Floods force cancellation of Dubai race

Today's GP2 Asia and Speedcar events at the Dubai Autodrome have been cancelled due to flooding.

The event started on Thursday with the first races held yesterday, but heavy overnight rain has overwhelmed the circuit and the surrounding road network this morning.

With several parts of the circuit deep under water, teams and drivers have been told to stay away except to retrieve equipment from the paddock and pit lane.

FIA stewards released the following statement after their inspection of the circuit this morning: "It is the collective view of the race directors that the volume of water on the track, and the likelihood of there being any improvement during the day, would make it impossible to run any races safely.

"The stewards of the meeting have accepted their advice and cancelled all races today."

Dubai Autodrome manager Richard Birch says the circuit has experienced flooding in the past, but never on the same weekend as a high-profile race meeting.

"This is some of the worst flooding I have encountered at the circuit," he said. "A couple of years ago we had a similar situation but were fortunate that the rain did not affect a major event as it has done this weekend.

"It is a shame because there was a very good crowd yesterday and we were expecting a big crowd again today as the weekend falls conveniently during the holiday period.

"However, nothing could be done about the rain that has unfortunately stopped play."

Kamui Kobayashi won yesterday's first GP2 Asia race, while former grand prix driver Vitantonio Liuzzi triumphed on his Speedcar debut.

Kobayashi storms to Dubai win

Kobayashi storms to Dubai win

DAMS racer Kamui Kobayashi was unstoppable in the GP2 Asia feature race in Dubai today.

The Japanese driver dominated the first part of the race from pole, but lost the lead during the pitstops to Vitaly Petrov.

Kobayashi then got delayed by the Campos driver and was jumped by championship leader Roldan Rodriguez (Piquet GP).

But Kobayashi responded, driving past Rodriguez with a great move into the downhill left-hander towards the end of the lap. He then duplicated the move on Petrov next time around and drove away into the distance.

Several drivers could have finished second, and Davide Valsecchi (Durango) it was who eventually took it. He had made a great start to run second early on, but fell back after the stops.

A great late charge took him past Rodriguez for third and both then overtook the struggling Petrov.

Behind Petrov, former British F3 front-runner Sergio Perez took sixth for Campos, but only thanks to the retirement of the rapid Pastor Maldonado, who had charged forward after starting 12th.

Maldonado's ART teammate Sakon Yamamoto had started alongside Kobayashi on the front row, but made a poor start and then went off on the second lap.

His recovery charge took him initially to eighth, which would have given him pole for tomorrow's sprint race. He was then overtaken in a sensational move around the outside of Jerome d'Ambrosio, but Maldonado?s late retirement handed Yamamoto a lifeline.

He will therefore start from pole, but Kobayashi will take some beating - even starting from eighth - as he often proved a second per lap faster than the rest in race one.

Full results to follow

Kobayashi snatches pole in Dubai

Galaxy snap winless streak in emphatic fashion

Bamber sets practice pace in Dubai

Rodriguez pips Kobayashi to pole

Revs search for continuity as season closes

ART confirm Hulkenberg for GP2

ART Grand Prix have confirmed that Formula 3 Euro Series champion Nico Hulkenberg will graduate to GP2 with the team next season.

Hulkenberg has long been expected to step up within the ART ranks, and is pencilled in to contest two GP2 Asia rounds with the team this winter, but they have now announced that he will partner Pastor Maldonado for the main championship in 2009.

"ART Grand Prix and me, that sounds like a good combination to me," said Hulkenberg. "We know each other very well and we have worked great together so far.

"I had four days of testing with the team in the GP2 car and I feel comfortable with everything up to this point. Next year will be a tough one because GP2 is extremely competitive with great teams and great drivers, but I think we have a good package ourselves."

But Hulkenberg believes it will be difficult for him to challenge for the title in his first season in the series.

"Some tracks I don't know and the single practice session every round is very short, but we have to set our target high," he said. "We might not be able to fight for the podium in the very beginning, but it is my aim - as well as the team's - to climb up there and try to get a win or two."

ART boss Frederic Vasseur added: "There is no need to give the reasons that convinced us to continue our collaboration with Nico, his records speak for themselves!

"He is a fast and talented driver but also a young man who is very well balanced. He has strong race intelligence
and positive human relationships.

"With Nico and Pastor, ART Grand Prix's aim will be to return to the place that was ours in 2005 and 2006, champions."

Kobayashi leads the way in Jerez test

Maldonado tops GP2 test for ART

Kobayashi snatches pole in Dubai

Kamui Kobayashi snatched pole position in the GP2 Asia event in Dubai with a late run this afternoon.

Kobayashi, along with title rival Roldan Rodriguez, seemed content to let others set the pace for much of the session.

But the DAMS driver made his big push with just two minutes of the session left to take pole with a lap of 1:41.091.

"There was a lot of traffic, so it was difficult to get a time," said Kobayashi. "I think I was quite lucky."

Sakon Yamamoto (ART) made it an all-Japan front row with an even later effort, 0.184 seconds down.

Earlier in the session, Vitaly Petrov (Campos) fought Piquet GP's Diego Nunes for pole, but neither could quite raise their game enough when the Japanese challenge materialised.

Petrov ended up third, after a clash with a slower car on his final lap. Nunes was eighth.

Title leader Rodriguez held pole briefly, but was pushed down to fourth in the late scrum.

Yelmer Buurman maintained the good form of new squad Ocean Racing from practice, taking sixth behind Davide Valsecchi (Durango).

