The GP3 Series has confirmed that it will be racing at Monaco for the first time in 2012, alongside the corresponding GP2 Series races and the F1 Grand Prix of Monaco.
GP3 will join the line-up of race events at Monaco for the first time this year, with confirmation that its proposed races over the Monaco Grand Prix weekend will indeed go ahead.
“I am delighted to announce that Monaco has been confirmed on the 2012 GP3 Series calendar," said GP3 Series CEO Bruno Michel.
The GP3 races will accordingly join those of the
GP2 Series, Porsche Supercup and Formula Renault 3.5 among the support events for the latest running of the historic F1 Grand Prix of Monaco.
"This is a fantastic exposure opportunity for the Series and for the drivers to showcase their talent around the challenging streets of Monaco and to provide, as usual, a great show," Michel added.
The May 24-27 events at Monaco had been included on the provisional 2012 calendar, but needed to be approved by the local motor sport authority Automobile Club de Monaco before they were officially confirmed.
An attempt to schedule a round at Monaco in 2011 fell through because of the limited amount of space around the principality to house the GP3 teams, and also the tight scheduling of track activity and the possibility of race accidents causing lengthy delays for repairs to the barriers and other infrastructure.
"It was quite a task to study all logistic options to fit our paddock in an already busy environment," said Michel. "Thanks to Automobile Club de Monaco (ACM) and
Formula One Management (FOM) it's all come together fine."
The Monaco event will slot in to the calendar as the second weekend of the GP3 Series, a fortnight after the series opener in Barcelona, Spain.
