German Formula Three Championship
Encyclopedia
The German Formula Three Championship – currently titled the ATS Formel 3 Cup – is Germany
's national Formula Three
series. In the hierarchy of motor racing formulae
, Formula Three is placed between national Formula Renault
and championships such as GP2
. Directly above German Formula Three is the higher-profile Formula Three Euroseries
, which visits many of Germany's motorsport circuits. Since the late 1980s, the list of German F3 champions has included many notable drivers, including Formula One
World Champion Michael Schumacher
and eight-time Le Mans
winner Tom Kristensen
.
geo-political
situation, which resulted in the existence of two separate championships. The West German
championship ran from 1950 to 1954, while the East German
equivalent continued until 1956. During this period, both championships used the then-standard 500cc two-stroke
formula. This era was notable for BMW
's first foray into open-wheeled
racing as an engine supplier, having enjoyed success in pre-war motorcycle racing and touring cars
.
, with engine capacities of 1000cc (360kg
chassis
) or 1100cc (400kg
chassis
) that were derived from production cars, rather than motorcycles. This new specification was adopted in a revived German F3 Championship in 1960, which was won by Gerhard Mitter
. The 1961 title was won by Kurt Ahrens, Jr., who became champion again in 1963. He was effectively a back-to-back winner, because there was no championship in 1962.
(FIA) ended Formula Junior and returned to Formula Three, but this time with 1000cc four-cylinder
production-based engines. However, it would be ten years before Formula Three was revived in Germany. The first German F3 champion of this era was Giorgio Francia
of Italy
, who won the title in 1974. He was also the first non-German driver to win the title. Other notable drivers of this era were two-time champions Bertram Schäfer (1976 and 1978) and Frank Jelinski (1980–81). Schäfer drove for his eponymous team, Bertram Schäfer Racing, which also won the championship with Jelinski. BSR became a stalwart of German F3, winning a total of eight drivers' titles. It still competes in the series today.
In the 1980s, the German F3 Championship began to produce some notable champions that would later graduate to Formula One
and achieve title-winning success in other championships. Bernd Schneider
(1987) and Joachim Winkelhock
(1988) went on to make F1 appearances and became champions at the highest levels of touring car racing
. 1985 champion Volker Weidler
also competed in F1 and won the 24 Hours of Le Mans
in 1991.
However, the 1990 champion was arguably the most notable of them all: Michael Schumacher
. Four years before winning the first of his seven F1 World Championship titles, Schumacher had already attracted attention with his performances in F3 and the World Sportscar Championship
at a time when the profile of German F3 was rising, and within a year, he had already made his Grand Prix
début. Heinz-Harald Frentzen
competed against Schumacher (sharing the runner-up position in 1989), and later became a winner of three Grands Prix.
Schumacher's championship successor, Tom Kristensen
from Denmark
, embarked on a sportscar career that peaked with a record number of seven Le Mans
wins. He has since established himself in the DTM
touring car series.
During the 1990s, two more future Grand Prix winners graduated from the German F3 Championship – Ralf Schumacher
and Jarno Trulli
– together with many other notable drivers that include Alexander Wurz
, Norberto Fontana
, Nick Heidfeld
and Christijan Albers
. The last champion of this period, Gary Paffett
, went on to win the DTM
drivers' championship title and worked as a test driver for McLaren
-Mercedes. In 2007, he returned to racing in the DTM.
and the F3V (Germany's national F3 association). In 2003, the new championship was inaugurated, with Schäfer himself functioning as the series promoter. The Recaro Formel 3 Cup had title sponsorship from Recaro
, a racing parts company based in Germany. It was replaced in 2007 by wheel manufacturer ATS
.
In 2005, a two-tier championship class system was adopted for chassis specifications from the previous three-year lifecycle. This system was adopted by the British F3 Championship
in the 1990s and has since gained favour in many other F3 championships throughout Europe. It can provide an important entry point for drivers and teams without a competitive budget.
– and two or three popular engine suppliers – usually Mugen-Honda, Mercedes-Benz
, Spiess-Opel
, or TOM's
-Toyota.
