Hartley replaces Mirocha for Spa

The traditional summer break is coming to a close, and Ocean Racing Technology, the Portuguese GP2 Series team returns to its sporting activities this weekend on Belgium’s legendary Spa-Francorchamps track. Johnny Cecotto Jr will have a new teammate for the occasion, as Brendon Hartley will be replacing Kevin Mirocha.

Johnny Cecotto is optimistic for this meeting on his favorite circuit, which he hopes to make coincide with his first meeting with points. "It is an extraordinary circuit that I always adapt well to. I especially love its fast corners. We were not lucky in the last few races but I really think that the conditions have come together so that we can fight for a spot on the podium," declared the young Venezuelan driver.

A former Red Bull and Toro Rosso test driver, Brendon Hartley gladly agreed to take up the challenge handed to him by Ocean Racing Technology and hopes to have some great races in his return to the GP2 Series.

"I am very enthusiastic and happy about the chance I have been given," declared the New Zealander, "Last year I took part in two meetings of the championship but I think that the main difference is in the tyres. The team is very professional and I know I can count on the engineers to help me best handle this adaptation. I know the Spa track well and my objective is to be competitive there."

Gravity Sport Management, Brandon Hartley’s career management team, feels that this opportunity is extremely important. "We would like to thank Ocean, and especially Tiago Monteiro and Jose Guedes, for this invitation. We have confidence in Brendon to be able to convert this opportunity into good performance, and that he will seize the chance to show what he is capable of, and also that he deserves a place at the highest level."

Tiago Monteiro and Jose Guedes analyzed all the working hypotheses and explained, "We opted for the best solution. Brendon already knows our team because he drove with us last winter. He is an experienced driver, he’s fast, and he is very mature thanks to his experience in F1. We had other alternatives but we have been following Brendon’s career very closely and we wanted to give him this opportunity."