Junior Open Wheel Talent

In late July, Adrien Tambay suffered a concussion while playing football in the paddock at Spa. The situation was kept pretty quiet, but it was announced today that he is well on his way to a full recovery. He hopes to be back in the car for the Formula 3 Euro Series event at Brands Hatch, which is scheduled for the first week in September.

I'm sure by now most of you have heard that F3 Euro Series driver, Adrien Tambay has suffered a head injury while playing football in the paddock at Spa. The 18-year-old Frenchman was scheduled to make his British F3 debut this weekend. Unfortunately, that will be put on hold as Tambay is currently in the hospital for his injuries. Adrien is the son of ex-Formula One race winner Patrick Tambay.

I haven't received word on the severity of the injury, but will post updates in the comment section as they become available.
(photo: www.tambay27.com)

American Jake Rosenzweig is scheduled to drive in the British F3 race this weekend at Spa-Francorchamps with Carlin Motorsport. The 20-year-old race driver is a regular for Carlin Motorsport in the F3 Euro Series but was offered a one-off opportunity to drive for the team in British F3.

I failed to mention this in my weekend recap of the F3 Euro Series event at Zandvoort, but Rosenzweig finished 3rd in Sunday's race. The result marked his first career podium in the F3 Euro Series. He was the highest finishing Volkswagen driver in the field, in fact, he and Jean Karl Vernay are the only Volkswagen drivers to finish on the podium in 2009 (after 8 events). Adding to that, Vernay--who drives for Signature-- isn't a rookie, whereas Rosenzweig is. Prior to the start of the 2009 season, I stated that this might be a break-out year for Rosenzweig. I'm not sure you could term his season so far as a break-out year, but he is well on his way.

After being away from the computer for a few days due to a mini-vacation, it's time to catch up on all the racing news and results. Rather than put all the news into individual posts, which are already dated, I decided to just put everything in one spot via a 'Linkage' post.

Skip Barber
Skip Barber National standout Connor De Phillippi won Round 7 by going from 3rd to 1st in the final lap.
Round 7: Complete Results

Skip Barber Karting Scholarship winner Court Vernon won his first Skip Barber National race over the weekend at Barber Motorsports Park.
Round 8: Complete Results

Formula BMW-Americas
Gabby Chaves won the first race of the weekend at Lime Rock Park in dominant fashion. The win moves the Colombian driver back into the points lead.
Round 8: Complete Results

Australian driver James Kovacic celebrated his 16th birthday in style by claiming his first Formula BMW victory in Race 2 at LRP. Not only did Kovacic win, he became the first driver to win from a spot other than pole position, so far this season. He started the race in 5th. Honorable mention should go to Alex Ellis who led most of the race only to see the victory slip away in the closing laps.
Round 9: Complete Results

F2000 Championship
Matthew Inge ran a solid race to take his second win of the season in the F2000 Championship, while racing at Summit Point Motorsports Park. Championship leader Chris Miller finished the race in second place. Alegra Motorsports driver Fabio Orslon continues to develop as he finished the race in 3rd.
Race 1: Complete Results

Tim Minor found his way to the top spot of the podium in the second race of the weekend at his home track (SPMP). Championship leader Chris Miller continued his renowned podium streak by finishing 2nd. Ben Searcy found his way to the podium after being DQ'd from a fifth place finish in Race 1---due to missing the minimum weight requirement by a mere 3lbs.
Race 2: Complete Results

You can read the F2000 Championship weekend notebook here>>.

Atlantic Championship
Simona De Silvestro made history this weekend by becoming the winningest female driver in the 36-year history of the Atlantic Championship. Simona claimed her fourth career Atlantic victory at Lime Rock Park. The previous record was held by Katherine Legge, who had 3 career Atlantic victories. John Edwards had a great run to finish 2nd after starting 5th. His performance earned him the hard charger award. Borja Garcia put in another solid performance to finish 3rd in Round 5. The result marked his second podium of the season.
Round 5- Complete Results

Formula 3 Euro Series
Jules Bianchi dominated the competition at Zandvoort this weekend for Rounds 7 & 8 of the 2009 championship. The 19-year-old driver has won four races this season and leads the championship by 17 points.

The Hard Charger of Round 7 was Atte Mustonen who improved 11 positions-- 20th to 9th.
Round 7- Zandvoort Complete Results

The Hard Charger of Round 8 was Stefano Coletti who improved 12 positions-- 24th to 12th.
Round 8- Zandvoort Complete Results

World Series by Renault
Bertrand Baguette dominated the weekend by winning both races at Le Mans. Baguette leads the championship by 19 points over Marcos Martinez (2nd) and James Walker (3rd).