The Formel 3 Cup has bucked this trend to become one of the most eclectic F3 championships in the world, with some of the variety that F3 enjoyed in the 1970s. In addition to the ubiquitous Dallaras, the Lola B06/30 and the SLC R1 from Signature have established a foothold. The SLC, which was the Signature team's first foray into chassis construction, had previously competed in the F3 Euroseries in 2005, but Signature chose not to continue using it. The Lola, which was developed after the British
company's collaboration with Dome
came to an end, has otherwise had only limited use in British F3
during 2006. Swiss Racing Team
had provisionally lodged two entries for a pair of Mygale
M06/F3 chassis in addition to a single Dallara entry. Before the start of the season, however, it had changed its line-up to four Dallaras, one of which was later replaced during the season with an SLC R1.
.jpg)
During the 2006 season, a fourth chassis joined the series on an experimental basis. The Ligier JS47, which was built by Martini
after Guy Ligier
acquired the company in 2005, was used in selected rounds by Nico Hülkenberg, driving for Josef Kaufmann Racing.
The engine supply market in the Formel 3 Cup is just as open. The H.W.A.-Mercedes and Spiess-Opel are the most popular, but some teams use the Mugen-Honda, TOM's-Toyota and even the older Sodemo-Renault
. This is in stark contrast to the Euroseries, in which Mercedes powered all bar five of the 2006 entrants. However, the 2007 Formel 3 Cup season is likely to see a different pattern emerge, with the introduction of a new "Challenge" engine, which is expected to be chosen by a number of teams in both the Championship class and the Trophy class. It is being built by Spiess and is based on the company's Opel engine, but with some technical changes to lengthen the service interval and reduce running costs.
Source: http://formel3.de/technik-technisches-reglement.php
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
's national Formula Three
Formula Three
Formula Three, also called Formula 3 or F3, is a class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers...
series. In the hierarchy of motor racing formulae
Formula racing
Formula racing is a term that refers to various forms of open wheeled single seater motorsport. Its origin lies in the nomenclature that was adopted by the FIA for all of its post-World War II single seater regulations, or formulae. The best known of these formulæ are Formula One, Formula Two, and...
, Formula Three is placed between national Formula Renault
Formula Renault
Formula Renault is a class of formula racing founded in 1971. It is popular in Europe and other countries. Regarded as an entry-level series to motor racing, it is a respected series where drivers can learn advanced racecraft before moving on to Formula Three, World Series by Renault, GP2 or...
and championships such as GP2
GP2 Series
The GP2 Series, GP2 for short, is a form of open wheel motor racing introduced in 2005 following the discontinuation of the long-term Formula One feeder series, Formula 3000. The format was conceived by Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, while Ecclestone also has the rights to the name GP1...
. Directly above German Formula Three is the higher-profile Formula Three Euroseries
Formula Three Euroseries
The Formula 3 Euro Series is a European-based junior single seater formula for Formula Three chassis that was launched in 2003 as a merger of the French Formula Three Championship and German Formula Three Championship...
, which visits many of Germany's motorsport circuits. Since the late 1980s, the list of German F3 champions has included many notable drivers, including Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
World Champion Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher is a German Formula One racing driver for the Mercedes GP team. Famous for his eleven-year spell with Ferrari, Schumacher is a seven-time World Champion and is widely regarded as the greatest F1 driver of all time...
and eight-time Le Mans
24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since near the town of Le Mans, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency, race teams have to balance speed against the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without sustaining...
winner Tom Kristensen
Tom Kristensen
Tom Kristensen is a Danish racing driver. He has won many championships in auto racing but his most famous achievement is being the only person to win the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans eight times, six of which were consecutive...
.
History
1950-1956
The first few years of Formula Three in Germany were inevitably subject to the effects of the country's post-warPost-war
A post-war period or postwar period is the interval immediately following the ending of a war and enduring as long as war does not resume. A post-war period can become an interwar period or interbellum when a war between the same parties resumes at a later date...
geo-political
Geopolitics
Geopolitics, from Greek Γη and Πολιτική in broad terms, is a theory that describes the relation between politics and territory whether on local or international scale....
situation, which resulted in the existence of two separate championships. The West German
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
championship ran from 1950 to 1954, while the East German
German Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
equivalent continued until 1956. During this period, both championships used the then-standard 500cc two-stroke
Two-stroke cycle
A two-stroke engine is an internal combustion engine that completes the process cycle in one revolution of the crankshaft...
formula. This era was notable for BMW
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...
