2006 Barcelona Sprint Race

The 2006 Barcelona Feature Race, formally known as the 2006 Barcelona GP2 Series Race 2, was the eighth race of the 2006 FIA GP2 Series, staged at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmeló, Catalonia, Spain, on 14 May 2006. The race would see Ernesto Viso claim his second and final GP2 victory, as Nelson Piquet Jr. reclaimed the early Championship lead.

Viso would start the race from pole, a position he inherited after Olivier Pla was excluded from the Feature Race due to his car being underweight. He would share the front row with Alexandre Negrão, although when the Brazilian stalled at the start the Venezuelan racer would run unopposed into the first corner to claim the lead.

Negrão's lack of movement would also hinder Tristan Gommendy and allow Piquet to jump into second, with Alexandre Prémat also streaking ahead of Frenchman. Fortunately everyone would manage to avoid the stranded Negrão, with the Brazilian safely pushed into the pitlane to get his engine re-fired.

The early laps saw Viso escape into the lead, while Piquet found himself harried Prémat and Gommendy powerless to resist Hamilton. Elsewhere, Ferdinando Monfardini harassed Giorgio Pantano for sixth, while Nicolas Lapierre and Hiroki Yoshimoto slowly made their way up the order after starting down the back of the field.

However, after some early excitement the race order would soon settle, with Viso holding his small lead over Piquet, while Prémat and Hamilton now found themselves stuck behind Piquet. Indeed, the main action was to be found in the fight for the final point, until Pantano ran wide out of the final corner and gifted sixth to Monfardini.

With that the race was run, with Viso controlling his pace and managing his tyres beautifully claim his second victory, having allowed Piquet to close to within a second at the chequered flag. Prémat then completed the podium ahead of Hamilton, Gommendy claimed a lonely fifth ahead of Monfardini, while Gianmaria Bruni secured the bonus point for fastest lap.

Background
There were no changes made to the Circuit de Catalunya ahead of the Sprint Race, with likewise no changes made to the entry list. That meant, after Olivier Pla's post-Feature Race disqualification for being underweight was applied, Ernesto Viso would start from pole position.

ART Attack
For the first time in 2006 someone other than Nelson Piquet Jr. would end an afternoon in the lead in the Championship. Indeed, second place for Lewis Hamilton in the Feautre had been enough to elevate the Brit into the lead on 34 points, level with Piquet but ahead by virtue of holding two victories to Piquet's one. Nicolas Lapierre was next up ahead of Michael Ammermüller and Alexandre Prémat, while Tristan Gommendy and Ferdinando Monfardini had added their names to the scoresheet.

In the Teams' Championship it was ART Grand Prix who led the way, having overhauled former leaders Arden International in the first Barcelona race. The French squad would head into the Sprint with a nine point lead ahead of the British effort, with a further ten point gap to Piquet Sports in third. iSport International and Trident Racing then completed the top five, while DPR Direxiv and Durango were 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:

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

Milestones

 * Second and final victory for Ernesto Viso.
 * Also his sixth and final podium finish.
 * iSport International claimed their second victory as an entrant.
 * Tenth podium for Alexandre Prémat.

Standings
Nelson Piquet Jr. had moved back to the Championship lead after his second place in the Barcelona Sprint, meaning he would arrive in Monte Carlo with a two point lead. Lewis Hamilton had hence made way for him and dropped to second having led briefly overnight, while Alexandre Prémat had slipped twelve off the lead in third. Ernesto Viso, meanwhile, had moved up to fourth ahead of Nicolas Lapierre, with seventeen drivers on the scoresheet.

In the Teams' Championship ART Grand Prix had enhanced their lead as the Spanish weekend came to a close, and hence left Barcelona with a sixteen point advantage. Arden International had retained second despite failing to score in the Sprint, while Piquet Sports closed up in third onto 43. iSport International were next up in fourth after their biggest haul of the season, while DPR Direxiv and Durango were still the only pointless teams.

Only point scoring drivers are shown.