kobayashi tops Malaysia practice

GP2 Asia Series leader and Toyota Formula 1 test driver Kamui Kobayashi set the pace in practice for rounds nine and ten of the series in Malaysia on Friday morning.

The Japanese driver set a time of 1:46.432, 0.15 seconds faster than team-mate Jerome d'Ambrosio as the DAMS squad locked out the top spots ahead of Piquet GP's Roldan Rodriguez and Diego Nunes.

Vitaly Petrov was fifth for Barwa, while David Valsecchi ensured the top six were covered by less than half a second.

Alvaro Parente placed seventh for Meritus, though his team-mate Marco Bonanomi endured a miserable session, completing just one lap following an electrical problem.

Edoardo Mortara, Sergio Perez and series returnee Pastor Maldonado completed the top ten.

Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Kobayashi Dams 1:46.432 15 2. D'Ambrosio Dams 1:46.667 + 0.235 14 3. Rodriguez Piquet GP 1:46.717 + 0.285 15 4. Nunes Piquet GP 1:46.742 + 0.310 14 5. Petrov Barwa International Campos 1:46.760 + 0.328 12 6. Valsecchi Durango 1:46.843 + 0.411 15 7. Parente My Team Qi-Meritus Mahara 1:46.912 + 0.480 7 8. Mortara Trust Team Arden 1:46.984 + 0.552 14 9. Perez Barwa International Campos 1:47.036 + 0.604 13 10. Maldonado ART Grand Prix 1:47.156 + 0.724 13 11. Villa Super Nova Racing 1:47.287 + 0.855 16 12. Razia Trust Team Arden 1:47.471 + 1.039 14 13. Al Fardan GFH Team iSport 1:47.667 + 1.235 14 14. Jakes Super Nova Racing 1:47.701 + 1.269 12 15. Rigon Trident Racing 1:47.831 + 1.399 15 16. Buurman Ocean Racing Technology 1:47.840 + 1.408 15 17. Van der Garde GFH Team iSport 1:47.843 + 1.411 14 18. Yamamoto ART Grand Prix 1:47.948 + 1.516 13 19. Crestani Ocean Racing Technology 1:48.097 + 1.665 16 20. Gonzalez Fisichella Motor Sport 1:48.374 + 1.942 10 21. Ricci DPR 1:48.417 + 1.985 15 22. Herck DPR 1:48.498 + 2.066 15 23. Teixeira Trident Racing 1:49.649 + 3.217 14 24. Dalle Stelle Durango 1:50.036 + 3.604 16 25. Nai Chia Chen Fisichella Motor Sport 1:50.413 + 3.981 10 26. Bonanomi My Team Qi-Meritus Mahara No time 1

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Rodriguez wins as Kobayashi spins

D’Ambrosio bags pole at Sepang

Parente rejoins Meritus for Sepang

Alvaro Parente is to rejoin the Meritus team for the forthcoming Sepang GP2 Asia races.

The Portuguese driver has been invited back after a one-off outing in the Qatar night event last month, where he set a fastest lap despite various dramas confining him to the midfield in both races.

"I am very pleased to have the opportunity to drive again for My Team Qi-Meritus.Mahara at its home race," said Parente.

"I last drove on the Malaysian track in 2005 in the first season of A1GP. I have a record to set straight though after a flat tyre ruined my strong race then."

He is confident that he can get Meritus amongst the front-runners at Sepang.

"This race I want to fight for the front of the grid and for the win," he said.

Parente has already signed for Ocean Racing Technology for this year's main GP2 Series, and was fastest on the second day of this week's Barcelona test.

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Villa quickest as Barcelona test ends

Javier Villa topped the final day of the last GP2 pre-season test at Barcelona today.

The Spaniard, who is beginning his fourth year of GP2, has switched from Racing Engineering to Super Nova for 2009 and set the best time of the day, ahead of former Super Nova racer Alvaro Parente, who set the pace yesterday following his move to Ocean Racing.

"The morning session was very good, we all went out to do qualifying simulations and I set the best time," said Villa. "In the afternoon we did a race simulation and some pit stop tests to finish the test.

"I think that we have worked very well throughout these days and to finish with the best time, and always being ahead, proves it."

Fellow fourth year GP2 racers Lucas di Grassi and Luca Filippi were third and fourth quickest respectively for Racing Engineering and Super Nova, with Romain Grosjean (Barwa Addax) and Roldan Rodriguez (Piquet GP) completing the top six.

Giedo van der Garde was first of the Main Series rookies in seventh, ahead of Asia Series championship leader Kamui Kobayashi.

Pos Driver Team Time 1. Javier Villa Super Nova 1:26.696 2. Alvaro Parente Ocean 1:26.735 3. Lucas di Grassi Racing Engineering 1:26.858 4. Luca Filippi Super Nova 1:26.882 5. Romain Grosjean Barwa Addax 1:26.903 6. Roldan Rodriguez Piquet GP 1:26.913 7. Giedo van der Garde iSport 1:27.026 8. Kamui Kobayashi DAMS 1:27.088 9. Sergio Perez Arden 1:27.155 10. Jerome d'Ambrosio DAMS 1:27.247 11. Nico Hulkenberg ART 1:27.316 12. Andi Zuber FMS 1:27.349 13. Vitaly Petrov Barwa Addax 1:27.369 14. Edoardo Mortara Arden 1:27.525 15. Michael Herck DPR 1:27.665 16. Davide Valsecchi Durango 1:27.673 17. Dani Clos Racing Engineering 1:27.699 18. James Jakes DPR 1:27.796 19. Alberto Valerio Piquet GP 1:27.877 20. Davide Rigon Trident 1:27.899 21. Nelson Panciatici Durango 1:27.995 22. Pastor Maldonado ART 1:28.033 23. Diego Nunes iSport 1:28.127 24. Karun Chandhok Ocean 1:28.273 25. Luiz Razia FMS 1:28.609 26. Ricardo Teixeira Trident 1:29.728

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Parente dominates Barcelona test

Parente dominates Barcelona test

Portuguese Alvaro Parente dominated the second day of GP2 testing at the Barcelona circuit on Tuesday.

