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GP2: Successful shakedown for the GP2/11 car

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Khatir Soltani
From GP2 Series

All GP2 Series teams fruitfully ran one of their new cars at Paul Ricard HTTT circuit on the Cote D’Azur in Southern France.

Today was an important milestone in GP2 Series history: for the first time the twelve teams entered in the category for 2011-2013 ran their brand new GP2/11 cars at circuit Paul Ricard under clear blue skies and on a 3D configuration track.

Photo: GP2 Series

Only one car per team was used for this shakedown during which fast times were not the priority. The paddock also welcomed two new teams: Carlin and Team Air Asia who chose to run with Max Chilton and Johnny Cecotto Jr respectively.

Within the first hour of the morning session all twelve cars had done at least one installation lap. Soon enough, some drivers seemed comfortable enough to push a bit harder and seek performance, with Javier Villa at Arden International setting the fastest laptime of the morning session. A total of 145 laps were completed in three hours.

One of the big challenges of the day was of course for the teams to get familiar with the Pirelli tyres: with a total of 289 laps in the afternoon, teams could get a good first taste of their new rubber.

Their first general comment was that the Pirelli compound was quickly up to temperature in spite of winter ambient temperatures and match very well with the general car behaviour.

Entry list for the test
Team Driver
iSport International Adam Carroll
Arden International Javier Villa
ART Grand Prix Esteban Gutierrez
Super Nova Racing Marcus Ericsson
Dams Romain Grosjean
Scuderia Coloni Michael Herck
Ocean Racing Technology Karun Chandhok
Barwa Addax Team Charles Pic
Trident Racing Stefano Coletti
Rapax Fabio Leimer
Racing Engineering Dani Clos
Carlin Max Chilton
Team Air Asia Johnny Cecotto Jr

Khatir Soltani
Khatir Soltani
Automotive expert
As a car enthusiast, he tests and compares vehicles from different categories through the eyes of the consumer, ensuring relevant and objective reviews.
  • Over 6 years experience as a car reviewer
  • Over 50 test drives in the last year
  • Involved in discussions with virtually every auto manufacturer in Canada