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25 MARCH 2008 GP2 SERIES Season Preview Faster sleeker better GP2’s new car and drivers get set for the 2008 season GP2 SERIES traVel tips UNDER THE SKIN GP2 ASIA ROUND-UP LAUNCH EDITION SPAIN AND TURKEY INSIDE THE NEW GP2/08 CAR ROMAIN GROSJEAN WINS THE TITLE GP2 SERIES SEASON PREVIEW Q&A New horizons for GP2 GP2 ASIA SEASON REVIEW With ART Grand Prix’s Romain Grosjean now crowned as the first GP2 Asia title New Asian champ predicts Bruno winner, the focus turns to the start of the 2008 GP2 Series in Barcelona, Spain Michel The GP2 Series boss looks tough fight for GP2 Series back on a successful first Nothing stands still in motorsport – certainly not and did plenty of winning. In Grosjean, GP2 Asia has Newly crowned inaugural GP2 Asia champion GP2 Asia season, and looks ART Grand Prix’s Romain Grosjean, who clinched produced a worthy champion who joins the crop of Romain Grosjean has said he’s not expecting ahead to the start of the the inaugural GP2 Asia crown in dominant fashion drivers hoping to win the next GP2 crown and follow an easy ride to the GP2 Series title, despite GP2 Series campaign this month. But, even as the French ace celebrated in the wake of former champions and F1 graduates having secured the Asian crown two races his title in Bahrain, he’ll have been looking ahead to Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton and Timo Glock. 13 before the end of the season. So, we’ve come to the end of teams taking the start of the GP2 Series in Barcelona this weekend The French ace – who is Renault’s official F1 the first GP2 Asia season. How part in this – a season which promises plenty of intrigue thanks to New GP2 car for the 2008 title hopefuls test driver – will stick with ART Grand Prix as he do you think it has gone? season’s an influx of new drivers, the debut of a new car and a Awaiting the 13 teams and 26 drivers who make up GP2 Series continues his rookie GP2 year. However, he says When you launch something new, new circuit in the form of the Valencia street race. this year’s grid are a number of exciting challenges – that the wealth of quality drivers in the GP2 Series you never know if it’s going to work most notably the introduction of an all-new GP2/08 in 2008 will make winning the title a tough task. or not. Even a few months before GP2 Asia proves to be a huge success car. Designed to be closer than ever to F1 design “I always said GP2 Asia was the best way to the start of the season, it was hard The Middle-Eastern and South East Asian-based and performance, it’s faster, sleeker and better, but learn about the GP2 Series,” Grosjean explains. to find drivers, especially Asian GP2 Asia – aimed at taking the GP2 concept still provides a level playing field in which the next “My performance surprised people, but I’m lucky BUEMI CLINCHES SECOND ones. But, in the end, we had nine to emerging motorsport countries, and helping generation of F1 talent can hone their talent and 26 to be part of a good team that I know well from the Trust Team Arden’s Sebastien Buemi took Asian drivers. This was important, expose their future driving stars – has proved a show their skills. Predicting who will ultimately win GP2 drivers, Formula 3 Euroseries. We work well together. second place in the GP2 Asia drivers’ points as developing young drivers and huge success in its first year. Drivers from outside the championship is anyone’s guess, but one things representing “The GP2 Series will be a different environment. at the final race of the season in Dubai. promoting GP2 in Asia was the Formula 1’s traditional proving grounds of Europe is clear from the level of competition that we’ve seen 18 different I’ll be a rookie again, with a lot to learn – starting The Swiss ace closed in on Barwa main purpose of this series. and South America made up the bulk of the grid, in GP2 Asia: we’re in for a great year! countries with developing the new car and learning new International Campos Team driver Vitaly tracks. For the title, I think that I’m more of an Petrov in the standings with second place What about next year? Will we outsider. Andreas Zuber, Pastor Maldonado, in the feature race. The Russian then retired see any changes or new tracks? my team-mate Luca Filippi or Giorgio Pantano from the sprint with a fuel pressure failure, In terms of regulations, I don’t think – they’re really