The Lords of the Ring
The GP2 Series hits mid-season and returns to Nurburgring this weekend. The fifth round of the 2009 GP2 Series not only marks the return of the competition to the scenic and rural located Nurburgring, but also the mid-season of an eventful championship.
Last time the GP2 Series raced on this undulating track was in 2007 where German Champion Timo Glock and Spaniard Javier Villa both took race wins. After last round in Silverstone, Romain Grosjean took back the lead ahead of teammate Vitaly Petrov while both ART racers, Maldonado ahead of Hülkenberg, are now standing third and fourth, both on 26 points. The experienced Venezuelan is the only driver who has scored points at every race this season. But another GP2 hero, Lucas di Grassi, is now firmly back in the title hunt through a run of recent strong results in Turkey and Great Britain. The Brazilian is currently fifth in the Series, only two points behind the ART pair.
On the teams’ front, reigning champions Barwa Addax are still very much in control with a ninteen point advantage on French squad ART while Fat Burner Racing Engineering, DAMS and Super Nova are playing catch up. Still looking to score their first points this season, DPR and Trident Racing are welcoming respectively GP2 returnee Franck Perera and rookie Rodolfo Gonzalez.
Local hero Nico Hülkenberg is really looking forward to racing at his home track this weekend: “I really like this circuit. It flows very well and is extremely challenging with quick sections followed by slower ones. You have to adapt your driving style constantly. Although I will be racing in front of a familiar crowd, I do not feel extra pressure. To me, this is just another race, really. As per usual, I’m looking forward to performing to the highest level and hopefully take my first win. It’s within our reach. The weather forecast indicates that it should be rather cold and maybe wet so we will just have to adapt to the track conditions throughout the weekend.”
Schedule
Friday 10th July 11.55 – 12.25 Practice 15.55 – 16.25 Qualifying
11th July 16.00 Race 1
Sunday 12th July 10.30 Race 2
Complete results and Live Timing available on gp2series.com
