Patrizi wanting more after DPR test.

Michael Patrizi claims he has come away from his two-day post GP2 season test a better driver having been invited by David Price Racing to test his mettle against some of the finest up and coming drivers in Europe at Paul Ricard.

It was a tough initiation for Patrizi as his credits in Formula BMW and a couple of appearances in the Champ Car Atlantic Series made him easily the least experienced of the myriad of drivers taking part in the test.

Patrizi wanting more after DPR test.

Michael Patrizi claims he has come away from his two-day post GP2 season test a better driver having been invited by David Price Racing to test his mettle against some of the finest up and coming drivers in Europe at Paul Ricard.

It was a tough initiation for Patrizi as his credits in Formula BMW and a couple of appearances in the Champ Car Atlantic Series made him easily the least experienced of the myriad of drivers taking part in the test.

Indeed, Patrizi featured at the lower end of the timesheets on all four days, even if being three seconds off the ultimate pace meant his appearance was by no means a disgrace. Furthermore, he had the added status of being the first Australian to test a GP2 car, something he now hopes will lead to him becoming the first Australian to race in the series.

"These past two days of testing have been arguably the most beneficial learning experience of my career," said Patrizi. "Right from the start David (Price, DPR Team Principal) said not to worry about the times. This test was all about learning and I learnt a huge amount.

"Driving these cars is a full body workout. They are a lot of fun to drive but the overall feeling after driving one is just how much they are capable of. You have to learn to trust the car, because it can do so much, especially on new tyres.

"It was a tremendous learning experience. I did a lot of laps and it was 'hard yakka', but in a lot of ways I did better than I thought I would.

Completing 142 laps over the two days, Patrizi was usually able to keep within a second of fellow GP2 newcomer and British Formula Three driver Bruno Senna and having had a taste of things to come, he is desperate for more.

"DPR is a very professional team and were a great team to work with. The engineers taught me a huge amount over the two days and I really have to thank them all for their efforts and the opportunity to drive a DPR GP2 car.

"The Paul Ricard circuit is just unbelievable. It is an incredible facility and the perfect place for testing and an awesome venue to learn to drive a GP2 car. I hope I can get another opportunity to drive a car around that fantastic circuit."

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