On a sunny day at the Spanish track, Parente finished on top of the times both in the morning and the afternoon sessions, showing strong form in his first test as an official driver for the Ocean Racing Technology team.

Parente finished ahead of yesterday's pace-setter Lucas di Grassi, who was just 0.032 seconds slower in the Racing Engineering car.

Italian Davide Valsecchi was third fastest for Durango, with ART's Nico Hulkenberg and iSport's Giedo Van der Garde completing the top five.

The ORT team completed a good day thanks to Karun Chandhok finishing in sixth ahead of rookie Dani Clos.

A total of 18 drivers finished within a second of each other.

The three-day test comes to an end tomorrow.

Today's times:

Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Alvaro Parente Ocean Racing Technology 1:26.948 23 2. Lucas Di Grassi Racing Engineering 1:26.980 +0.032 31 3. Davide Valsecchi Durango 1:27.101 +0.153 19 4. Nico Hulkenberg ART Grand Prix 1:27.116 +0.168 30 5. Giedo Van der Garde iSport International 1:27.269 +0.321 20 6. Karun Chandhok Ocean Racing Technology 1:27.309 +0.361 36 7. Dani Clos Racing Engineering 1:27.350 +0.402 22 8. Pastor Maldonado ART Grand Prix 1:27.394 +0.446 31 9. Jerome D Ambrosio Dams 1:27.407 +0.459 23 10. Luca Filippi Super Nova Racing 1:27.534 +0.586 32 11. Kamui Kobayashi Dams 1:27.553 +0.605 30 12. Romain Grosjean Barwa Campos Team 1:27.634 +0.686 27 13. Roldan Rodriguez Piquet GP 1:27.686 +0.738 23 14. Edoardo Mortara Telmex Arden International 1:27.686 +0.738 27 15. Javier Villa Super Nova Racing 1:27.744 +0.796 31 16. Andreas Zuber FMS International 1:27.823 +0.875 22 17. Vitaly Petrov Barwa Campos Team 1:27.828 +0.880 29 18. Diego Nunes iSport International 1:27.858 +0.910 31 19. James Jakes DPR 1:28.043 +1.095 26 20. Michael Herck DPR 1:28.158 +1.210 19 21. Nelson Panciatici Durango 1:28.184 +1.236 32 22. Sergio Perez Telmex Arden International 1:28.223 +1.275 28 23. Davide Rigon Trident Racing 1:28.513 +1.565 37 24. Luiz Luiz Razia FMS International 1:29.098 +2.150 32 25. Alberto Valerio Piquet GP 1:29.222 +2.274 19 26. Ricardo Teixeira Trident Racing 1:30.893 +3.945 24

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Di Grassi tops Barcelona GP2 test

Lucas di Grassi was fastest again as GP2 testing resumed at Barcelona.

The series returnee, now driving for the Racing Engineering squad that took Giorgio Pantano to last year's title, was quickest by three tenths of a second.

Alvaro Parente was a highly impressive second for Tiago Monteiro's Ocean Racing Technology team, which had struggled for pace in its previous BCN guise. The former World Series by Renault and British Formula 3 champion had been fastest of all in the morning session.

DAMS driver Jerome D'Ambrosio was third, ahead of Campos Racing's Vitaly Petrov and ART duo Pastor Maldonado and Vitaly Petrov.

Only three seats are unaccounted for in this year's main GP2 Series, but both teams involved tried out potential drivers in today's test.

Trident Racing - which has yet to sign a driver for either of its cars - re-called Superleague Formula star Davide Rigon for a second outing, and also tested F3 graduate Ricardo Teixeira.

F3 Euro Series frontrunner James Jakes was in action for DPR, the other team still searching for a driver. Michael Herck has already been confirmed for the team, but its second car is currently empty.

The Barcelona test, which runs until Wednesday, is the final practice opportunity prior to the start of the GP2 season.

Monday's combined testing times:

Pos Driver Team Time 1. Lucas di Grassi Racing Engineering 1:27.471 2. Alvaro Parente Ocean 1:27.733 3. Jerome d'Ambrosio DAMS 1:27.854 4. Vitaly Petrov Campos 1:27.897 5. Pastor Maldonado ART 1:27.936 6. Nico Hulkenberg ART 1:27.973 7. Javier Villa Super Nova 1:28.036 8. Davide Valsecchi Durango 1:28.077 9. Roldan Rodriguez Piquet 1:28.123 10. Kamui Kobayashi DAMS 1:28.159 11. Luca Filippi Super Nova 1:28.200 12. Alberto Valerio Piquet 1:28.435 13. Karun Chandhok Ocean 1:28.474 14. Edoardo Mortara Arden 1:28.566 15. Diego Nunes iSport 1:28.608 16. Sergio Perez Arden 1:28.627 17. Dani Clos Racing Engineering 1:28.675 18. Andreas Zuber Fisichella 1:28.790 19. Giedo van der Garde iSport 1:28.806 20. Michael Herck DPR 1:28.850 21. Romain Grosjean Campos 1:28.910 22. Nelson Panciatici Durango 1:28.925 23. Davide Rigon Trident 1:29.761 24. Luiz Razia Fisichella 1:29.805 25. James Jakes DPR 1:30.088 26. Ricardo Teixeira Trident 1:34.105

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GP2 boss dismisses F2 threat

GP2 Series boss Bruno Michel is confident that the recently-launched Formula 2 Championship is not a threat to his category.

