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GP2 Series heads to Spa for 2011 penultimate round

GP2 Series press release

Eau rouge: flat out?


Could Spa-Francorchamps be the land of glory for GP2 Series™ leader Romain Grosjean? The Dams driver arrived in Belgium with twenty-five points on title rival Giedo van der Garde. The Dutch driver from Barwa Addax Team will have to fight with all his might this weekend at the eighth round of the 2011 season. He will not only be chasing after Grosjean, but also his first win this year to try and keep his title hopes alive.

Romain Grosjean
Romain Grosjean

Photo by: GP2 Media Service

It’s been three weeks since the twenty-six drivers last raced in Budapest - a drama-filled event which saw Luiz Razia snatch pole position, Grosjean bag his fifth win of the season and Stefano Coletti triumph in a wet/dry/wet sprint race following a bold tyre strategy. After a well-deserved summer break, the GP2 teams are back to business at the heart of the Ardennes. Spa presents many challenges starting with the weather being known for its unpredictability. It is a high speed circuit that offers many different types of corners in terms of speed and elevation. The world-renown Eau Rouge is a demanding part of the track which tests car setup, driver’s skills and tyre performance.

Pirelli’s Racing Manager Mario Isola commented: “The P Zero GP2 tyres in medium compound specification are versatile tyres designed to work well in a wide range of conditions. This makes them well suited to circuits with varying characteristics such as Spa-Francorchamps. Being easily adaptable, they can be used at hot and technical tracks as well as at much cooler or even damp circuits: making them a perfect choice for Belgium because of the weather, which is quite unpredictable. It will be interesting to see which strategies the drivers will put in place and how the tyres will perform under changeable weather and mixed track conditions, should some sections be dry and others wet during the races.

Giedo Van der Garde
Giedo Van der Garde

Photo by: GP2 Media Service

Isola continued: “Adding to the challenge of the weather will be the extremely high vertical loads which put heavy demands on the rubber: probably the heaviest of the racing calendar. This is true especially when tackling the Eau Rouge and Raidillon combination, which requires a large amount of ability from the driver to successfully negotiate while resulting in high compression levels for the tyres. Our medium slicks will provide drivers with the necessary grip and performance on a circuit which probably demonstrates the importance of driver skill more than any other in the world.”

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