's first foray into open-wheeled
Open wheel car
Open-wheel car, formula car, or often single-seater car in British English, describes cars with the wheels outside the car's main body and, in most cases, one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, sports cars, stock cars, and touring cars, which have their wheels below the body or fenders...
racing as an engine supplier, having enjoyed success in pre-war motorcycle racing and touring cars
Touring car racing
Touring car racing is a general term for a number of distinct auto racing competitions in heavily-modified street cars. It is notably popular in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Germany, Japan, Scandinavia and Britain.-Characteristics of a touring car:...
.
1960-1963
The 500cc Formula 3 specification was superseded in 1958 by Formula JuniorFormula Junior
Formula Junior is an open wheel formula racing class first adopted in October 1958 by the CSI . The class was intended to provide an entry level class where you could use inexpensive mechanical components from ordinary automobiles...
, with engine capacities of 1000cc (360kg
Kilogram
The kilogram or kilogramme , also known as the kilo, is the base unit of mass in the International System of Units and is defined as being equal to the mass of the International Prototype Kilogram , which is almost exactly equal to the mass of one liter of water...
chassis
Chassis
A chassis consists of an internal framework that supports a man-made object. It is analogous to an animal's skeleton. An example of a chassis is the underpart of a motor vehicle, consisting of the frame with the wheels and machinery.- Vehicles :In the case of vehicles, the term chassis means the...
) or 1100cc (400kg
Kilogram
The kilogram or kilogramme , also known as the kilo, is the base unit of mass in the International System of Units and is defined as being equal to the mass of the International Prototype Kilogram , which is almost exactly equal to the mass of one liter of water...
chassis
Chassis
A chassis consists of an internal framework that supports a man-made object. It is analogous to an animal's skeleton. An example of a chassis is the underpart of a motor vehicle, consisting of the frame with the wheels and machinery.- Vehicles :In the case of vehicles, the term chassis means the...
) that were derived from production cars, rather than motorcycles. This new specification was adopted in a revived German F3 Championship in 1960, which was won by Gerhard Mitter
Gerhard Mitter
Gerhard Karl Mitter was a German Formula One and sportscar driver.Mitter was born in Schönlinde in Czechoslovakia, but his family was expelled from there, to Leonberg near Stuttgart....
. The 1961 title was won by Kurt Ahrens, Jr., who became champion again in 1963. He was effectively a back-to-back winner, because there was no championship in 1962.
1975-2002
In 1964, the Fédération Internationale de l'AutomobileFédération Internationale de l'Automobile
The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile is a non-profit association established as the Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus on 20 June 1904 to represent the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users...
(FIA) ended Formula Junior and returned to Formula Three, but this time with 1000cc four-cylinder
Cylinder (engine)
A cylinder is the central working part of a reciprocating engine or pump, the space in which a piston travels. Multiple cylinders are commonly arranged side by side in a bank, or engine block, which is typically cast from aluminum or cast iron before receiving precision machine work...
production-based engines. However, it would be ten years before Formula Three was revived in Germany. The first German F3 champion of this era was Giorgio Francia
Giorgio Francia
Giorgio Francia is a former racing driver from Italy. He was the German Formula Three champion in 1974.Francia unsuccessfully entered two Formula One Grands Prix. The first was in a works Brabham BT45B, in Martini Racing colours, at the 1977 Italian Grand Prix. He was withdrawn during practice...
of Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, who won the title in 1974. He was also the first non-German driver to win the title. Other notable drivers of this era were two-time champions Bertram Schäfer (1976 and 1978) and Frank Jelinski (1980–81). Schäfer drove for his eponymous team, Bertram Schäfer Racing, which also won the championship with Jelinski. BSR became a stalwart of German F3, winning a total of eight drivers' titles. It still competes in the series today.
In the 1980s, the German F3 Championship began to produce some notable champions that would later graduate to Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
and achieve title-winning success in other championships. Bernd Schneider
Bernd Schneider (racecar driver)
Bernd Schneider is a retired racing driver from Germany.-Early years:Schneider was named after legendary driver Bernd Rosemeyer, winner of the 1936 European Drivers Championship. Introduced to karting at an early age, he displayed an obvious talent for racing...
