19/06/2008
NEWS STORY
After three rounds, the 2008 GP2 Series season has seen six different race winners and is still looking for a clear leader. At this point, Racing Engineering's Giorgio Pantano and iSport International's Bruno Senna share the drivers' championship lead with 24 points, just five points ahead of rookies ART Grand Prix's Romain Grosjean and Super Nova Racing's Alvaro Parente. Only fourteen points separate the co-leaders to the tenth driver - and last race winner - Trident Racing's Mike Conway.
In this tight championship, now comes Magny-Cours where Giorgio Pantano secured a win and a podium in 2007. Last week's tests in Paul Ricard helped the teams prepare this new event. The GP2 grid will change slightly this weekend with 2007 runner-up Lucas di Grassi entering the competition at the wheel of Barwa International Campos Team. Also newcomers: Marko Asmer for Fisichella Motor Sport International and Carlos Iaconelli for BCN Competicion. At DPR, Michael Herck finally gets back into action after a long recovery from a wrist injury. Christian Bakkerud, on the other hand, had to withdraw for the remainder of the season. He will be replaced by Andy Soucek at Super Nova Racing. However, what's at stake doesn't change: the grand fight for the 2008 title which continues in France this weekend.
The Magny-Cours circuit – with a number of corners modelled after famous turns from around the world – offers a tough test for drivers. "The Magny-Cours circuit is interesting, and very challenging," ART Grand Prix's Romain Grosjean says. "There are a lot of fast corners, and two really fast chicanes, but there are a lot of slow corners as well, so the balance for setup is not easy to find. It's also hard to find the right line, because a lot of the corners are blind, and the circuit goes up and down. You can lose a lot of time if you miss your turn-in. The track also has a lot more grip, as it has been resurfaced recently. It should be an interesting race this year."