2007 Istanbul Sprint Race

The 2007 Istanbul Sprint Race, otherwise known as the 2007 Istanbul GP2 Series Race 2, was the fifteenth race of the 2007 FIA GP2 Series, staged at the Istanbul Park circuit in Istanbul, Marmara, Turkey on 26 August 2007. The race would see Timo Glock secure victory to reclaim the Championship lead, as Lucas di Grassi failed to score for the first time in twelve races.

Pole position for the Sprint would be occupied by Karun Chandhok, after the Indian racer claimed his best ever finish with eighth in the Feature Race. di Grassi, meanwhile, would start from eighth after his maiden GP2 victory and the title lead, with former leader Glock starting from fifth.

The start of the race saw Chandhok ease into the lead off the grid, with Kazuki Nakajima sweeping past Alexandre Negrão to secure second. Glock, meanwhile, would surge past both Borja García and Negrão to claim third, while di Grassi slipped back down to tenth after a poor launch.

Surprisingly the race would quickly settle, with Chandhok calmly leading Nakajima as both eased away from Glock in the opening stages. Elsewhere, Vitaly Petrov was steadily climbing up the field, moving into tenth from seventeenth, while di Grassi found himself fighting with Giorgio Pantano just outside the points.

A series of collisions would then thin the field, with the aggressors punished with drive-throughs while the victims were left on the sidelines. Sébastien Buemi was the first to earn himself a penalty, tipping Jason Tahincioğlu in a spin into the path of Adrian Zaugg that took both the latter duo out. That was swiftly followed by di Grassi sending Pantano into a pirouette, the Brazilian duly being slapped with a penalty on his own that would prove costly to his title hopes.

Indeed, moments after di Grassi served his penalty Nakajima, who had thrown several aborted lunges at Chandhok for the lead, finally committed to an attack, throwing his car down the inside of the #27 Durango at the final corner. Unfortunately it was a poor attempt, and the resulting contact at the apex sent Chandhok around and out of the race, while Nakajima sustained damage and a penalty that eliminated him from the race.

That collision handed the lead to Glock, who was left to cruise to the chequered flag some ten seconds clear of Negrão in second. Negrão himself had just enough pace to keep Adam Carroll at bay to hold second place ahead of the Brit, while García eased some Durango's woes by claiming fourth ahead of Vitaly Petrov. Bruno Senna, meanwhile, would pounce on a mistake by Luca Filippi in the closing stages to claim the final point.

Background
Istanbul Park remained unchanged for the second FIA GP2 Series race of the weekend, with conditions also remaining stable for the Sprint on Sunday morning. Likewise, there was stability in the GP2 field for the second race, with Karun Chandhok to start from pole position after claiming eighth in the Feature Race.

di Grassi Delight
For the first time since the second race of the season in Bahrain, a name other than that of Timo Glock appeared at the top of the Championship as the German youth continued to lose points to his rivals. Lucas di Grassi had used victory to overhaul his main title rival, and would head into the second race of the weekend with a four point advantage over Glock. Luca Filippi was next up in third having again lost ground to the lead duo, and instead had Giorgio Pantano and Kazuki Nakajima breathing down his neck, both just a point behind.

iSport International headed into the second half of the weekend in Turkey still holding a healthy lead, although their advantage had been reduced to fifteen points. ART Grand Prix had therefore closed the gap, but remained solidly in second, while Super Nova Racing had lost more ground in third, some 37 points off the lead. DAMS and Campos Grand Prix then completed the top five, while at the back of the field Durango Corse overtook Minardi Piquet Sports.

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:
 * Italics indicate that a driver set fastest lap.

Milestones

 * Fifth win for Timo Glock.
 * iSport International claimed their eighth victory as an entrant.
 * Maiden and only podium finish for Alexandre Negrão.

Standings
Victory for Timo Glock was enough to restore the German racer to the top of the GP2 Championship leaving Turkey, as well as establish a two point lead over his main rival. Indeed, Lucas di Grassi's first non-score in eleven races may have proved costly to his title ambitions, although he still remained a major pretender regardless. Indeed, Luca Filippi was free falling away from the fight in third, 29 points off the lead, with Giorgio Pantano and Kazuki Nakajima in a similar situation in fourth and fifth.

In the Teams' Championship, meanwhile, iSport International had successfully extended their advantage at the top of the field, having moved onto 94 points for the campaign. With three rounds to go their lead stood at 22 points over ART Grand Prix, with the French squad the main resistance to iSport as the British squad attempted to usurp their crown. Behind, Super Nova Racing had held third, Campos Grand Prix had moved up to fourth, while BCN Competición and Carlin DPR had again failed to claim points.

Only point scoring drivers are shown.