The Hard Charger of Round 10 was Dani Clos who improved 10 positions--20th to 10th.
Round 10: Le Mans Complete Results

The Hard Charger of Round 11 was Edoardo Mortara, who improved 15 positions--21st to 6th. Honorable mention should go to Miguel Molina who improved 8 positions--10th to 2nd.
Round 11: Le Mans Complete Results

After making what many assumed was a one-off debut with Kolles & Heinz Union in last weekend's Formula 3 Euro Series event at Norisring, Nick Tandy has signed a contract with the team to compete in the remaining 2009 F3ES events. The catch is, he will be dropping his British F3 efforts with JTR. Tandy was currently in third place in the British F3-International Class after 8 Rounds. He claimed his first BF3 win just over a month ago at Rockingham.

JTR has announced that they plan to continue their 2009 British F3 campaign and are actively looking for a replacement driver. Many are wondering if American Josef Newgarden, who drives a JTR entry in the British Formula Ford series, will step-in and fill the seat.

The Formula 3 Euro Series drivers spent last weekend at the Norisring circuit in southern Germany. Jules Bianchi and Christian Vietoris claimed the race wins on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. There were a few other drivers who managed to put in some incredible drives and deserve some press.

Johnny Cecetto Jr. earned the hard charger award on Saturday by improving 9 positions. The 19-year-old Venezuelan driver finished 17th after starting 25th.

Round 5- Full Results

On Sunday, Brazilian driver Tiago Geronimi put in the drive of the weekend by improving an astonishing 22 positions. The 20-year-old rookie finished 5th after starting 27th.

Round 6- Full Results
(photo: http://f3euroseries.com)

British F3 front runner, Nick Tandy has signed with Kolles & Heinz Union for the F3 Euro Series...he will replace Carlo van Dam. With so many drivers making a one-off appearance with the Kolles team, it will be interesting to see how long this partnership lasts. Tandy will continue his British F3 efforts with JTR as well...for those of you wondering.

7/4/09 **(update)** Nick Tandy has signed a contract with Kolles & Heinz Union for the remainder of the 2009 F3 Euro Series season. The contract requires that he drop his British F3 efforts with JTR. Story to follow.

Another solid title for this post was Hard Charging Finns-- read on.

Mika Maki put in an incredible drive in Round 3 of the Formula 3 Euro Series at EuroSpeedway Lausitz . The 21-year-old Finnish driver improved 16 positions in 23 laps, after starting the race from the back of the pack--classified as 28th. He finished the race in 12th position, with a best lap of 1:18.872. Jules Bianchi won the race, with a 2.776 second gap over Valtteri Bottas. Jean Karl Vernay finished 3rd at 4.606 seconds back.
(photo: www.mikamaki.com)

Formula 3 Euro Series
EuroSpeedway Lausitz
Round 3: Full Results

The drive of the weekend occurred in Round 4. Atte Mustonen made a run from 27th to 10th in Sunday's 31-lap race. By improving 17 positions in the race, the 20-year-old Finnish driver earned the Hard Charger title for the weekend. Mustonen's best lap was clocked at 1:18.765. The end result marked his 3rd top-ten finish in 4 races. Christian Vietoris won the race with a 4.819 second gap over 2nd place finisher Robert Merhi. Sam Bird put in another impressive run to finish 3rd.
(photo: www.attemustonen.com)

Formula 3 Euro Series
EuroSpeedway Lausitz
Round 4: Full Results

Henki Waldschmidt is the hard charger of the weekend in the Formula 3 Euro Series as he made a valiant run from 22nd to 9th in Round 2 at Hockenheim yesterday. The 20-year-old of the Netherlands, improved 13 positions in 24 laps for his best finish of 2009.

Jean Karl Vernay won the race with a gap of 1.289 seconds in his Volkswagen powered Dallara over second place finisher Christian Vietoris. Jules Bianchi finished third, just under seven seconds back from Vernay. Mika Maki set the fast lap of the race with a 1.34.554, he finished fourth in the final tally. Round 1 winner, Stefano Coletti, rounded out the top-five.

Full Results: Hockenheim Round 2
(photo: www.henkiwaldschmidt.com)

Stefano Coletti started his 2009 racing season with a bang by winning Round 1 of the F3 Euro Series at Hockenheim. The 20-year-old drove a solid race, finishing 1.070 seconds ahead of Robert Merhi, who crossed the stripe in second. Sam Bird ran an impressive race, despite a disappointing start, to finish 3rd. Alexander Sims set the fast lap of the race with a 1:34.174.

