Issue 10 - GP2 Series

GP2 SERIES Spa//Monzarace reportCLICK HEREfor raceimagesBELGIUMSPA (September 6-7)First GP2 Series feature win for Grosjean as titlerivals Pantano, Senna and di Grassi all stumbleFeature race (26 laps)1 Romain Grosjean (ART)2 Álvaro Parente (Super Nova)3 Pastor Maldonado (Piquet)4 Vitaly Petrov (Campos)5 Sébastien Buemi (Arden)6 Andy Soucek (Super Nova)7 Mike Conway (Trident)8 Jérôme D’Ambrosio (Dams)Fastest lap Romain GrosjeanPole position Bruno SennaDiego Nunes of DPR exits thefamous Eau Rouge cornerSprint race (18 laps)1 Pastor Maldonado (Piquet)2 Jérôme D’Ambrosio (Dams)3 Vitaly Petrov (Campos)4 Sébastien Buemi (Arden)5 Lucas di Grassi (Campos)6 Davide Valsecchi (Durango)7 Karun Chandhok (iSport)8 Javier Villa (Racing Eng.)Fastest lap Pastor MaldonadoPole position Jérôme D’AmbrosioReigning GP2 Asia championRomain Grosjean secured hisfirst GP2 Series feature racewin in a chaotic weekendat the Spa-Francorchampscircuit. Meanwhile, drivers’championship front-runner,Racing Engineering’s GiorgioPantano, was excluded fromboth races.ART rookie Grosjean wentahead of Alvaro Parenteand into first with five lapsremaining before pulling outa 4.1s lead Piquet SportsAndreas Zuber came in third– a position he would later bestripped of due to a technicalinfringement.Behind the trio, advantagein the title chase swung backand forth between Pantanoand iSport’s Bruno Senna.Starting on pole, Senna hadbeen leading the race beforehe was handed a drivethroughpenalty for an unsaferelease from the pits, leavingPantano in first. But, theItalian’s luck abandoned himwhen his engine reverted tosafe mode dropping him backto eighth. An over-zealousfight-back from the Italianended in a crash with Lucas diGrassi, which in turn led to anunprecedented exclusion fromthe sprint race.However, Senna failedto capitalise on Pantano’sabsence in race two,spinning out on lap nine.Third overall, di Grassi closedthe championship gap withfifth place, but it was PastorMaldonado who took the sprintrace spoils overtaking raceleader Jérôme d’Ambrosio withjust half a lap left. Campos’Vitaly Petrov finished third.ItalyMONZA (September 13-14)CLICK HEREfor raceimagesDi Grassi keeps winning, Valsecchi lands dreamhome victory and Pantano and Campos secure titlesCampos’ Lucas di Grassi won Pantano meanwhile coulda frantic wet/dry race one at only manage 10th, but withMonza as Giorgio Pantano of iSport’s Bruno Senna scoringRacing Engineering secured the just four points, the Italian’sdrivers’ title without scoring a overall lead was securepoint in his home feature race. regardless of what happened inStarting from pole, the the sprint race on Sunday.Italian led for the first 26 laps But one man race twoand looked odds-on for a certainly did matter to wascomfortable podium finish Davide Valsecchi. Driving forbefore he was given a drivethroughpenalty for exiting the in his home event, Valsecchithe Italian Durango team, andpitlane illegally.secured his maiden GP2 victoryWith just five laps left, with a convincing nine seconddi Grassi held off a strong cushion over second placedchallenge from Piquet Sport’s Roldán Rodríguez of FMS.Pastor Maldonado for his third Valsecchi’s win marked thewin of the season. Sebastién perfect end to a tough yearBuemi rounded off the podium during which he has beenin a distant third.hospitalised by two big shunts.Chicanes - GP2 styleFeature race (32 laps)1 Lucas Di Grassi (Campos)2 Pastor Maldonado (Piquet)3 Sébastien Buemi (Arden)4 Romain Grosjean (ART)5 Bruno Senna (iSport)6 Roldán Rodríguez (FMS)7 Jérôme D’Ambrosio (Dams)8 Davide Valsecchi (Durango)Fastest lap Mike ConwayPole position Giorgio PantanoSprint race (21 laps)1 Davide Valsecchi (Durango)2 Roldán Rodríguez (FMS)3 Romain Grosjean (ART)4 Pastor Maldonado (Piquet)5 Giorgio Pantano (Racing Eng.)6 Jérôme D’Ambrosio (Dams)7 Sébastien Buemi (Arden)8 Bruno Senna (iSport)Fastest lap Andy SoucekPole position Davide Valsecchi06 2008 GP2 Series Spa//Monza