April 02, 2009
Published on tags: Superleague
The GPVWC arrives in Shanghai for the Chinese Grand Prix, round 2 of the 2009 Superleague, on the wings of a highly exciting, high-octane season opener in Melbourne.

Pundits and fans alike are expectantly waiting what promises to be an even hotter contest between the league's best drivers - some of them looking to forget the disappointment of the opening race.

Janne Tanskanen saw victory slip away from his grasp with a few hundred yards left to go in Australia, and will surely be out to prove the world the top step of the podium is where he should have been - but he will not be the only one who will lay claims on the biggest prize. Mark Wicks and Joe Consiglio, indeed, will hope to stay out of trouble at the start and make sure they can come back home with some valuable points - if not a win.

But Shanghai will not only be about drivers trying to avenge the disappointment of the Australian Grand Prix. It will be an occasion for some, like Platform Michelangelo's Jeroen Jansen, to open their account in this year's championship. Judging by the times the Dutch ace has been setting in private testing, Jansen should be in with a very realisting claim for the win come the end of the race, which will also be the first appearance for his team (in 2009), and for new signing Neil Peters.

With rumours of Jyri Lylykorpi coming back to the fold for Round 3, thanks to earlier race times, Mark Stanton will need to put in a good display to impress Evans Blue Racing manager Makke-Ala Kaljstaja (or, potentially, to showcase his great skills to other teams in need of a driver).

Likewise, the Allen GP duo of William Ponissi and Chris Allen will hope in a good showing, hoping their Mercedes power-plants will keep it together after last week's spectacular simultaneous failure.

The Toyota-powered teams, Phoenix and D.O.R. - which in Melbourne were highly tipped for pulling out in smoke and instead both went into the points with masterful displays of driving by Mark Fuller and Nikos Evangelidakis - expect to struggle on the long straights of the Chinese track. However, as Melbourne taught us, the consistency of their drivers might be the weapon bringing points to these two young outfits. Consistency will surely be a point that Mal McKee and Philip Cullen will try to hammer out for this race, after a somewhat disappointing Melbourne weekend that ended far to early for the Synergetic duo.

With Gear F1's pair of Ciro Di Rosa and Mike Pitman looking forward to use their powerful Ferrari engines on the straights, and both CRC's of Roberto Luis and Roberto Walter Conde hoping to open their points account, the Chinese Grand Prix has something to offer to everyone.

In the end, however, only the top-8 will come home with something, while the big prize will just be for the fastest.

Race Timetable:

19:30 BST - Official Briefing (30 minutes)

20:00 BST - Free Practice (30 minutes)

20:30 BST - Qualifying (20 minutes)

20:50 BST - Warm-Up / Break (10 minutes)

21:00 BST - Race

22:00 BST - Press Conference

IMPORTANT:

Please remember to download the V.3.2 Update of the Mod before the race!