Luca Filippi has revealed that team principal Gianfranco Bielli 'convinced' him to sign for the newly formed Malaysian Qi-Meritus.Mahara outfit for the inaugural GP2 Asia Series.
Filippi, who has also got a deal to compete in the 'summer' GP2 Series with ART Grand Prix, is hopeful that his experience in GP2 in 2006 and 2007 will help the squad do well in the five-event championship.
"Gianfranco Bielli convinced me to start the new season with such a strong team," confirmed the Italian, who took bronze in the 'regular' GP2 Series in '07.
"He gave me plenty of confidence. I hope that my experience from GP2 in Europe will be valuable for the new team and will help us make quick progress.
"I'm looking forward to working with my team-mate Hiroki [Yoshimoto] again and the rest of the team engineers that Gianfranco has assembled. The plan is to have a very successful first season competing in GP2 Asia."
Yoshimoto meanwhile is also hopeful the team can do well: “I'm extremely excited about driving for the second time for Team Qi-Meritus.Mahara in the new GP2 Asia series,” he added.
"I've been working hard to be competitive and am looking forward to sharing my experience with the team.
"I'd like to thank Peter Thompson [president and team founder] and Qi for giving me such a great opportunity. I am confident that together we can fight for wins in GP2 Asia."
![Luca Filippi - Super Nova International [pic credit: GP2 media]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/344596.jpg)
