Euroformula Open Championship

Euroformula Open Championship
Category Single seaters
Country Europe
Inaugural season 2001
Drivers 42 (2013)
Teams 10 (2013)
Constructors Dallara
Engine suppliers Toyota[1]
Tyre suppliers Michelin[2]
Drivers' champion Italy Leonardo Pulcini
Teams' champion Spain Campos Racing
Official website
Current season

The Euroformula Open Championship (formerly the Spanish Formula Three Championship, European F3 Open Championship) is a junior formula racing series based in Spain. It is one of six national and international Formula Three championships in Europe and Scandinavia that together form an important part of the established "career ladder" below Formula One. The championship's first season was held in 2001. In 2006, it was branded as the Spanish F3 Championship by Toyota, in deference to its sole engine supplier.

Profile

The Spanish Formula Three Championship was formed during Spain's recent growth period in motor racing that began with the Euro Open Movistar by Nissan, which eventually became the World Series by Renault when the two companies' motor racing programs were reorganised. The new championship replaced the previously existing Super Formula Toyota, a one-make series with performance similar to F3.

The European F3 Open championship has become successful by actively taking measures to control budget requirements. This provides a more achievable option for drivers who lack the major sponsorship portfolio that is required by leading Euroseries teams, and would otherwise have to look elsewhere for their next step up the career ladder.

With Renault's backing, the World Series has developed into a championship from which drivers can reach Formula One, and three major Spanish teams are established in GP2.[3] This has fostered new opportunities for the graduates of Spanish F3, which has, in turn, made the championship itself a success.[4]

In recent years the Championship has become much less centred in Spain, with races across Europe, and has successfully attracted famous non-Spanish teams to take part. The first was the British outfit Team West-Tec who went on to win two Driver's Championship titles in their first three seasons, and which were followed a year later by Italy's RP Motorsport who have won races each year since joining.

The championship was renamed to Euroformula Open Championship for 2014, after the FIA restricted the use of the Formula Three name to championships that do not follow the current engine regulations.[5]

Sub-divisions

Like British Formula Three, the series incorporates a second championship class for chassis specifications from the previous generation. The Copa was created in 2005, and provides an opportunity for drivers without competitive budgets, who would otherwise be left unable to progress from cheaper formulae. The name is derived from the chassis specification that all Copa entrants must use: the Dallara F308.

Equipment

The European F3 Open Championship employs an approach to chassis and engine choice that is also used in Asian F3, in which the open Formula Three system of multiple chassis and engine manufacturers is rejected in favour of a single choice of supplier. All competitors must use Toyota's F3 engine upgraded by the Spanish motorsport Engineering Company Piedrafita Sport, and chassis from the ubiquitous Italian constructor, Dallara. Championship-class competitors generally use a chassis specification from the current generation, the Dallara F312. Copa Class competitors use the previous version, the Dallara F308.[6]

F1 tests

The exclusive use of the Toyota engine prompted Toyota to offer a Formula One test to each year's champion. The first driver to benefit from this was 2004 champion Borja García, who later graduated to GP2.[7] The F1 prize test is likely to be revived for the 2010 Champion.

Venues

Between 2001 and 2005, the Spanish F3 Championship had seven rounds, each with two races. Exceptions to this included the Valencia round in 2002 and the Jerez round in 2003, each of which had only one race, and Albacete, which held a single-race event in addition to its regular two-race event in 2005.

In every season from its inception until 2007, the championship made a regular visit to Estoril in Portugal. The 2006 season, which was expanded to eight rounds, included the championship's first visit to Magny-Cours in France.[8]

Since 2008 many circuits from further afield have been added to the schedule including visits to Magny Cours, Donnington Park and Brands Hatch with major European motorsport venues including Spa, Monza, Silverstone and Hungaroring hosting rounds of the 2014 season as the series expands further into Europe.

