25/09/2008
NEWS STORY
It is only two weeks since Racing Engineering and its driver Giorgio Pantano won the 2008 GP2 Series Driver Championship, yet the focus of the Spanish squad is already directed to the upcoming 2009 GP2 Series.
Today and Friday the first of three collective tests will be held at the circuit of Paul Ricard. The second test will take place at the end of October at Racing Engineering's home track, Jerez de la Frontera, before the GP2 teams return to Paul Ricard for their final test days in 2008.
In this week's Paul Ricard test, Racing Engineering welcomes three drivers, who have already previously been behind the steering wheel of a Racing Engineering GP2 car. However, none of them have previously tried the latest generation of GP2 cars.
Luiz Razia, the young Brazilian, who has tested with the Sanlucar de Barrameda based team in 2006, makes his return to GP2. Whilst being only 17 years old, during his first outing with Racing Engineering, Luiz has impressed not only with his speed but also his ability to quickly adapt to such a powerful car. In 2008 Luiz has been competing in the Formula 3000 Euroseries and is currently third in the championship.
Christian Ebbesvik will be testing alongside the Brazilian on the first of the two test days. The Norwegian driver has tested with Racing Engineering in 2007 and the Spanish team has followed his achievements in the 2008 Spanish Formula 3 Championship very closely.
On day two Finnish driver Markus Niemelä joins the Racing Engineering crew, arriving straight from Utah, where he won last weekend's Champcar Atlantic race. Markus has previously raced in GP2 and tested with the Racing Engineering team in 2007. Right after the test Markus will be leaving for the United States again, where he will fight for the championship title at the season finale, currently holding a very strong third position.
Alfonso de Orleans-Borbon: "I am happy to have those three drivers back in our car. Not only are they all good race drivers, but they are also great to work with. It will be interesting to see how they adapt to the new car and the progress they've made since we last tested with them. I am looking forward to these two test days as I know that all three are excited about this test and impatient to get into the car."