Joe Tandy, 1983-2009

Joe Tandy's death yesterday afternoon, at the age of just 26, has removed the linchpin of one of the brightest emerging teams in British single-seater racing.

An accomplished racer in his own right, the Bedfordshire-based driver turned engineer became obsessed with motorsport from an early age and made his first foray into the sport through Short Oval Ministock racing aged 11.

A keen rugby player, footballer and swimmer during his school years, Tandy nevertheless remained undeterred from the motorsport path and won the World and National Ministox titles in 1998, aged 15, adding a further national title the following year.

Tandy graduated to circuit racing two years later, competing with moderate success in the Mini Se7en Challenge from 2001 until 2004 and in the latter days of the TVR Tuscan Challenge.

Meanwhile, after finishing college and completing an engineering apprenticeship, Tandy began working as a technician for Jonathan Palmer's Palmersport corporate driving days concern.

His engineering acumen elevated him to chief mechanic by the age of 22, while his racing career continued to go from strength to strength.

The opportunity for him to test a Formula Palmer Audi single-seater at Bedford Autodrome resulted in him breaking IndyCar star Justin Wilson's then lap record. Tandy decided this was enough of an incentive to make the leap from 70bhp Mini racing, to 350bhp single-seaters.

He sold his Mini, found the budget to compete in the 2005 FPA championship and promptly won the title at his first attempt - taking six wins across the season, which included a triumph on his category debut at Oulton Park.

Tandy also made the final of that year's McLaren Autosport BRDC Award, but a lack of funds and opportunities to progress his own career prompted him to turn his attentions to younger brother Nick, who had just won the BRDC Single Seater Championship having also trodden the Ministocks and Mini circuit-racing path.

Problems with the works Ray team in British Formula Ford stifled Nick's progress mid-way through the following season and, after cutting a deal to buy a Ray chassis, Joe set up his own Joe Tandy Racing team to run Nick for the rest of the campaign.

Nick won on his JTR debut at Thruxton in 2006 and added a further triumph at the Castle Combe season finale.

That success prompted a team expansion to three cars for the following season as Nick won a further six races and finished third in the standings - firmly establishing JTR as a championship frontrunner.

JTR also became the first team to win the Formula Ford Festival on the road in a Ray chassis that year, before a safety car infringement and subsequent exclusion robbed the Tandys of their success.

In order to continue Nick's rise through the motorsport ranks, JTR purchased a Mygale Formula 3 chassis and graduated to British F3 for 2008, while also switching its emerging Formula Ford squad to running the French manufacturer's cars instead of Rays.

The Tandys went on to earn the respect and admiration of the entire British F3 paddock for turning an unfancied car into a regular frontrunner, railing against the established Dallara hordes with a small operation and a meagre budget - driven by little more than fierce intellect, a straight-talking attitude and a shared passion for the sport.

This tragedy comes just as Joe looked to set to help propel his brother into the ranks of British F3 race winners and title contenders.

AUTOSPORT offers its sincere condolences to Tandy's family and friends at this difficult time.

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Van der Zande hopeful of full season

Renger van der Zande says he would like to extend his one-race British Formula 3 deal with Hitech Racing beyond this weekend at Silverstone to contest the rest of the championship.

The Mercedes-backed Dutchman, who finished fourth in F3 Euro Series last season, hoped to graduate to GP2 with Arden in 2009 but lost the deal when his major sponsor pulled out at the end of last year.

A planned switch to the DTM with Mercedes, after some encouraging testing performances, also fell through two weeks ago when the pointed star decided to reduce the number of cars it would field in this year's championship.

"For now it's only one race, but I'd like to do the full championship here, the Masters and Macau," van der Zande told AUTOSPORT.

"I like the team, it's a really good team. Mercedes contacted the Grubmullers who said they could sort something out for me. The first time I saw the car I was smiling and after the first time I drove it yesterday I was smiling even more."

Van der Zande will start his first British F3 race from the front row after setting second fastest time in qualifying this morning, just 0.021s adrift of pole-sitter Max Chilton and over three tenths clear of team-mate Walter Grubmuller.

"There's definitely more time in the car," he added. "The thing for me is getting used to the tyres. The Kumho [used in the Euro Series] is very round and has more slip angle to play with, whereas the Coopers are narrower and just snap when you go over the limit. The compound is also softer and gives better grip."

Van der Zande ruled out the possibility of graduating to GP2 or the DTM this season, but hopes to make the move next year.

"This year I don't think there's a chance of GP2 or DTM," he said. "Mercedes brought me in this weekend and my focus is on getting good results for them, but I'd really like to do DTM - the car is super quick and sits me really well.

"I can drive it quickly with two fingers in my nose, as we say in Holland."

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Bridger signs for Litespeed

Reigning British F3 National Class champion Jay Bridger has signed a deal with National Class outfit Litespeed to help run his championship class Mygale Mugen-Honda for the rest of the season.

Bridger missed the previous round at Silverstone earlier this month after enduring a difficult start to his campaign and splitting with Team West-Tec.

The 20-year-old ex-British Formula Ford front-runner will return to action at Rockingham later this month, testing on May 18th with a newly liveried car run under the Litespeed/Bridger Motorsport banner.

"This is a terrific opportunity for me to demonstrate what I am capable of," said Bridger. "There is a definite meeting of minds with Litespeed and I am looking forward to a long and highly successful future together.

"I would like to thank the team for their financial and engineering support and can't wait to work with such passionate and friendly people."

Director of engineering at Litespeed Steve Kenchington added: "We are delighted to have Jay on board as he is an extremely capable British driver and a thoroughly nice guy.

"Jay's results at Oulton Park and subsequent missing of the race at Silverstone GP are unfortunate in terms of his challenge for the 2009 title, however we are confident that we will turn his fortunes round for the rest of the season. The car needs some development, but it won't take us long to have it in great shape."

Bridger's 2008 race engineer, Teo da Silva Lopes has joined the set-up and will run Bridger's car, assisted by Litespeed's engineering department.

Litespeed and Bridger Motorsport are also in discussions about establishing a Junior Team for 2010, managed by Bridger and engineered by Litespeed.

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Ricciardo tops Silverstone testing

British Formula 3 championship leader Daniel Ricciardo underlined his early-season superiority by setting fastest time during official testing at Silverstone today.

The Australian lapped the damp Silverstone GP circuit in 2m01.953s in his Carlin Motorsport Dallara Volkswagen during this afternoon's fourth and final session, almost 0.3 seconds faster than Fortec rival Riki Chbristodoulou's Dallara Mercedes.

Brazilian Adriano Buzaid (Dallara Volkswagen) cheered up T-Sport, after a difficult opening round at Oulton Park last weekend, by returning the squad to the sharp end of the timesheet with third fastest time, while team-mate Wayne Boyd was sixth behind Max Chilton and Nick Tandy.

On-going problems with his West-Tec-prepared Mygale Mugen-Honda prevented Jay Bridger from running, while National Class championship leader Daniel McKenzie didn't test either due to food poisoning.

Pos Driver Team Car Time 1. Daniel Ricciardo Carlin D/V 2m01.953s 2. Riki Christodoulou Fortec D/M 2m02.243s 3. Adriano Buzaid T-Sport D/V 2m02.841s 4. Max Chilton Carlin D/V 2m03.189s 5. Nick Tandy JTR M/M 2m03.513s 6. Wayne Boyd T-Sport D/V 2m03.964s 7. Henry Arundel Carlin D/V 2m04.273s 8. Oliver Oakes Carlin D/V 2m05.081s 9. Stephane Richelmi Barazi Epsilon D/M 2m05.618s 10. Victor Garcia Fortec D/M 2m05.700s 11. Hywel Lloyd CF D/H 2m06.124s 12. Carlos Huertas Double R D/M 2m06.577s 13. Walter Grubmuller Hitech D/M 2m07.416s 14. Max Snegirev West-Tec D/H 2m07.689s 15. Daisuke Nakajima Double R D/M 2m07.989s 16. Gabriel Dias T-Sport D/H 2m08.969s 17. Victor Correa Litespeed S/H 2m11.032s

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Ricciardo takes third British F3 win

Daniel Ricciardo extended his British Formula 3 championship lead by storming to his third victory from four starts in race two at Silverstone this afternoon.