The FIA has revived F2 as a lower-cost route to Formula 1, but while GP2 runs on the grand prix support package, most of the F2 dates are at World Touring Car Championship meetings.

Michel believes that this alliance with F1 and the higher performance level of the GP2 cars give his championship a clear advantage over its new rival.

When asked if he saw F2 as a threat, Michel replied: "Absolutely not ... running alongside F1 and the high level of performance of our cars, no category can compete with GP2 as a feeder series to Formula 1.

"In reality, the F2 grid has hurt other categories that usually feed the GP2 Series, but not us. Drivers with 2010 F1 ambitions know that they unquestionably have to compete in GP2 this season and nowhere else.

"Moreover, the fact that some F2 drivers will be given a Superlicense will not make them F1 drivers. For a driver to move into F1, they first have to get noticed by F1 team principals. There is no better place than GP2 to achieve that.

"Our championship is the final step for drivers before Formula 1 whereas F2 will probably become a feeder category for GP2."

Despite the economic downturn, both GP2 and F2 expect to have full fields this year. F2 has filled all 24 places on its grid, and 23 drivers have already secured GP2 seats, with the remaining three deals set to be finalised shortly.

GP2 remains significantly more expensive than F2, but has taken steps to reduce its costs this year. However Michel said that his series would not bill itself as a 'low budget' option.

"We have taken important measures such as mid-season test cancellation, wind tunnel testing interruption, staff limitations and a significant decrease in the cost of some parts - to name a few," he said.

"Between these measures and the fact that 2008 has been an expensive year for our teams [with the introduction of the Asia Series and a new GP2 car], their budget for 2009 should be cut down by 20 per cent overall.

"The GP2 Series remains one the most viable championship that exists. The cost control that we put in place since its inception has been efficient and successful.

"However, putting things into perspectives, although it cannot be considered as a low-priced series, one must not forget that our car is an extremely complex and competitive machine."

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Panciatici joins Durango line-up

Durango has completed its GP2 Series line-up by signing French driver Nelson Panciatici.

The 20-year-old Formula Renault graduate has already tested for the team during the winter.

"When, two months ago, I went to Durango for the first time I immediately felt at home," said Panciatici. "After last week's tests this persuasion became certainty.

"I am in the right team. I am very happy because, even considering how difficult the next season will be and how many difficult things I must learn, for sure Durango will deliver me all the necessary support."

Team boss Ivane Pinton added: "I kept an eye on Nelson during the last seasons, he was my first choice for the Durango 2009 GP2 campaign.

Panciatici joins Davide Valsecchi in the Durango line-up. His signing means that only the two Trident drives and one DPR seat remain to be filled.

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Di Grassi stays on top in Ricard test

Lucas di Grassi remained quickest on the final day of this week's GP2 test at Paul Ricard.

As the teams switched to the French track's short 2D layout for day three, Racing Engineering driver di Grassi's 1:09.536 lap from the morning session stood as the day's benchmark.

Vitaly Petrov (Campos) was second, 0.122 seconds behind the former Renault Formula 1 test driver.

Andreas Zuber completed the top three for Fisichella Motor Sport, following by ART's Pastor Maldonando and Wednesday pace-setter Javier Villa (Super Nova).

Alberto Valerio continued the improved form he has demonstrated since joining the Piquet team by taking sixth place, while Alvaro Parente showed promising pace for Tiago Montiago's Ocean Racing Technology squad, ending a tough week with seventh position today.

The second pre-season GP2 test takes place at Barcelona in a fortnight.

Friday's combined times:

Pos Driver Team Time 1. Lucas di Grassi Racing Engineering 1:09.536 2. Vitaly Petrov Campos 1:09.658 3. Andreas Zuber Fisichella 1:09.663 4. Pastor Maldonado ART 1:09.691 5. Javier Villa Super Nova 1:09.875 6. Alberto Valerio Piquet 1:09.920 7. Alvaro Parente Ocean 1:09.941 8. Kamui Kobayashi DAMS 1:09.968 9. Nico Hulkenberg ART 1:09.980 10. Dani Clos Racing Engineering 1:09.981 11. Michael Herck DPR 1:09.982 12. Luca Filippi Super Nova 1:10.054 13. Jerome d'Ambrosio DAMS 1:10.054 14. Romain Grosjean Campos 1:10.080 15. Edoardo Mortara Arden 1:10.195 16. Sergio Perez Arden 1:10.204 17. Davide Valsecchi Durango 1:10.235 18. Davide Rigon Trident 1:10.257 19. Karun Chandhok Ocean 1:10.274 20. Giedo van der Garde iSport 1:10.419 21. Diego Nunes iSport 1:10.553 22. Hamad Al Fardan Trident 1:10.612 23. Giacomo Ricci DPR 1:10.732 24. Luiz Razia Fisichella 1:10.749 25. Nelson Panciatici Durango 1:10.861 26. Roldan Rodriguez Piquet 1:10.864

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Villa sets record pace in Ricard test

Di Grassi leads the way at Paul Ricard

Lucas di Grassi moved to the top of times on the second day of GP2 testing at the Paul Ricard circuit.

The Brazilian, second quickest yesterday, shot to the head of the timesheets in the afternoon session, with a best lap of 1:08.841.

Di Grassi, who yesterday made his debut with the Racing Engineering team, finished less than a tenth ahead of rookie team-mate Dani Clos, who completed a promising day, having also shone in the morning.

Pastor Maldonado was third fastest for ART Grand Prix, with Roman Grosjean, who topped the times in the morning, having to settle for fourth place with Campos.

Yesterday's pace-setter Javier Villa was down in fifth today.

