24/07/2006
NEWS STORY
As a consequence of the failure of the Direxiv Motorsport company to meet its contractual obligations to DPR, the British team will feature a new driver line up from this weekend's race in Hockenheim until the end of the GP2 season.
Of the two Direxiv-sponsored drivers, Clivio Piccione has made alternative sponsorship arrangements and will remain with the team, but Olivier Pla will be replaced by Russian Vitaly Petrov.
The 21-year-old 2005 Russian F1600 Champion, who is currently lying 4th in the Euroseries 3000 Championship, comes to GP2 with two Euroseries victories under his belt – the most recent being this past weekend at Mugello.
DPR had some very encouraging results prior to the mid-season summer break, including a 4th and a podium placing for Piccione, plus a very positive test session at Paul Ricard at the end of June.