Arabadzhiev - First Bulgarian to Race in the GP2 Series

The Eastern European countries seem ready to fuel the international racing stage with more and more drivers as years go by. After Vitaly Petrov became the first Russian driver to ever set foot in Formula One, it has now been confirmed that Bulgaria will have their first GP2 driver in history, in the person of Vladimir Arabadzhiev.

Having already debuted in the GP2 Asia Series with Piquet GP and Rapax teams, the 26-year old driver inked a one-year deal in the Main Series with Italian team Coloni. He will therefore partner Alberto Valerio for the 2010 season of the GP2 Series.

“I'm very happy to drive with Coloni, they have been in impressive shape in all the GP2 Asia races so I have good expectations for the coming season,” said the Bulgarian driver, who highlighted a 7th place finish in 8 races in the GP2 Asia Series, in Bahrain.

“Personally, I hope to get good results soon and to get a lot of experience not only in the car but also learning how you have to work in a GP2 team. In Le Castellet I'll work very hard in order to prepare for the season in the best possible way,” added the Bulgarian racer.

Arabadzhiev's racing CV includes a couple of seasons in the International Formula Master series, where he ranked 7th in consecutive years – 2008 and 2009. Additionally, he has competed in the Italian F3 and Formula 3000 Euroseries in the early stages of his single-seater career.

His first taste of the Coloni-prepared GP2 challenger for the 2010 season will happen later today, during the Paul Ricard test session.