The layout used for today's session was the 2A, which includes a long straight the teams used to work on their high speed configurations and engine mapping.

The test continues tomorrow.

Morning times:

Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Romain Grosjean Barwa Campos Team 1:09.015 34 2. Dani Clos Fat Burner Racing Engineering 1:09.047 43 3. Javier Villa Super Nova Racing 1:09.077 33 4. Pastor Maldonado ART Grand Prix 1:09.122 41 5. Michael Herck DPR 1:09.169 37 6. Lucas Di Grassi Fat Burner Racing Engineering 1:09.180 33 7. Alvaro Parente Ocean Racing Technology 1:09.215 35 8. Andreas Zuber Fisichella Motor Sport Int. 1:09.221 38 9. Jerome d'Ambrosio Dams 1:09.335 38 10. Nico Hulkenberg ART Grand Prix 1:09.335 41 11. Luca Filippi Super Nova Racing 1:09.367 45 12. Roldan Rodriguez Piquet GP 1:09.417 38 13. Kamui Kobayashi Dams 1:09.422 36 14. Davide Valsecchi Durango 1:09.524 36 15. Alberto Valerio Piquet GP 1:09.525 36 16. Vitaly Petrov Barwa Campos Team 1:09.567 19 17. Karun Chandhok Ocean Racing Technology 1:09.576 31 18. Diego Nunes iSport International 1:09.578 57 19. Giedo Van der Garde iSport International 1:09.653 33 20. Edoardo Mortara Telmex Arden International 1:09.769 25 21. Hamad Al Fardan Trident Racing 1:09.811 35 22. Luiz Razia Fisichella Motor Sport Int. 1:10.102 45 23. Davide Rigon Trident Racing 1:10.393 52 24. Sergio Perez Telmex Arden International 1:10.466 32

Afternoon times:

Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Lucas Di Grassi Racing Engineering 1:08.841 39 2. Dani Clos Racing Engineering 1:08.961 44 3. Pastor Maldonado ART Grand Prix 1:08.985 33 4. Javier Villa Super Nova Racing 1:09.076 38 5. Vitaly Petrov Campos Team 1:09.100 30 6. Kamui Kobayashi Dams 1:09.220 46 7. Nico Hulkenberg ART Grand Prix 1:09.326 30 8. Jerome D Ambrosio Dams 1:09.383 30 9. Romain Grosjean Campos Team 1:09.424 38 10. Davide Rigon Trident Racing 1:09.429 41 11. Luca Filippi Super Nova Racing 1:09.437 35 12. Roldan Rodriguez Piquet GP 1:09.469 31 13. Alberto Valerio Piquet GP 1:09.527 30 14. Karun Chandhok Ocean Racing Technology 1:09.564 25 15. Andreas Zuber FMS International 1:09.564 13 16. Davide Valsecchi Durango 1:09.598 17 17. Hamad Al Fardan Trident Racing 1:09.604 45 18. Sergio Perez Arden International 1:09.649 42 19. Diego Nunes iSport International 1:09.815 37 20. Michael Herck DPR 1:09.831 33 21. Giedo Van der Garde iSport International 1:10.170 37 22. Nelson Panciatici Durango 1:10.231 28 23. Giacomo Ricci DPR 1:10.604 24

‘Frank TV,’ take two

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Villa sets record pace in Ricard test

Super Nova's Javier Villa set a new GP2 lap record at Paul Ricard on the opening day of the first pre-season test.

The Spaniard, who has switched to Super Nova after three years with Racing Engineering, was quickest in both the morning and afternoon sessions, with his time of 1:11.930 after lunch breaking Romain Grosjean's previous record by 0.101 seconds.

Returnee Lucas di Grassi was second quickest today, 0.149 seconds down on Villa's time in his debut run with Racing Engineering.

GP2 Asia points leader Kamui Kobayashi completed the top three for DAMS, ahead of Campos Racing's Romain Grosjean and ART's Pastor Maldonado.

The test was the first chance for the teams to try the GP2 Dallara-Renault's new engine, which offers an additional 25bhp and an improved power curve.

Series technical director Didier Perrin was satisfied with the new package's performance.

"We are very pleased with today's results," he said. "They confirm our predictions regarding the gain of performance we were expecting with the new engine. Moreover, we did not suffer from any serious reliability issues."

Day one combined testing times:

Pos Driver Team Time 1. Javier Villa Super Nova 1:11.930 2. Lucas di Grassi Racing Engineering 1:12.079 3. Kamui Kobayashi DAMS 1:12.140 4. Romain Grosjean Campos 1:12.262 5. Pastor Maldonado ART 1:12.270 6. Andreas Zuber Fisichella 1:12.300 7. Alberto Valerio Piquet 1:12.439 8. Luca Filippi Super Nova 1:12.481 9. Davide Valsecchi Durango 1:12.509 10. Jerome d'Ambrosio DAMS 1:12.574 11. Edoardo Mortara Arden 1:12.607 12. Roldan Rodriguez Piquet 1:12.742 13. Diego Nunes iSport 1:12.774 14. Vitaly Petrov Campos 1:12.893 15. Nico Hulkenberg ART 1:13.010 16. Dani Clos Racing Engineering 1:13.138 17. Sergio Perez Arden 1:13.182 18. Giedo van der Garde iSport 1:13.221 19. Karun Chandhok Ocean 1:13.356 20 Davide Rigon Trident 1:13.362 21. Hamad Al Fardan Trident 1:13.477 22. Luiz Razia Fisichella 1:13.584 23. Michael Herck DPR 1:13.788 24. Nelson Panciatici Durango 1:13.860 25. Giacomo Ricci DPR 1:14.961 26. Alvaro Parente Ocean

Five-run second propels Dodgers

Di Grassi leads the way at Paul Ricard

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Kobayashi on top in Paul Ricard test

Perez aims for GP2 title with Arden

Sergio Perez believes he can challenge for the GP2 title after finalising to move to Arden for the main series.

