The 2011 GP2 Asia season will be again really exciting, with many changes. This time, the teams will run the brand new GP2 car for the 1st time. New car but also new tires : GP2, like Formula 1, will be equipped by Pirelli tires.
This season, the Asia Series will consist of three rounds, all based in the Middle East – Abu Dhabi and Bahrain, including one as a support race of the 2011 opening Formula One Grand Prix at Sakhir in March. Prior to the GP2 Asia 2011 season kick-off, all twenty six drivers will get their first taste of the new GP2/11 car on Pirelli tyres during pre-season tests in Abu Dhabi.
DAMS has but a single aim in 2011 - to win the GP2 Series titles, and has recruited a mix of experience and talent for the coming season. 25-year-old Frenchman Romain Grosjean, a member of the Gravity Sport Management program, who raced in seven F1 grand prix for Renault Sport in 2009, and already has considerable experience in GP2, will team up with young Norwegian, Pal Varhaug. The 19 year old was one of the revelations of the 2010 GP3 Series scoring his maiden win in the Series in the inaugural event on the Catalonian circuit near Barcelona.
Jean-Paul Driot, CEO:
« With new drivers and the change to Pirelli tyres and the adoption of a new gearbox, the 2011 GP2 Series looks very exciting from both a sporting and technical point of view. We’re waiting to see how things will unfold. Uncertainty reigns but one thing doesn’t change the high level of competition in the Series since its creation. We’re hoping to be among the front-runners in 2011. Romain Grosjean’s experience combined with the talent of young Pal Varhaug has given our title ambitions a serious boost. »