The Australian sat behind Carlin team-mate Max Chilton for most of the race, before beating him with a gutsy move around the outside at the super-fast Stowe corner to grab the win in the late stages.

"We stayed in formation for most of the race, but my car came on a bit better towards mid-race and I saw him have a few problems with oversteer," said Ricciardo. "But I managed to get alongside through Maggots/Becketts and run side by side through a couple of corners. It was fun and clean."

A lap later Fortec's Riki Christodoulou feinted left, before making a superb lunge down the inside of the Dallara-Volkswagen at the Abbey chicane to steal second as a demoralised Chilton's challenge faded. The double poleman just held off the lurking Raikkonen Robertson car of Daisuke Nakajima to clinch the final podium spot.

An aggressive-looking Nick Tandy showed yet more improvement with his Mygale-Mercedes, to take fifth place and a new lap record with the race's fastest lap at 1m41.282s.

The JTR driver took advantage of a storming start and some typically opportunistic racecraft to rise from 10th on the grid to sixth by the end of the third lap.

Henry Arundel (Carlin) rounded out the top six, ahead of Hitech's Walter Grubmuller, whose race one-winning team-mate Renger van der Zande ran third early on, before losing out to Christodoulou's brave braking into the Club chicane at mid-distance, and fading to 12th late on with an apparent loss of power in his Dallara-Mercedes.

Gabriel Dias (T-Sport) completed a National Class double by mugging Daniel McKenzie on the last lap of the race and thus slightly reducing a substantial points disadvantage to his Fortec rival.

Pos Driver Team Car Time 1. Daniel Ricciardo Carlin D/V 30m46.091s 2. Riki Christodoulou Fortec D/M + 1.963s 3. Max Chilton Carlin D/V + 4.755s 4. Daisuke Nakajima Double R D/M + 5.046s 5. Nick Tandy JTR M/M + 13.029s 6. Henry Arundel Carlin D/V + 22.007s 7. Walter Grubmuller Hitech M/M + 23.770s 8. Carlos Huertas Double R D/M + 25.434s 9. Oliver Oakes Carlin D/V + 26.781s 10. Adriano Buzaid T-Sport D/V + 27.439s 11. Wayne Boyd T-Sport D/V + 27.875s 12. Renger van der Zande Hitech D/M + 29.287s 13. Hywel Lloyd CF D/H + 29.869s 14. Gabriel Dias T-Sport D/H + 32.553s 15. Daniel McKenzie Fortec D/H + 33.269s 16. Victor Garcia Fortec D/M + 33.539s 17. Stephane Richelmi Barazi D/M + 50.656s 18. Victor Correa Litespeed S/H + 52.572s Retirements: Max Snegirev West-Tec D/H 4 laps

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Chilton secures dual Silverstone poles

Max Chilton claimed his third British F3 pole position from four attempts this season after topping the times in qualifying for race two on the Silverstone GP circuit this afternoon.

The Carlin driver, who claimed he completed an almost perfect lap to snatch pole in this morning's first session, found another 0.017s this afternoon, to set a best lap of 1m39.781s on his first run on new tyres and claim the top spot.

He then parked his Dallara-Volkswagen in the pitlane with almost a third of the session remaining and watched his rivals try and fail to beat his benchmark.

Chilton's Australian team-mate Daniel Ricciardo recovered from his first session off at Copse to set second fastest time, 0.148s adrift, and lock out the front row for Carlin.

Like many, the Red Bull-backed driver had three bites at extracting the best from his tyres and his 1m39.929s best came on his 11th lap with barely a minute of the session remaining.

That supressed Fortec's Riki Christodoulou to third on the grid, 0.011s further back and the last man to break through the 1m40s barrier in this slower session.

Hitech's Renger van der Zande failed to extract some expected extra pace from his Dallara-Mercedes this time and finished the session fourth on a 1m40.016s best, 0.164s clear of T-Sport's Adriano Buzaid.

The Brazilian again joined the action late, but struggled for speed initially before nailing a decent lap at the death to drop Daisuke Nakajima, who again set the pace early on for Raikkonen Robertson Racing, to sixth on the grid.

JTR's Nick Tandy showed marked improvement compared with this morning (when he struggled to 15th) but his 1m40.517s best was still only good enough to round out the top 10, behind Henry Arundel, Carlos Huertas and Walter Grubmuller, who again struggled to match the pace of their team-mates.

Pos Driver Team Car Time 1. Max Chilton Carlin D/V 1m39.781s 2. Daniel Ricciardo Carlin D/V 1m39.929s 3. Riki Christodoulou Fortec D/M 1m39.940s 4. Renger van der Zande Hitech D/M 1m40.016s 5. Adriano Buzaid T-Sport D/V 1m40.180s 6. Daisuke Nakajima Double R D/M 1m40.251s 7. Henry Arundel Carlin D/V 1m40.286s 8. Carlos Huertas Double R D/M 1m40.424s 9. Walter Grubmuller Hitech D/M 1m40.468s 10. Nick Tandy JTR M/M 1m40.517s 11. Wayne Boyd T-Sport D/V 1m40.748s 12. Oliver Oakes Carlin D/V 1m40.919s 13. Gabriel Dias T-Sport (N) D/H 1m40.975s 14. Daniel McKenzie Fortec (N) D/H 1m41.128s 15. Hywel Lloyd CF D/H 1m41.314s 16. Victor Garcia Fortec D/M 1m41.326s 17. Stephane Richelmi Barazi Epsilon D/M 1m42.583s 18. Victor Correa Litespeed (N) S/H 1m43.062s 19. Max Snegirev West-Tec (N) D/H 1m44.397s

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Ricciardo tops Silverstone testing

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Ricciardo tops Silverstone testing

British Formula 3 championship leader Daniel Ricciardo underlined his early-season superiority by setting fastest time during official testing at Silverstone today.

The Australian lapped the damp Silverstone GP circuit in 2m01.953s in his Carlin Motorsport Dallara Volkswagen during this afternoon's fourth and final session, almost 0.3 seconds faster than Fortec rival Riki Chbristodoulou's Dallara Mercedes.

Brazilian Adriano Buzaid (Dallara Volkswagen) cheered up T-Sport, after a difficult opening round at Oulton Park last weekend, by returning the squad to the sharp end of the timesheet with third fastest time, while team-mate Wayne Boyd was sixth behind Max Chilton and Nick Tandy.

On-going problems with his West-Tec-prepared Mygale Mugen-Honda prevented Jay Bridger from running, while National Class championship leader Daniel McKenzie didn't test either due to food poisoning.

Pos Driver Team Car Time 1. Daniel Ricciardo Carlin D/V 2m01.953s 2. Riki Christodoulou Fortec D/M 2m02.243s 3. Adriano Buzaid T-Sport D/V 2m02.841s 4. Max Chilton Carlin D/V 2m03.189s 5. Nick Tandy JTR M/M 2m03.513s 6. Wayne Boyd T-Sport D/V 2m03.964s 7. Henry Arundel Carlin D/V 2m04.273s 8. Oliver Oakes Carlin D/V 2m05.081s 9. Stephane Richelmi Barazi Epsilon D/M 2m05.618s 10. Victor Garcia Fortec D/M 2m05.700s 11. Hywel Lloyd CF D/H 2m06.124s 12. Carlos Huertas Double R D/M 2m06.577s 13. Walter Grubmuller Hitech D/M 2m07.416s 14. Max Snegirev West-Tec D/H 2m07.689s 15. Daisuke Nakajima Double R D/M 2m07.989s 16. Gabriel Dias T-Sport D/H 2m08.969s 17. Victor Correa Litespeed S/H 2m11.032s

Donington British F3 race postponed

The British F3 championship's annual visit to Donington Park has been postponed due to ongoing issues with the circuit's track licence.

The UK's motor racing governing body - the Motor Sports Association - has yet to grant the Leicestershire venue a licence to hold race meetings in 2009, because of safety concerns over construction work for the British Grand Prix in 2010, and AUTOSPORT understands the circuit is unlikely to obtain that licence before British F3's planned visit on April 25/26.

The building of an access tunnel has dramatically reduced the run-off on either side of the track between McLeans and Coppice, and the MSA has requested work to be done to make the area safe for racing before granting Donington its licence.