The British Formula 3 graduate has taken two wins and a second place with Campos in the last three GP2 Asia rounds, and reckons he can show similar form in the full championship.

"Driving for a team such as Arden represents a great opportunity for me and I am really looking forward to it," said Perez.

"Together, I believe we have great potential to mount a serious title challenge - and that has to be our goal. It is going to be an extremely tough, competitive season and I aim to make the most of the chance I have been given at an important stage of my career.

"It is fantastic for Mexico to have a driver so close to F1, but I know I need to do a very good job to make it all the way to the top. I will give 100 per cent in and out of the car to help the team and fight for the championship."

Former Formula 3000 champions Arden have won races in every GP2 season, but haven't mounted a title challenge since their driver Heikki Kovalainen was narrowly beaten to the inaugural GP2 crown by Nico Rosberg in 2005.

Arden have also confirmed that their GP2 Asia Edoardo Mortara will stay on for the rest of the season, as predicted by autosport.com earlier this year.

"This is a very professional team that knows how to win races," said Mortara. "I'm already competing with them in the GP2 Asia Series and we're working really well together, so stepping up to the main championship should be straightforward."

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Filippi returns to Super Nova

The Super Nova team have confirmed Luca Filippi will partner Adrian Villa during the GP2 main series this year.

Italian Filippi, who raced for ART Grand Prix in 2008, will thus return to the team for whom he drove for in GP2 back in 2007, when he finished in fourth place in the standings.

"I am really pleased to be back at Super Nova because this is what I really wanted since the last test at Paul Ricard and since then we have been working really hard to finalize a deal," said the 23-year-old at Paul Ricard, where he will be testing tomorrow.

"And now we have I only want to better the 2007 year we had together, I can see the potential of the team and how hard they are all working to make 2009 great year and I couldn't wish for a better place to be this year."

Filippi will be driving alongside Spaniard Villa, who was confirmed at the team earlier his month.

Team boss David Sears added: "We are extremely pleased to announce both our drivers for the GP2 2009 season. It's fantastic that Javier Villa got to know the team in the Asia Series and is coming with us into the Main Series.

"We welcome Luca Filippi back, as he has had more success with our GP2 team than any other, when he was with us two years ago!"

‘Frank TV,’ take two

Super Nova retain Villa for main series

Parente completes ORT line-up

Alvaro Parente will race for the Ocean Racing Technology team in this year's GP2 championship, it was announced on Tuesday.

The 24-year-old Portuguese made his GP2 debut with Super Nova last year and went on to finish in eighth place after one win and four podium finishes.

He will join Ocean Racing Technology, also from Portugal, for the main series this year.

"I'm very pleased to be with Ocean Racing Technology, because I believe in the team's potentialities and I was very well welcomed by everybody," said Parente.

"I feel confident that this team will allow me to give another step in my career. Besides, this is a project with a Portuguese flavour, which is something that makes it special and pleases me."

He added: "My goal for the 2009 season is to fight for the top places in every race. After what was, in my opinion, a positive debut season, I feel more prepared and I'm certain that Ocean Racing Team will give me all the condition to achieve my aims."

Parente, who will partner Indian Karun Chandhok at the team, will have his first test with ORT tomorrow in testing at Paul Ricard.

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Valerio moves to Piquet GP2 squad

Alberto Valerio has signed with the Piquet team for his second season in the GP2 Series.

The 23-year-old Brazilian was a midfield runner with Durango last year, taking a best result of seventh in Turkey. He had previously contested GP2 Asia with the team, and made a brief appearance for Trident in the current Asian series before picking Piquet for his main championship campaign.

"I think Piquet GP is an extremely competitive team and I'm sure that together with the technical staff I will improve race after race," said Valerio.

Piquet team boss Felipe Vargas hopes they can help Valerio regain the form that took him to the 2005 South American Formula 3 title.

"Alberto has shown great potential in other categories and when he tested with us at the end of last year," Vargas said. "I think we can be competitive together and hopefully bring good results for all of us."

Valerio will partner Roldan Rodriguez, who has returned to Piquet after a season with the Fisichella team.

The Piquet squad fought for the 2006 title with Nelson Piquet, but Pastor Maldonado's Spa victory last year is their only race win since then.

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Di Grassi joins Racing Engineering

Lucas di Grassi is to return to GP2 to lead Racing Engineering's bid for a second successive title.

The 24-year-old Brazilian challenged Timo Glock for the 2007 GP2 championship before focusing on Formula One testing with Renault. But he made a surprise return to the series with Campos halfway through last year and proceeded to grab third in the standings despite missing the first six rounds.

Di Grassi was also evaluated as a contender for a Honda F1 drive this year before the manufacturer withdrew.

"Contrary to last year, I will be able to participate in the GP2 Championship from the very beginning," said di Grassi, who has made 55 GP2 starts since first joining the series with Durango in 2006.

"I believe that after a good season, and testing with the Renault F1 team and Honda Racing, I am more ready than ever to fight for the title. I feel very motivated and I will push to the limit to bring it home."

Racing Engineering have already signed Formula 3 graduate Dani Clos for their second car. The team will run under the Fat Burner Racing Engineering title this season.

Team boss Alfonso de Orleans Borbon is targeting a title double this year, having taken Giorgio Pantano to last year's crown.

"Not only are Dani and Lucas good friends but I am sure their working relationship will also be very fruitful," said de Orleans Borbon.

"With Lucas' experience in GP2 and Formula One, and also bearing in mind Dani's recent tests in F1, it is logical to think that with such a line-up all our goals will be directed towards winning the drivers and teams' titles this season."

