Jimmy Eriksson admits that he is “really excited” as the Swede prepares to make his long-awaited GP2 Series debut this weekend around the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
“Entering this level of the sport is just incredible,” admitted Eriksson. “I’m really excited – I can’t wait to get going.
I know the track well, so from that perspective it’s a good place to kick the season off. We had a productive test there a few months ago, but racing is something completely different and I realise I have a lot to learn.
It’s my rookie season in one of the toughest series in the world, so I’ll need to be realistic. It’s really quite simple; I will do my best, see where that leaves us, and take it from there.”
Eriksson raced in the GP3 Series for a total of three years, and will make his GP2 Series debut with Arden International and will be teammates with Malaysian driver, Nabil Jeffri.
The 25-year-old will take to the track on Friday when Free Practice get underway around the 4.655km circuit as the series supports this weekend’s Formula 1 return to Europe, at the Spanish Grand Prix. As well as Free Practice and Qualifying on Friday, there will be two races at the weekend, the first of which will be 60 minutes long and feature compulsory pit stops.
“I’ve never done a one-hour race in single-seaters before, and pit stops will be completely new as well,” Eriksson concludes. “I did do one European Le Mans Series round a few years ago where we came in for a driver change, but that was very different to what we’ll have in GP2. We’ve obviously practiced pit stops in testing, however, and the team is experienced, so hopefully it won’t be an issue. It’s going to be great fun!”