In 2008 Update Sport will increase its coverage of junior Motorsport categories. The championships featured in a series of mini race reports will be the British Formula Three Championship, Formule Three Euroseries Championship and World Series by Renault Championship.
As our coverage will consist of brief round-ups this preview will only feature a brief list of the runners and rider in each championship, and my predictions of the drivers who will be fighting it out for the championships.
BRITISH FORMULA THREE
Car Driver Team - 2007
1 Max Chilton Hitech Racing - British F3, no points
2 Walter Grubmuller Hitech Racing - British F3, 16th
3 Brendon Hartley Carlin Motorsport - FRenault 2.0 Eurocup, Champion
4 Jaime Alguersuari Carlin Motorsport - FRenault 2.0 Eurocup, 5th
6 Henry Arundel Double R - FBMW UK, 3rd
7 Sebastian Hohenthal Fortec Motorsport - British F3, 9th
8 Marcus Ericsson Fortec Motorsport - FBMW UK, Champion
9 Sergio Perez T-Sport - British F3 National Class, Champion
11 Esteban Guerrieri Ultimate Motorsport - British F3, 13th
12 Ricardo Teixeira Ultimate Motorsport - British F3, no points
13 Michael Devaney Ultimate Motorsport - British F3, 12th
14 Philip Major Fortec Motorsport - FBMW USA, 10th
17 Oliver Turvey Carlin Motorsport - FRenault 2.0 Eurocup, 8th
18 Sam Abay Carlin Motorsport - FBMW UK, 8th
24 John Martin Double R - British F3, 15th
25 Alistair Jackson Double R - British F3 National Class, 9th
26 Atte Mustonen Double R - British F3, 7th
28 Nick Tandy JTR - UK FFord Championship, 3rd
50 Jay Bridger Fluid Motorsport - UK FFord Championship, 5th
51 Stefan Wilson Fluid Motorsport - Formula Palmer Audi, 2nd
52 Hywel Lloyd C F Racing - FRenault BARC, Champion
53 Steven Guerrero T-Sport - FBMW USA, 5th
54 Kristjan Einar Carlin Motorsport - First year in cars
55 Craig Reiff Nexa Racing - First year in cars
56 Andrew Mayrick Carlin Motorsport - First year in cars
57 Salman Al Khalifa T-Sport - British F3 National Class, 5th
58 Niall Quinn Team Loctite - FBMW ADAC, 7th
In my opinion Hitech are not experienced enough to retain the championship they won with Marko Asmer last year, and in testing it appears that it will be a straight fight between Hartley and Ericsson for the title but in a competitive championship all the drivers listed could take wins and be involved in the championship fight but in the end Ericsson will take the title.
FORMULA THREE EUROSERIES
Car Driver Team - 2007
1 Nico Hülkenberg ART Grand Prix - F3 Euro Series, 3rd
2 James Jakes ART Grand Prix - F3 Euro Series, 5th
3 Christian Vietoris Mücke Motorsport - ATS Formel 3 Cup, 5th
4 Erik Janis Mücke Motorsport - International FMaster, 25th
5 Sam Bird Manor Motorsport - British F3, 4th
6 Niall Breen Manor Motorsport - British F3, 5th
7 Edoardo Mortara Signature-Plus - F3 Euro Series, 8th
8 Franck Mailleux Signature-Plus - F3 Euro Series, 7th
9 Renger van der Zande Prema Powerteam - ATS Formel 3 Cup, 4th
10 Charlie Kimball Prema Powerteam - World Series by Renault, 24th
14 Michael Klein Jo Zeller Racing - ATS Formel 3 Cup, 3rd
15 Daniel Campos Hull HBR Motorsport - International FMaster, 13th
17 Maximilian Götz RC Motorsport - International FMaster, 9th
18 Martin Plowman RC Motorsport - FRenault 2.0 Italy, 7th
19 Tom Dillmann SG Formula - F3 Euro Series, 9th
20 Henkie Waldschmidt SG Formula - FRenault 2.0 Eurocup, 7th