British F3 series boss Stephane Ratel told AUTOSPORT last week the Donington round would be postponed rather than cancelled if the circuit could not obtain its licence in time.

A new provisional date has now been pencilled in for the weekend of July 18/19 - the same weekend as the World Touring Car Championship's visit to Brands Hatch.

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Q and A with Daniel Ricciardo

Australian single-seater racer Daniel Ricciardo became the new rising star of British Formula 3 by scoring a double win at the 2009 season opener at Oulton Park last weekend.

In doing so, he also became the first driver to win a British F3 race with Volkswagen power since Steve Robertson, at Thruxton, almost 18 years ago. AUTOSPORT'S British F3 correspondent Ben Anderson sat down with him after the race.

Q. How was your first weekend racing in British F3?

Daniel Ricciardo: Better than I expected actually, it's gone really well and I've made a dream start to the championship.

I really like the track. Out of the English circuits we've been too, it's my favourite.
Coming here, after testing last month, I knew we had a pretty good chance to walk away with two wins. Not that I was expecting too, but I was hoping!

Q. You didn't seem entirely comfortable with the car after qualifying, where you didn't find any time between sessions, and it looked a handful in race one - what were you struggling with?

DR: I wasn't 100 per cent happy with my race set-up and [Nick] Tandy gave me a really hard time in race one. We struggled with high-speed understeer in qualifying and I was having to be really tentative on the kerbs in race one, but we made some changes for race two and the tyres seemed to last at a higher pace for longer, which made things much easier for me! It was cool and I'll have to try and keep things like this for as long as possible, because I'm sure the others are keen to catch me.

Q. Are there any circuits where you think you might struggle this season?

DR: I hope I'm going to be strong everywhere, but I'm not sure yet. Testing at Silverstone International the other week was just okay – nothing too special from me – so we've got some work to do there, but I don't think it's really a problem and, if it is, I'm sure it's one we can solve.

Q. What have been your biggest challenges coming into this championship from the Formula Renault Eurocup?

DR: Compared to Renault, the F3 is obviously a heavier, faster car, so physically I've had to increase my training from last year. Also, getting used to using a handbrake for the starts and getting the technique has been tricky, but I seem to have got it nailed this weekend! I'm aware I've just got to keep learning, but I now feel I'm at the level where I have an understanding of what the car can do and can get the most out of it. My relationship with my engineer is getting better and we're making good progress.

Q. Who do you think your biggest rival will be this season?

DR: I think this weekend proved there's quite a few of us who can fight for race wins. Nick Tandy was always going to be strong, Walter [Grubmuller], with his F3 experience, he's started well. Max [Chilton] impressed with his pole, and [Daisuke] Nakajima in his first British F3 race was right up there, T-Sport were good at the Silverstone test and, although their guys didn't have the best weekend here, if they can find their form they'll be in the fight at the next round. So it's quite hard to say, but for sure there are a few guys who can do it. As for me, I'm just going to take each race as it comes.

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Ricciardo completes double at Oulton

Ricciardo expects season to get tougher

British Formula 3 pre-season title favourite Daniel Ricciardo believes he will face a tougher challenge from his rivals in future races than he did at the Oulton Park season opener last weekend.

The Australian Carlin driver took two comfortable wins from two front row grid spots at Oulton, but expects to face stiffer competition as the season progresses.

"I think this weekend proved there's quite a few of us who can fight for race wins," said Ricciardo, whose race one victory made him the first driver to win a British F3 race with a Volkswagen engine since Steve Robertson at Thruxton in 1991.

"Nick Tandy was always going to be strong, Walter [Grubmuller], with his F3 experience, he's started well. Max [Chilton] impressed with his pole, and [Daisuke] Nakajima in his first British F3 race was right up there, so it’s quite hard to say, but for sure there are a few guys who can do it."

Ricciardo also reckons fellow VW-powered squad T-Sport will return to the fight at the front of the field, despite struggling for pace at Oulton.

"T-Sport were good at the Silverstone International test the other week and, although their guys didn't have the best weekend here, if they can find their form they'll be in the fight at the next round," he added.

"I hope I'm going to be strong everywhere, but I'm not sure yet. Testing at Silverstone was just okay - nothing too special from me – so we've got some work to do there, but I don't think it's really a problem and, if it is, I'm sure it's one we can solve."

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Ricciardo completes double at Oulton

Australian Daniel Ricciardo completed a dominant British F3 double by racing to a comfortable victory in race two at Oulton Park this afternoon.

The Carlin driver made two superb getaways at the start of the race, which was restarted following a first corner crash involving T-Sport team-mates Wayne Boyd and Gabriel Dias.

On both occasions, poleman Walter Grubmuller fluffed his start and each time Ricciardo blasted past on the outside to take the lead before turn one.

From there, Ricciardo was able to pull out an instant gap on his Austrian rival and maintain pace consistently to flag.

"I wasn't sure I'd be able to get such a good start both times," said Ricciardo. "But it all worked out and from the first lap I was able to drive my own race and watch the gap back to the rest while keeping my laptimes fast and consistent."

Behind, Grubmuller showed strong pace in his pursuit of Ricciardo and even set the fastest race lap, but a couple of errors dropped him back into the clutches of the chasing Nick Tandy.

Tandy held station in third for most of the race, after winning a first lap duel with Max Chilton, and didn't have the pace to capitalise despite Grubmuller's occasional errors.

Further back, Riki Christodoulou endured a frustrating race, stuck in sixth behind Daisuke Nakajima after also making a poor start.

Pos Driver Team Car Time 1. Daniel Ricciardo Carlin D/V 23m57.693s 2. Walter Grubmuller Hitech D/M +2.625s 3. Nick Tandy JTR M/M +4.454s 4. Max Chilton Carlin D/V +10.652s 5. Daisuke Nakajima Double R D/M +15.912s 6. Riki Christodoulou Fortec D/M +16.721s 7. Adriano Buzaid T-Sport D/V +17.623s 8. Oliver Oakes Carlin D/V +21.381s 9. Henry Arundel Carlin D/V +22.173s 10. Victor Garcia Fortec D/M +29.372s 11. Hywel Lloyd CF D/H +29.517s 12. Daniel McKenzie Fortec (N) D/H +37.905s 13. Stephane Richelmi Barazi Epsilon D/M +42.668s 14. Carlos Huertas Double R D/M +43.578s 15. Maxim Snegirev West-Tec (N) D/H +1m00.042s 16. Victor Correa Litespeed (N) S/H +1m04.642s Retirements Jay Bridger West-Tec M/H 6 laps Wayne Boyd T-Sport D/V 0 laps Gabriel Dias T-Sport (N) D/H 0 laps Fastest lap, Grubmuller 1m29.177s

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Ricciardo wins on debut at Oulton

Pre-season title favourite Daniel Ricciardo got his British F3 championship challenge off to the perfect start by winning the first race of the year at Oulton Park this morning.

The Red Bull-backed Australian sat behind his pole-sitting Carlin team-mate Max Chilton in second place for most of the race, with his mirrors full of the Mygale Mercedes of Nick Tandy.

Having pulled out a comfortable lead early on, Chilton's challenge fell away in the closing stages once he learned he would be penalised for a jump start.

He gradually fell back into the clutches of the chasing pair and lost out to both on consecutive laps with only a handful of tours left, but not before infuriating the rapid Tandy who felt Chilton had blocked him deliberately for a lap while Ricciardo tried to escape with the lead.

"I'm really pleased to have won my first F3 race," said Ricciardo. "The team said to me over the radio that Max had jumped the start and had a time penalty, so I knew I was racing for the lead. I pushed really hard towards the end and Nick kept me under pressure all the way."

Chilton's fate was already sealed and he finished third on the road but dropped to 17th after the flag, with one minute added to his time for the jump start.

That left race two poleman Walter Grubmuller to inherit the final podium place for former champion team Hitech, well clear of debutant Daisuke Nakajima. The Japanese rookie held third for the first few laps before he dropped behind Tandy and Grubmuller and spent the rest of the race defending from fellow series debutant Riki Christodoulou.

