Filippi and Rossi ready for the second week-end of GP2 Asia

One more day of tuning at Yas Marina circuit before the second showing of the 2010 GP2 Asia Series cars with warm up for free practice followed by 30 minutes of qualifying at 8h30PM on Thursday 4th. The first race is the night feature race which starts at 6h00PM on the 5th followed by the night sprint race starting at 6PM on the 6th February. The Asian motorsport ambassadors ’MalaysiaQI-MeritusMaharaGP.com’ represent a strong link between two worlds with similar cultures: the Asian world, as the Malaysia national team and the Arab world through the team’s Saudi partner, Chairman Raad S. Abduljawad. The team is confident it can rank among the top teams with top driving talents in Luca Filippi (Italy) and Alexander Rossi (USA) who aim to race fast to deliver the team’s goals. The pair form a strong and explosive driver lineup for the Meritus-GP team at Yas Island.

In the first race of the season, support the Abu Dhabi GP (November 2009), Italian Luca Filippi finished second having lead a very strong race. He could have won if he did not encounter problems with the tyre wear. He scored the first eight points of the season for the team.

Peter Thompson, President and team founder commented, "MalaysiaQI-MeritusMaharaGP.com is really proud to be coming to Dhabi with a good track experience from race 1. The determination of Luca Filippi is remarkable. The team will give the drivers every tool they need to fight for the championship. We are very focused and want to be on highest step of the podium for this event.

The circuit suits our cars and they should be reliable now that we have corrected the tire wear problems in the last event."

Luca Filippi added, "I am happy to be back in Abu Dhabi, one of my two favorite racing tracks. It won’t be an easy race but I like this circuit and its challenges. I will do my best to use my track knowledge to repeat my good results from the first event at Yas Island pushing hard to make to win. I would like very much to gain points in the championship before our next event in Bahrain. The team worked very hard over the winter in preparation for this event and I will look forward to give the team another podium finish."

Alexander Rossi comments: "I like Abu Dhabi and got a good result in my first outing there last November. It is a great track and I hope to bring in some points for my first race with MalaysiaQI-MeritusMaharaGP.com. The first sector is pretty fast and sector 3 under the hotel is like a street course with the wall very close like in a city race. I will try to make up times in the pit stops or in the slowest sections. What I really like with the team apart from the technology is the mental dynamic that merges the different cultures of the countries where we race. It is a new experience for me, one that I fully enjoy. Let’s go racing now!"

The season begun on October 30-November 1, 2009 at the new jewel of motorsports built by a Malaysian corporation in Abu Dhabi. The Yas Marina Circuit inaugural event was the 2009 Etihad F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and the Meritus-GP2 team with Italian driver Luca Filippi scored the team’s best result to date with a second place podium. The season will continue for the third round on February 25-27, 2010 at the Sakhir circuit in Bahrain with the last stop is planned for March 12-14, 2010 for the Bahrain Grand Prix.

The Yas Marina Circuit is 5.491 Km long track and is located on Yas Island. With the blue color it will be one of a kind, and is meant to have a number of impressive innovative features, including a five star hotel, the Yas Marina hotel. The track runs counter clockwise and features long straights leading into tight corners and a series of fast corners that contribute to average lap speeds approaching 200kph giving the track a Monaco type of style.