BRITISH FORMULA 3 CHAMPIONSHIP
The British F3 Championship went international in 2005, adding races in Monza, Spa, the Nürburgring and the Irish circuit of Mondello Park to the popular British tracks. The calendar was matched by the multi-national array of talented young drivers, with regular competitors from 14 countries. However, there is no doubt that 2005 belonged to Alvaro Parente. The 20-yearold Portuguese driver only joined Carlin Motorsport for the second meeting of the season, immediately claiming pole position.
Although that race, at the beautiful circuit of Spa-Francorchamps, was postponed due to thick fog, Parente finished third in his first race of the season, at Croft, and won the second. This started off a sequence of podium finishes and wins which saw himclaim the title at the Nürburgring, with four races remaining. Of the 18 races he contested, he won 11 and finished on the podium a further four times, claiming nine pole positions and seven fastest laps. However, Parente was not without competition on the track. His closest rival was his team-mate, Charlie Kimball (USA).
With five wins and 13 podium finishes,he chased Parente closely, giving Carlin six one-two results. A total of seven drivers were victorious during the season, including P1 Motorsport’s Danilo Dirani, Fortec Motorsport’s duo of Mike Conway and James Walker, Räikkönen Robertson Racing’s Dan Clarke and Promatecme F3’s Steven Kane. And after Nelson Piquet’s triumphant 2004 season, 2005 saw another famous name return to Formula Three competition, when Ayrton Senna’s nephew Bruno claimed his first Formula Three pole position and podium finishes, making rapid progress throughout the season.
BRITISH GT CHAMPIONSHIP
Scuderia Ecosse’s duo of Andrew Kirkaldy and Nathan Kinch dominated the 2005 season of the British GT Championship, setting pole position for every single race in their Ferrari 360 Modena, and claiming a total of 11 race wins. Between them, Kinch, Kirkaldy and their team-mates Tim Mullen and Chris Niarchos were on the podium a total of 21 times. Mullen and Niarchos finished in the runners-up position, having given the team six one-two results, but only able to beat their colleagues in the area of fastest laps, where Mullen claimed seven compared to six for Kirkaldy and Kinch.
The only team which managed to beat the eventual Champions was the Embassy Racing Porsche of Ben Collins and Neil Cunningham, victorious in damp conditions both in Knockhill and during the two-hour race on the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit. After a slow start to the season, the new team went from strength to strength, finishing on the podium in the last five rounds and moving up to third overall at the last meeting. Fourth place went to the extremely consistent Eurotech Porsche of Mike Jordan and Michael Caine. Although the season was dominated by the Porsche and Ferrari cars, the TVR, Nissan and Moslers all had their moments of glory. Team LNT started off with a second place finish at Donington, and again at Thruxton, in what was to be its last race.
The RJN Nissan 350Z claimed its first podium during August's Silverstone meeting on the Grand Prix circuit, whilethe second race at Thruxton saw a Mosler two-three, with Eclipse Motorsport finishing ahead of Cadena.
F3 CHAMPIONSHIP:1. Alvaro Parente 289pts2. Charlie Kimball 246pts3. Mike Conway 192pts4. Marko Asmer 163pts5. Dan Clarke 160pts6. Danilo Dirani 150pts7. Christian Bakkerud124pts8. Ryan Lewis 121pts
2005 British F3 Champion Alvaro Parente:“It feels incredibly good to have won – it’s one of thehappiest days of my life. Ever since my first round withthe team, back at Spa, I felt I could win the title.”
SRO Motorsports Group:“In 2006 the British F3 will continue to travel to Spa-Francorchamps and the spectacular street circuit of Pau.Furthermore, the British GT/F3 package at UK eventswill be reinforced by the Formula Palmer Audi Series.”
GT CHAMPIONSHIP:1. Nathan Kinch 126ptsAndrew Kirkaldy 126pts3. Tim Mullen 74ptsChris Niarchos 74pts5. Ben Collins 68ptsNeil Cunningham 68pts7. Mike Jordan 62ptsMichael Caine 62pts
2005 British GT Champion Nathan Kinch:“I'd like to pay tribute to my team-mate and the team.”2005 British GT Champion Andrew Kirkaldy:"I'm a happy man! To have won all the races bar two andtaken every single pole position makes me proud.”
SRO Motorsports Group:“Avon Tyres will be the British GT Championship titlesponsor. Already a supplier of tyres to Formula 3, AvonTyres will also exclusively supply tyres to what will nowbe called the Avon Tyres British GT Championship.”
