Edoardo Piscopo made a promising start to his fledgling GP2 career in the 2009/10 Asia Series finale on the F1 support package in Abu Dhabi last weekend – just missing out on the points in race two after demonstrating stunning form during practice.

The Italian – who has been competing in the new FIA Formula Two Championship this year after finishing as runner-up in the Italian F3 Championship in 2008 – set a brilliant fifth-fastest lap time in practice in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and went on to qualify eleventh for DAMS.

After finishing ninth in race one around the Yas Marina street circuit – battling energetically with Oliver Turvey and Roldan Rodriguez along the way – Piscopo subsequently improved by a further two spots in the second encounter, on both occasions narrowly missing out on making the points on his maiden appearance by a scant half a second. All-in-all, an encouraging start for a 'rookie'.

“I'm really satisfied with how my first GP2 Series weekend went,” the 21-year-old mused afterwards. “The car is absolutely great, and there's still good room for improvement. I'm definitely looking forward to the next race, scheduled for February. It's quite some time from now, and we'll have to stay focused to prepare at our best.”