(1987) and Joachim Winkelhock
Joachim Winkelhock
Joachim Winkelhock , is a German motor racing driver.The younger brother of the late Manfred Winkelhock, Winkelhock was born in Waiblingen, near Stuttgart...
(1988) went on to make F1 appearances and became champions at the highest levels of touring car racing
Touring car racing
Touring car racing is a general term for a number of distinct auto racing competitions in heavily-modified street cars. It is notably popular in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Germany, Japan, Scandinavia and Britain.-Characteristics of a touring car:...
. 1985 champion Volker Weidler
Volker Weidler
Volker Weidler is a former racing driver from Germany, best known for winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1991.-Formula racing:In 1985, he became German Formula Three champion....
also competed in F1 and won the 24 Hours of Le Mans
24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since near the town of Le Mans, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency, race teams have to balance speed against the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without sustaining...
in 1991.
However, the 1990 champion was arguably the most notable of them all: Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher is a German Formula One racing driver for the Mercedes GP team. Famous for his eleven-year spell with Ferrari, Schumacher is a seven-time World Champion and is widely regarded as the greatest F1 driver of all time...
. Four years before winning the first of his seven F1 World Championship titles, Schumacher had already attracted attention with his performances in F3 and the World Sportscar Championship
World Sportscar Championship
The World Sportscar Championship was the world series run for sports car racing by the FIA from 1953 to 1992.The championship evolved from a small collection of the most important sportscar, endurance and road racing events in Europe and North America with dozens of gentleman drivers at the grid,...
at a time when the profile of German F3 was rising, and within a year, he had already made his Grand Prix
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
début. Heinz-Harald Frentzen
Heinz-Harald Frentzen
Heinz-Harald Frentzen is a German racing driver most famous for his career in Formula One. At various times driving for Williams, Jordan, Sauber, Prost, and Arrows, he achieved three race wins before his retirement from F1 in 2003.-Early career:He was born in the West German city of...
competed against Schumacher (sharing the runner-up position in 1989), and later became a winner of three Grands Prix.
Schumacher's championship successor, Tom Kristensen
Tom Kristensen
Tom Kristensen is a Danish racing driver. He has won many championships in auto racing but his most famous achievement is being the only person to win the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans eight times, six of which were consecutive...
from Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, embarked on a sportscar career that peaked with a record number of seven Le Mans
24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since near the town of Le Mans, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency, race teams have to balance speed against the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without sustaining...
wins. He has since established himself in the DTM
Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters
The Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters is a touring car racing series based in Germany, but also with rounds elsewhere in Europe....
touring car series.
During the 1990s, two more future Grand Prix winners graduated from the German F3 Championship – Ralf Schumacher
Ralf Schumacher
Ralf Schumacher is a German racing driver, and the younger brother of seven-time Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher...
and Jarno Trulli
Jarno Trulli
Jarno Trulli is an Italian Formula One racing driver. He has been a regular in Formula One since 1997, driving for Minardi, Prost, Jordan, Renault and Toyota. He won the 2004 Monaco Grand Prix for Renault, his only Grand Prix victory to date. He is known for being a qualification expert...
– together with many other notable drivers that include Alexander Wurz
Alexander Wurz
Alexander Wurz is an Austrian racing driver. He competed in Formula One from until , and is also a two-time winner of the Le Mans 24 Hours....
, Norberto Fontana
Norberto Fontana
Norberto Edgardo Fontana is an Argentine racing driver. He participated in four Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on June 29, 1997. His opportunity to race came as a result of two separate injuries sustained by regular Sauber driver Gianni Morbidelli during the 1997 season...
, Nick Heidfeld
Nick Heidfeld
Nick Lars Heidfeld is a German racing driver.Despite scoring regular podium finishes in and , Heidfeld has yet to win a race since entering Formula One in . This means that amongst the current drivers, he has had the most GP starts without standing at the top spot on the podium...
and Christijan Albers
Christijan Albers
Christijan Albers is a Dutch racing driver. After success in the DTM he drove in Formula One from until the 2007 British Grand Prix, shortly after which he was dropped by his Spyker F1 team...
. The last champion of this period, Gary Paffett
Gary Paffett
Gary Paffett is a British racing driver in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters. He is also a test driver for the McLaren Formula One team. Paffett progressed through the ranks of karting and junior formulae in the United Kingdom, winning the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award in 1999...
