2007 Magny-Cours Sprint Race

The 2007 Magny-Cours Sprint Race, otherwise known as the 2007 Magny-Cours GP2 Series Race 2, was the seventh race of the 2007 FIA GP2 Series, staged at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours in Magny-Cours, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France, on 1 July 2007. The race would see Javier Villa claim his maiden GP2 victory, ensuring that he became the youngest ever winner in GP2 history to that point.

Ahead of the race it was revealed that Ernesto Viso had survived his horror crash in the Feature Race with only a headache and minor concussion, rather than serious injuries as first feared. The Venezuelan racer had skated upside down along a concrete wall after a full flip and barrel roll, but had miraculously escaped without any broken bones or major injuries. He would, however, be forced to miss the Sprint Race due to being held in hospital for observation, while the #15 Racing Engineering was too heavily damaged to be repaired regardless.

Outside of Viso's accident the Feature Race had been dominated by Giorgio Pantano, meaning the Italian racer would start the Sprint from eighth courtesy of the reverse-grid rule. Pole, therefore, would go to Nicolas Lapierre, while Villa would start alongside the Frenchman in second.

Unlike the first race there would be less chaos at the start, with Lapierre smartly pulling off the grid to claim the lead with Villa on his tail. Indeed, the relatively tame start belayed the fact that overnight rain had left the circuit treacherously greasy, although it was not to last as Bruno Senna slithered into teammate Adrian Zaugg at the Adelaide hairpin.

Despite that the race quickly settled, with Lapierre easing into a comfortable lead over Villa, while Luca Filippi fended off the attentions of Senna. Elsewhere, Timo Glock would fight his way up into the minor points before suffering a gearbox failure, before drizzle began to drift across the Magny-Cours circuit mid-race.

On lap seventeen the complexion of the race changed, with Lapierre sliding into the gravel at Adelaide all on his own, amid suspicions that the rain had fully returned. Yet, Villa would not repeat the same mistake and hence inherited the lead, while Senna briefly moved up to third before sliding off at the Imola chicane to drop back to eighth.

Rain would eventually return in the closing stages, although that was not enough to prevent Villa from becoming the youngest ever GP2 winner, six tenths ahead of Filippi in second. Pantano was next up ahead of Lucas di Grassi, while Vitaly Petrov and Kazuki Nakajima scrambled to the line in a fight for fifth which the Russian racer won by a nose.

Background
There were no changes made to the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours ahead of the Sprint Race, although there was a change in conditions as overnight rain left the circuit damp and greasy. There would, however, be an enforced change to the entry list, with Ernesto Viso unable to race due to being held overnight in hospital due to his huge accident in the Feature Race. Fortunately Viso had escaped without serious injury, although with concussion and a very broken #15 Racing Engineering car it was impossible for the Venezuelan racer to compete in the Sprint Race.

Pantano Performance
Timo Glock would end Saturday's running at Magny-Cours with his early Championship lead intact, although his advantage had been cut to thirteen points after his embarrassing early exit. Luca Filippi had hence managed to inch closer in second, while Lucas di Grassi had moved level with the Italian racer, but remained behind on countback. Bruno Senna was next up after losing third to di Grassi, while Giorgio Pantano was up to fifth after his victory.

In the Teams' Championship iSport International still held the lead, with Glock's points for pole position their only solace after Glock and Andreas Zuber took each other out at the start. ART Grand Prix were up to second, fourteen off the lead, while Arden International had claimed third a point behind ART. Super Nova Racing and Campos Racing then completed the top five, while BCN Competición and Carlin DPR remained as the only non-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:


 * * Zuber started the race from the pitlane due to making several changes to his car after the 2007 Magny-Cours Feature Race.

Results
The final classification of the is displayed below:
 * Italics indicate that a driver set fastest lap.
 * * Zuber recorded the fastest lap (1:23.614) but was ineligible to claim the bonus points as he started from the pitlane.

Milestones

 * Maiden victory for Javier Villa.
 * Villa also became the youngest ever FIA GP2 Series race winner aged 19 years 270 days.
 * Racing Engineering claimed their third win as an entrant.
 * Also their first win since the 2005 Monza Sprint Race.
 * Maiden and only fastest lap recorded by Michael Ammermüller.

Standings
The Championship lead had remained in Timo Glock's hands as the weekend in France came to a conclusion, although the German racer's failure to score in either race meant his advantage had been reduced. Luca Filippi was next up in second, eight off the lead, while Lucas di Grassi ended the weekend ten behind, as none of Glock's major challengers managed to capitalise on the German's poor weekend. Bruno Senna and Giorgio Pantano then completed the top five, while Michael Ammermüller had added his name to the scoresheet in nineteenth.

iSport International had likewise managed to retain their lead in-spite of their most difficult weekend of the campaign, leaving Magny-Cours with a ten point advantage in the Teams' Championship. ART Grand Prix had remained their closest challengers in second, ten behind, while Super Nova Racing were up to third, a further two behind. Campos Grand Prix and Arden International then completed the top five, while points had again eluded DPR and BCN Competición.

Only point scoring drivers are shown.