26/10/2007
NEWS STORY
DPR will test at least six drivers during the four day GP2 test at the Paul Ricard circuit in France next week. The team is using the final European sessions to prepare for the forthcoming GP2 Asia Series and give driving opportunities to potential newcomers to the Series.
The first day of testing will feature regular DPR driver, Andy Soucek, who topped the time sheets in the Series post-season Jerez test at the beginning of the month. He will again be joined by Luca Filippi who ran alongside him, consistently turning top five lap times with the team.
On the second day of running Soucek will remain in one car, with South African racer, Adrian Zaugg alongside him. Zaugg competed in this season's GP2 championship with Arden and is currently driving for his country in the nation versus nation A1GP Series.
The third day combines another GP2 driver from this season, Karun Chandhok with Series newcomer, Oliver Jarvis, also an A1GP driver. Indian driver, Chandhok is a proven GP2 race winner, taking victory in the Sprint race at Spa earlier this year. Jarvis, a 23-year-old Brit, contested the highly competitive Japanese F3 series this year, finishing third in the drivers' championship. The outing with DPR will be Jarvis's first time behind the wheel of a GP2 car.
On the final day another British youngster, Ben Hanley, will take his place in the GP2 cockpit. He lies second in the World Series by Renault championship with one round remaining and is in with a chance of capturing the crown this weekend in Barcelona. The driver for the second car on the final day has still to be confirmed.
David Price, Team Principal, DPR says of the upcoming test, "We have two objectives in this final test of 2007. Preparing for the new Asian series is one focus for us and we're pleased to have Andy with us to work on the car development ahead of this. We're also evaluating a number of drivers for this Series and for next season. We're pleased to be giving two British youngsters their first taste of a GP2 car and I'm sure both of them will put in strong performances. Olly and Ben are both experienced drivers who have considerable success in their careers so far, so I believe they deserve the chance to step up a level and sample the handling and power of the GP2 car."
The DPR team is one of 13 entries that has retained its entry in the GP2 Series. The team will contest the new Asian GP2 Series as well as the established European Series in 2008. The Asian Series will feature the 2005-2007 GP2 car while the European-based Series will introduce a new chassis for 2008. The team expects to take delivery of their first car early next year. The Paul Ricard GP2 test starts on 30 October and runs until 2 November.