British F3 media launch

Saturday, 12 March 2011 09:40

The official launch of the Cooper Tires British Formula 3 International Series took place at a very sunny Silverstone race circuit as the media descended on the British Racing Drivers Club.

2011 sees the formula celebrate 60 years in the UK, and over the seasons the British Formula 3 Championship has provided a host of Formula One drivers including Brazilians Ayrton Senna and Rubens Barrichello, Mika Hakkinen and more recently 2009 Champion Jaime Alguersari.

Keeping up the international flavour, this year’s Championship has twelve foreign drivers, with an influx of Brazilians. Carlos Huertas returns for a third season with title winners for the past three years, Carlin. The team will be fielding six drivers and Dane Kevin Magnussen, Malaysian Jazeman Jaafar, Brazilian Felipe Nasr, a race winner last season, and the Brits’ Racing Steps Foundation-backed Jack Harvey and series returnee Rupert Svendsen-Cook will join Huertas.

Fortec Motorsport field William Buller, Harry Tincknell and Brazilian Lucas Foresti, while Double R Racing will be hosting his compatriot Pipo Derani and Aussie Scott Pye, who makes the step up from the UK Formula Ford Championship.

With what seems like a Brazilian in every team, Pietro Fantin, the youngest driver on the grid, drives for Hitech Racing alongside British racer Riki Christodoulou.

Hywel Lloyd and Adderly Fong from China join forces for Sino Vision Racing, while another Brazilian, Yann Cunha and Bahraini Menasheh Idafar join T-Sport.

The Rookie Class sees Dutch racer Bart Hylkema and Japanese driver Kotaru Sakurai battle it out for Class honours.

The series starts on 15th April at Monza followed by four international race weekends at the Nurburgring, Paul Ricard and Spa-Francorchamps circuits. The series will head to the new Snetterton 300, and the races at Rockingham, Silverstone, Nurburgring and Paul Ricard will include a pit-stop. As with the 2010 season there will be three races: a 30 minute heat, a 20 minute sprint with a semi-reversed grid, and a 40 minute feature.

The Champion this year will receive a test in the Lotus Type 125 and also the Lotus Evora GT4 as the marque has partnered with the series organisers SRO. The driver leading the Championship after Brands Hatch will be a guest of Lotus Motorsport and join the F1 team in Valencia for the European Grand Prix.

With the season kicking off in just over five weeks, and the vast array of drivers taking part, it will no doubt prove to be a cracker with another Formula One racer being found! By Olivia Gauch

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