Junior Open Wheel Talent

British pilot Sam Bird has signed with Mucke Motorsport to contest his second season in the F3 Euro Series. Bird spent the 2008 season with Manor Motorsport and had limited success, finding the podium on two occasions.

Bird, who is soon to be 22-years-old, developed his craft in the highly competitive JICA karting class before moving on to the senior direct-drive ICA class. He only spent one year running ICA before moving into cars via the Formula BMW UK series where he finished 2nd overall in the 2005 championship driving for Fortec Racing. After spending two years in Formula BMW, he made the jump to a Formula Renault 2.0 car, claiming four wins and seven podiums in the 2006 championship, finishing fourth overall. He spent 2007 adapting to the F3 car in the British F3 International Series, before moving onto the F3 Euro Series in 2008.

Mucke Motorsport will have a pretty stacked line-up this year, fielding Marco Wittmann, Sam Bird and Alexander Sims. I fully expect all three drivers to have a legitimate shot at the 2009 title.
(photo: http://www.sambird.com)