The first official shakedown of the new GP3 car took place on Monday at Le Castellet in the South of France. After months of development, this session marked the first performance and the reliability test of the Dallara chassis, combined with a Renault 4 cylinder, 2 litres turbo charged engine and Pirelli slick tyres.

Under blue skies and on the 3D track configuration current GP2 Series championship leader Romain Grosjean took the wheel and completed a trouble-free programme. After the session he commented: "I'm very glad to have had this first taste of the GP3 car. We have had a productive day with very few small problems and many good surprises, namely in terms of speed. I have been impressed by the level of reliability of the car for a first run.

"This is a great car! It's really fun to drive and the level of downforce is already quite impressive, although we still need to determine which one will be used. Compared to a F3, the acceleration is better and speed in fast corners is similar. One thing for sure: the GP3 car will be notably fast! The paddle shift on the steering wheel is also a great addition to a car that will definitely prepare GP3 drivers to step into the next category: GP2.

"Now that I've seen and tested the competitiveness of this new car, I'm really looking forward to watching the races: they should be very interesting and fun to follow!"

GP3 Series organiser Bruno Michel said: "I am very pleased to say that the GP3 Series is well on track and the development is on time. Today's test run showed our car's strong potential, and we gathered enough data to keep improving the performance and the reliability of the GP3 car.

"I am confident that it will become the perfect piece of machinery that will reveal a young driver's skills while providing a safe and exciting show. Meanwhile, we are carefully assessing the costs of a season in our new Series: we will communicate them over the coming weeks to the many teams from all around the motor racing world that have already expressed their interest in this new Series. As previously announced, the entry selection process will take place next September, with the first official test session for the selected teams taking place next March."

The GP3 Series, intended to be a stepping-stone into GP2, will kick off next year and will run alongside the GP2 Series in Europe.