27/02/2009
NEWS STORY
Fisichella Motor Sport International has announced that it has signed Luiz Razia to complete its line-up in the upcoming 2009 GP2 Series. The Brazilian will join Andreas Zuber to form a strong team in the year that FMSI aims for the title.
19-year-old Luiz only began karting five years ago just in 2004, before embarking on the Brazilian Formula Renault and South American Formula 3 Championships the following year. In his debut year of the SudAm F3 he notched up two wins and four further podiums. In his sophomore year in 2006, he won the championship outright with seven victories and four podiums in 16 races. In 2006 the young Brazilian also embarked on a part-season of F3000 International Masters, instantly impressing with three wins from three outings in treacherous weather conditions. His results were rewarded in the winter of 2006 with a GP2 series test.
Luiz first met up with FMS when he joined the team for a part-season in the Euroseries 3000 Championship in 2007. Although not taking part in all races, he finished third in the championship. In the same year he also took part in several Formula Renault 3.5 World Series races. Last year saw Luiz compete once again a part-season in Euroseries 3000, this time finishing fourth overall in the championship. His experience in the 2008/09 GP2 Asia Series will enable him to get good mileage and experience in the powerful racing cars ahead of his GP2 Series debut, which will take place in Barcelona from 25-27 April.
Luiz Razia: "I'm happy to announce that I've come to an agreement with FMSI to race in the GP2 Main Series. During the post-season tests in Paul Ricard I had an opportunity to test with them for one day and immediately sensed a good feeling with the team and the car. My thanks to Giancarlo Fisichella, Paolo Coloni and Enrico Zanarini for putting their trust in me to compete in this extremely competitive series. I know the team from my early F3000 races when I competed with their car. I look forward to racing alongside Andy Zuber in the GP2 Main Series. I believe that with FMSI I will improve quickly and I hope to soon be challenging for point scoring positions and podiums on a regular basis. My intention is to take full advantage of the fact that I am racing in such an experienced team with an experienced teammate."
Paolo Coloni, Team Principal, FMSI: "Luiz is now with us and we have a dream team. We have the experience of Zuber and the young talent of Razia, a team principal could not ask for more. We have been following his progress in Euro 3000, and he has grown over two years to deserve a place in GP2. He has shown great speed in the GP2 Asia Series and we count on this to score lots of points in FMSI this year. Never in the history of our team in GP2 have we had such a strong driver combination."
Enrico Zanarini: "Welcome back Luiz, this is what I want to say. Razia did well with us in Euro 3000 two years ago and now to have him back with us in GP2 is a great joy. Our people around him may have changed, but at the test with our 2009 car his speed was the same. I am looking forward to seeing some more of his speed and his talent in this year's main series."