GP2 moves to slash costs too

GP2 organisers have followed Formula One's lead and scrapped testing during the season in a bid to reduce the cost of competing.

A reduction in the cost of parts has also been agreed with supplier Dallara, who build the GP2 cars, and series bosses will also allocate credit for spare parts to the teams.

Teams will also be restricted in how many staff they can bring to races. The maximum will be 13 for the first half of this season and drop to 12 from the second half onwards.

GP2 boss Bruno Michel said: "We cannot ignore the world's financial crisis that affects us all. We need to make sure we can go through the present delicate time by finding solutions both in the technical and sporting areas.

"We are trying to find the right level to keep the series as successful as ever. We have been looking at all the areas of our business and we have come up with the different steps that we will implement as of now.

"We are confident that our plan will help everyone go through the difficult period we are in and will have a very significant economic impact on the teams already in 2009."

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Perez takes maiden win in Bahrain

Sergio Perez took his first GP2 victory in the Asia Series sprint race in Bahrain.

The British Formula 3 graduate led from lights to flag, after starting on pole position thanks to his eighth place yesterday.

Perez's life was made slightly easier before the start when his front row partner Giedo van der Garde failed to get away for the formation lap. The iSport driver was pushed into the pitlane and could only recover to 14th.

Campos driver Perez then edged away from Durango's Davide Valsecchi, establishing a two-second lead by the middle of the race as up to eight drivers battled in his wake.

Valsecchi closed the gap towards the end, but Perez had enough in hand to fend him off and clinch victory.

Jerome D'Ambrosio completed the podium after an outstanding drive for DAMS.

He had dropped to eighth on the first lap, but charged past Earl Bamber (Meritus) and his championship-leading teammate Kamui Kobayashi early on.

The DAMS duo then pressured fifth-placed Roldan Rodriguez (Piquet), both slipping past in quick succession, but while that would be as far as Kobayashi progressed, D'Ambrosio continued to advance through the field.

He pounced on a late error from Javier Villa (Super Nova) to take fourth, and then closed on ART's Nico Hulkenberg before snatching third from the F3 Euro Series champion on the last lap.

Villa and Kobayashi completed the top six, ahead of Bamber and yesterday's third place finisher Edoardo Mortara (Arden).

Results will be added shortly

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Kobayashi leads DAMS one-two

Kamui Kobayashi extended his GP2 Asia points lead by leading a DAMS one-two in the first race in Bahrain.

Pole-sitter Nico Hulkenberg (ART) had led the early laps on his GP2 debut, but had Kobayashi glued to his rear wing and constantly looking for an opportunity to pass.

The Toyota Formula One test driver finally dived past his Williams counterpart on the 13th lap, and was then able to edge away.

Hulkenberg made his mandatory pitstop soon afterwards, and lost more ground due to an issue with a wheel change.

That allowed Kobayashi's DAMS teammate Jerome D'Ambrosio to emerge in second place, having earlier muscled his way past Edoardo Mortara's Arden car to take third as they lapped a backmarker.

Mortara held on to the final podium spot, under pressure from the recovering Hulkenberg, and with Davide Valsecchi (Durango) chasing them both home.

A few seconds behind, Piquet driver Roldan Rodriguez fended off iSport's Giedo van der Garde to take sixth, just ahead of Sergio Perez (Campos).

The race saw relatively little incident, but there was early disappointment for top ten qualifiers Sakon Yamamoto (ART) and Marco Bonanomi (Meritus), who both stalled on the grid.

Pos Driver Team Gap 1. Kamui Kobayashi DAMS 34 laps 2. Jerome D'Ambrosio DAMS + 5.892 3. Edoardo Mortara Arden + 18.570 4. Nico Hulkenberg ART + 19.436 5. Davide Valsecchi Durango + 20.368 6. Roldan Rodriguez Piquet + 24.076 7. Giedo van der Garde iSport + 24.748 8. Sergio Perez Barwa Campos + 27.462 9. Javier Villa Super Nova + 30.687 10. Vitaly Petrov Barwa Campos + 36.702 11. Earl Bamber Qi-Meritus + 38.042 12. Hamad Al Fardan iSport + 51.424 13. Diego Nunes Piquet + 55.560 14. Luiz Razia Arden + 1:06.976 15. Frankie Provenzano Trident + 1:14.584 16. Rodolfo Gonzalez FMS + 1:18.339 17. Sakon Yamamoto ART + 1:18.391 18. Michael Herck DPR + 1:18.559 19. Michael Dalle Stelle Durango + 1:46.185 20. Marco Bonanomi Qi-Meritus + 1 lap 21. Kevin Nai Chia Chen FMS + 2 laps 22. James Jakes Super Nova + 3 laps Retirements:Driver Team Laps Giacomo Ricci Trident 21 Adrian Valles Trident 13 Fabrizio Crestani Ocean 0 Yelmer Buurman Ocean 0

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Kobayashi leads Bahrain practice

GP2 Asia championship leader Kamui Kobayashi continued to show strong form in the series' return to action in practice at Bahrain on Thursday.

