Photo: Drew Gibson/GP3 Media Service
The permanent Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia has been confirmed as the venue for the standalone round of the 2013 GP3 Series season.
The Spanish facility will host the second race weekend of the season on 15-16 June.
The addition of a standalone event for GP3 this year follows the loss of the Valencia Street Circuit from the Formula 1 calendar, and the absence of Monaco on GP3’s schedule after just one visit for the category. A place on the support bill at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in November will maintain the number of GP3 events at eight.
The race weekend for Valencia will be condensed into two days, with practice and qualifying on Saturday before the two races take place on Sunday.
It will be the first time that GP3 has raced around the Ricardo Tormo circuit, although the teams know it having had numerous official tests there. GP2 previously held standalone race weekends there to open the 2006 season and close the 2007 campaign before the inauguration of the street track in 2008.
“We are happy to announce that Valencia has been added to the calendar,” said series chief Bruno Michel. “It will be the first time that the series will race at Circuit de Ricardo Tormo. ?2013 promises to be a very strong season for GP3 with the introduction of the GP3/13 car, recording a laptime 4.2 seconds quicker than its previous generation on the same track. The driver line-up is probably the strongest we have ever had. I can?t wait for the season to start in Barcelona next month.”
2013 GP3 Series calendar
11-12 May – Barcelona, Spain
15-16 June – Valencia, Spain
29-30 June – Silverstone, UK
6-7 July – Nurburgring, Germany
27-28 July – Hungaroring, Hungary
24-25 August – Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium
7-8 September – Monza, Italy
2-3 November – Yas Marina, UAE