2007 Nürburgring Sprint Race

The 2007 Nürburgring Sprint Race, formally known as the 2007 Nürburgring GP2 Series Race 2, was the eleventh race of the 2007 FIA GP2 Series, staged at the Nürburgring in Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on 22 July 2007. The race would see Javier Villa collect his second career victory in imperious fashion, leading the race throughout.

Villa would start the race from pole position, having battled to eighth late on in the Feature Race to secure reverse-grid pole. In contrast Feature winner Timo Glock would start down in eighth courtesy of the same rule, with the rest of the top eight also reversed.

The start saw Villa duly convert pole into the lead, easing ahead of fellow front-row starter Adrian Zaugg into the first corner. The Spaniard would then establish his lead as Zaugg was too cautious through the first complex in his defence of second, while behind Kohei Hirate swept up to third ahead of Pastor Maldonado.

As the field sorted itself out Lucas di Grassi and Giorgio Pantano managed to come together fighting for sixth, the Italian misjudging a move and forcing both onto the kerbs. That allowed Championship leader Glock to pass them both without issue, while Nicolas Lapierre had to take avoiding action and was subsequently wiped out by Ernesto Viso.

With that the race quickly settled down, with Villa continuing to tease out his lead, while Zaugg was more concerned with holding second then attacking the Spaniard. Indeed, holding onto second place would prove too much for the young South African racer, with Hirate managing to force Zaugg into a mistake at the NGK Chicane. Zaugg would try and hold on, however, but would only succeed in bouncing off the side of the Japanese racer before spinning out of the race.

Hirate was then hunted by Kazuki Nakajima, with the #22 DAMS looming ever larger in the #12 Trident's mirrors. Indeed, as they entered the closing stages Nakajima would throw several lunges at Hirate, although the Komaki native successfully fended off everything that the Okazaki born racer could throw at him.

That settled the race, with Villa able to cruise to the chequered flag eight seconds clear of the inter-Nippon fight for second to claim his second win of the campaign. Hirate and Nakajima crossed the line nose-to-tail in second and third, while Maldonado secured fourth ahead of a quiet Glock. di Grassi then rounded out the scorers in sixth, just ahead of Pantano after their opening lap skirmish.

Background
There would be no changes to either field or circuit ahead of the Sprint Race, meaning the Nürburgring and FIA GP2 Series would run as expected for the second race of the weekend. As a result, Javier Villa would open the second half of the season with pole position after claiming eighth in the Feature Race, while Timo Glock would start from eighth after winning the Feature.

Home Heroics
Timo Glock's return to the points, the podium and the winner's circle came at a crucial moment in the Championship, for it ensured that the German racer extended his lead for the first time in four races. Indeed, the German youth's advantage had grown to six points ahead of the Sprint, although Lucas di Grassi had effectively kept his title rival in check by finishing second. Luca Filippi, in contrast, had slipped sixteen off the lead after failing to score, with Giorgio Pantano and Bruno Senna likewise having lost ground.

iSport International had likewise managed to extend their lead in the Teams' Championship after Glock's triumph, the British squad's lead opening out to twenty points as the season reached its halfway point. ART Grand Prix, meanwhile, had moved back into second in their wake, having overhauled Super Nova Racing by three points after the first battle in the Eifel Mountains. Campos Grand Prix and Arden International then completed the top five, while points had again eluded Carlin DPR and BCN Competición.

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

 * Ernesto Viso made his 46th and final FIA GP2 Series start.
 * Also Viso's 48th and final GP2 entry.
 * Second career victory for Javier Villa.
 * Fourth win for Racing Engineering as an entrant.
 * Sébastien Buemi recorded his first fastest lap.

Standings
Another two points for Timo Glock ensured that the German racer managed to again enhance his Championship lead leaving his home round, having ended the weekend with a seven point advantage. Lucas di Grassi would hence enter the second half of the campaign in second, while Luca Filippi faced an eighteen point deficit in third after failing to score. Giorgio Pantano was next up in fourth ahead of Pastor Maldonado, while Kazuki Nakajima moved into sixth with his fourth straight podium.

In the Teams' Championship it had been a fairly neutral day at the head of the field, with iSport International only managing to add two points to their tally as the trip to the Nürburgring came to a close. Indeed, ART Grand Prix had only managed to keep pace, the gap between them remaining at twenty points, while Super Nova Racing had slipped 25 off the lead in third. Behind, Campos Grand Prix had held fourth, Trident Racing and DAMS were level on 34 points, while Arden International had fallen to seventh.

Only point scoring drivers are shown.