, went on to win the DTM
Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters
The Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters is a touring car racing series based in Germany, but also with rounds elsewhere in Europe....
drivers' championship title and worked as a test driver for McLaren
McLaren
McLaren Racing Limited, trading as Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, is a British Formula One team based in Woking, Surrey, United Kingdom. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor but has also competed and won in the Indianapolis 500 and Canadian-American Challenge Cup...
-Mercedes. In 2007, he returned to racing in the DTM.
2003 onwards
In 2002, the motorsport governing bodies of France and Germany collaborated to revive the concept of a European F3 championship. The F3 Euroseries was supposed to replace the German and French national championships – indeed, the French championship came to an end at that point. However, the German championship had more entrants, many of whom had concerns about the inevitable cost increase that a pan-European event calendar would entail. Bertram Schäfer led moves to maintain some form of national F3 championship in Germany, and had support from ADACADAC
The ADAC is Germany's and Europe's largest automobile club, with more than 17 million members in June 2010. It was founded on May 24, 1903 as "Deutsche Motorradfahrer-Vereinigung" and was renamed in 1911...
and the F3V (Germany's national F3 association). In 2003, the new championship was inaugurated, with Schäfer himself functioning as the series promoter. The Recaro Formel 3 Cup had title sponsorship from Recaro
Recaro
RECARO GmbH & Co. KG, commonly known as Recaro, is a German company based in Kirchheim unter Teck in the vicinity of Stuttgart, known for their automobile bucket seats...
, a racing parts company based in Germany. It was replaced in 2007 by wheel manufacturer ATS
ATS (wheels)
ATS was a German Formula One team, named after German alloy wheel brand Auto Technisches Spezialzubehör. The company is based in Bad Dürkheim near the Hockenheimring, its team was active in Formula One from 1977 to 1984.-Wheel manufacturer:...
.
In 2005, a two-tier championship class system was adopted for chassis specifications from the previous three-year lifecycle. This system was adopted by the British F3 Championship
British Formula Three Championship
The British Formula Three Championship is an international motor racing series that takes place primarily in the United Kingdom with a small number of events in mainland Europe. It is a junior-level feeder formula that uses small single seater Formula Three chassis. Its current official title is...
in the 1990s and has since gained favour in many other F3 championships throughout Europe. It can provide an important entry point for drivers and teams without a competitive budget.
Chassis and engines
Despite the fact that F3 is still an open formula for which any chassis builder or engine tuner can supply a product provided that it meets the technical regulations, most championships have just one de facto choice of chassis supplier – usually DallaraDallara
Dallara Automobili is an Italian chassis manufacturer for various motor racing series, being most notable for its near-monopoly in Formula 3 since 1993...
– and two or three popular engine suppliers – usually Mugen-Honda, Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...
, Spiess-Opel
Opel
Adam Opel AG, generally shortened to Opel, is a German automobile company founded by Adam Opel in 1862. Opel has been building automobiles since 1899, and became an Aktiengesellschaft in 1929...
, or TOM's
TOM'S
is a factory supported racing team and tuner of Toyota and Lexus vehicles. The name stands for Tachi Oiwa Motor Sport. Their head office is located in Tokyo, Japan. They are currently heavily involved with Super GT racing and Formula 3 racing...
-Toyota.
The Formel 3 Cup has bucked this trend to become one of the most eclectic F3 championships in the world, with some of the variety that F3 enjoyed in the 1970s. In addition to the ubiquitous Dallaras, the Lola B06/30 and the SLC R1 from Signature have established a foothold. The SLC, which was the Signature team's first foray into chassis construction, had previously competed in the F3 Euroseries in 2005, but Signature chose not to continue using it. The Lola, which was developed after the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
company's collaboration with Dome
Dome (constructor)
, literally "child's dream", is a Japanese-based racing car constructor, involved mainly in open wheel and sports car racing.-Background:In 1965 Minoru Hayashi built his first racing car, a rebodied Honda S600 coupe. Belonging to Tojiro Ukiya, it was called the "Karasu" , due to its shape...
came to an end, has otherwise had only limited use in British F3
British Formula Three Championship
The British Formula Three Championship is an international motor racing series that takes place primarily in the United Kingdom with a small number of events in mainland Europe. It is a junior-level feeder formula that uses small single seater Formula Three chassis. Its current official title is...