The hard charger of the day is Andrea Caldarelli, who improved 11 positions during the 16-lap race. The Italian pilot finished the race in 15th after starting back in 26th.

Full Results: Round 1

Red Bull junior driver Robert Wickens has signed with Team Kolles & Heinz Union to contest the 2009 F3 Euro Series. The 20-year-old Canadian will balance his FIA Formula Two efforts with his return to the F3 Euro Series in 2009.

Wickens ran 14 races in the F3 Euro Series in 2008--with Signature-Plus Racing. During that time, he managed to win a race at Le Mans in wet conditions and finish inside the top-ten in 57.1% of his series' starts.

The two schedules don't align well, so it will be interesting to see how many F3 races he actually attends.
(photos: www.robertwickens.com)

Italian driver Matteo Chinosi will join Prema Powerteam for the 2009 F3 Euro Series. He should prove to be a nice addition to the team after spending last season in the German F3 series. He finished inside the top-five in 56.3% of his races and inside the top-ten in 88% of his race starts in German F3 last year. The 20-year-old driver finished the season in fifth place overall, with 2 wins and 7 podiums, driving for Ombra Racing.

After the whole ordeal of losing a driver earlier this week, Tech 1 has now officially signed F3 Euro Series driver Brendon Hartley to run, the first three races and possibly more, in the World Series by Renault for 2009. Hartley has already been confirmed to compete in the F3 Euro Series this year with Carlin Motorsport, so he will only be running select races with Tech 1 in the World Series by Renault (for now).

This is a great opportunity for the 19-year-old New Zealand resident. It will be interesting to see how he manages his time this year as it will be tough to run both series, but the experience garnered should prove worthwhile.
(photo: www.brendonhartley.co.nz)

Atlantic Championship
After a successful test at Palm Beach, Frédéric Vervisch has signed with Genoa Racing for the Sebring International Raceway season opener. Vervisch was actually looking for a World Series by Renault ride, but decided the Atlantic Championship was a better bang for his buck. At this time, he will only run the opening round at Sebring. In 2008, the 22-year-old race driver won both the German and the Asian Formula 3 Championships. As stated earlier, he looked very impressive in his first test with Genoa at PBIR.

British standout James Winslow has signed with Conquest Racing to run the full 2009 Atlantic Championship. He will partner Harald Schlegelmilch at Sebring. Winslow won the Australian Formula 3 Championship last season with 5 wins and 9 podiums. His average finish in the championship was 3.56, including one DNF. That said, the competition he will face this season looks to be much stiffer.

Star Mazda
Former Team USA Scholarship winner Joe D'Agostino has signed with Andersen Racing to contest the opening race at Sebring International Raceway in the Star Mazda Championship. As part of the Team USA Scholarship in 2004, Joe spent several years in the European ranks, competing in British Formula Ford, Formula Renault, as well as running in the historic Formula Ford Festival. He finished fourth in the 2004 Formula Ford Festival and 3rd in the 2005 British Formula Ford Championship. It will be nice to see Joe back in a car, even if it is only for one race. I know he is still working on putting together the funding for a full season, so if he puts up some decent results in Sebring, ...I wouldn't be surprised to see him back for a few more races in 2009.

Formula 3 Euro Series
Christian Vietoris has re-signed with Mucke Motorsport to run the 2009 Formula 3 Euro Series. Vietoris has shown flashes of speed in his past endeavors which include winning an A1GP race for Team Germany as well as winning the Formula BMW ADAC Championship in 2006. Last season, in the Formula 3 Euro Series, he had some real solid results in his first ten races. At the midpoint of the season, his luck seemed to turn around as he logged 4 DNF's in his final 10 races. He was also DQ'd during the final weekend at Hockenheim. If the 19-year-old is able to put together a consistent season, he should do quite well in the overall championship.

There have been a lot of drivers committing to various series in 2009 this week, so I've decided to do a group post. This may become a little more common in the coming weeks, as teams are really starting to get desperate to fill their 2009 seats....the racing season is right around the corner.

Christopher Zanella has reportedly signed with Motopark Academy and will partner Atte Mustonen in the F3 Euro Series in 2009. Zanella won the Swiss Formula Renault 2.0 Championship in 2008 with 4 wins and 9 podiums. It looks like he ran a few races in the 2.0 Eurocup as well, but failed to really stand out.

