Cooper Tires British Formula 3 International Series racer Bart Hylkema has today announced he will graduate to the headline ‘International Class’ with immediate effect – the dominant points leader of the ‘Rookie Class’ declaring the time is right to take his career progression one step further.With just a few days to go until the second half of the 2011 season gets underway at Paul Ricard in the south of France this coming weekend, the 21-year-old is delighted to confirm he will remain with Brackley-based T-Sport for his switch to a current specification Volkswagen-powered Dallara F311.Since stepping-up to British F3 at the beginning of the year, the Dutch racer has been in a league of his own in the Rookie Class with 12 wins from the 15 races contested so far. Following the most recent race meeting at the Nurburgring in Germany, he increased his series lead to 55 points.Believing he has more to gain by competing in the championship’s headline class for the remainder of the season rather than seeing out the Rookie Class title battle, Bart cannot wait to get on track in his new car during pre-event testing at Paul Ricard on Friday, 15th July.He said: “I’ve wanted to do this for a little while now and after discussing it with my family, manager, my sponsors and the team, we’re all agreed this is the perfect time to make the move and I want to thank them very much for making this possible. It really is a very exciting step and one I’m sure will be the right decision. There are 15 races left this year so we have plenty of time to work on understanding the A class car and how to get the most from it.“It would have been nice to go on and, hopefully, win the Rookie Class title but this step is much better for my development as a driver and much more important for my career as a whole. Since the start of the season I’ve learnt a lot and I feel this is the right time to take that knowledge and move things up a level. If you want to be the best you can, you have to race the best.”Certainly not underestimating the challenge which awaits at Paul Ricard this weekend, 16th/17th July, the Geothex, TORO, Club Car, Ditch Witch and Annika Schultz Communications-backed driver is looking forward to making his International Class debut at the impressive Le Castellet circuit. “Paul Ricard is a totally new track to me, a completely fresh challenge but one I’m really looking forward to”, added Bart, “I like the European tracks as they’re more the style of thing I’m used to, compared to the UK ones, so hopefully that will help as I learn the new car. We’ll have a look at the simulator before we go, see where we’re at and then use that knowledge to work on a good set-up.”Following free practice on Friday, 15th July, the provisional schedule sees qualifying taking place at 10.00 (local time) on Saturday, 16th July, ahead of round 16 at 15.00. Rounds 17 and 18 will follow on Sunday, 17th July, at 10.00 and 16.45 respectively. For the visit to Paul Ricard, British F3 will run as a support category to the prestigious FIA GT1 World Championship.

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