The inaugural Bahrain F3 SuperPrix has attracted a glittering entry list, as all the top drivers in this exciting and highly competitive racing series round off a long and tough season by racing at the Middle East's premier motor sport circuit.
F3 is the breeding ground of champions. Over the years some of the greatest names in Formula One have driven the fast and nimble single-seater series. The great Brazilian champion Ayrton Senna made his mark in F3, as did more world champions like Mika Hakkinen and the extraordinary Michael Schumacher.
The cars are smaller, of course, and the engines less powerful. But other than that, the young drivers have to cope with head-wrenching acceleration and cornering speeds, deal with complicated issues of software and aerodynamics and need to understand how to set up their cars by interacting with the engineers. It's not an easy job, and this is why so many make it to the upper echelons of motor racing, despite their tender age.
The importance of staging the Bahrain F3 SuperPrix cannot be underestimated as it is positioning itself alongside the Marlboro Masters of Formula 3 at Zandvoort and the Macau F3 Grand Prix, where the top drivers from all the other F3 series converge for the ultimate 'shoot out' to see who is the best amongst them all.
There are 11 national Formula 3 Championships, such as the British F3 Championship and All Japan F3 Championship. Above this level, there are three key races where the best drivers in the world compete: Zandvoort in Holland, Macau and now Bahrain.
This is why what will happen at the Bahrain International Circuit in the next few days is very important for the future of motor racing for next season and those to come.
Some of the drivers are being groomed to go on to higher forms of racing. Ho Pin Tung, who is from China, has tested for BMW WilliamsF1, as has Estonian Marko Asmer, while Briton Lewis Hamilton has been put through his paces in a West McLaren Mercedes.
Nico Rosberg and Nelson Piquet Jr, both sons of Formula One world champions, will be racing in GP2 next year, the next formula up before Formula One. For many others too this will be their last race in F3, so they will be very keen to make their mark at the F3 Super Prix, especially as many of them were caught up in accidents in Macau and did not figure well in the final standings.
The Bahrain International Circuit will truly be the jewel in the F3 crown, as of the prestige races such as Macau and Zandvoort, it is the only one which takes place on a full Formula One circuit, and a state-of-the-art one at that.
Thus this inaugural F3 race in Bahrain is a historic moment for this type of racing and for the future of motor sport, as the young drivers can really show off their skills on one of the best circuits in the world.
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For more information, please contact
Bahrain International Circuit,
Public Relations Department,
Hameed or Maya at Tel: 0097317450000
fax: 0097317451112
e-mail: h.halwani@bic.com.bh
© Press Release 2004