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Razia joins Fisichella for GP2 season

Fisichella Motor Sport International have signed Luiz Razia to join Andreas Zuber in their 2009 GP2 Series team.

The 20-year-old Brazilian is currently racing for Arden in GP2 Asia, taking a best result of sixth in the last round at Losail, but had previously driven for Fisichella in the Euro 3000 series two years ago, taking third in the championship.

Team boss Paolo Coloni said Zuber and Razia made an ideal pairing.

"Luiz is now with us and we have a dream team," he said. "We have the experience of Zuber and the young talent of Razia, a team principal could not ask for more.

"We have been following his progress in Euro 3000, and he has grown over two years to deserve a place in GP2. He has shown great speed in the GP2 Asia Series and we count on this to score lots of points for FMSI this year.

"Never in the history of our team in GP2 have we had such a strong driver combination."

Former South American Formula 3 champion Razia plans to learn from the team and Zuber in his first full GP2 season.

"During the post-season tests in Paul Ricard I had an opportunity to test with them for one day and immediately sensed a good feeling with the team and the car," he said.

"I believe that with FMSI I will improve quickly and I hope to soon be challenging for point scoring positions and podiums on a regular basis. My intention is to take full advantage of the fact that I am racing in such an experienced team with an experienced teammate."

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Renamed Addax team sign Grosjean

The former Campos team have announced their new Barwa Addax name and confirmed Romain Grosjean and Vitaly Petrov as their drivers for the 2009 GP2 Series.

The name change is a result of the departure of founder Adrian Campos at the end of last season, with new owner Alejandro Agag opting to re-title the team after the addax antelope, and in deference to main sponsor Barwa International.

Campos won the teams' championship in 2008 and took third in the drivers' points with Lucas di Grassi despite the Brazilian missing the first half of the season.

Renault Formula One test driver Grosjean has joined Addax after winning the GP2 Asia title and two races in the main series with former champions ART last year.

"There is very little to say about Romain having already reached Formula One status, in one of the best teams," Agag said. "We shall offer him a car that will give him the opportunity to demonstrate, not for the first time, his undoubted talent."

Grosjean added: "We have high expectations for the season to come. They have welcomed me warmly and I really feel that together we will be able to work efficiently and successfully from the get go."

Russian driver Petrov is about to start his third year with the team, having taken two victories in the main series and one race win in the Asian championship.

"We know each other perfectly and we know that he will guarantee us important points in the overall championship and offer other great moments like his victory in Valencia," said Agag. "And who is to say he won't be fighting for the drivers' championship."

Petrov, who first joined GP2 with DPR in mid-2006, admitted that this had to be a breakthrough season for him.

"For me the 2009 season will be probably the most important and difficult," he said.

"I'm really happy to stay one more year with Barwa Addax Team, which was my strong fortress for the last couple of years. I hope that together with my new teammate Romain we can repeat last season's result and become the strongest team in GP2."

One for all, all for one: Phils get it done

Campos steps down from GP2 team

ORT sign Chandhok for main series

Super Nova retain Villa for main series

Spanish driver Javier Villa will remain at the Super Nova team to compete in the 2009 GP2 Series, it was announced on Friday.

Villa, who is currently racing with Super Nova in the GP2 Asia championship, will complete his fourth season in the series this year.

"It wasn't an easy decision because we had several offers from GP2 teams and also to compete in the Le Mans 24 Hours, the Le Mans Series and also in America," the Spaniard said.

"But we think GP2 is where we need to be and I feel very comfortable at Super Nova following the work we have been doing in the GP2 Asia Series this winter."

The 21-year-old, winner of three GP2 races, finished in 17th position with Racing Engineering in last year's championship.

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Best-of-seven series a better test

Kobayashi tipped for GP2 Asia title

Hulkenberg won't finish Asia series

Nico Hulkenberg says he does not expect to contest the remainder of the GP2 Asia Series despite moving up to third in the championship in just two meetings.

The reigning Formula 3 Euro Series champion joined ART - who took the inaugural Asia title with Romain Grosjean - from round four in Bahrain. He proceeded to take pole in both his qualifying sessions, and won the first night race in Qatar this weekend.

Those results have put him just 12 points behind championship leader Kamui Kobayashi with four races to go, but Hulkenberg says he is still likely to hand the car back to Pastor Maldonado from Sepang as originally planned. The pair have already signed to contest the main 2009 GP2 Series for ART.

"I think I'm not going to do the remaining rounds," said Hulkenberg.

"Pastor Maldonado will be replacing me. I'm only doing Bahrain and Qatar."

Former Super Aguri Formula One driver Sakon Yamamoto is contesting the full Asia Series in the second ART car.

Points leader Kobayashi struggled for pace at Losail and failed to score in the sprint race after a collision, but he was not too concerned to see his championship advantage eroded to ten points over Davide Valsecchi and 12 over Hulkenberg.

"My lead in the championship means I can afford a mistake, but I want to get back on top at the next round," said Kobayashi.

Campos Racing's Sergio Perez has also now moved into outside title contention, having taken two victories and a second place from the last three races, putting him 14 points behind DAMS driver Kobayashi. The Mexican admitted that he was starting to think about the championship.

"I will keep my strategy and approach each weekend one by one," Perez said. "I will try to win again in Malaysia and keep the momentum. I will work as hard as possible to score as many points as possible. In the end, if I can win the championship I will be very happy."

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Hulkenberg storms to Qatar victory

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Qatar night race for Asia Series

Perez rockets to Qatar sprint win

Sergio Perez and Barwa Campos teammate Vitaly Petrov made good use of lightning starts to dominate Saturday evening's GP2 Asia sprint race at Losail in Qatar.