Results

Spanish Formula Three

Season Champion Second Third Team Champion Secondary Class Champion
2001 Spain Ander Vilariño Spain Daniel Martin Spain José Manuel Pérez-Aicart Spain Racing Engineering J: Spain Juan Antonio del Pino
2002 Spain Marcel Costa France Lucas Lasserre Spain Borja García Spain Racing Engineering J: Spain Andy Soucek
2003 Brazil Ricardo Maurício Spain Daniel Martin Spain Borja García Spain Racing Engineering J: Argentina Ricardo Risatti
TI: Spain Borja García
2004 Spain Borja García Portugal Manuel Gião United Kingdom Steven Kane Spain Racing Engineering J: Spain Javier Villa
TI: Spain Borja García
2005 Spain Andy Soucek Spain José Manuel Pérez-Aicart Argentina Ricardo Risatti Spain Racing Engineering C: Spain Arturo Llobell
TI: Spain Andy Soucek
2006 Argentina Ricardo Risatti Spain Roldán Rodríguez Spain Máximo Cortés Spain Racing Engineering C: Spain Germán Sánchez
TI: Spain Roldán Rodríguez
2007 Spain Máximo Cortés Spain Marco Barba France Nicolas Prost Spain Escuderia TEC-Auto C: Norway Christian Ebbesvik
2008 Spain Germán Sánchez France Nelson Panciatici Switzerland Natacha Gachnang Spain Campos F3 Racing C: Switzerland Natacha Gachnang
not held in 2009-2013
2014 Thailand Sandy Stuvik Spain Álex Palou Poland Artur Janosz Italy RP Motorsport C: Italy Costantino Peroni
2015 Russia Konstantin Tereshchenko Brazil Vitor Baptista Japan Yu Kanamaru Spain Campos Racing not awarded
2016 Italy Leonardo Pulcini United States Colton Herta Austria Ferdinand Habsburg Spain Campos Racing

European F3 Open

Season Champion Second Third Team Champion Secondary Class Champion
2009 Spain Bruno Méndez Spain Celso Míguez Italy Stefano Bizzarri Spain Campos Racing C: United Kingdom Callum MacLeod
2010 Spain Marco Barba United Kingdom Callum MacLeod Italy David Fumanelli Lebanon Cedars Motorsport C: Lebanon Noel Jammal
2011 Switzerland Alex Fontana Italy David Fumanelli Brazil Fabio Gamberini United Kingdom Team West-Tec C: Brazil Fabio Gamberini
2012 Italy Niccolò Schirò Canada Gianmarco Raimondo Sweden Måns Grenhagen Italy RP Motorsport C: Italy Kevin Giovesi
2013 United Arab Emirates Ed Jones Thailand Sandy Stuvik Canada Nelson Mason Italy RP Motorsport C: Slovakia Richard Gonda

Euroformula Open

Season Champion Second Third Team Champion Secondary Class Champion
2014 Thailand Sandy Stuvik Poland Artur Janosz Spain Álex Palou Italy RP Motorsport C: Italy Costantino Peroni
2015 Brazil Vitor Baptista Russia Konstantin Tereshchenko Japan Yu Kanamaru Italy RP Motorsport not awarded
2016 Italy Leonardo Pulcini Austria Ferdinand Habsburg United States Colton Herta Spain Campos Racing R: Austria Ferdinand Habsburg

References

  1. ↑ http://www.gtsport.es/resources/uploads/Documents/EuropeanF3Open/2010%20%20TR%20%20European%20F3%20Open%20-%20revisado%2005.01.10%20RFEA.pdf
  2. ↑ "Michelin becomes the new tire supplier of the Euroformula Open". automobilsport.com. 2 February 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  3. ↑ Racing Engineering Season Preview F1prospects.com, April 8, 2006. Retrieved on February 2, 2007.
  4. ↑ Over the Weekend – April 29–30, 2006 F1prospects.com, May 1, 2006. Retrieved on February 2, 2007.
  5. ↑ "The Euroformula Open is born!". Euroformula Open Championship. GT Sport. 14 February 2014. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
  6. ↑ 2004 Spanish F3 Entry List, Speedsportmag.com. Retrieved on February 2, 2007.
  7. ↑ Toyota F1 test for Spanish champ Autosport-atlas.com, January 28, 2005. Retrieved on February 2, 2007.
  8. ↑ 2006 Spanish F3 Calendar Formula3.cc, November 26, 2005. Retrieved on February 2, 2007.

External links

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