Issue 7 - GP2 Series

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GP2 SERIES Magny-Cours//Silverstonerace reportsCLICK HEREfor raceimagesFRANCEMAGNY-COURS (June 21-22)Feature race (41 laps)1 Giorgio Pantano (Racing Eng.)2 Lucas di Grassi (Campos)3 Pastor Maldonado (Piquet)4 Vitaly Petrov (Campos)5 Andreas Zuber (Piquet)6 Jérôme d’Ambrosio (Dams)7 Karun Chandhok (iSport)8 Mike Conway (Trident)Fastest lap Giorgio PantanoPole position Bruno SennaBuemi leads Burrmanin the French sprint raceSprint race (28 laps)1 Sébastien Buemi (Arden)2 Yelmer Buurman (Arden)3 Luca Filippi (ART)4 Lucas di Grassi (Campos)5 Bruno Senna (iSport)6 Mike Conway (Trident)7 Pastor Maldonado (Piquet)8 Andreas Zuber (Piquet)Fastest lap Kamui KobayashiPole position Mike ConwayPantano takes his second feature race whileTrust Team Arden roll the dice and win a one-twoGiorgio Pantano of Racing Engineering won a French featurerace of attrition after iSport’s Bruno Senna and RomainGrosjean of ART both retired with mechanical failures whileleading the 41 lap outing.After qualifying on pole, Senna led comfortably for 10 lapsof the Magny-Cours circuit before a clutch problem began toaffect his pace, finally forcing him out on lap 22.Pantano then set the fastest lap and closed quickly onGrosjean before a hydraulic problem stopped the Frenchman,handing victory to Pantano. Lucas di Grassi took secondplace on his GP2 return, ahead of Pastor Maldonado in third.An equally eventful sprint race followed, in which SébastienBuemi and Yelmer Buurman handed Trust Team Arden a welldeservedone-two finish. Starting from 21st and 12th on thegrid, the pair gambled on using slick tyres in damp conditions.As the track dried Buurman picked his way to the front, beforeconceding the lead to Buemi and that’s how the pair finished,ahead of Luca Filippi in third.GREAT BRITAINSILVERSTONE (JULY 5-6)CLICK HEREfor raceimagesAnother feature win for Pantano and sprintsuccess for Senna keeps the title race tightRacing Engineering’s Giorgio Pantano continued to be the GP2 Seriespace setter as he laid down a dominant win in race one at Silverstone.The Italian started from fifth on the grid but drove a faultlesslymeasured race, ultimately passing Lucas di Grassi for the lead sixlaps from the end. Di Grassi held on to second, leading home KarunChandhok in third.Race one polesitter Bruno Senna made up for his sixth place featurefinish by dashing to victory in a chaotic and water-logged sprint race.By the time the chequered flag fell, the weather had claimed 11 of the 26strong field, but the class of Senna, di Grassi and Pantano shone through inthe rainy conditions and that’s how the trio lined up on the podium.Feature race (36 laps)1 Giorgio Pantano (Racing Eng.)2 Lucas di Grassi (Campos)3 Karun Chandhok (iSport)4 Sébastien Buemi (Arden)5 Romain Grosjean (ART)6 Bruno Senna (iSport)7 Andreas Zuber (Piquet)8 Luca Filippi (ART)Fastest lap Giorgio PantanoPole position Bruno SennaSprint race (24 laps)1 Bruno Senna (iSport)2 Lucas di Grassi (Campos)3 Giorgio Pantano (Racing Eng.)4 Mike Conway (Trident)5 Vitaly Petrov (Campos)6 Davide Valsecchi (Durango)7 Kamui Kobayashi (Dams)8 Romain Grosjean (ART)Fastest lap Pastor MaldonadoPole position Luca FilippiCLICK HEREFor fullSTANDINGSDrivers’ points1 Giorgio Pantano 502 Bruno Senna 393 Sébastien Buemi 254 Lucas di Grassi 245 Romain Grosjean 236 Vitaly Petrov 207 Álvaro Parente 198 Karun Chandhok 19Giorgio Pantanocelebrates hisSilverstone featurerace victoryTeams’ points1 iSport International 582 Racing Engineering 533 Barwa Int. Campos 454 Piquet Sports 375 Trust Team Arden 306 ART Grand Prix 287 Trident Racing 228 Super Nova Racing 1906 2008 GP2 Series Magny-Cours//Silverstone