Spanish driver Miguel Molina has decided to return to the World Series by Renault for 2009, he recently signed with Ultimate Motorsport. Last season was his second full season in the WSR, he ran a full campaign in 2007 and a partial season in 2006. He has four career World Series victories. Last season, he finished fourth in the overall championship driving for Prema Powerteam, he had two wins and four podiums.

Star Mazda stand-out Peter Demspey has decided to return to the series for 2009. It was announced yesterday that the Irish driver signed with AIM Autosport. Dempsey will, once again, be one to watch in 2009. Last season, the 22-year-old driver finished third in the overall Star Mazda Championship. He ended his rookie season with 4 wins and 7 podiums, finishing inside the top-ten in 75% of his race starts. Dempsey enters the season as an early favorite to win the 2009 title.

Goshen Motorsports has signed Toshihiro Deki to contest the 2009 Star Mazda Championship. Deki has been racing sports cars for several years, he was last season's Mazda RX-8 Masters Champion. According to the press release from Goshen Motorsports, open wheel racing is new to Deki. However, if you look at his statistics in DriverDatabase, it appears he ran 3 events in the 1996 Japanese F3 series.

Spanish driver Roberto Merhi signed with Manor Motorsport over the weekend, completing the team's line-up for the 2009 F3 Euro Series.

Merhi joins Manor after a very successful and busy 2008. The 17-year-old ran 38 races last season, with his focus on the Spanish F3 series, Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup, and the Formula Renault 2.0 WEC.

He finished 2nd overall in the 2008 Formula Renault 2.0 WEC behind Daniel Ricciardo. In the WEC, he had 3 wins, 13 podiums, and 5 pole positions in 15 starts, showcasing his consistency. Merhi will partner the Brazilian duo of Cesar Ramos and Pedro Nunes under the Manor tent in 2009.

Kevin Mirocha inked a deal with HBR Motorsport for the 2009 F3 Euro Series. The 17-year-old driver will partner Johnny Cecotto Jr. in the HBR tent this season.

Mirocha spent last season in the German F3 (ATS) ranks, where he finished sixth in the overall championship... driving for Josef Kaufmann Racing. He claimed four podium finishes in 2008, finishing inside the top-ten in 72% of his races. His average finish during the year was 6.375, which seems fitting when you look at his overall placement in the championship. Mirocha and Cecotto Jr. raced against each other last year in German F3 as well, so they are quite familiar with one another and should work well together in 2009. Watch for some decent results out of the HBR squad.

Johnny Cecotto Jr., who is the son of legendary motorcycle racer/Formula One driver; Johnny Cecotto Sr., has signed with HBR Motorsport to contest the 2009 F3 Euro Series.

The younger Cecotto has put together some decent results in the last few years; you can view his resume here.

Manor Motorsport has signed 20-year-old Pedro Nunes of Brazil to pilot one of their cars in the 2009 F3 Euro Series. The Dinnington-based team plans to field four cars this season and expect to make a third driver announcement shortly. The team confirmed Cesar Ramos in early December.

Pedro Nunes spent 2008 in the South American F3 series, driving for Cesario Formula. Finishing second in the overall championship, he showcased his speed by claiming 5 wins and 11 podiums. He either maintained or improved his starting position in 67% of his races. Prior to 2008, he spent time in the Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup and NEC.
(photo: http://cmv-sportmedia.de/slformula/englisch/index.php)

Atte Mustonen has signed with Motopark Academy for the 2009 F3 Euro Series. The 20-year-old Finnish driver has shown promise in the British F3-International class running for Raikkonen Robertson Racing by finishing inside the top ten in 77% of his F3-International starts. His speed was showcased in the Masters of F3 race at Zolder, where he started 24th and finished 6th. In 2008, he maintained or improved his starting position in 58% of his total race starts.
(photo: www.attemustonen.com)

In a rather surprising move, Carlo van Dam has signed with Kolles & Heinz Union to run the 2009 F3 Euro Series. Carlo has already won the German F3 (ATS) and Japanese F3 Championships,... most expected him to make a step up to the World Series by Renault or GP2 this season. Despite expectations, the ladder system revolves around money and it's quite possible that we will see several drivers opt for a minimal jump due to financial concerns in 2009. The team will be using Volkswagen power this season and that should be fitting for Carlo as he ran the final two F3 Euro Series events in 2007 with RC Motorsport (who also use Volkswagen engines). The team will be announcing another driver shortly.
(photo: http://www.carlovandam.com)