Dave Price's DPR outfit was among those to suffer most in the early part of 2005, leading to the departure of Britain's Ryan Sharp, but gradually picked itself up and eventually ran away with two sprint race wins courtesy of Olivier Pla. The Frenchman remains on board for the coming campaign, having been rumoured to have signed a deal even before last year had ended, and will be joined by Monaco's Clivio Piccione, who raced last season with Durango. Common backer Direxiv - another with
F1 ambitions - becomes part of the team's new title as Price seeks to relive some of the squad's 30-year highs.
With Monfardini and Piccione moving on to pastures new, and Bruni's stay only lasting two meetings, Durango has also been forced to bring in new talent, eventually plumping for second year man Sergio Garcia and F3 graduate Lucas di Grassi.
Hernandez's arrival took many by surprise, as GP2 watchers eagerly tipped Garcia to find a home with Ivone Pinton's squad, but the Spaniard has a chance to build on a learning year with Campos Racing in 2005. di Grassi's signature was not so shocking, however, the Brazilian having shown well in testing either side of his 2005 Macau F3 triumph. Still on the pace in 2006 pre-season sessions, he could join the list of contenders sooner rather than later.
Campos Racing was last season's underdog, stepping up from F3 with two relative unknowns and only occasionally threatening the points. This season, however, team boss Adrian Campos has raised his sights, despite having taken on not one, but two, GP2 rookies.
Adrian Valles and Felix Porteiro come with good pedigrees, however, having both been winners in the World Series by Renault and Valles, in particular, showing well in pre-season testing. The two Spaniards may not have featured on too many radars outside of their homeland, but could make waves this year.