ace previewshockenheim, GermanyA four-year veteran of Hockenheim,Arden’s Sébastien Buemi explainswhere the German races might be wonOften maligned because of its remote location,the Hockenheim circuit itself can produce somefierce racing as drivers play chicken with theirbraking points on the way into the hairpin at theHead to nearbyHeidleberg forsightseeingDates19-20 JulyTrack length 4.574km (2.842 miles)Race One 40 laps (19 July 4:00pm)Race Two 27 laps (20 July 10:30am)Website www.hockenheimring.comend of the long, quick parabolica. But, as well asgood straight-line speed, the numerous slow andmedium corners demand a balanced setup.It’s a track that Magny-Cours sprint racewinner Sebastien Buemi knows well, havingraced there in Formula BMW and F3 Euroseries.“We should see a lot of overtaking atHockemheim,” explained Buemi. “I expect thepassing will be in the same places as in F3. Turntwo, then after the long straight into turn threeand then finally in the Mercedes Arena.“If you look at the first corner it’s impressive,everybody speaks about it. It’s really fast andvery easy to go off and crash there. You need tocarry a lot of speed into the corner but be awarethat the curbs are really high and can pitch youinto the barriers.“It’s going to be great to come back and driveGP2 here. I can’t wait for the race, especially tosee whether some of the corners we used to takeflat in an F3 car can be done the same in GP2!”EatThe choice aroundHockenheim is not great.However, in Neustadt,home of Keke Rosberg’sDTM team, you’ll find‘Rosengarten’, a funItalian restaurant.StayWalkershof (http://www.walkershof.com/flashindex.htm). UnfortunatelyF1 teams manage tomonopolise the onlydecent hotel within 20square kms.SeeHockenheim is no touristhotspot so head toHeidelberg (30kms) formedieval streets, baroquearchitecture and romanticrooftop vistas.Hungaroring, hungaryCampos man Lucas di Grassi is eagerly anticipating theHungaroring...and Budapest’s post-race entertainmentEatThe place to be seen isTom George (V. Október6 utca 8, Budapest,tel 1/266-3525) with amenu that stretches fromFrance to Japan via India.StayFour Seasons GreshamPalace (www.fourseasons.com/budapest) is one of theworld’s most spectacularhotels. But admittedly,even the Martini’s areoutside most budgets.SEETry out the curativeSzéchenyi Baths (www.szechenzifurdo.hu),a beautiful turn of thecentury 15-pool complexlocated in City Park.The Hungaroring has been part of the GP2Series calendar since the championship startedin 2005, and is a popular venue for its on and offtrack action.After Monaco, the circuit has the lowestaverage speed of any GP2 venue. It’s a tricky,technical track where the corners follow eachother quickly and even the start finish straight isrelatively short.Despite the physical demands this puts on thedrivers, Campos’ Lucas di Grassi is a fan of theHungaroring’s twists and turns.“The circuit is very nice,” explains di Grassi.“One of the most technical layouts of theseason. It’s not very fast but it has a lot ofdifferent types of corners especially in sectortwo. And, despite what you might see in F1,in GP2 there are certain points where you canovertake.“I have fond memories from last year’s GP2races – I was very competitive and lead raceone for about 10 laps until the safety car cameout and I eventually finished fourth. Likewise Ifinished fourth in race two.”After the remote Hockenheim race, nearbyBudapest offers its own unique distractions.“It is normally very hot when we race there,Dates2-3 AugustTrack length 4.381km (2.722 miles)Race One 42 laps (2 Aug 4:00pm)Race Two 28 laps (3 Aug 10:30am)Website www.hungaroring.hubut since I’m from a hot country itdoesn’t bother me too much,” says theBrazilian. “However, there is an aquaparknear the circuit and last year the topsix drivers in the championship had acompetition on the slides, which wasgreat fun!“I’ve been to Budapest two or threetimes already and have always had agreat time - especially after the racebecause the city’s nightlife is brilliant!”Budapest’s heroe’s square2008 GP2 Series Magny-Cours//Silverstone 07
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Issue 7 - GP2 Series

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