Expected frontrunning squad T-Sport, which has struggled so far this weekend, showed better pace in the race today. Adriano Buzaid and Wayne Boyd benefited from trouble at the start for Henry Arundel, Carlos Huertas and Oliver Oakes and finished sixth and seventh.

They also set quickest laps 0.8s slower than Tandy's new lap record 1m28.772s in the race - an improvement of half a second compared with Buzaid's gap to the front-running pace in qualifying.

Pos Driver Team Car Time 1. Daniel Ricciardo Carlin D/V 29m53.932s 2. Nick Tandy JTR M/M +2.459s 3. Walter Grubmuller Hitech D/M +9.156s 4. Daisuke Nakajima Double R D/M +16.489s 5. Riki Christodoulou Fortec D/M +17.190s 6. Adriano Buzaid T-Sport D/V +22.257s 7. Wayne Boyd T-Sport D/V +23.997s 8. Hywel Lloyd CF D/H +25.253s 9. Oliver Oakes Carlin D/V +25.801s 10. Victor Garcia Fortec D/M +34.267s 11. Daniel McKenzie Fortec (N) D/H +39.580s 12. Henry Arundel Carlin D/V +40.095s 13. Stephane Richelmi Barazi Epsilon D/M +51.477s 14. Carlos Huertas Double R D/M +52.853s 15. Gabriel Dias T-Sport (N) D/H +1m01.030s 16. Jay Bridger West-Tec M/H +1m01.559s 17. Max Chilton Carlin D/V +1m06.134s 18. Maxim Snegirev West-Tec (N) D/H +1 lap Retirements Victor Correa Litespeed (N) S/H 11 laps Fastest lap, Tandy 1m28.772s

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Grubmuller takes maiden F3 pole

Austrian racer Walter Grubmuller claimed pole position for race two during British Formula 3 second qualifying at Oulton Park this afternoon.

Like fellow championship veteran Max Chilton in this morning's session, Grubmuller was the only driver to break through the 1m27s barrier and thus took his first ever British F3 pole.

He topped the timesheet early on in his family-owned Hitech Racing-run Dallara-Mercedes - setting a 1m29.411s on his third lap and continuing to lower his own benchmark time in an impressive sequence of laps during the session.

Grubmuller set a 1m28.682s on his next tour, then 1m28.512s on his sixth lap, 1m28.192s on his seventh, 1m28.121s on his eighth and finally a 1m27.921s on his ninth effort.

Australian Carlin driver Daniel Ricciardo found only 0.002s of a second compared with session one, but his 1m28.103s lap was good enough for another front row start.

Fortec's Riki Christodoulou produced a late flurry to nab third spot from race one poleman Chilton with five minutes left, while Nick Tandy produced an identical 1m28.354s lap with just 60 seconds remaining to leap onto the second row in his Mygale-Mercedes.

That bumped Chilton down to row three ahead of the two Raikkonen Robertson Racing cars. This time, Colombian Carlos Huertas outpaced Japanese team-mate Daisuke Nakajima by 0.041s to round out the top six.

An engine change between sessions for Carlin driver Oliver Oakes did little for his prospects, as he again found himself mired in the lower reaches of the top 10.

Privateer Welshman Hywel Lloyd managed a career-best ninth fastest time, while T-Sport's two rookies again struggled - Adriano Buzaid and Wayne Boyd were both well over a second adrift of the pace.

Pos Driver Team Car Time Gap 1. Walter Grubmuller Hitech D/M 1m27.921s 2. Daniel Ricciardo Carlin D/V 1m28.103s +0.182 3. Riki Christodoulou Fortec D/M 1m28.354s +0.433 4. Nick Tandy JTR M/M 1m28.354s +0.433 5. Max Chilton Carlin D/V 1m28.416s +0.495 6. Carlos Huertas Double R D/M 1m28.567s +0.646 7. Daisuke Nakajima Double R D/M 1m28.608s +0.687 8. Henry Arundel Carlin D/V 1m28.733s +0.812 9. Hywel Lloyd CF D/H 1m28.939s +1.018 10. Oliver Oakes Carlin D/V 1m28.950s +1.029 11. Adriano Buzaid T-Sport D/V 1m29.248s +1.327 12. Victor Garcia Fortec D/M 1m29.465s +1.544 13. Jay Bridger West-Tec M/H 1m29.554s +1.633 14. Wayne Boyd T-Sport D/V 1m29.604s +1.683 15. Gabriel Dias T-Sport (N) D/H 1m29.867s +1.946 16. Daniel McKenzie Fortec (N) D/H 1m29.964s +2.043 17. Stephane Richelmi Barazi Epsilon D/M 1m31.193s +3.272 18. Max Snegirev West-Tec (N) D/H 1m31.772s +3.851

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Chilton claims pole for season opener

British Formula 3 veteran Max Chilton claimed a surprise pole position for the opening race of the season in first qualifying at Oulton Park today.

The 17-year-old younger brother of BTCC racer Tom lapped the International circuit in a blistering 1m27.830s with just 60 seconds remaining of the 30-minute session.

That time put the Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen driver on pole by 0.275s from Australian team-mate Daniel Ricciardo - five tenths inside reigning champion Jaime Alguersuari's 2008 pole time and 1.5s under the lap record.

"I couldn't tell you where that time came from," said Chilton after claiming his third ever British F3 pole. "I thought it was quite a slow lap actually and there were a couple of scrappy corners, but I just kept pushing every lap of the session and it finally all came together at the end."

Pre-season title favourite Ricciardo led the timesheet for much of the session, which was punctuated by a red flag 10 minutes in when Victor Correa went off at the Brittans chicaine, tore off the front wing and damaged the left front suspension on his Litespeed SLC Mugen-Honda.

When the session resumed, Ricciardo, Chilton and Fortec driver Riki Christodoulou all took turns at the head of the times – shaving thousandths of a second off each other's times, all in the 1m28.1s bracket.

With five minutes left, Ricciardo banged in a 1m28.105s lap and thought he'd done enough to take the top spot, until Chilton milked his moment of inspiration.

"There wasn't much more to come from the car," admitted Ricciardo. "It was good before the red flag, but afterwards I think the tyres went out of their operating window and the track got away from us a bit.

"I had some high-speed understeer and wasn't great at picking the gaps in traffic, but we're still on the front row and hopefully we can go better in the next session."

Japanese rookie Daisuke Nakajima pulled out a stellar lap late in the day to go third fastest, just over a tenth of second adrift of Ricciardo's best.

The Raikkonen Robertson Dallara-Mercedes racer pipped JTR's Nick Tandy by just four one thousandths of a second as the pair locked out row two.

Tandy waited until after the red flag to join in the on-track action and set a 1m28.240s lap, good enough for second on his sixth lap. But trouble in traffic and some over-aggressive driving in Hislop's chicane prevented him from ultimately figuring in the pole fight.

Hitech driver Walter Grubmuller used a last-gasp effort to pip Christodoulou for fifth place on the grid. The top 10 drivers were covered by just over a second.

Expected frontrunners T-Sport continued to struggle in qualifying. Brazilian Adriano Buzaid and reigning British Formula Ford champion Wayne Boyd finished the session 10th and 11th fastest respectively, over a second slower than poleman Chilton.

Pos Driver Team Car Time Gap 1. Max Chilton Carlin D/V 1m27.830s 2. Daniel Ricciardo Carlin D/V 1m28.105s +0.275 3. Daisuke Nakajima Double R D/M 1m28.236s +0.406 4. Nick Tandy JTR M/M 1m28.240s +0.410 5. Walter Grubmuller Hitech D/M 1m28.263s +0.433 6. Riki Christodoulou Fortec D/M 1m28.309s +0.479 7. Henry Arundel Carlin D/V 1m28.422s +0.592 8. Carlos Huertas Double R D/M 1m28.423s +0.593 9. Oliver Oakes Carlin D/V 1m28.654s +0.824 10. Adriano Buzaid T-Sport D/V 1m28.894s +1.064 11. Wayne Boyd T-Sport D/V 1m29.134s +1.304 12. Victor Garcia Fortec D/M 1m29.315s +1.485 13. Hywel Lloyd CF D/H 1m29.473s +1.643 14. Daniel McKenzie Fortec (N) D/H 1m29.554s +1.724 15. Jay Bridger West-Tec M/H 1m29.583s +1.753 16. Gabriel Dias T-Sport (N) D/H 1m29.884s +2.054 17. Stephane Richelmi Barazi Epsilon D/M 1m30.793s +2.963 18. Victor Correa Litespeed (N) S/H 1m31.027s +3.197 19. Max Snegirev West-Tec (N) D/H 1m31.529s +3.699

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Ricciardo tops Oulton Park F3 test

British Formula 3 title favourite Daniel Ricciardo got his first race weekend of the season off to the perfect start by setting the fastest time during official testing today.