Arden duo Luiz Razia and Edoardo Mortara both made tardy getaways from the front row and squeezed Davide Valsecchi, who tried to go between them. They didn't look out for Petrov and Perez, however, who both sprinted past them to hit the front from P6 and P7 respectively.

Petrov led the opening lap, but made a slow exit from the final corner, allowing Perez to blast past him under braking for Turn 1 around the outside: "I lost him in my mirrors, he was so close, so I had to let him go," said the Russian.

After that, Perez's only scare was an FMS car which went off track and rejoined in front of him - the same one which almost cost him a place to his team-mate yesterday! "It wasn't so close this time," he said. "My biggest moment was at the first corner when Razia didn't see me and almost put me on the grass."

The challenge of yesterday's winner Nico Hulkenberg faded when he got stuck behind Mortara, losing at least 5secs to the Campos cars as he toiled to find a way past. He eventually did so at Turn 1 on lap 15, but didn't have enough time to make any inroads into the leaders.

Mortara finished fourth, ahead of Valsecchi, who banged wheels with Razia at 170mph on the approach to Turn 1 to grab the position. Razia rounded out the point scorers in sixth.

Results to follow.

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Hulkenberg storms to Qatar victory

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Hulkenberg storms to Qatar victory

Despite losing his pole position advantage away from the startline in Qatar, Nico Hulkenberg produced an utterly brilliant performance to win the first-ever GP2 Asia night-time feature race at the Losail International Circuit.

The ART Grand Prix star had to play second fiddle initially to Sergio Perez, the race being disrupted in the early stages after a huge startline crash. Sakon Yamamoto stalled from sixth on the grid and was struck by 23rd qualifier Yelmer Buurman, who hit him with enormous velocity. Fortunately, neither was injured, even though Buurman's car briefly caught fire.

Hulkenberg even slipped to third by lap 13, passed by a flying Javier Villa (Super Nova), who was up from seventh on the grid. But Nico was merely preserving his tyres and a phenomenal mid-race spurt meant he was matching the times of those who had stopped for fresh tyres, even though his were worn.

"We did the right strategy to stay out," said Hulkenberg. "My biggest problem was that I'd lost my communication to the team. So it was very quiet for a long time and I never got a clear answer when I asked if I should pit, so I stayed out. Everything was fine and to win a race after just three starts isn't bad I think."

Vitaly Petrov, who had run third early on, was the first of the big players to pit on lap 10. He took full advantage of his extra grip and was ahead of Campos teammate Perez when he rejoined the circuit from his own pitstop on lap 14.

Perez, who was also suffering from radio communication problems, admitted he was confused by this situation and also couldn't work out why he ended up over 10 seconds behind Hulkenberg by the finish. He lunged past Petrov with a determined move at Turn 1 on lap 18, fortunately without contact to preserve a 2-3 finish for sponsor Barwa on home turf.

Series leader Kamui Kobayashi finished fourth, having struggled in the early going after tangling with title rival Roldan Rodriguez at the first corner. He regained his pace after his pitstop and chased Petrov over the finish line by 0.4s.

His DAMS teammate Jerome d'Ambrosio was fifth, after overcoming Davide Valsecchi following a long battle. Arden duo Edoardo Mortara and Luiz Razia were seventh and eighth to lock out Saturday's reverse grid sprint race front row.

To show he had speed to burn, Hulkenberg rattled off a couple of 1:38 laps in the closing stages, enough to give him the point for fastest lap.

Results to follow

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Hulkenberg takes night race pole

Nico Hulkenberg continued his excellent GP2 Asia qualifying form by taking pole position for the series' inaugural night race in Qatar.

Having started from pole on his GP2 debut at Sakhir last month, ART driver Hulkenberg grabbed the top spot again in the floodlit Losail session in the closing moments with a lap of 1:35.741.

That gave him first place by a commanding 0.7 seconds over Campos's Sergio Perez, who was victorious in the last race in Bahrain.

Perez's teammate Vitaly Petrov, who had led the way in first practice, ended up third having led the way for most of the session. The Russian was in front when iSport's Hamad Al Fardan spun into the gravel and caused a red flag with three and a half minutes to go, and when qualifying resumed for a final sprint, Petrov was shuffled down the order by Hulkenberg and Perez.

Championship leader Kamui Kobayashi (DAMS) grabbed fourth late in the session, ahead of Piquet's Roldan Rodriguez and Hulkenberg's ART teammate Sakon Yamamoto.

Pos Driver Team Time 1. Nico Hulkenberg ART 1:35.741 2. Sergio Perez Campos 1:36.464 + 0.723 3. Vitaly Petrov Campos 1:36.487 + 0.746 4. Kamui Kobayashi DAMS 1:36.525 + 0.784 5. Roldan Rodriguez Piquet 1:36.583 + 0.842 6. Sakon Yamamoto ART 1:36.667 + 0.926 7. Javier Villa Super Nova 1:36.685 + 0.944 8. Davide Valsecchi Durango 1:36.923 + 1.182 9. Edoardo Mortara Arden 1:36.987 + 1.246 10. Jerome d'Ambrosio DAMS 1:37.027 + 1.286 11. James Jakes Super Nova 1:37.274 + 1.533 12. Marco Bonanomi Meritus 1:37.328 + 1.587 13. Alvaro Parente Meritus 1:37.409 + 1.668 14. Diego Nunes Piquet 1:37.605 + 1.864 15. Fabrizio Crestani Ocean 1:37.752 + 2.011 16. Giedo van der Garde iSport 1:37.789 + 2.048 17. Michael Herck DPR 1:37.928 + 2.187 18. Giacomo Ricci DPR 1:38.069 + 2.328 19. Luiz Razia Arden 1:38.264 + 2.523 20. Davide Rigon Trident 1:38.320 + 2.579 21. Hamad Al Fardan iSport 1:38.383 + 2.642 22. Rodolfo Gonzalez Fisichella 1:38.384 + 2.643 23. Yelmer Buurman Ocean 1:38.453 + 2.712 24. Frankie Provenzano Trident 1:39.314 + 3.573 25. Michael Dalle Stelle Durango 1:41.623 + 5.882 26. Kevin Nai Chia Chen Fisichella 1:43.139 + 7.398

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Petrov leads Qatar night practice

Vitaly Petrov was fastest in GP2's first ever night practice session in Qatar.

