2006 Magny-Cours Feature Race

The 2006 Magny-Cours Feature Race, otherwise known as the 2006 Magny-Cours GP2 Series Race 1, was the twelfth race of the 2006 FIA GP2 Series, staged at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours in Magny-Cours, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France, on 15 July 2006. The race, held in support of the XCII Grand Prix de France, would see Timo Glock claim his maiden GP2 triumph as Championship leader Lewis Hamilton punted himself out of contention.

Qualifying had seen another driver claim their first triumph, as José María López swept to his first pole position in the series, having topped a two day test at Circuit Paul Ricard in the build-up to the race. Glock would start alongside the Argentine in second, Hamilton would claim fourth behind Giorgio Pantano, while Nelson Piquet Jr. and Adam Carroll shared the third row.

López would translate pole into a lead when the lights went out at the start, streaking into an early advantage ahead of another fast starter in Pantano. Glock was next up ahead of Alexandre Prémat after he made a stunning start, while Carroll jumped Piquet and Hamilton to claim fifth.

Hamilton, in a bid to make up for his poor start, would throw a lunge at Carroll into Adelaide, only to punt the back of his compatriot and break his own front wing. Both would hence have to limp back to the pits for repairs as, out front, Glock stormed back past Pantano, before engaging López for the lead.

As the fight for the lead evolved, Piquet would take the opportunity to make his stop, becoming the first of the leaders to pit on lap seven. López would resist Glock a further three laps before making his stop, although a poor stop saw him slip behind Piquet as well as fellow stoppers Pantano and Prémat.

Glock, meanwhile, would stay out a lap longer, and would just manage to scramble out of the pits ahead of the rapid Piquet. That left Lucas di Grassi at the head of the field, the Brazilian racer one of three drivers alongside Alexandre Negrão and Olivier Pla to gamble on a long first stint.

Indeed, those three would have a major part to play in the outcome of the race before their stops, for Glock was able to pass Pla without Piquet following him through. The German racer then began harassing the two leading Brazilians as Piquet sought a way past Pla, Prémat ultimately slicing past Piquet as di Grassi and co. made their stops.

Glock was hence left with a comfortable lead over Prémat, while Piquet was fading with tyre issues, dumping him back into the sights of Pantano and the delayed López. López duly passed both when Pantano's tyres also faded, with the Italian eventually slipping to sixth behind a charging Negrão.

Out front, meanwhile, Glock would control his pace beautifully to hold the lead, claiming his maiden GP2 triumph by six seconds from Prémat. López then claimed a lonely third ahead of Piquet, who had to fend off a late challenge from teammate Negrão, while Pantano had enough time in hand to resist di Grassi. Ferdinando Monfardini then rounded out the points in eighth and claimed reverse-grid pole for the Sprint Race, while Hamilton salvaged a single point by recording the fastest lap.

Background
After a month long break the 2006 FIA GP2 Series resumed at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours in Magny-Cours, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France, with GP2 again supporting the French Grand Prix. In the month since the battle of Silverstone the Series had staged a two day collective test at the Circuit Paul Ricard in Southern France. The fastest man in that collective test would José María López, as Arden International tested Álvaro Parente in lieu of the still injured Nicolas Lapierre.

Hamilton Promotion Plan
The main news ahead of the trip to Magny-Cours would be the potential for Championship leader Lewis Hamilton to take an early promotion, after a seat became available in F1. That seat was to be found at the McLaren F1 squad, Hamilton's main supporters, after Juan Pablo Montoya left the team after a fallout after agreeing a deal to race in NASCAR in 2007. Ultimately, Hamilton would be overlooked for an immediate promotion in favour of Pedro de la Rosa, with the Brit instead being evaluated against both the Spaniard and reigning DTM Champion Gary Paffett for a seat in 2007.

Silverstone Star
Elsewhere, Hamilton had extended his Championship lead with his fifth win of the campaign as the halfway point came and went, ending the opening half with a healthy 21 point margin. Nelson Piquet Jr. was the Brit's closest challenger in second, having been the only man other than Hamilton to head the hunt in 2006, while Alexandre Prémat occupied third on 36. Ernesto Viso and Michael Ammermüller were next up ahead of Nicolas Lapierre, while Lucas di Grassi was the last of the scorers in 23rd.

In the Teams' Championship it was ART Grand Prix who continued to head the charge by an impressive margin, with more than double the number of points than their closest challengers. Indeed, the French squad had smashed past the 100 point barrier in Silverstone, leaving them 53 points clear ahead of Arden International in second. Arden themselves were level on points with Piquet Sports, but ahead on countback, while Durango remained at the foot of the table having sat out the Silverstone Sprint.

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

Qualifying
Qualifying for the inaugural GP2 Series race would be staged via a thirty minute session on Friday afternoon, ahead of the Feature Race on Saturday. All 24 drivers would venture onto the circuit during the session, and were allowed to complete as many laps as they could to set their qualifying time. There was also a free choice of tyres, although drivers could not exceed their allocation of Bridgestone tyres.

Results
The final qualifying result for the are outlined below:

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

 * Maiden pole position for José María López.
 * Maiden victory for Timo Glock.
 * Third win for iSport International as an entrant.
 * Fifth podium finish for López.

Standings
Lewis Hamilton had added a single point to his tally with his fastest lap point, although that was not enough to prevent his lead shrinking slightly after the first battle of Magny-Cours. Indeed, fourth place for Nelson Piquet Jr. had moved the Brazilian back within twenty points of the Brit, with Alexandre Prémat having likewise chipped away at his teammate's lead in third. Ernesto Viso was next up ahead of Michael Ammermüller and Nicolas Lapierre, while there were several changes outside of the top six due to the slightly shuffled finishing order.

In the Teams' Championship ART Grand Prix had maintained their crushing advantage atop the Championship hunt, with the French squad heading into the Magny-Cours Sprint with 112 points to their credit. Piquet Sports had matched their haul from the Feature and climbed to second, and hence remained 53 points behind. iSport International had likewise moved up the order into third, leaving Arden International in fourth, while Trident Racing retained their top five status in fifth.