The Australian Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen driver lapped the Oulton Park International circuit a full half a second quicker than Nick Tandy's JTR Mygale-Mercedes during three 50 minute sessions.

The fastest times came during the second session, which included Ricciardo's 1m28.166s best lap, which he set on a new-tyre run and which put him over a tenth inside reigning champion Jaime Alguersuari's pole position time from last season.

The series rookie was fastest of all in the first two sectors of lap, but pipped to quickest time in the third sector by Tandy.

The first two sessions were dry, while this afternoon's third and final session was rain affected.

Reflecting on his most dominant testing performance in British F3 to date, Formula Renault Eurocup graduate Ricciardo said: "The car feels really good in both wet and dry conditions and we have been very quick in the all the sessions, so that should allow me to sleep a little better tonight.

"It's only practice of course, but if I can drive like I did today for the rest of the weekend then we should be in pretty good shape."

Fortec Dallara-Mercedes driver Riki Christodoulou set the third fastest time overall, just a tenth of a second slower than Tandy, with his best time coming in the opening session.

The Formula Renault UK convert set the three quickest sector times in that first session, but could not hook it all up for a single lap. Had he done so he would have finished second fastest overall, just two tenths behind Ricciardo's best time.

Ricciardo's Carlin team-mates Max Chilton, Oliver Oakes and Henry Arundel lapped third, fourth and eighth fastest respectively, sandwiching Raikkonen Robertson pairing Carlos Huertas and Daisuke Nakajima.

Privateer Hywel Lloyd produced his best performance of the pre-season today and set a noteworthy ninth fastest time in his family-run Dallara-Mugen Honda, only 22 thousandths of a second slower than Arundel's best.

Austrian Walter Grubmuller rounded out the top 10, in a Hitech Dallara-Mercedes running a modified front wing, while frontrunning squad T-Sport endured a difficult day with its Dallara Volkswagens. Adriano Buzaid and Wayne Boyd could only manage 11th and 14th fastest times - 1.421s and 1.755s slower than Ricciardo.

Pos Driver Team Car Time 1. Daniel Ricciardo Carlin D/V 1m28.166s 2. Nick Tandy JTR M/M 1m28.682s 3. Riki Christodoulou Fortec D/M 1m28.794s 4. Max Chilton Carlin D/V 1m28.809s 5. Oliver Oakes Carlin D/V 1m28.875s 6. Carlos Huertas Double R D/M 1m28.899s 7. Daisuke Nakajima Double R D/M 1m29.039s 8. Henry Arundel Carlin D/V 1m29.289s 9. Hywel Lloyd CF Racing D/H 1m29.311s 10. Walter Grubmuller Hitech D/M 1m29.351s 11. Adriano Buzaid T-Sport D/V 1m29.587s 12. Victor Garcia Fortec D/M 1m29.885s 13. Daniel McKenzie Fortec D/M 1m29.917s 14. Wayne Boyd T-Sport D/V 1m29.921s 15. Jay Bridger West-Tec M/H 1m30.985s 16. Gabriel Dias T-Sport D/H 1m31.344s 17. Max Snegirev West-Tec D/H 1m31.976s 18. Stephane Richelmi Barazi Epsilon D/M 1m32.014s 19. Victor Correa Litespeed S/H 1m32.586s

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Grubmuller tops Oulton Park test

Guerrero begins rehabilitation

2008 British F3 National class runner-up Steven Guerrero kicked off a rehabilitation programme this week, nearly four months after a road accident left him in a coma.

Guerrero suffered head injuries on November 14 last year when he crashed with a truck while riding a motorcycle in the city of El Guamo, southeast of Bogota, Colombia. Since then his recovery has been slow, regaining minimum consciousness in January.

After a few weeks of further complications, the 19-year-old has made noticeable improvements, showing increasing signs of recovery which have finally allowed him to be transferred from the Clinica del Country to a rehabilitation clinic, where he has already started an intensive physical and psychological treatment.

"Although Steven has minimum consciousness, he establishes sporadic contact with his environment," said Dr. Remberto Burgos about Guerrero's progress. "He responds to some stimulus and occasionally expresses gestures of either satisfaction or pain.

"His systems are working well and all the complications have been overcome. We're very satisfied because he has responded well to different treatments, given the severity of his trauma and his initial neurological diagnosis."

Guerrero will spend the next few months in the Clinica Universitaria Teleton, north of Bogota, where doctors expect to help speed up his recovery.

The Bogota native was set to compete this year in the British F3 International class for T-Sport after finishing second in the National class last year for the same squad.

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Christodoulou confirms Fortec drive

Riki Christodoulou has confirmed that he will graduate to the British Formula 3 championship this season with Fortec Motorsport.

The 20-year-old Briton has tested well for the team throughout the pre-season and today confirmed a race deal with Fortec, who he has driven for in Formula Renault for the last two seasons.

"It's taken a long time to confirm my 2009 plans but now I can get my head down and focus on the opening races of the season," said Christodoulou. "I can't wait to make my F3 debut.

"My aim is to win the championship title at my first attempt. I know I have the ability, the passion, the hunger and importantly, the tools to do the job - it's down to me whether I succeed.

"Fortec is a top quality team who are determined to win the F3 title for the first time, while I believe the Dallara chassis and Mercedes engine combination is the best."

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Grubmuller tops Oulton Park test

Huertas leads final British F3 test

British Formula 3 rookie Carlos Huertas set the fastest time during the second day of the final official pre-season test at Silverstone yesterday.

The Colombian Raikkonen Robertson racer topped the timesheets for the first time since graduating to F3 from Formula BMW Europe.

He went quickest in both sessions and lapped the International circuit in a best time of 1m14.753s during the afternoon, a full tenth of a second faster than Carlin driver Max Chilton, who set his best time in the morning. Huertas's team-mate Daisuke Nakajima propped up a top 10 covered by 0.521 seconds.

The lap times were half a second slower than those set the previous day, when T-Sport driver Adriano Buzaid went quickest on his first run with the new 2009 Volkswagen engine.

Reflecting on his performance, Huertas said: "We had a good day. We knew we had a few problems to solve following the short test session we did yesterday (Tuesday) and I'm pleased that we've made progress.

"I improved on a couple of corners and the team made some steps forward with the car.

"I'm pleased that we were fastest in both the morning and afternoon session as that shows that we had genuine pace.

"It's good to finish testing on a high note with the first race of the season only a week or so away, although I know we still need to keep improving. I really can't wait for the racing to get underway."

Double R Team Principal Anthony Hieatt added: "The team did a good job at Silverstone and Carlos is now showing the pace that we've known he was capable of.

"Daisuke also made progress, so I think from a team perspective we're in good shape for [the first round at] Oulton Park."

Meranwhile, Fortec driver Riki Christodoulou returned to Britain for the test, after two days of Renault World Series testing with Comtec at Barcelona, and set the ninth fastest time.

Pos Driver Team Car Time 1. Carlos Huertas Double R D/M 1m14.753s 2. Max Chilton Carlin D/V 1m14.854s 3. Henry Arundel Carlin D/V 1m14.965s 4. Adriano Buzaid T-Sport D/V 1m14.969s 5. Wayne Boyd T-Sport D/V 1m14.996s 6. Daniel Ricciardo Carlin D/V 1m15.051s 7. Oliver Oakes Carlin D/V 1m15.101s 8. Nick Tandy JTR M/M 1m15.132s 9. Riki Christodoulou Fortec D/M 1m15.231s 10. Daisuke Nakajima Double R D/M 1m15.274s 11. Hywel Lloyd CF Racing D/H 1m15.384s 12. Victor Garcia Fortec D/M 1m15.392s 13. Walter Grubmuller Hitech D/M 1m15.489s 14. Stephane Richelmi Barazi Epsilon D/M 1m15.638s 15. Gabriel Dias T-Sport D/H 1m15.857s 16. Jay Bridger West-Tec M/H 1m16.083s 17. Daniel McKenzie Fortec D/H 1m16.172s 18. Victor Correa Litespeed S/H 1m16.727s 19. Max Snegirev West-Tec D/H 1m17.263s

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Buzaid quickest in British F3 testing

Grubmuller tops Oulton Park test

British F3 drops Bucharest for Algarve

The British Formula 3 International Series has replaced its Bucharest street races with a new date at the Algarve International track in Portimao, Portugal.