The GP2 Asia Series will hold its first night race at the Losail track this weekend, with qualifying taking place later this evening.

In addition to the unusual experience of running under floodlights, the field also had to cope with a track surface made extremely slippery by sandstorms during the preceding 24 hours.

Campos driver Petrov moved to the head of the field in the closing minutes of the session, lapping 0.2 seconds faster than Meritus driver Marco Bonanomi.

Davide Valsecchi was third for Durango, ahead of Michael Herck (DPR), who had been a surprise pace-setter until the final stages. Giedo van der Garde completed the top five in his iSport car.

Championship leader Kamui Kobayashi was only 15th, while Alvaro Parente took 18th on his return to GP2 with Meritus.

Pos Driver Team Time 1. Vitaly Petrov Barwa Int. Campos Team 1:38.812 2. Marco Bonanomi My Qi-Meritus.Mahara 1:39.012 + 0.200 3. Davide Valsecchi Durango 1:39.281 + 0.469 4. Michael Herck DPR 1:39.514 + 0.702 5. Giedo van der Garde GFH Team iSport 1:39.588 + 0.776 6. Sergio Perez Barwa Int. Campos Team 1:39.684 + 0.872 7. Yelmer Buurman Ocean Racing Technology 1:39.721 + 0.909 8. Sakon Yamamoto ART Grand Prix 1:39.859 + 1.047 9. Nico Hülkenberg ART Grand Prix 1:40.074 + 1.262 10. Diego Nunes Piquet GP 1:40.127 + 1.315 11. James Jakes Super Nova Racing 1:40.452 + 1.640 12. Hamad Al Fardan GFH Team iSport 1:40.468 + 1.656 13. Fabrizio Crestani Ocean Racing Technology 1:40.487 + 1.675 14. Davide Rigon Trident Racing 1:40.572 + 1.760 15. Kamui Kobayashi DAMS 1:40.649 + 1.837 16. Javier Villa Super Nova Racing 1:40.677 + 1.865 17. Edoardo Mortara Arden Int. Motorsport 1:40.774 + 1.962 18. Alvaro Parente My Qi-Meritus.Mahara 1:40.873 + 2.061 19. Jerome d'Ambrosio DAMS 1:40.897 + 2.085 20 Giacomo Ricci DPR 1:41.085 + 2.273 21. Luiz Razia Arden Int. Motorsport 1:41.110 + 2.298 22. Roldan Rodriguez Piquet GP 1:41.382 + 2.570 23. Frankie Provenzano Trident Racing 1:41.830 + 3.018 24. Rodolfo Gonzalez Fisichella Motor Sport Int. 1:42.052 + 3.240 25. Michael Dalle Stelle Durango 1:46.949 + 8.137 26 Kevin Nai Chia Chen Fisichella Motor Sport Int.

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Parente joins Meritus for Qatar

Alvaro Parente has joined Meritus for the GP2 Asia Series rounds in Qatar this weekend.

The 24-year-old Portuguese, who won the opening race of the 2008 main series and finished eighth in the championship with Super Nova, will replace Earl Bamber alongside Marco Bonanomi at the Malaysian-based team for GP2's first night races.

"I'm very pleased to have the opportunity to drive for Meritus and to team up with Marco," said the former British F3 and World Series by Renault champion.

"The team's results have shaken established teams and I'll do my best to show what I can do this weekend. I will spend the next days learning the circuit and getting up to speed quickly and I hope to be fully ready for the first night race in Qatar."

Meritus team owner Peter Thompson added: "At relatively short notice he will certainly be thrown in at the deep end. We are fighting to stay in the fight with the top teams and for the Qatar races we have a strong driver line up that is hungry for success and will fight hard."

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Rigon replaces Valles at Trident

Davide Rigon will make his GP2 Asia debut in Qatar weekend after signing a deal to replace Adrian Valles at Trident Racing.

The 22-year-old Italian, who has a Euroseries 3000 title to his name and also helped Chinese football club Beijing Guoan take the inaugural Superleague Formula crown last year, will partner Frankie Provenzano at the Losail circuit.

And he hopes to convince Trident to keep him on for the Main GP2 championship, which begins in May.

"I'm really honoured to have this new opportunity," Rigon said. "First, this deal will finally get me back in an open-wheel car after more than two months while, second, the agreement with Trident Racing will enable me to get in touch with the team that I hope to partner during the GP2 main series in 2009.

"I tested [the FMS] GP2 Dallara back in November 2007, and I remember it was a really light and reactive car, which I really enjoyed to drive. I'll have to build the feeling back but, since I'm feeling really fit and focused, I think it will be a natural process."

Rigon is looking forward to the event, which will stage GP2's first night race, and will be able to use the 'after dark' experience he gained while winning the GT2 class at last year's Spa 24 Hours, to help him.

"I'll find a totally unknown track at Qatar, but the difficulties will be balanced by the fascinating night atmosphere, which will be also new to everybody," the Italian added.

"I really respect the GP2 field, which features several true top-class drivers, and I don't know what to expect in terms of results, but the primary goal for this race will be to create a strong relationship with the team - and avoid making mistakes."

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