21 Richard Philippe Carlin Motorsport - Champ Car Atlantic, 15th
22 Rodolfo Gonzalez Carlin Motorsport - British F3, 11th
23 Dani Clos Prema Powerteam - F3 Euro Series, 12th
24 Jules Bianchi ART Grand Prix - French FRenault 2.0, Champion
25 Jon Lancester ART Grand Prix - FRenault 2.0 Eurocup, 2nd
26 Mika Mäki Mücke Motorsport - FRenault 2.0 Eurocup, 9th
27 Basil Shaaban HBR Motorsport - F3 Euro Series, no points
28 Koudai Tsukakoshi Manor Motorsport - F3 Japan, 5th
29 Kazuya Oshima Manor Motorsport - F3 Japan, Champion
30 Jean Karl Vernay Signature Plus - F3 Euro Series, 9th
31 Stefano Coletti Signature PLus - FRenault 2.0 Eurocup, 4th
32 Jens Klingmann RC Motorsport - FBMW ADAC, Champion
33 Cong Fu Cheng RC Motorsport - British F3 National Class, 2nd
34 Yann Clairay SG Formula - F3 Euro Series, 12th
Nico Hulkenberg is the clear favourite for the championship, the only driver to maintain a real challenge to him will be his former A1GP Team Germany team mate Christian Vietoris. In testing it has been Hulkenberg Vs Vietoris and in the early stages of the championship they will have the clear advantage but the rest will catch up as the season progresses.
Other drivers to catch my eye are Jules Bianchi and Miki Maxi, both are new to this level but once they settle in to Formule Three they should be contenders for podium places.
WORLD SERIES BY RENAULT
Car Driver Team - 2007
1 Julien Jousse Tech 1 Racing - WSR, 10th
2 Charles Pic Tech 1 Racing - FRenault 2.0 Eurocup, 3rd
3 Bertrand Baguette Draco Racing - WSR, 17th
4 Marco Barba Draco Racing - F3 Spain, 2nd
5 Mikhail Aleshin Carlin Motorsport - WSR, 13th
6 Robert Wickens Carlin Motorsport - Champ Car Atlantic, 3rd
7 Mario Romancini Epsilon Euskadi - Sudamericano de F3, 2nd
8 Alexandre Marsoin Epsilon Euskadi - FRenault 2.0 Eurocup, 14th
9 Álvaro Barba Prema Powerteam - WSR, 8th
10 Miguel Molina Prema Powerteam - WSR, 7th
11 Aleix Alcaraz RC Motorsport - FRenault 2.0 Eurocup, 19th
12 Borja García RC Motorsport - GP2, 10th
14 Marcos Martinez Pons Racing - F3 Spain, 13th
15 Máximo Cortés Pons Racing - F3 Spain. Champion
16 Guillaume Moreau KTR - WSR, 14th
17 Daniil Move KTR - International FMaster, 18th
19 Salvador Durán Interwetten.com - WSR, 9th
20 Pablo Sánchez López Interwetten.com - International FMaster, 3rd
21 Giedo van der Garde P1 Motorsport - WSR, 6th
22 Pippa Mann P1 Motorsport - WSR, 27th
23 James Walker Fortec Motorsport - WSR, 19th
24 TBA Fortec Motorsport
25 Pasquale di Sabatino Red Devil Team Comtec - WSR, 26th
26 Marco Bonanomi Red Devil Team Comtec - WSR, 12th
27 Fabio Carbone Ultimate Signature - Formula Nippon, 15th
28 Claudio Cantelli Ultimate Signature - International FMaster, 25th
The champion of this series gets a Renault Formula One test so it is a very important step for any young driver. There is not many big name drivers racing in the World Series this year so predicting a champion will not be easy.
The favourite team and driver for the championship is former GP2 racer Borja Garcia. He has been fastest in the recent tests. Seventeen year old Charles Pic topped early testing and will be a contender. Other contenders will Garcia’s team mate Roldan Rodriquez be A1GP regular Robert Wickens
Written: Sun, 23 Mar 2008 13:03:54
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- March 23, 2008Junior Preview
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