LONDON—The organizing body for the GP2 and GP3 single-seat, open-wheel racing series—both “feeders” for Formula 1—has renewed the race tire supply contracts with Pirelli Tyre S.p.A. for “multiple” seasons.
Financial terms of the contracts were not disclosed. Pirelli has supplied the GP3 series since 2010 and GP2 since 2011.
Bruno Michel, the CEO of the GP2 and GP3 series, called the body's relationship with Pirelli “strong and healthy” and said Pirelli is “very reactive and understanding of what needs to be provided in order to make our categories extremely competitive.”
Pirelli is still waiting to hear from Formula 1's organizing body, the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile, about its F1 contract beyond this season, but Mr. Michel said it was “natural to choose them for GP2 Series since they also had become F1 sole supplier and it has always been our philosophy to use the same tire supplier as F1's.”
Pirelli Motorsport Director Paul Hembery called the series “the perfect proving ground” for aspiring F1 drivers. “GP2 and GP3 also allow drivers to learn how to deal with important issues such as tire management on some of the world's most challenging and famous race circuits.”
Pirelli supports this talent by offering a 200,000 Euro prize to the GP3 series champion toward advancing to GP2, and arranges for the GP2 champion to get a day of tire testing in a Formula 1 car.
“Part of our philosophy at Pirelli has always been to cultivate the champions of the future,” he said.
GP2 cars feature 4-liter V8 engines rated at 612 horsepower, mounted in an open-wheel, single-seat chassis built by Italian race car builder Dallara Automobili S.p.A. The package is capable of 0 to 60 mph acceleration in 2.9 seconds and a top speed of 205 mph.
GP3 cars are powered by 3.4-liter V6 engines rated at 400 horsepower, also mounted in a Dallara chassis. The cars are rated at 0 to 60 mph in 3 seconds and top speeds of 178 mph.