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Must-See Racing: the 2005 GP2 Season Preview

After months of planning, preparation, and hard work, the new GP2 series kicks off this weekend at Imola, in what promises to be one of the closest of fields in any racing series in the world. With the organisers determined to leave the dark days of F3000 behind, they have gone to great lengths to make sure GP2 is a success. David Cameron previews the season and explains why you really should follow the new series closely

David Cameron Apr 20, 2005, 12:22 PM

When Jonathan Palmer set up Formula Palmer Audi seven years ago, he had a noble cause: a new racing series where everything was equal, a level playing field for all, with the sole objective of having one champion so that everyone in motorsport could look at the results and know that this was the person who was the best racer at his level for the year.

It was a grand but ultimately foolhardy concept; the series ran as intended for a few years before fizzling out as drivers stopped coming to the championship, stopped wanting to be judged on talent alone, and the formula became largely a gentlemen's racer series. When asked later what he thought was the biggest flaw in his idea, Palmer noted that he had simply underestimated the need for drivers to have excuses for not performing.