The sixth round of the 2012 British Formula 3 Series will now be taking place in Germany’s Norisring, rather than Paul Ricard as originally planned.
Scheduled to take place at the Paul Ricard circuit in the south of France at the end of June, the switch to the Norisring was designed to bolster grids for the fledgling FIA European Formula 3 Championship.
Launched last month, the European Formula 3 Championship will comprise of ten rounds – eight of which make up the entire F3 Euro Series. British Formula 3 rounds at Pau and Spa-Francorchamps fill out the other two race weekends.
As it stands, the European F3 Championship has confirmed fourteen competitors, including Carlin’s Carlos Sainz Jr. With the addition of the British F3 field, numbers for the Norisring round should collate between 26-28 entries.
The Spaniard is the sole British F3 driver that to be running in both the British F3 Series and the European F3 Championship; however teammate Harry Tincknell has confirmed that he will be racing at the Hockenheimring.
Fortec will also be attending the German event with Hannes van Asseldonk, Felix Serralles and Alex Lynn this weekend. There were plans to bring a fourth car; however Pipo Derani is unavailable to compete.
The Fortec trio and Tincknell will be ineligible for points in either Euro Series or the European Championship as they have not registered for points in either series.
Currently, drivers must be registered for a full season with either the British F3 Series or the Euro Series to avail of a place in the European Championship, although a place in the latter still requires a registration.* Whether that changes in future seasons remains to be seen.
The switch between the Norisring and Paul Ricard will not affect the structure of the British F3 Series, as both events had earmarked three races. A replacement for the British F3 slot at Paul Ricard has yet to be announced.
* {note 1}
According to the FIA, the entry fee for the European Championship is €5,000 per season. This is a separate registration payment as demanded by the British F3 / Euro Series championships.
