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Friday, 20 April 2012 06:26 |
 The latest round of the GP2 Series driver entry list and fact sheet - Desert racing in the heat of Bahrain!
It’s been three weeks since the 2012 GP2 Series season opened in Malaysia and after the first round lived up to everyone’s expectations providing heart stopping action and stellar performances from both experienced drivers and the young guns.
Following strong results in pre-season testing, DAMS’s Davide Valsecchi flew to pole position in Sepang, but it was Luiz Razia who made a better start from P2 and won a lights to flag victory ahead of the Italian. The young Brazilian achieved Arden’s first win since Barcelona Feature Race 2010.
Max Chilton and his Carlin team enjoyed a maiden GP2 podium with third place. The next day, the Sprint Race was all about Lotus GP when James Calado and Esteban Gutiérrez locked out the front row.
The British rookie controlled the rest of the field from start to finish and thus pocketed his maiden GP2 win ahead of his team-mate. Another first was for newcomer ace Felipe Nasr who celebrated his first GP2 podium finish.
Razia currently leads the drivers’ standings seven points ahead of Valsecchi. Calado stands in third place, one point ahead of Gutiérrez and Nasr, with Chilton and Fabio Leimer in tow.
All twenty six drivers are back in action this week at the Bahrain International Circuit where the 5.412km track will host the second and third rounds of the 2012 GP2 Series season in searing temperatures and sometimes sandy conditions.
It will be the first time that the GP2/11 cars will take to the Bahraini track. The races (32 and 23 laps) will be run on Hard (Prime) and Medium (Option) Pirelli tyres.
Mario Isola - Pirelli racing manager
“The GP2 Series is of vital importance as it is supplying the next generation of Formula One stars. Our GP2 team travelled out to Bahrain for the race that was scheduled last year, so although the race did not go ahead we still have some data on the track, using the information we gained from Formula One testing as well, that will be very useful.
"With the high temperatures and significant lateral loads that are common in Bahrain, the tyres will definitely have that their work cut out this weekend. So it will be down to the drivers to look after them as best as they can, as they have the same basic characteristics as the Formula One tyres, with deliberate degradation and a performance drop-off beyond a certain number of laps.”
Drivers swap:
| Driver |
Car |
Team |
Replaced by |
| Josef Kral |
#02 |
Barwa Addax Team |
Dani Clos |
| Jon Lancaster |
#24 |
Ocean Racing Technology |
Brendon Hartley |
Bahrain Fact Sheet:
- Info Pirelli: Prime - Hard / Option - Medium
- Race 1: 32 laps (excluding formation lap)
- Lap Length: 5.421km
- Race Distance: 173.184km
- Race 2: 23 laps (excluding Formulation lap)
- Race Distance: 124.476km
- Marcus Ericsson will be dropped ten places on the starting grid of Feature Race after a penalty picked up in Sepang Sprint Race.
- Two current GP2 drivers have already won at BIC: Davide Valsecchi (DAMS) and Luiz Razia (Arden International). Razia is currently leading in the drivers’ standings ahead of Valsecchi.
- It will be the first time that the GP2/11 car will run at Bahrain International Circuit
Onboard cameras:
| Driver |
Team |
Car N° |
| Fabio Leimer |
Racing Engineering |
05 |
| Stefano Coletti |
Scuderia Coloni |
14 |
| Tom Dillmann |
Rapax |
21 |
| Luiz Razia |
Arden International |
23 |
Driver entry list:
| N° |
Driver |
Nat. |
Team |
| 1 |
Johnny Cecotto |
VEN |
Barwa Addax Team |
| 2 |
Dani Clos |
ESP |
Barwa Addax Team |
| 3 |
Davide Valsecchi |
ITA |
DAMS |
| 4 |
Felipe Nasr |
BRA |
DAMS |
| 5 |
Fabio Leimer |
SUI |
Racing Engineering |
| 6 |
Nathanaël Berthon |
FRA |
Racing Engineering |
| 7 |
Marcus Ericsson |
SWE |
iSport International |
| 8 |
Jolyon Palmer |
GBR |
iSport International |
| 9 |
James Calado |
GBR |
Lotus GP |
| 10 |
Esteban Gutierrez |
MEX |
Lotus GP |
| 11 |
Rodolfo Gonzalez |
VEN |
Caterham Racing |
| 12 |
Giedo Van der Garde |
NED |
Caterham Racing |
| 14 |
Stefano Coletti |
MON |
Scuderia Coloni |
| 15 |
Fabio Onidi |
ITA |
Scuderia Coloni |
| 16 |
Stephane Richelmi |
MON |
Trident Racing |
| 17 |
Julian Leal |
COL |
Trident Racing |
| 18 |
Fabrizio Crestani |
ITA |
Venezuela GP Lazarus |
| 19 |
Giancarlo Serenelli |
VEN |
Venezuela GP Lazarus |
| 20 |
Ricardo Teixeira |
POR |
Rapax |
| 21 |
Tom Dillmann |
FRA |
Rapax |
| 22 |
Simon Trummer |
SUI |
Arden International |
| 23 |
Luiz Razia |
BRA |
Arden International |
| 24 |
Brendon Hartley |
NZL |
Ocean Racing Technology |
| 25 |
Nigel Melker |
NED |
Ocean Racing Technology |
| 26 |
Max Chilton |
GBR |
Carlin |
| 27 |
Rio Haryanto |
INA |
Carlin |
F1SA.com
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