After a miserable season in 2006, Super Nova returned to the top of the GP2 Series podium as Luca Filippi converted pole position into a maiden class win at the season-opener in Bahrain.
The Italian made a slow getaway but managed to hold off a fast-starting
Timo Glock into the first corner, with Andreas Zuber holding his third spot. The biggest loser was front row man Xandi Negrao, who received a hefty clout from Glock into the corner and dropped back to the lower reaches of the top ten.
There was further incident in a hectic opening spell, with Antonio Pizzonia vaulting a kerb and both Christian Bakkerud and Nicolas Lapierre having moments, but the talking points had begun even before the lights went out, with several cars not taking the start after stalling during tweo attempts to form up the grid. Among them, pre-season favourite Giorgio Pantano was wheeled into the pit-lane and, along with Trident's Pastor Maldonado, took no further part in the race.
As the field sorted itself out after the opening few corners, Bruno Senna found himself in fourth, with Lucas di Grassi, Adrian Zaugg, Borja Garcia and Michael Ammermuller filling the early point positions. Roldan Rodriguez and Mike Conway added to the retirement list on lap two, the Spaniard retiring in a cloud of engine smoke after an excursion, while Pizzonia continued to be wayward as he struggled to get back into contention.
The order remained largely unchanged until the pit-stops began to take full effect, with most of the frontrunners waiting until around one-third distance to make their compulsary tyre changes. Filippi was left out front after most of those behind him ducked out around lap twelve, pitting himself the next time around to hand rookie Christian Bakkerud the advantage. The Dane had started at the very back of the field after a miserable qualifying for the DPR team, but made the most of his moment of glory by holding the lead for a further seven laps, before eventually handing back to Filippi, who had held his position at the head of the stoppers.
