Three dates have been set for the GP2 teams - and any potential newcomers - to begin their preparations for the 2006 season, with the series' adopted home at Paul Ricard being joi🧸ned by the Circuito de Jerez on the winter sche🦄dule.

No sooner will the champagne have dried and the cars returned homꦕe from the 2005 finale in Bahrain, than the winter season will begin in earnest, with just over a week between the final race of the inaugural campaign and the first two-day test at Paul Ricard. The French venue will stage the first of three official two-day tests, with the teams running once a month October and December.

The t🧸esting season will begin over 11-12 October at Ri🌱card, with Jerez (9-10 November) sandwiched by a second outing in the south of France on the 1-2 December.

The tests will provide a first opportunity for the teams to test new components and upgrades -thought to include꧅ revised aerodynamics and possibly slick tyres, scheduled for introduction in 2006, as well as running prospective drivers for the second season of the series.