2007 Bahrain Sprint Race

The 2007 Bahrain Sprint Race, otherwise known as the 2007 Bahrain GP2 Series Race 2, was the second race of the 2007 FIA GP2 Series, staged at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Southern Governorate, Bahrain on 15 April 2007. The race would see Nicolas Lapierre claim his maiden victory, a triumph that also restored DAMS to the winner's circle for the first time since 2005.

Lapierre would line up in second on the grid, as the reverse grid rule placed Borja García on pole ahead of the Frenchman. In contrast, Feature winner Luca Filippi would start from eighth, with the rest of the field below the top eight in the order that they had finished the opening race.

García duly converted pole into the lead at the start of the race, although Lapierre remained close enough that he could snatch the lead with a cut-back manoeuvre into turn three. That move proved to be very well timed, as moments afterwards a Safety Car was scrambled due to an accident at the first corner.

Indeed, in the wake of the duel for the lead a fast starting Andreas Zuber had lunged at Lucas di Grassi into turn one, only to hit the back of the Brazilian racer. The two out of control cars duly collected Christian Bakkerud, Bruno Senna and Adrian Zaugg on their way off the circuit, with Zuber, di Grassi and Bakkerud ending up with heavy damage.

After two laps behind the SC the race resumed, with Lapierre darting away from García, although they had barely got through the first half a lap before the SC was deployed for a second time. Indeed, moments before the restart Antônio Pizzonia had managed to slam into the back of Giorgio Pantano, damaging his car, while Ho-Pin Tung was taken out by Kazuki Nakajima when the pair tried to avoid the limping Brazilian.

Another two laps behind the SC would pass before the race finally got fully underway, with Lapierre again easing into the lead, while Filippi attacked García for second. The Italian duly elbowed his way past the Spaniard a lap later, while behind Timo Glock forced his way past Andy Soucek to secure fourth.

Glock was the man to watch from that moment on, with the German racer duly firing past García, before snatching second from Filippi shortly before half distance. However, that was as far as his charge would get, with Lapierre able to keep Glock at arm's length, as behind Pantano pulled of a stunning double move on Karun Chandhok and Nakajima to claim ninth.

Indeed, the rest of the race would be about the fighting in the lower end of the top ten, with Lapierre able to sweep across the line unopposed to claim his maiden triumph. Glock was a second and a half behind, well clear of Filippi, while García had enough in hand to hold fourth from Mike Conway, who had climbed up from 24th on the grid. Nakajima then claimed the final point in sixth, after Pantano was forced to retire due to the damage he sustained earlier in the race.

Background
There were no changes required to the Bahrain International Circuit overnight, with the GP2 field likewise unchanged after the Feature Race. As a result, Borja García would start from pole position after finishing in eighth in the Feature, while Feature winner Luca Filippi started from eighth.

Filippi Fun
Luca Filippi ended the opening day of the season atop the Championship hunt, the Italian racer having claimed twelve points for taking pole and victory in the first race of the campaign. Timo Glock was next up in second, four off the early leader, with Andreas Zuber next up in third on six points. Bruno Senna, Lucas di Grassi, Adrian Zaugg, Nicolas Lapierre, Borja García and Kazuki Nakajima claimed the remaining points.

In the Teams' Championship it was iSport International who led the way on the opening day, a double podium ensuring they led the charge after one race. Super Nova Racing hence had to settle for second despite claiming victory on the opening day, two off the lead, while Arden International, ART Grand Prix, DAMS and Durango Corse were the other early scorers.

Entry List
The full entry list for the is displayed below:

Grid
The grid for the Sprint Race was formed from the finishing positions from the Feature Race, with the top eight reversed as per-FIA GP2 Series rules:

Results
The final classification of the is displayed below:
 * Bold indicates a driver started from pole.
 * Italics indicate that a driver set fastest lap.

Milestones

 * Debut race for Pastor Maldonado.
 * Maiden victory for Nicolas Lapierre.
 * DAMS secured their second victory as an entrant in the GP2 Series.
 * Mike Conway secured his maiden points finish.

Standings
A victory and a podium at the opening round of the campaign would leave Luca Filippi at the head of the early Championship table, the Italian racer holding sixteen points after two races. Timo Glock was his closest challenger after two second places, two points behind, while Nicolas Lapierre rounded out the top three with eight points. Andreas Zuber and Bruno Senna then completed the top five, with ten drivers on the score sheet after the opening bouts of the campaign.

In the Teams' Championship iSport International rounded out the opening weekend with the lead, holding 20 points after two strong races. Super Nova Racing were their closest challengers in second, two behind, while DAMS were up to third after their first triumph in over a season. Arden International were next up in fourth ahead of Durango, while defending Champions ART Grand Prix had slipped to sixth.

Only point scoring drivers and teams are shown.