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."

Kobayashi tipped for GP2 Asia title

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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

Five-run second propels Dodgers

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

Hulkenberg won’t finish Asia series

Perez rockets to Qatar sprint win

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Qatar night race for Asia Series

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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Hulkenberg takes pole on GP2 debut

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

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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."

Bamber joins Meritus for GP2 Asia

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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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Qatar night race for Asia Series

Racing Engineering sign Clos for '09

Racing Engineering, winners of the 2008 GP2 title with Giorgio Pantano, have signed Formula 3 graduate Dani Clos for the new season.

Team boss Alfonso de Orleans-Borbon expects 2009 to be a learning year for Clos, who has already tested with the Williams Formula One team.

"I have always wanted him to race with us, since our days in F3," said de Orleans-Borbon.

"This is a two-year project and during the first season, Dani will adapt to the category and the GP2 car. But considering his experience and the fact that he has already driven a Formula One car, I am sure he will come up with some surprises.

"After, we will try to win the title with him."

Clos is a former Italian Formula Renault champion, but could only manage two podiums during two years in the F3 Euro Series with the Signature and Prema teams.

"For me it is a great opportunity to be with a team like Racing Engineering, from a personal as well as sporting point of view," said the 20-year-old Spaniard.

"It is my priority this year to understand the car as much as possible and take the most advantage of the experience of a winning team."

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iSport sign van der Garde and Nunes

iSport International have announced Giedo van der Garde and Diego Nunes as their driver line-up for this year's GP2 main series.

The team had hoped to retain Bruno Senna, who they ran to the runner-up spot in the championship in 2008, if the Brazilian did not land a Formula One drive and had to return to GP2.

But Senna told iSport earlier this week that he would hold out for an F1 drive, and they have now confirmed another Brazilian, Diego Nunes, alongside van der Garde who is currently contesting the Asia series with the team.

"We are delighted to have Giedo and Diego on board for the 2009 series, " said iSport team boss Paul Jackson. "We have been building a good relationship with Giedo during the Asia Series and he was impressive during the winter testing.

"We were equally impressed with Diego after he tested with us at Paul Ricard last year, and with a year's experience in GP2 he will be a valuable addition to the team."

Van der Garde joins iSport

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EXCLUSIVE: Senna rules out GP2

Best-of-seven series a better test

EXCLUSIVE: Senna rules out GP2

Last year's GP2 Series runner-up Bruno Senna will not return to Formula One's feeder category, autosport.com can exclusively reveal.

Senna, who holds the key to this year's junior single-seater driver market with GP2 teams waiting for his decision before firming up their plans, tested impressively for Honda F1 before Christmas.

He had been expected to return to iSport after Honda announced its withdrawal from F1 soon after his run at Barcelona.

However, Senna informed iSport early this week that he will hold out for an opportunity in F1 this year, rather than return to their GP2 line-up.

His only option for a race drive would be at Scuderia Toro Rosso or whatever form Honda F1 might take on if the Brackley-based team continue to operate under new ownership.

Autosport.com can also reveal that Norfolk-based iSport have now set the wheels in motion to sign another Brazilian, former DPR racer Diego Nunes, to partner Giedo van der Garde for GP2 in 2009. They hopes to tie-up the deal by the end of the week.

For the full background to the story, read this week's Autosport magazine.

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Van der Garde joins iSport

ORT sign Chandhok for main series

Ocean Racing Technology have announced Indian Karun Chandhok will join the team for the 2009 GP2 Series championship.

Chandhok, 25, becomes the first driver to be confirmed at the Portuguese team for the main series.

"It is very important for Ocean Racing Technology to guarantee the presence of a talented driver such as Karun Chandhok," said team boss Tiago Monteiro. "He is fast, a hard worker and already has some great results on different kinds of tracks.

"From what we hear, he always had an excellent working relationship with engineers and team principals that he has previously worked with and has won two races in the GP2 Main Series.

"It is extremely positive that he signed this contract well before the championship starts because this way we can immediately begin work for the Main Series."

Chandhok, a two-time race winner in GP2, has raced in the series since the 2007 season, having finished in 15th that year and 10th in 2008 in the standings.

"I'm very happy to have concluded a deal with Ocean Racing Technology," said the Indian. "I've known Tiago for a few years now since we briefly raced together in World Series and of course he was Narain (Karthikeyan)'s teammate at Jordan.

"I really believe that having an ex-F1 driver running a team is a big plus as he understands what is needed from our perspective."

He added: "Of course, going to a new team is always a bit of a gamble for a driver. Any new team will take some time to get fully up to speed and it's slightly unrealistic to think we're going to be Championship contenders, but certainly the objective is to win races this year.

"iSport was a very good team but we could not conclude a suitable financial agreement and have parted ways on good terms. My experience with them will certainly be of benefit as I work to develop ORT into a front running team."

The first race of the 2009 season will take place in Barcelona on May 9.

Best-of-seven series a better test

Ocean sign Crestani as second driver

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