The first ever visit to Mugello for the Lloyds TSB Insurance British F3 International Series, with all the teams and drivers looking forward to two exciting races which could see Britain’s Mike Conway joining the elite ranks of Ayrton Senna, Emerson Fittipaldi, Jackie Stewart and Mika Hakkinen as British Formula 3 Champion.
Mike Conway, driving for Raikkonen Robertson Racing has been the leading light in this year’s Lloyds TSB Insurance British F3 International Series, with eight wins from sixteen starts and, after the two races at Brands Hatch last month, he holds a commanding 75 point championship lead over his nearest rival Oliver Jarvis. However with 126 points still on offer from the remaining six rounds, the title could still go down to the wire should Conway stumble in Italy.
Mike Conway: "Mugello is a new circuit to me and new to quite a lot of drivers. But I think all the drivers enjoy the challenge of learning a new circuit and it should suit the F3 aerodynamic package. There's not much running before qualifying, just two half-hour sessions, so they'll be limited time to get to grips with it and get the car set up for first qualifying. Obviously I want to come away with some good results again, we need to keep winning and keep getting podiums, and there's no reason why we can't keep doing that. Of course it's nice to have that cushion with the points, you haven't got to worry about so much, but at the same time you still have to push for every single result you can get.”
Reigning UK Formula Renault champion Oliver Jarvis, racing for 2005 championship winning team Carlin Motorsport, has been on the pace from day one in his debut Formula 3 season. Six podium finishes, including wins at Mondello and Brands Hatch, has put the 22-year-old Englishman as a serious title contender and still has a mathematical chance of beating Conway to the title.
Another driver who has impressed this year is Raikkonen Robertson Racing’s Bruno Senna, the nephew of the late Ayrton Senna. In only his second full year of racing, the Brazilian has taken four wins in British F3, but a big accident at Snetterton in July destroyed his car and no points from the two races really dented his title challenge. Senna came back with three podiums at Spa and Silverstone but three wins for Conway put the Brazilian further behind. With his title hopes fading, Senna will be going for the wins in Italy, eager to return to the top step of the podium.
Germany’s Maro Engel, another driver in his first year of British F3, has been a regular visitor to the podium, including an impressive win at Spa-Francorchamps. Driving for Carlin Motorsport Engel has steadily been gaining in experience and with it the German has been scoring a lot of championship points to put him in 4th place in the championship, well ahead of some more experienced drivers.
Fortec Motorsport’s Yelmer Buurman has also tasted the victory champagne in 2006. The 19-year-old Dutchman, who finished 3rd in UK Formula Renault last year, graduated to British F3 with Fortec and has been quick from the first race. Victory came in Belgium on a very wet Spa Francorchamps circuit with a car fitted with slick tyres. A last lap move on Maro Engel secured his first win and impressed everyone with his wet weather ability. Buurman still has a mathematical chance of beating Conway to the British F3 title but realistically Buurman will be racing for further victories here at Mugello.
Hitech Racing’s trio of drivers, James Jakes, James Walker and Salvador Duran have all shown flashes of speed this season but a lot of bad luck has seen them not as high up in the championship title battle as they should be. Another driver to fall into this category in Denmark’s Christian Bakkerud, who has shown immense speed and race craft but has been the unfortunate victim of someone else’s accident on more than one occasion this season.
British F3 also has a class for older Formula 3 chassis, the National Class. The National Class has been dominated by Venezuela’s Rodolfo Gonzalez and has a commanding 66 point lead over South Africa’s Cristiano Morgado. Twelve wins from sixteen starts has seen Gonzalez closing on the class title for T Sport, however he hasn’t had it all his own way this season. Morgado celebrated his 27th birthday at Brands Hatch last month with his first class win and the former World and European karting champion will be looking to repeat this success this weekend. Finland’s Juho Annala has also been impressive this year, with wins on the streets of Pau and at Snetterton.
A thrilling 2006 Lloyds TSB Insurance British F3 Season is reaching its climax and the challenging Mugello circuit is new to all of the drivers in the year’s championship. Let battle commence!
Provisional Timetable – Saturday 16th / Sunday 17th September 2006
Saturday
09.00 – 09.30 Lloyds TSB Insurance British F3 International Series
Qualifying Practice 1 30’
13.00 – 13.30 Lloyds TSB Insurance British F3 International Series
Qualifying Practice 2 30’
18.40 – 19.10 Lloyds TSB Insurance British F3 International Series
Race 1 30’
Sunday
09.25 – 09.55 Lloyds TSB Insurance British F3 International Series
Race 2 30’