The DAMS driver, winner of the Dubai race two months ago, posted a best time of 1:42.642 to finish clearly ahead of his closest rival Nico Hulkenberg.

The ART Grand Prix racer finished over half a second behind Kobayashi, with teammate Jerome D'Ambrosio in third, but nearly a whole second adrift.

GP2 Asia returnee Marco Bonanomi placed his Meritus car in a promising fourth, ahead of fellow rookie Edoardo Mortara in the quicker Arden car. Pos Driver Team Time Gap 1. Kamui Kobayashi DAMS 1:42.642 2. Nico Hulkenberg ART 1:43.221 +0.579 3. Jerome d'Ambrosio DAMS 1:43.444 +0.802 4. Marco Bonanomi Qi-Meritus 1:43.520 +0.878 5. Edoardo Mortara Arden 1:43.576 +0.934 6. Roldan Rodriguez Piquet 1:43.577 +0.935 7. Diego Nunes Piquet 1:43.597 +0.955 8. James Jakes Super Nova 1:43.872 +1.230 9. Giedo van der Garde iSport 1:44.001 +1.359 10. Javier Villa Super Nova 1:44.024 +1.382 11. Vitaly Petrov Campos 1:44.027 +1.385 12. Luiz Razia Arden 1:44.037 +1.395 13. Davide Valsecchi Durango 1:44.095 +1.453 14. Sergio Perez Campos 1:44.113 +1.471 15. Sakon Yamamoto ART 1:44.185 +1.543 16. Hamad Al-Fardan iSport 1:44.492 +1.850 17. Yelmer Buurman Ocean 1:44.521 +1.879 18. Earl Bamber Qi-Meritus 1:44.666 +2.024 19. Adrian Valles Trident 1:44.907 +2.265 20. Michael Herck DPR 1:44.949 +2.307 21. Giacomo Ricci DPR 1:45.142 +2.500 22. Fabrizio Crestani Ocean 1:45.532 +2.890 23. Rodolfo Gonzalez FMS 1:45.563 +2.921 24. Frankie Provenzano Trident 1:45.828 +3.186 25. Michael Dalle Stelle Durango 1:46.053 +3.411 26. Kevin Nai Chia Chen FMS 1:47.023 +4.381

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Hulkenberg takes pole on GP2 debut

Nico Hulkenberg has taken pole position for his GP2 debut in the Asian Series round in Bahrain this weekend.

The reigning Formula 3 Euro Series champion lapped the Sakhir circuit in 1:41.351, more than a tenth of a second quicker than his nearest challenger.

DAMS teammates Jerome d'Ambrosio and series leader Kamui Kobayashi qualified second and third, with another GP2 newcomer, Edoardo Mortara, completing the second row for Arden.

Roldan Rodriguez, who lies three points behind Kobayashi in the standings, qualified third for Piquet GP with Giedo van der Garde sixth for iSport.

Pos Driver Team Time Gap 1. Nico Hulkenberg ART 1:41.351 2. Jerome d'Ambrosio DAMS 1:41.476 +0.125 3. Kamui Kobayashi DAMS 1:41.522 +0.172 4. Edoardo Mortara Arden 1:41.978 +0.627 5. Roldan Rodriguez Piquet 1:42.195 +0.844 6. Giedo van der Garde iSport 1:42.307 +0.956 7. Sakon Yamamoto ART 1:42.344 +0.993 8. Javier Villa Super Nova 1:42.355 +1.004 9. Marco Bonanomi Qi-Meritus 1:42.362 +1.011 10. Davide Valsecchi Durango 1:42.449 +1.098 11. Vitaly Petrov Campos 1:42.458 +1.107 12. Diego Nunes Piquet 1:42.564 +1.213 13. Sergio Perez Campos 1:42.632 +1.282 14. James Jakes Super Nova 1:42.636 +1.285 15. Earl Bamber Qi-Meritus 1:42.798 +1.447 16. Hamad Al-Fardan iSport 1:42.818 +1.467 17. Yelmer Buurman Ocean 1:42.833 +1.482 18. Luiz Razia Arden 1:43.061 +1.710 19. Fabrizio Crestani Ocean 1:43.373 +2.022 20. Adrian Valles Trident 1:43.401 +2.050 21. Michael Herck DPR 1:43.413 +2.062 22. Rodolfo Gonzalez FMS 1:43.701 +2.351 23. Giacomo Ricci Trident 1:44.043 +2.692 24. Frankie Provenzano Trident 1:44.325 +2.974 25. Kevin Nai Chia Chen FMS 1:45.281 +3.930 26. Michael Dalle Stelle Durango no time

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Gonzalez joins Fisichella for GP2 Asia

Fisichella Motor Sport have signed Rodolfo Gonzalez for the rest of the GP2 Asia Series.