The championship had been due to run alongside the FIA GT Championship in Romania again, but the Bucharest meeting's date change from 30 August to 9 August, due to a clash with a Madonna concert in the city, caused problems for F3.

"The original Bucharest date was ideal for us, but the Romanian event organisers had to bring it forward and it became logistically difficult for the teams," said Alistair Spence, a spokesman for British F3 promoter SRO.

"We were happy to explore other opportunities and we are more than delighted with the outcome."

The Portimao races will take place on 12-13 September, with British F3 sharing the bill with the FIA GT3 series.

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Buzaid quickest in British F3 testing

Adriano Buzaid topped the timesheet on the first day of a back-to-back British Formula 3 test at Silverstone today.

The Formula Renault graduate lapped the International circuit in 1m14.289s during three hours of running this morning, pipping Carlin's Oliver Oakes by just 0.019s.

The test marked the first time front running T-Sport team, which ran GP2 Asia race-winner Sergio Perez to four wins and fourth place in British F3 last season, has run the new 2009-spec Volkswagen engine in it's two new Dallaras.

Buzaid reported a significant improvement in performance with the engine, which is some 15kg lighter than the previous spec VW motor.

Buzaid's team-mate, reigning British Formula Ford champion Wayne Boyd, lapped seventh fastest but only 0.153s slower than the Brazilian, while the fastest nine drivers were covered by just 0.329s.

Formula BMW Europe graduate Carlos Huertas continued his recent strong form by going third quickest for Raikkonen Robertson Racing. The Colombian was quickest of all in the final sector of the lap, while team-mate Daisuke Nakajima (younger brother of Williams F1 racer Kazuki) was fastest in the first two sectors, but eighth overall.

Former McLaren Autosport BRDC Award finalist Nick Tandy, who has been second fastest at each of the previous two official tests, struggled to match that form in the new Mygale-Mercedes today and could only manage the ninth fastest time - albeit only just over three tenths of a second shy of the pacesetter.

Pos Driver Team Car Time 1. Adriano Buzaid T-Sport D/V 1m14.289s 2. Oliver Oakes Carlin D/V 1m14.308s 3. Carlos Huertas Double R D/M 1m14.329s 4. Max Chilton Carlin D/V 1m14.330s 5. Daniel Ricciardo Carlin D/V 1m14.346s 6. Henry Arundel Carlin D/V 1m14.381s 7. Wayne Boyd T-Sport D/V 1m14.442s 8. Daisuke Nakajima Double R D/M 1m14.542s 9. Nick Tandy JTR M/M 1m14.618s 10. Walter Grubmuller Hitech D/M 1m15.089s 11. Victor Garcia Fortec D/M 1m15.248s 12. Daniel McKenzie Fortec (N) D/M 1m15.386s 13. Hywel Lloyd CF Racing D/H 1m15.457s 14. Stephane Richelmi Barazi Epsilon D/M 1m15.604s 15. Gabriel Dias T-Sport (N) D/M 1m15.641s 16. Victor Correa Litespeed (N) S/H 1m16.041s 17. Max Snegirev West-Tec (N) D/H 1m16.479s 18. Jay Bridger West-Tec M/H 1m16.761s

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Ultimate pulls out of British F3

Ultimate Motorsport has abandoned its plan to compete in British Formula 3 this season.

The team, which joined the series in 2007 with Mygale chassis, had planned to switch to Dallara cars this year but today announced that it would not be running in F3 in 2009.

Team boss Barry Walsh cited the poor financial climate as the main reason and says he wants to concentrate his efforts on Ultimate's Formula Renault 3.5 campaign with Miguel Molina and Greg Mansell.

"This was an extremely difficult decision but with the current state of the world economic climate, every company has to cut their cloth accordingly," said Walsh.

"Our World Series team has been setting the pace in pre season testing and with Miguel Molina and Greg Mansell we have a good shot at both the teams' and drivers' titles, so this is where our focus for 2009 must lie.

Ultimate scored the first F3 victories for the Mygale chassis when Michael Devaney took both wins at Snetterton last year.

"We are all extremely proud of what we achieved in just two seasons of British F3 and we certainly don't rule out a return to the category in the future.

"Looking to the future, we are also planning to contest the Formula Renault Eurocup from 2010 to run alongside our World Series team. Ultimate will continue to provide aspiring young drivers with a clear motorsport ladder from karting right up to the ultimate goal of Formula 1."

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Merhi tops final Euro Series test

Roberto Merhi played down suggestions that he could be a title prospect in his rookie season of F3 after topping the timesheet on the final day of the Euro Series test at Valencia today.

The 17-year-old Formula Renault Eurocup graduate, who raced in the F3 Masters at Zolder and Macau Grand Prix last season, set a 1:26.989 lap during the morning session - more than quarter of a second faster than any of his 27 rivals managed.

Merhi was thrilled with his performance but is expecting things to be more difficult when the season beings at Hockenheim on May 17.

"Today could not have been a better way of ending two days of testing," he said. "Manor is carrying out stupendous development work and my adaptation to this single-seater is coming on rapidly.

"I know for a newcomer to have achieved this performance is out of the ordinary but, come the start of the season things will be much harder.

"For the time being, I certainly don't consider that I should be in the headlines as a title contender, although this ia presenting itself to be a promising year."

Title favourite Jules Bianchi set the second quickest time for ART Grand Prix, ahead of Atte Mustonen who continued his impressive pre-season form for Motopark Academy in third.

Brendon Hartley was quickest of the Volkswagen entries in fourth place for Carlin Motorsport, with Valterri Bottas (ART) and Sam Bird (Mucke) completing the top six.

Pos Driver Team Car Time 1. Roberto Merhi Manor D/M 1:26.989 2. Jules Bianchi ART D/M 1:27.278 3. Atte Mustonen Motopark D/M 1:27.580 4. Brendon Hartley Carlin D/V 1:27.868 5. Valtteri Bottas ART D/M 1:27.929 6. Sam Bird Mucke D/M 1:28.048 7. Stefano Coletti Prema D/M 1:28.100 8. Cesar Ramos Manor D/M 1:28.149 9. Jon Lancaster SG D/M 1:28.155 10. Christian Vietoris Mucke D/M 1:28.163 11. Andrea Caldarelli SG D/M 1:28.179 12. Henkie Waldschmidt SG D/M 1:28.267 13. Christopher Zanella Motopark D/M 1:28.272 14. Pedro Ferreira Manor D/M 1:28.277 15. Marco Wittmann Mucke D/M 1:28.334 16. Jake Rosenzweig Carlin D/V 1:28.475 17. Alexander Sims Mucke D/M 1:28.604 18. Matteo Chinosi Prema D/M 1:28.631 19. Esteban Gutierrez ART D/M 1:28.671 20. Carlo van Dam Kolles & Heinz D/V 1:28.698 21. Mika Maki Signature D/V 1:28.794 22. Jean Karl Vernay Signature D/V 1:28.837 23. Kevin Mirocha HBR D/M 1:28.841 24. Johnny Cecotto HBR D/M 1:29.107 25. Tiago Geronimi Signature D/V 1:29.115 26. Jens Klingmann Signature D/V 1:29.286 27. Basil Shaaban Prema D/M 1:30.064 28. Adrien Tambay ART D/M 1:30.258

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Mustonen tops Euro Series test

Mustonen tops Euro Series test

Atte Mustonen topped the first day of this week's official Formula 3 Euro Series test at Valencia.

The Finnish driver is beginning his third season of F3, following two years with Raikkonen Robertson Racing in Britain before moving to Motopark Academy for 2009.

