Gp2 2010

[Ajay]

The 2010 GP2 Series finale will take place in support of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the Yas Marina circuit in November.

The championship's calendar and teams' entry list for next season were announced today, with the opening round once again taking place in support of the Spanish Grand Prix at Barcelona.

F1 support races in Monaco and Turkey follow before a standalone GP2 race at the Portimao circuit in Portugal in June. GP2 will then rejoin the F1 schedule for its remaining seven rounds, concluding in Abu Dhabi.

The grid will drop to 24 cars next year, following the Durango team's recent announcement that it will not contest the 2010 season.

The two pre-season tests will take place at Paul Ricard on March 23-25 and Barcelona on April 7-9.

"I am very pleased to have 11 rounds next year," said GP2 boss Bruno Michel. "We will have 10 events alongside Formula 1; that's one more than in 2009, and ending the season in Abu Dhabi is fantastic.

"I can also reveal today that the 2010 grid is almost complete. The list of drivers for next season is made of a lot of new names and it will be very interesting to follow these promising young guns.

"Looking at the Formula 1 grid for next year, one can only be impressed by the number of GP2 graduates who will be competing in the 2010 championship."

2010 GP2 calendar
May 8-9 Barcelona
May 14-15 Monte Carlo
May 29-30 Istanbul
June 19-20 Portimao
June 26-27 Valencia
July 10-11 Silverstone
July 24-25 Hockenheim
July 31-August 1 Hungaroring
August 28-29 Spa
September 11-12 Monza
November 13-14 Abu Dhabi





Wonder what that means for GP2 Asia, given that one of its two venues (and its first round) is now in the main series.

[Pedersen]

Marcus Ericsson and Josef Kral has signed for Super Nova according to swedish newspaper.

[Ajay]

Renault's d'Ambrosio, Tung join DAMS

Jerome d'Ambrosio and Ho-Pin Tung will race for DAMS in GP2 this year in Renault F1-liveried cars.

The pair were announced as Renault test drivers, along with Jan Charouz, on Sunday and will race for the French team formerly run by new Renault team boss Eric Boullier.

D'Ambrosio has raced for DAMS for the last two seasons, while Tung returns to GP2 after a year in Superleague in 2009. He previously raced in GP2 for Trident and BCN.

"I have three goals in mind," said d'Ambrosio. "The first is to win the GP2 title because after two seasons I feel ready to achieve this.

"The second is to maximise the opportunity Renault has given to me to learn, observe and develop. My final objective will be to demonstrate my ability so that I can take another step forward in 2011 and hopefully take my place on the grid."

[Ajay]

Racing Engineering has completed its driver line-up for the 2010 season, with Christian Vietoris joining Dani Clos and at the Spanish squad.

Spaniard Clos had already raced for the team in 2009 and has been retained for another season.

Vietoris joins the team from DAMS, where the German is currently competing in the GP2 Asia series. The 20-year-old lies eighth with nine points scored from one win in Abu Dhabi.

"We are very happy with our 2010 line-up," said team boss Alfonso de Orleans. "Dani's ascending learning curve during 2009 and the fact that he continues working in a known environment, put him in a position where he can go for the title.

"Christian, on the other hand, has tremendous talent and is extremely professional given his age. Although being a rookie, I am sure he will fight for a win quickly. Our ultimate goal obviously, has to be to win the drivers championship, like in 2008, and I think both could go for it.

"Winning a championship title is never easy and definitely not in GP2, but given their speed and professional approaches, I wouldn't want to bet against them. We will know at the last race of the season, since both have the ability to pull it off.

"Once again, we have a great technical team to back up our drivers and we hope to continue to provide them with the most reliable cars on the grid like in previous seasons."

[Ajay]

This is the entry list for the next test session.

[Pedersen]

Wooo hooo!! Marcus Ericsson! He finally won a race!