The  GP2  Series  prepares  for  the  third  round  of  the  2009  championship  in  Turkey  this weekend

This weekend, the GP2 paddock gathers in Turkey for the third round of the 2009 championship at Istanbul  Park,  the  only  anti  clockwise  circuit  of  the  season. 

After  two  rounds,  the  reigning champions Barwa Addax Team are dominating the series with 49 points scored, including two wins and two podiums, ahead of French squads Dams and ART Grand Prix. Three drivers have claimed wins so far this season in Barcelona and Monte Carlo, Telmex Arden’s Edoardo Mortara being the only  rookie  to  have  done  so,  while  Dams’  Jérôme  d’Ambrosio  snatched  three  podium  finishes already. 

Winning  his  first  GP2  race  in  2007  in  Turkey,  Lucas  di  Grassi  is  looking  forward  to  this weekend:  after  a  slightly  difficult  start  of  the  season  at  the  wheel  of  his  Fat  Burner  Racing Engineering car, the competitive Brazilian’s goal will be to repeat his team’s last year success on this track.

However, in order to do so, he will have to beat the man who has impressed the most since the opening round of the season: Championship leader Romain Grosjean. The Frenchman is happy to be back in Turkey where he scored his first GP2 win last year:

“Istanbul is a very nice track and one  of  my  favourites  actually.  Although  a  new  track,  it  still  has  the  old  spirit  of  fast,  challenging corners  and  lots  of  elevation  changes.” 

 He  added:  “Of  course,  when  you  have  won  at  a  certain track, you have great memories and always look forward to going back and repeat said success. However,  this  is  a  very  difficult  track,  especially  for  the  tyres  with  the  really  long,  fast  and challenging  left-hand  corner.  It’s  a  high-speed  track  with  heavy  braking  zones.  We  will  have  to manage  our  tyres  very  carefully,  especially  if  the track temperatures are high.”

The current great form of his team, Barwa Addax, gives him great confidence for the round to come: “Yes, we are doing really well at the moment, but this doesn’t mean that we should stop pushing. We will try to keep  the  same  level  from  Barcelona  and  Monaco  and  for  that,  we  have  been  working  hard.” Grosjean concluded: “We’ll see how we do in Turkey, but our goal is to not lose points.”

Schedule

 Friday 5th June 12.00 – 12.30 Practice 16.00 – 16.30 Qualifying

Saturday 6th June 16.00 Race 1

Sunday 7th June 11.30 Race 2