The 22-year-old Venezuelan joins the team after an exploratory outing in the Euro F3000 series in Italy at the end of last season convinced him he was ready to step up from Formula 3.

"The good vibe I had when I drove the F3000 in Magione last year gave me the opportunity to evaluate my participation in GP2," he said.

"The Asian series is a good benchmark and will be useful to build up my brain and muscles before facing the main series and I want to seriously acquaint myself with this car before going any further."

Team principal Paolo Coloni said the squad, who recently announced Andreas Zuber as their lead driver for the main GP2 Series, could keep Gonzalez on board beyond the Asian championship.

"Gonzalez is a good asset for FMSI. With Zuber concentrating on the main series, it was great to know that we had Rodolfo coming to us to help us maintain our good racing level in the Asian series," said Coloni.

"I had the opportunity to evaluate him during his first outing in F3000 last year and made a deal with him there and then.

"We know this is a serious commitment from him and we know that he is counting on our experience to make progress with his career. For this we are currently planning on his future starting from this week in Bahrain and are working on a long-term strategy soon to be revealed."

Gonzalez is a former British F3 National class champion, but had a difficult season in the Euro Series with Carlin last year.

"The FMSI situation suited my plans and I am happy to take over the car and race in the remaining four races of the calendar," he added.

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Yoong says he lacked time for racing

Alex Yoong says he decided to step down from his GP2 Asia drive because he was unable to devote sufficient time to racing.

The 32-year-old former Minardi Formula One driver, who now has a number of motorsport-related business interests in Malaysia, was replaced at the Meritus team by Marco Bonanomi last week.

"I spoke to Peter Thompson (Meritus team boss) and we have decided to come to an agreement, which is mutually beneficial to all parties," Yoong told Malaysian newspaper The Star.

"I had done some driver coaching with them in the past but to finally get the chance to race with them was a lovely experience.

"GP2 Asia is a fantastic series and very competitive. The team need total focus from their drivers and I was finding this more and more difficult to obligate."

Yoong had struggled in the first two GP2 Asia rounds, qualifying towards the back of the field and managing only one top ten finish.

After losing his F1 seat at the end of 2002, Yoong had a brief period in Champ Cars, made several sportscar appearances, and was a race-winner in A1GP.

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Zuber to stay with Fisichella for 2009

Andreas Zuber is to stay on at Fisichella Motor Sport for his fourth year of GP2.

The 25-year-old Austrian had already joined Giancarlo Fisichella's squad for this winter's GP2 Asia series, and will remain with the team for the main championship.

He was a race-winner for Trident and iSport in 2006 and 2007, but had to settle for podiums with Piquet Sports last year.

Zuber is now determined to challenge for the title in 2009.

"From the first moment I stepped into the cockpit of the FMSI Dallara, I felt that it was the race car I wanted to drive in the international GP2 Series this year," he said.

"I immediately established a good relationship with my engineer and the crew and, in the end, it was an easy decision to make."

Team boss Paolo Coloni said he had been keen to sign Zuber for some time.

"We wanted Andreas to driver for us in 2008 and unfortunately he opted for another team," said Coloni. "I have learned never to give up so I invited him to test our car.

"Last season we were extremely competitive, especially in the last couple of races, and I wanted him to experience that and not just hear it from me. I am so glad he has made the decision to join FMSI because we need his speed and experience to clinch that championship victory that we have been chasing for the past three years."

Zuber has also become part of Fisichella's manager Enrico Zanarini's driver management stable.

"We have both agreed that 2009 is a make or break year for him and we will spare no time or efforts to make sure that the perfect job is done," said Zanarini.

"We have already started to reorganise his training programme and to build a commercial network behind him. He will not have to deal with any other aspect of his career that is not related to racing."

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Bonanomi replaces Yoong at Meritus

Marco Bonanomi will return to the GP2 Asia Series for next weekend's Sakhir rounds, replacing former Formula One driver Alex Yoong at Meritus Racing.

The 23-year-old Italian ended last year's Asian championship on a high by winning the final race in Dubai, before spending the summer in the Formula Renault 3.5 series.

"I'm glad to have found this opportunity, and to be back working with a great technician like (Gianfranco) Bielli at Al Sakhir," said Bonanomi.

"Since the GP2 Asia Series doesn't feature extensive practice sessions, I'll have to re-adapt to the car really quickly, though I see a strong team so I'm pretty confident."

Despite returning to GP2 for now, Bonanomi is hoping to race in America in 2009, having tested for former Indy Lights champions Sam Schmidt Motorsports.

"Regarding my 2009 options, I'm still in talks with Schmidt's team, with a good chance to finalise things for a full Indy Lights assault," he said.

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