during 2006. Swiss Racing Team
Swiss Racing Team
Swiss Racing Team is an auto racing team based in Inwil, Lucerne, Switzerland. Formed by Othmar Welti and Erich Kolb in 2000, Swiss Racing Team initially competed in the German Formula Three Championship before also joining the Formula Three Euroseries from 2003 to 2004. Frédéric Vervisch won the...
had provisionally lodged two entries for a pair of Mygale
Mygale
Mygale is a French racing car constructor and contractor that specialises in the production of single seater chassis for use in formula racing. The company was established in 1989 by Bertrand Decoster and its factory is based in Magny Cours....
M06/F3 chassis in addition to a single Dallara entry. Before the start of the season, however, it had changed its line-up to four Dallaras, one of which was later replaced during the season with an SLC R1.
Martini (cars)
Martini Cars is a constructor of Formula racing cars from France, founded by Renato "Tico" Martini in 1965, when Martini and partner Bill Knight founded the Winfield Racing School at the Magny-Cours circuit...
after Guy Ligier
Guy Ligier
Guy Ligier is a French former rugby player and racing driver.He first made his name as a rugby player in the late 1940s when he was working as a butcher's assistant in his home town of Vichy. An orphan, he was determined to build up a successful business and saved all his money in order to buy a...
acquired the company in 2005, was used in selected rounds by Nico Hülkenberg, driving for Josef Kaufmann Racing.
The engine supply market in the Formel 3 Cup is just as open. The H.W.A.-Mercedes and Spiess-Opel are the most popular, but some teams use the Mugen-Honda, TOM's-Toyota and even the older Sodemo-Renault
Renault
Renault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, and in the past, autorail vehicles, trucks, tractors, vans and also buses/coaches. Its alliance with Nissan makes it the world's third largest automaker...
. This is in stark contrast to the Euroseries, in which Mercedes powered all bar five of the 2006 entrants. However, the 2007 Formel 3 Cup season is likely to see a different pattern emerge, with the introduction of a new "Challenge" engine, which is expected to be chosen by a number of teams in both the Championship class and the Trophy class. It is being built by Spiess and is based on the company's Opel engine, but with some technical changes to lengthen the service interval and reduce running costs.
Specifications
- Engine: piston engines, maximum four cylinders, 26mm-diameter air restrictor.
- Capacity: maximum 2,000cc.
- Tyres: YokohamaYokohama Rubber Companyis a tire company based in Tokyo, Japan. The company founded and started in 1917 in a joint venture between Yokohama Cable Manufacturing and B.F. Goodrich. In 1969 the company expanded to the United States as Yokohama Tire Corporation. The Aspec A300 was the driving force behind its tremendous...
, dimensions: 200/50VR13 front, 240/45VR13 rear. - Tyre limitation: 2 sets of slicks per weekend, unlimited number of wet-weather tyres.
- Restriction: thermal, chemical or mechanical treatments are prohibited.
- Wheels:ATS alloy wheel front 9x13, rear 10,5x13.
- Minimum weight: 550 kg, car including all fluids and the driver.
- Fuel: Control fuel, unleaded ShellRoyal Dutch ShellRoyal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
Super plus. - Restriction: no refuelling during practice, qualifying and race.
- Monocoque: Carbon fibre sandwich design, two roll-over structures, stepped underbody.
- Restriction: Monocoque must not be changed during an event.
- Telemetry: Prohibited.
- Data recording: Allowed.
- ABS: Prohibited.
- Gearbox: Maximum 6-speed gearbox, sequential.
- Catalyst: Silencer and catalyst.
Source: http://formel3.de/technik-technisches-reglement.php
See also
- German Formula Three Championship drivers
- List of German Formula Three champions
- ADAC Formel MastersADAC Formel MastersADAC Formel Masters is an open wheel racing series based in Germany. The first season was in 2008 and is the main feeder series to the ATS Formula 3 Cup .-Scoring system:...
- Formula Three EuroseriesFormula Three EuroseriesThe Formula 3 Euro Series is a European-based junior single seater formula for Formula Three chassis that was launched in 2003 as a merger of the French Formula Three Championship and German Formula Three Championship...