the men to beat. They have the allowing Buemi to clinch the runner-up spot. there will be any changes. New experience. I’m here to spice things up a little.” ART Grand Prix took the teams’ trophy, circuits? Of course. As F1 goes to 10 with Trust Team Arden finishing second. new circuits, so will we. We need rounds, with to be careful not to adopt too a total of 20 many races, though, for cost and races making logistics. The idea behind GP2 Asia up the season 2 Ben Hanley’s Indonesian express. was that GP2 teams could race in moments The Barwa International Campos driver both series without problems. motored from 18th place to third on his that made debut in the Indonesian feature race. “It Who has impressed you in Asia? GP2 Asia great was a horrid race for 90 per cent of the We’ve had a lot of great races, but 5 drivers,” Hanley said. “But great for me.” Romain Grosjean, in particular, is 8 As far as first seasons go, you can’t get showing that he is capable of former GP2 much better than GP2 Asia’s inaugural 3 Fairuz Fauzy’s near-home victory. doing great things in the future. race winners, One for the family as Super Nova Racing’s and six GP2 year. 10 races in four countries, a total returnees of six race winners, 13 drivers on the Malaysian star scorched to victory in the What about the Asian drivers? podium, five fastest lap setters and Indonesian sprint race. “To have my wife, my GP2 Asia proved that we can find seven different pole sitters. Here are new son and parents all cheering me on the strong drivers from this part of the our five favourite moments of 2008... podium was fantastic,” Fauzy explained. world. Kamui Kobayashi from Japan won races, and Fairuz Fauzy from 1 Romain Grosjean’s double in Dubai. 4 Kamui Kobayashi’s double sprint win. Malaysia also did very well. 10 ART Grand Prix’s French rookie grabbed the In the Malaysian sprint race, the Dams new graduates GP2 Asia headlines with a record-setting ace became the first Japanese driver to The new GP2 Series is almost from GP2 Asia and double win in the season opener. “All in all, win in GP2. He backed it up with a victory here. How excited are you two newcomers it was an amazing start to the year,” he said. in Bahrain. “It was great to win on two F1 about the season ahead? joining the grid tracks, and in front of the F1 teams,” he said. Very excited. The new GP2/08 car looks very promising, especially next 5 F1’s next generation podium? to the outgoing car, and I’m sure The feature race podium at the F1 support we’ll have some great racing. We’ve event in Bahrain was made up of Romain seen amazing times in the tests, and Grosjean, Sebastien Buemi and Kamui since the teams haven’t been able to For all the latest news log on to: Kobayashi – all F1 test drivers. Was this do a lot of set-up work, it will make WWW.gp2SERIES.COM F1’s first glimpse of its future stars? things interesting through the year. 02 2008 GP2 Series Season Preview 2008 GP2 Series Season Preview 03 GP2 SERIES SEASON PREVIEW With everyone starting from a clean sheet with the GP2/08, the ability of drivers to work well with their engineers CAR TECH GUIDE UNDER THE SKIN OF THE GP2/08 CAR could be a deciding factor in this year’s New GP2/08 offers GP2 title fight pleasure... and pain ENGINE TYRES/WHEELS 4.0-litre Renault Mecachrome V8. The drivers lining up for this year’s GP2 Series reckon that switching to the Bridgestone F1-sized 600bhp at 10,000rpm rev limit. new, faster GP2/08 car for 2008 could be a pain in the neck – quite literally! slicks, available in three 345 lb ft of torque at 8000rpm. The sleeker, more modern Dallara-designed chassis has more mechanical and dry compounds and Magnetti Marelli ECU, including aerodynamic grip than the outgoing car. This means faster lap times and more one wet compound. data logging. thrills for the drivers, but also higher cornering speeds and more work at the OZ magnesium rims. 0-100km/h 2.9 sec wheel. Expect a few fatigued muscles – especially on the neck, which takes 0-200km/h 6.6 sec SUSPENSION the brunt of the g-loading – at the end of the long Saturday feature race. Max. speed 328km/h Adjustable two- and Barwa International Campos driver Vitaly Petrov – at 180cm and 80kg – could four-way Koni dampers, bench press GP2’s more petite drivers, but even he noticed the demands of the torsion bars, anti-roll new car.

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