Following a winter of uncertainty, SRO Motorsport have scaled back the British Formula 3 calendar to just four events in 2013.
With only three drivers announced and uncertainty surrounding the participation of Fortec and Carlin, the likelihood of a respectable grid being assembled for the opener at Oulton Park was brought into question.
While the number of regular season entrants hung around the “twenty” mark for several seasons in the last decade, recent years have seen the series struggle to hit that mark.
Last season saw only fourteen full-time British F3 runners for much of the campaign {note 1}.
The reduced calendar will take in visits to Silverstone (May 25-26), Spa-Francorchamps (July 25-27), Brands Hatch (August 10-11) and Nurburgring (September 21-22), with National Class openings for competitors from the German F3 Cup and the European F3 Open. None of the rounds clashing with the rejigged FIA European F3 Championship.
The move to shrink the calendar means a number of British GT and Blancpain Endurance Series events have been left without a high profile support category and the Grand Prix de Pau is now without a headline race.
In a press release from SRO, “the extended FIA European F3 Championship has absorbed the commercial resources for teams heading in to 2013.” In addition, SRO commented that “…the amended calendar for 2013 has been designed with the full approval of the teams that are already committed to the Cooper Tires British F3 International Series.
“They, along with SRO and all partners involved stress that this move is a necessary step to safeguard the health and future prospects of the series and to protect its rich 62 year heritage and image as an essential step to Formula One.”
The rounds at Silverstone, Spa-Francorchamps and the Nurburgring have been guaranteed live television broadcasts, while Brands Hatch event will enjoy a highlights package.
{note 1}
Several events through the season were twinned with the FIA European Championship, inflating grids to 25-30 entries; however at these race weekends, the number of British F3 entries remained around the 14-15 mark.
