on cost cuttings

The   GP2   Series   organisation   has   put   together   a   plan   designed   to   effectively   and immediately face the current economical crisis. As  the  economical  and  financial  situation  also  hits motorsport and becomes increasingly delicate for everyone, the GP2 Series have decided to take both technical and sporting actions in order to effectively  help  the  championship’s  actors,  but  also  make  sure  that  the  level  of  excitement  and action  drama  stays  the  same  in  2009. 

The  plan  designed  to  do  so  has  been  submitted  to  GP2 teams. The technical actions include, among other things, a significant decrease in the cost of some parts thanks  to  Dallara’s  contribution.  Some  important  modifications  in  the  technical  regulations  have been decided also to induce the diminution of overall costs and the interruption of all seven post rig and wind tunnel testing has been settled. In  terms  of  sporting  regulations,  along  with  staff  limitation  to  thirteen  people  from  now  to  mid- season and then to twelve members after that, it has been decided that no official tests will take place after the first race of the year.

On  top  of  that,  the  GP2  Organisation  will  also  contribute  to  the  cost  saving  plan  for  2009  by allocating an exceptional credit in spare parts for teams.

GP2 Series organiser Bruno Michel said: “We cannot ignore the world’s financial crisis that affects us all. We need to make sure we can go through the present delicate time by finding solutions both in the technical and sporting areas. However, we did not want to change the standards of quality that have been the assets of the success of GP2 since 2005. The balance is therefore very difficult to define, but we are trying to find the right level to keep the series as successful as ever. We have been looking at all the areas of our business and we have come up with the different steps that we will implement as of now. We are confident that our plan will help everyone go through the difficult period we are in and will have a very significant economic impact on teams’ P&L already in 2009.”