Asia Series reveals calendar, details

The season will kick off on January 25th in Dubai, and all current GP2 teams except Racing Engineering will take part. The Spanish squad will be replaced by Asian squad Meritus Racing.

There will be two tests in Dubai in January prior to the start of the season, and that will be followed by five rounds in Dubai, Indonesia, Malaysia and Bahrain, the last two as support races for Formula One Grands Prix.

"One of the reasons for the creation of the GP2 Asia Series has been to ensure that the excitement of the GP2 concept is taken around the world," said series organiser Bruno Michel.

"In order to do this however, we were very aware that the heightened cost integral in such an expansion would have gone against one of our principal values.

"As such, a separate series in Asia, with operations based in the region, has been the perfect method by which such an expansion could be realized. By splitting GP2 into the GP2 Main Series and GP2 Asia Series, we will ensure that teams and drivers can take part in both championships, without suffering the large costs which would have come with one pan-continental championship.

"We will have five races in the first year of the GP2 Asia Series, with this number increasing to eight in 2009. As the Formula One World Championship extends its reach into Asia, we will race at an increasing number of Grands Prix to bring the excitement of GP2 and the high level of competition and technology of the series to the new motorsport markets.

"We received many requests from teams around the world to be entered into the GP2 Asia Series, but we have given priority to the existing teams of the GP2 Series to reward them for their hard work and loyalty.

"I have been delighted to see that, almost without exception, all of the existing teams have displayed their commitment and faith in this new venture, and we are all very excited and really looking forward to the start of the championship."

2008 Calendar:

18th - 19th January        Dubai (test)
22nd - 23rd January        Dubai (test)
25th - 26th January        Dubai
15th - 16th February       Indonesia (subject to circuit approval by FIA)
22nd - 23rd March          Malaysia
5th  - 6th April           Bahrain
11th - 12th April          Dubai