Pos Driver Team Time Gap Laps 1. Kamui Kobayashi DAMS 1:41.091 13 2. Sakon Yamamoto ART 1:41.275 +0.184 12 3. Vitaly Petrov Campos 1:41.341 +0.250 14 4. Roldan Rodriguez Piquet 1:41.376 +0.285 15 5. Davide Valsecchi Durango 1:41.472 +0.381 15 6. Yelmer Buurman Ocean 1:41.550 +0.459 14 7. Giedo van der Garde iSport 1:41.557 +0.466 15 8. Diego Nunes Piquet 1:41.593 +0.502 15 9. Sergio Perez Campos 1:41.768 +0.677 15 10. Jerome d'Ambrosio DAMS 1:41.777 +0.686 14 11. Andi Zuber FMS 1:41.798 +0.707 14 12. Pastor Maldonado ART 1:41.838 +0.747 13 13. Renger van der Zande Arden 1:42.054 +0.963 15 14. Javier Villa Super Nova 1:42.062 +0.971 13 15. James Jakes Super Nova 1:42.066 +0.975 15 16. Earl Bamber Qi-Meritus 1:42.068 +0.977 15 17. Luiz Razia Arden 1:42.204 +1.113 14 18. Giacomo Ricci DPR 1:42.351 +1.260 14 19. Hamad Al-Fardan iSport 1:42.367 +1.276 15 20. Alberto Valerio Trident 1:42.541 +1.450 15 21. Alex Yoong Qi-Meritus 1:43.026 +1.935 14 22. Michael Herck DPR 1:43.102 +2.011 14 23. Fabrizio Crestani Ocean 1:43.316 +2.225 14 24. Chris van der Drift Trident 1:43.393 +2.302 15 25. Michael Dalle Stelle Durango 1:45.603 +4.512 15

Rodriguez wins as Kobayashi spins

CONCACAF Qualifying roundup

Bamber sets practice pace in Dubai

Bamber sets practice pace in Dubai

GP2 Asia series front-runner Earl Bamber began his campaign for the second round of the series in Dubai by setting the fastest time in practice today.

The Qi-Meritus driver left it late, pipping the DAMS car of Kamui Kobayashi by 0.001s on the very last lap of the session. Bamber's best was 1:44.048.

Durango's David Valsecchi, a winner at the Shanghai opener in October, took third, just ahead of teammate Jerome d'Ambrosio.

Tiago Monteiro's new Ocean Racing squad proved competitive, with Yelmer Buurman ending up eighth - 0.7 seconds behind Bamber.

Championship leader Roldan Rodriguez set the early pace for Piquet GP, but eventually finished ninth.

The main casualty during the session was Trident Racing's Chris van der Drift, who crashed out early after locking up and hitting the barriers.

Pos Driver Team Time 1. Earl Bamber Qi-Meritus 1:44.048 2. Kamui Kobayashi DAMS 1:44.049 3. Davide Valsecchi Durango 1:44.148 4. Jerome d'Ambrosio DAMS 1:44.488 5. Pastor Maldonado ART 1:44.565 6. Sakon Yamamoto ART 1:44.711 7. Sergio Perez Campos 1:44.776 8. Yelmer Buurman Ocean 1:44.782 9. Roldan Rodriguez Piquet 1:44.905 10. Vitaly Petrov Campos 1:44.936 11. Javier Villa Super Nova 1:45.300 12. Giedo van der Garde iSport 1:45.332 13. James Jakes Super Nova 1:45.688 14. Andi Zuber FMS 1:45.815 15. Hamad Al-Fardan iSport 1:45.909 16. Michael Herck DPR 1:46.191 17. Luiz Razia Arden 1:46.314 18. Giacomo Ricci DPR 1:46.315 19. Diego Nunes Piquet 1:46.342 20. Fabrizio Crestani Ocean 1:46.975 21. Renger van der Zande Arden 1:46.993 22. Alberto Valerio Trident 1:47.856 23. Kevin Nai Chia Chen FMS 1:50.600 24. Michael Dalle Selle Durango 1:50.821 25. Alex Yoong Qi-Meritus 1:51.699 26. Chris van der Drift Trident 1:53.607

Rapids win sets up winner-take-all vs. RSL

Quakes dictate pace in road draw

Kobayashi snatches pole in Dubai

Ocean sign Crestani as second driver

Tiago Monteiro has announced that Euroseries 3000 racer Fabrizio Crestani will drive the second Ocean Racing car in the GP2 Asia round at Dubai this weekend.

Team boss Monteiro revealed Yelmer Buurman as the team's lead driver earlier this week and the Dutchman will be joined by Crestani, who finished fifth in the Euroseries 3000 standings this year despite missing the first five races.

The Italian, who also contested a handful of Formula Master races this season, caught Monteiro's attention during his first taste of GP2 testing for DPR at Paul Ricard last month where he finished in the top ten in the afternoon session.

"Fabrizio is a young driver with potential," said Monteiro. "He quickly came to grips with the Euroseries 3000 and his performances were solid. He now has to take this new challenge as he has never raced with such power before.

"He is motivated and that is important when entering such a competitive championship that all the young drivers are aiming to join."

Buurman and Crestani will take to the track for Ocean for the first time on Thursday in the qualifying session for the GP2 Asia meeting at Dubai this weekend.

Fire sign Paraguayan defender Marmol

Buurman fills Monteiro’s first seat

Buurman fills Monteiro's first seat

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Monteiro acquires BCN GP2 team