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The GP2 Asia Series makes its floodlit debut this week as round four of the 2008-09 championship takes place in the dark at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar.

GP2 technical director Didier Perrin said that the unprecedented conditions will test the competitors to their limit - while the series is also making its debut at the track.

"It will be a great challenge both for the drivers and the teams," he said. "First of all, this will be a first time for everyone on this track. There is no data to work with.

"Free practice will be all the more crucial in order to find the right set-up quickly and efficiently. However, we already know that this track should not be too tough on the brakes.

"The layout of the circuit here in Losail could be compared to the one of Valencia's former track with only one long straight.

"One of the question marks will be how to manage the tyres in unusual track conditions: not only do we not know what the grip level will be, but we also don't know the effect of track temperatures - which could be quite low at night."

Each round has produced a different hero so far this season.

Shanghai saw Piquet GP's Roldan Rodriguez stun the field with a pole position and a win in the feature race last October, while Dubai witnessed the glory of Dams' Kamui Kobayashi in December as the Japanese scored 13 points and took the lead in the drivers' championship.

The third round of the season took place three weeks ago in Bahrain and once again Kobayashi claimed victory in the feature race, but it was his team-mate Jerome d'Ambrosio who scored the most points, 13 again, over the race weekend.

Dams are now leading the teams' classification with their drivers Kobayashi and D'Ambrosio first and fourth respectively in the drivers' championship.

Schedule

Thursday February 12

Practice: 15.00

Qualifying: 17.30

Friday February 13

Feature race: 16.00

Saturday February 14

Sprint race: 16.00

From Official Website