iSport International is another squad where 'all change' has been the order of the day. Out go
Scott Speed, to
F1 with
Scuderia Toro Rosso, and Can Artam, to occasional sportscar rides, and in come the altogether more balanced pairing of Ernesto Viso and Tristan Gommendy, both of whom have shown well of late in testing.
Viso's speed is seldom in doubt, the Venezuelan having dominated the timesheets pre-season in 2005, only to fall foul of the series' reliability woes for much of the year. He has been back on the pace during this year's build-up, and should feature strongly from the start. Gommendy, meanwhile, is gradually adjusting to GP2 having resurrected his career in last year's World Series by Renault, and has begun to nudge the top five as the first race gets closer. Paul Jackson's team proved to be the nearly men of 2005, with Speed claiming podiums rather than race wins, but that could change if his pairing clicks this season.
Carroll's arrival at Racing Engineering coincided with that of respected F1 engineer Gary Anderson, and should help Alfonso de Orleans Borbon's squad build on the start to its GP2 career that Neel Jani provided in 2005. Although the Swiss driver won only once, and frequently complained of brake problems, Racing Engineering could be relied upon to be a factor in most races, with Borja Garcia improving as the year went on. Both Jani and Garcia are gone for 2006, with Carroll being joined by the latter's successor as graduate from Spanish F3, Javier Villa. The teenager has yet to show the sort of pace to worry the frontrunners, but this is seen as a learning year while the team concentrates on trying to get his Irish team-mate to the top of the podium.