Mustonen's best time was one tenth of a second quicker than Manor Motorsport's F3 rookie Roberto Merhi.

ART Grand Prix's Jules Bianchi was third fastest, ahead of Carlin Motorsport's Brendon Hartley and Mucke Motorsport's Sam Bird.

Christian Vietoris has been confirmed at Mucke, completing the team's four-car line-up and the German was 11th quickest in the test.

The other additions to the field were Matteo Chinosi, who was 22nd fastest for Prema Powerteam and Jens Klingmann, who was 28th for Kolles & Heinz Union.

Pos Driver Team Car Time Gap 1. Atte Mustonen Motopark D/M 1:27.713 2. Roberto Merhi Manor D/M 1:27.819 +0.106 3. Jules Bianchi ART D/M 1:27.976 +0.263 4. Brendon Hartley Carlin D/V 1:28.325 +0.612 5. Sam Bird Mucke D/M 1:28.425 +0.712 6. Marco Wittmann Mucke D/M 1:28.437 +0.724 7. Kevin Mirocha HBR D/M 1:28.508 +0.795 8. Cesar Ramos Manor D/M 1:28.579 +0.866 9. Valtteri Bottas ART D/M 1:28.585 +0.872 10. Stefano Coletti Prema D/M 1:28.632 +0.919 11. Christian Vietoris Mucke D/M 1:28.659 +0.946 12. Chistopher Zanella Motopark D/M 1:28.774 +1.061 13. Alexander Sims Mucke D/M 1:28.784 +1.074 14. Esteban Gutierrez ART D/M 1:28.832 +1.119 15. Henkie Waldschmidt SG D/M 1:28.897 +1.184 16. Jon Lancester SG D/M 1:28.935 +1.222 17. Mika Maki Signature D/V 1:28.952 +1.239 18. Johnny Cecotto Jr HBR D/M 1:29.022 +1.309 19. Jake Rosenzweig Carlin D/V 1:29.256 +1.543 20. Pedro Ferreira Manor D/M 1:29.323 +1.610 21. Andrea Caldarelli SG D/M 1:29.405 +1.692 22. Matteo Chinosi Prema D/M 1:29.546 +1.833 23. Adrien Tambay ART D/M 1:29.598 +1.885 24. Jean-Karl Vernay Signature D/V 1:29.623 +1.910 25. Basil Shaaban Prema D/M 1:29.678 +1.965 26. Carlo van Dam Kolles & Heinz D/V 1:29.808 +2.095 27. Tiago Geronimi Signature D/M 1:29.932 +2.219 28. Jens Klingmann Kolles & Heinz D/V 1:30.365 +2.652 (D/M = Dallara-Mercedes, D/V = Dallara-Volkswagen)

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Ricciardo fastest in British F3 testing

A Volkswagen-powered car set the pace for the first time in British Formula 3 when ex-Formula Renault Eurocup frontrunner Daniel Ricciardo finished top of the timesheets during the third official pre-season test at Rockingham yesterday.

The Australian Carlin driver's best lap of 1m11.038s, set in the afternoon, put him over four tenths of a second clear of the rest of the field and 1.5 seconds below the official lap record.

Ricciardo repeatedly lapped inside the 1m11.5s bracket - posting six such times during the test. His performance returned his squad to the head of the pack for the first time since it helped Spaniard Jaime Alguesari become the youngest ever British F3 champion last season.

Bedford-based Nick Tandy went second fastest at his home circuit, powering his JTR Mygale-Mercedes to a 1m11.458s best, with Fortec's Riki Christodoulou third quickest, just eight-thousandths behind.

Reigning British Formula Ford champion Wayne Boyd enjoyed his best official testing performance to date by posting the fourth fastest time in his T-Sport Dallara Volkswagen. Less than a second covered the top 11 drivers at the test.

Fortec's Daniel McKenzie ran quickest of the three national class drivers and set the 15th fastest time overall.

Reigning National Class champion Jay Bridger gave his new international class Mygale-Mugen Honda, prepared by Team West-Tec and upgraded with a 2009 aero package, a debut airing at Rockingham.

Bridger propped up the timesheets and struggled to string laps together due to minor mechanical problems caused by the late completion of the car earlier that morning.

Pos Driver Team Car Time 1. Daniel Ricciardo Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen 1m11.038s 2. Nick Tandy JTR Mygale-Mercedes 1m11.458s 3. Riki Christodoulou Fortec Dallara-Mercedes 1m11.466s 4. Wayne Boyd T-Sport Dallara-Volkswagen 1m11.549s 5. Carlos Huertas Double R Dallara-Mercedes 1m11.556s 6. Max Chilton Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen 1m11.645s 7. Victor Garcia Fortec Dallara-Mercedes 1m11.698s 8. Daisuke Nakajima Double R Dallara-Mercedes 1m11.784s 9. Henry Arundel Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen 1m11.802s 10. Walter Grubmüller Hitech Dallara-Mercedes 1m11.803s 11. Adriano Buzaid T-Sport Dallara-Volkswagen 1m11.904s 12. Oliver Oakes Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen 1m12.159s 13. Stephane Richelmi Barazi Dallara-Mercedes 1m12.423s 14. Hywel Lloyd CF Dallara-Mugen Honda 1m12.709s 15. Daniel McKenzie Fortec Dallara-Mugen Honda 1m13.686s 16. Max Snegirev West-Tec Dallara-Mugen Honda 1m13.762s 17. Victor Correa Litespeed Litespeed-Mugen Honda 1m14.898s 18. Jay Bridger West-Tec Mygale-Mugen Honda 1m15.373s

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Austrian racer Walter Grubmuller ended the second official British F3 pre-season test fastest after two days of running at Oulton Park this week.

Grubmuller, who is entering his third season of F3 with Hitech Racing this year, went quickest in the final session of the test on Wednesday afternoon in his Dallara Mercedes.

He pipped JTR's Nick Tandy, who made his first appearance of the season in the new 2009-spec Mygale Mercedes, by 0.054 seconds.

Formula Renault UK race-winner Riki Christodoulou set third fastest time for Fortec Motorsport in one of its Championship Class Dallara Mercedes cars. His efforts to tie up a race deal with the team are ongoing.

Carlin Motorsport's Daniel Ricciardo set fourth fastest time and was quickest of the Volkswagen-powered runners in one of the team's four Dallaras.

The start of the test was delayed while many teams struggled to pass noise tests. The cars normally run to 114db, but teams were forced to reduce this figure by 6db to meet Oulton's requirements and thus reduce their cars' engine power outputs.

Monagasque racer Stephane Richelmi was forced to sit out the second day of the test after crashing his Brazi Epsilon Dallara Mercedes heavily on day one.

The next official test is at Rockingham next Tuesday (March 17).

Pos Driver Team Car Time 1. Walter Grubmüller Hitech Dallara-Mercedes 1m 27.753s 2. Nick Tandy JTR Mygale-Mercedes 1m 27.807s 3. Riki Christodoulou Fortec Dallara-Mercedes 1m 27.903s 4. Daniel Ricciardo Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen 1m 27.924s 5. Henry Arundel Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen 1m 28.049s 6. Max Chilton Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen 1m 28.153s 7. Oliver Oakes Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen 1m 28.357s 8. Adriano Buzaid T-Sport Dallara-Volkswagen 1m 28.525s 9. Carlos Huertas RR Dallara-Mercedes 1m 28.693s 10. Daisuke Nakajima RR Dallara-Mercedes 1m 29.152s 11. Wayne Boyd T-Sport Dallara-Volkswagen 1m 29.294s 12. Hywel Lloyd CF Racing Dallara-Mugen Honda 1m 29.405s 13. Victor Garcia Fortec Dallara-Mercedes 1m 29.509s 14. Daniel McKenzie Fortec Dallara-Mugen Honda 1m 29.937s 15. Victor Correa Litespeed Dallara-Mugen Honda 1m 31.365s 16. Stéphane Richelmi Barazi-Epsilon Dallara-Mercedes 1m 31.606s 17. Max Snegirev West-Tec Dallara-Mugen Honda 1m 32.597s

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T-Sport to run Dias in British F3

T-Sport have announced that they will run Gabriel Dias in the National Class of British Formula 3 this season.

