Engrossing tussle on the cards

Dubai: The difference between the cream of the drivers will be subtle as Dubai braces to host the two-day Dubai Grand Racing at the Dubai Autodrome on Friday and Saturday.

After four days of intensive testing, the GP2 Asia teams took a day's break yesterday before the serious business of championship racing that kicks off today.

The star of the GP2 Asia testing days was Frenchman Romain Grosjean of the ART Grand Prix team.

His team has championship pedigree as they powered Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton to GP2 titles in 2005 and 2006 respectively.

Also at the sharp end of proceedings throughout the tests were reigning champion team iSport International whose drivers Bruno Senna and Karun Chandhok were regularly among the pace setters.

Chandhok topped the time sheets on one occasion, while Senna kept Grosjean within striking distance throughout.

Top ten

And then, there is the newcomer, the Qi-Meritus. Mahara team who will be the one to watch due to their consistency.

The Malaysia-based team's two drivers Luca Filippi and Hiroki Yoshimoto have been impressive with their approach and enthusiasm.

Others to watch are Jérôme d'Ambrosio (DAMS), Andy Soucek (DPR), Marco Bonanomi (Piquet Sports), Sébastien Buemi (Trust Team Arden) and Adrian Valles (FMS International).

The competition has been so close during testing that the top ten driver's lap times have been within one second.

"It's completely different in GP2.

"In F1 it is more about thinking about the prize money and all that sort of stuff.

"But in GP2 racing it is about proving that you are good enough so that you can venture into F1 racing," observed Filippi.

Also on offer this weekend will be the Speedcar Series which will feature former Formula One greats such as Jean Alesi, Johnny Herbert, Gianni Morbidelli and Stefan Johansson along with a host of up and coming drivers such as Matthias Lauda, Narain Karthikeyan, Moreno Soepaptro, Nicolas Navarro and the UAE's Shaikh Hasher Al Maktoum.

On the support bill will be the Lumina CSV Middle East Championship for the third round of the series.

Also featuring is the Gulf Radical Cup, fast and furious Le Mans style cars, will also feature on the weekend's action packed bill with the likes of Bassam Kronfli, Maurits Knopjes and local hero Omran Al Owais.

Dubai Grand Racing

Today:

• (8.30-9 am) GP2 Asia practice
• (9.30-10.30 am) Speedcar practice
• (11-11.30 am) GP2 Asia qualifying
• (12-12.30 pm) Speedcar qualifying
• (1.30 pm) Race 1 Speedcar Series
• (2.40-3 pm) Gulf Radical Cup qualifying
• (3.30 pm) GP 2 Asia Race 1 (75mins) 42 laps
• (5.10 pm) Lumina qualifying

Tomorrow:

• (9 am) Gulf Radical Cup - Race 1
• (10.35 am) Lumina CSV Championship ME - Race 1
• (11.30 am) Gulf Radical Cup - Race 2
• (12 noon) F1 Theme Park Presentation on Start/Finish straight
• (1 pm) GP 2 Asia - Race 2 (45mins) 28 laps
• (3 pm) Speedcar Series - Race 2
• (4.20 pm) Lumina CSV Championship ME - Race 2.