Dillmann returns; debut for Sergio Canamasas
Tom Dillmann has confirmed that he will be back behind the wheel of a GP2 Series car at Hockenheim this weekend for Rapax.
Dillmann was sidelined at Silverstone in preference for newcomer Dani?l de Jong in a move that seemed based on financial considerations. However, de Jong is also competing in the AutoGP World Series where he is currently in seventh place.
AutoGP has a conflicting round in Brazil this weekend that has forced the young Dutch driver to miss this weekend's GP2 race, with the team turning to Dillmann to make a quick return to the cockpit.
"Yes!! Today I got the news that I will be back in the Rapax car for Hockenheim!", Dillmann posted on Twitter on Wednesday.
De Jong is likely to return to the GP2 seat for rounds in Hungary, Belgium and Monza, but the series finales of both GP2 and AutoGP take place on the same weekend in September which may allow Dillmann to return for another outing before the end of the year.
Ocean Racing Technology's Victor Guerin and Venezuela GP Lazarus' Giancarlo Serenelli also do double duty between AutoGP and GP2, but both are understood to have opted to prioritise this week's GP2 Hockenheim round - despite the AutoGP event being a potential home race for Brazil's Guerin.
"I don't know the Hockenheim circuit, but I think that it will be easier to learn than the previous one and the weather conditions appear to be better," Guerin said in a team press release earlier in the week. "My goal is to find the same pace as in Monaco, when I was among the fastest in the race."
Meanwhile, Spain's Sergio Canamasas will be making his GP2 Series d?but this weekend after Venezuela GP Lazarus opted to give the 24-year-old Catalunyan a chance to show what he can deliver behind the wheel of the #18 car.
"I've been waiting all year for an opportunity to make my GP2 d?but and it has finally arrived," said Canamasas.
That means Canamasas will be taking over from the teams' regular lead driver Fabrizio Crestani, who has been unable to score any GP2 championship points since the very first feature race outing in Malaysia in March. The team's second driver - Venezuela's Giancarlo Serenelli - is yet to finish in the points in 2012 but brings in the lion's share of the team's sponsorship backing.
"Venezuela GP Lazarus has showed a lot of interest in having me to get the team back on the right track as it hadn't been achieving very good results, said Canamasas. "My 2011 season in Formula Renault 3.5 did not go unnoticed and I face this new chapter in my career with high hopes."
Canamasas finished in eighth position in 2011 with BVM-Target in his sophomore season in the Formula Renault 3.5 series, which included one pole position, two fastest laps and a third place in last July's outing at the Hungaroring.
It's not yet clear whether Canamasas' appearance is a one-off deal, or whether the Spaniard is now likely to remain in the race seat for the remainder of the season.
The Venezuela GP Lazarus team was a short-notice entry into the 2012 GP2 Series, when it signed up in February to replace Super Nova Racing after having spent two years competing in the AutoGP World Series.