The team have entered into a partnership with engine supplier Volkswagen this season and will field Wayne Boyd and Adriano Buzaid in VW-powered Championship Class Dallaras, but they will maintain their presence in the National Class with 18-year-old Brazilian Dias in a Mugen-Honda-powered Dallara.

Dias was racing in the Formula Renault Eurocup last season until his campaign was cut short when he broke his back in a crash at Spa-Francorchamps.

"My original plan was to be a serious Eurocup contender in 2009," said Dias. "My recovery was on schedule but it meant I was unable to take part in the Eurocup pre-season tests, so I decided to move to British F3 one year earlier than the original plan.

"I'm sure it will take some time to adapt to the car and the tracks, but I am very confident that through testing and the proven skills of T-Sport I will hvae everything in place to be competitive by mid-season."

T-Sport boss Russell Eacott added: "Gabriel has come to T-Sport because he wants to get back to where he was before the accident. We can provide him with the right environment for learning all the skills he needs to step up to the Championship Class.

"He's a talented kid and we're pleased to be able to help him to rebuild his career. We also want that National Class title back."

T-Sport won the National Class title with Sergio Perez in 2007, but Fluid Motorsport's Jay Bridger claimed the crown last season.

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Vernay stays at Signature in Euro F3

Returnee Jean-Karl Vernay and Formula BMW graduate Tiago Geronimi have completed top Volkswagen team Signature's 2009 Formula 3 Euro Series line-up.

Signature took Edoardo Mortara to second in the championship behind Nico Hulkenberg last year, and also won races with Franck Mailleux and Robert Wickens.

They have already signed Mika Maki, who has moved across from Mucke Motorsport after taking two victories in his rookie season.

Vernay has spent the past two F3 Euro Series seasons with Signature, but is still searching for his first win in the category.

Brazilian driver Geronimi is making his F3 debut after winning three races and taking fifth in the Formula BMW Europe series last year.

Signature are one of three VW-powered teams in Euro F3 this year, with Carlin Motorsport switching from Mercedes power for drivers Brendon Hartley and Jake Rosenzweig, and the new Kolles & Heinz Union team also using VW engines for Carlo Van Dam and one driver yet to be announced.

VW Motorsport boss Kris Nissen expects their teams to mount another title challenge.

"2008 was a good year of learning for us," he said. "With three victories, ten additional podium positions and Edoardo Mortara's vice-champion's title, the year was an even greater success than we'd expected.

"Our goal for 2009 is to regularly compete for victory and to be able to again fight for the title."

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Motopark sign Zanella

F3 Euro Series newcomers Team Motopark have completed their line-up for the season by signing Swiss driver Christopher Zanella to partner Atte Mustonen.

Zanella, 19, won last year's Swiss Formula Renault title with six race victories throughout the season and will surprise many of the championship regulars with his speed, according to Motopark team boss Timo Rumpfkeil.

"Christopher is a truly gifted driver," said Rumpfkeil. "I have seen him doing things only the really great ones are able to do.

"No doubt, he still has to learn a lot but I'm sure that he will do so quickly. His goal should be to make it to the top eight [in Saturday races]. And should he succeed in doing so on Saturday, the reversed-grid order on Sunday will offer him the chance of doing even clearly better."

Zanella's signing means that only the Signature, Kolles & Heinz Union, Jo Zeller and RC squads have yet to complete their line-ups.

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Manor confirm Merhi for Euro Series

Spanish driver Roberto Merhi has been confirmed as the third signing for Manor Motorsport's 2009 Formula 3 Euro Series line-up.

The 17-year-old, a race winner last year in the Spanish F3 championship, will make his Euro Series debut this season.

Merhi is the first ever Spaniard to join the Mercedes-Benz Junior Development Programme.

"Roberto's signing is fantastic news for Manor. To have three drivers confirmed with well over two months still go until the start of the new F3 Euro Series season is very pleasing", said team boss John Booth.

"Roberto is held in very high regard. To have won races in Eurocup Formula Renault and Spanish F3 last year proves his pace and his talent."

Merhi joins Brazilians Cesar Ramos and Pedro Nunes at the Dinnington-based team.

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Double R sign Daisuke Nakajima

Raikkonen Robertson Racing have confirmed that Daisuke Nakajima - younger brother of Williams Formula One driver Kazuki - will join their British Formula 3 line-up this year.

The 20-year-old Japanese driver has tested for Double R extensively during the winter in preparation for his European racing debut. He was a top ten regular in his home F3 series last year, and will join Carlos Huertas at Raikkonen Robertson.

Team boss Anthony Hieatt said Nakajima had already impressed in testing.

"Daisuke is a very welcome addition to the team," said Hieatt. "He's already completed a number of tests with us and has gelled very well with his mechanics and engineer.

"His has already shown himself to be extremely quick and I'm looking forward to working with him this season. Both Daisuke and Carlos are very competitive and I know they will be pushing each other hard once the season gets underway next month."

Nakajima, who has been selected for Honda's Formula Dream Project young driver programme, doesn't expect to take long to get up to speed in Britain.

I know it will be a challenge for me this season, but I hope to be winning races from the start," he said. "I did a lot of testing with the team at the end of last year, and I felt very comfortable."

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West-Tec sign Snegirev for British F3

Team West-Tec have signed Russian Max Snegirev for the British Formula 3 National Class this season.

The 21-year-old will drive the same Dallara F307 that West-Tec teammate Jay Bridger took to last year's class title with Fluid Motorsport.

"I am very pleased to have signed to drive for Team West-Tec in British Formula 3," said Snegirev. "I tested with them last year and they did a very good job on a difficult weather day."

Snegirev is looking forward to lining up alongside Bridger, who will race a Mygale in the Championship Class for West-Tec.

"I am also very pleased to be able to drive last year's championship-winning car and very happy to know that Jay will be on hand to give me any additional advice I need," added Snegirev. "It is very exciting all round."

Snegirev has spent the last two years racing in Formula Palmer Audi and finished 11th in the championship last season.

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HBR confirm drivers for Euro Series

HBR Motorsport have signed German Formula 3 graduates Kevin Mirocha and Johnny Cecotto Jr to contest the F3 Euro Series this season.

Cecotto, who is the son of former grand prix driver Johnny, finished third in German F3 last season with HS Technik Motorsport, while Mirocha was sixth in the standings with Josef Kaufmann Racing.

Former HBR Motorsport driver Basil Shaaban has moved to Prema Powerteam for 2009, where he will join Stefano Coletti who raced for the Italian team last year.

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Bridger joins Team West-Tec

Team West-Tec have signed Jay Bridger to spearhead their maiden season in the British Formula 3 Championship.

Bridger, 21, won the National Class title last season with Fluid Motorsport and steps up to the Championship Class with a Mugen Honda-powered Mygale. His engineer will be team founder Gavin Wills.

"I am delighted with the programme that we have confirmed for this season," said Bridger. "We aim to be competitive from the word go, even with our new engine and chassis package."

West-Tec's co-team principal John Miller confirmed that the team has also bought the Dallara F307 that Bridger raced last year and could run it in the National Class.

Miller is looking forward to working with Bridger over the season.

"Jay certainly made a great impression on us over the last year, and we were determined only to enter British F3 if we could secure a quality, talented and experienced driver," he said.

"In Jay we have an asset to the team both on and off the track. His pace is in no doubt to anybody who watched last year, and he is also going to be able to lead our car development programme effectively."

The team's British F3 programme will be run alongside a two-car assault on the European F3 Open (formerly the Spanish F3 Championship). No drivers have yet been named for that series.

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Manor confirm Ramos for Euro Series

Manor Motorsport have confirmed that they will run Brazilians Cesar Ramos alongside his countryman Pedro Nunes in the Formula 3 Euro Series this year.

Ramos will be making his debut in F3, graduating from the Formula Renault Eurocup where he finished seventh last year, while Nunes finished runner-up in the South American Formula 3 championship in 2008 with five wins.

Team boss John Booth said: "We're very happy to have signed Cesar and Pedro and we're looking forward to working with them throughout 2009.

"With both drivers being new to the championship, it will be a huge challenge for them, but we're preparing well and aiming for a successful season."

Manor plan to run four cars again this season and their third driver is expected to be announced shortly.

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