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38 drivers take up Euro 3000 test offer A total of thirty-eight drivers took up the offer of a free test in a Euro 3000 Lola B99/50 at Vallelunga last Saturday. The test was organised by International Promotion and the ESTA (Euro Series Team Association). The 10 ESTA teams funded the test, although B&C Competition and Uboldi Corse didn't run cars on the day. The drivers taking part (with the teams that ran them) were - ADM Motorsport: Jeroen Bleekemolen (NL), Davide Di Benedetto (I), Diego Freitas (BR), Daniel Scandian (BR), Angelo Serafim (BR); Draco Junior Team: Sam Hancock (GB), Sven Heidfeld (D), Rodrigo Ribeiro (BR), Maxime Soulet (B); Scuderia Famà: Alessandro Cadeddu (I), Ernani Judice (BR), Nicky Pastorelli (NL), Andrea Scafuro (I), Jeremy Toti (F); GP Racing: Wagner Ebrahim (BR), Matteo Meneghello (I), Leonardo Orecchioni (I), Roman Rusinov (RUS), Toni Vilander (SF); Team Ghinzani: Michelangelo Comazzi (CH), Allam Khodair (BR), Oliver Muytjens (B), Filipe Silva (BR); Great Wall Racing: Davide Amaduzzi (I), Matteo Cressoni (I), Matteo Malucelli (I), Michele Rugolo (I), Rafael Sperafico (BR), Colin Brown (GB); R&M Euronova Racing: Philip Giebler (USA), Alvaro Parente (P), Carlos Pereira (BR), Giorgio Sernagiotto (I), Alessandro Tonoli (I); Victory Engineering: [Colin Brown (GB) (?*)], Mauro Contu (I), Lucas Lasserre (F), Thiago Medeiros (BR), Marcello Thomaz (BR). (Source: with thanks to Sergio Fratus). All teams ran standard set-ups. Each driver was allocated runs of about 2 + 7 + 7 laps. Lap times varied from 1:05.60 to 1:09.00. *According to Autosport, Colin Brown ran with Great Wall Racing (the magazine includes a picture of him in the car). The silly season page has been updated.

Charouz ISR set to enter FIA F3000; squad selling Euro 3000 team The Arden-affiliated Charouz ISR Racing team looks set to quit Euro 3000 after just one season, but according to crash.net, they will graduate to FIA International F3000 instead. The team's drivers, Jaroslav Janis and Yannick Schroeder, have been tipped to graduate with them. This week the pair continued testing Arden International's International F3000 cars at Jerez. Charouz ISR advertised its Euro 3000 cars and equipment as for sale in Autosport last week (November 21st) - three Lola B99/50s, a truck and trailer, along with spares and pit equipment. Charouz ISR made a highly impressive debut in F3000 this year, with the technical support of FIA F3000 Teams Champion Arden. Janis took two wins, a second and a third, finishing third overall in the standings, while mid-season recruit Schroeder took two second-place finishes. The International F3000 silly season page and the Euro 3000 silly season page have been updated.

Hopes still alive for Italian F2 Despite a lack of news, and the disappearance of the official website, it appears that plans are continuing to run an Italian F2 series. The championship was originally planned for this year, with the original one-make F3000 chassis, the Lola T96/50, set to be used. Before the Vallelunga 6 Hours sports/GT race on November 10th, the PSM Racing team of Lorenzo del Gallo tested two cars . Meanwhile Andres Rios has signed a deal with Carlos Canali of the Symbol Racing Team (source: Sergio Fratus). It is not clear when a championship would begin, or whether there will be enough entries. Top F3000 teams Coloni and Great Wall Racing reportedly lodged entries when the series was first announced.

Arden to become Renault junior team?; Kovalainen close to deal F3000 Teams Champion Arden International look set to be racing under Renault colours next year. According to crash.net, Arden are poised to sign a deal with Renault F1 to act as its official feeder operation. Although Bjorn Wirdheim is already signed, its second driver could now be one of Renault's RDD (Renault Driver Development) programme members. This week highly rated British F3 front-runner Heikki Kovalainen, a RDD driver, tested for Arden at Jerez, competing more than 250km. The Finn is understood to be close to signing a deal with the team. The silly season page has been updated.

Brown close to Great Wall Racing deal Former karting world champion Colin Brown is close to signing for Great Wall Racing to compete in Euro 3000 this year. The ex-British and Italian Formula Renault driver ran with the team in the free promotional tests at Vallelunga last weekend (see story above), where he was third quickest of the 38 drivers according to Autosport. The Brit said: "There's more than a 90 per cent chance that it'll come off." He added that his sponsor wants him to drive in an Italian-based series, and that it was felt that a car with more power than Formula Renault would suit him better. This year Jaime Melo Jr. won the Euro 3000 title for the Great Wall Racing team, which is run by Traini Corse. The silly season page has been updated.

Nadin was due to test for Arden Arden had been due to test Kevin Nadin at Barcelona last week (source: Autosport), but the rain prevented the French F3 runner from getting a chance to drive. Jaroslav Janis was also prevented from testing. Arden did give runs to Justin Keen and Norbert Siedler. The silly season page has been updated.

Nguyen confirmed at Astromega (again) The on-off saga of Rob Nguyen continues, with Team Astromega now announcing that he is contracted for 2003, alongside Tony Schmidt. The team had previously announced he would remain for a second season, before claiming that Schmidt was the only driver signed for next year. The silly season page has been updated.

Simonsen tests for Coloni Former Euro Palmer Audi driver Allan Simonsen tested briefly for Coloni last week (source: Team Brask / F3000.com). The Dane drove this year for the Veloqx Motorsport Ferrari team in the British GT championship. Because of their relationship with Coloni Motorsport, Paolo Coloni offered to give Allan a brief run, although conditions were poor (we presume this was at the Barcelona tests). Simonsen said: "It was a great experience and after just a few laps which Coloni kindly gave me, I know that I could be a front runner in this Championship... We are all working hard to find the budget for me to be able to compete in next year's Championship". The silly season page has been updated.

New Avons for Euro 3000 A new compound of Avon control tyre will be used in Euro 3000 next season, Autosport reports. John Village Automotive found the tyres to be 1.5 seconds quicker in testing at Barcelona last week. Confirmed 2003 driver Joel Nelson impressed the team with his first test.

Melo weighing up options for 2003 Euro 3000 champion Jaime Melo Jr. has returned to Brazil, and is set to define his plans for 2003 next week. The Brazilian said: "I have several proposals in mind and that I don't want to hurry". Options include the Indy Racing League, but Melo is still hopeful of a test driver role in Formula 1. He said: "The only thing that I can speak at this time is that the decision that we will take will be the best for my career." (Source: GRELAK COMUNICAÇÃO).

Euro 3000 sprint event at Bologna Motorshow The traditional F3000 event will once again be held on the short track at the Bologna Motorshow this December (9th). As last year, the sprint race will be held for Euro 3000 teams, with a series of heats and finals with cars racing in pairs. There is no news on entries as of yet, although up to 10 cars will be accepted, but the results when available will be put in the non-championship F3000 section. Last year Thomas Biagi (Fortec Italia) defeated Marco Cioci (Durango Formula) in the final, with Salvatore Tavano (Fortec Italia) and Tomas Scheckter (ADM) taking the third and fourth spots. This year will mark the return of the Lola B99/50 for the first time since 1999, the year when it was the new chassis in International F3000. Since then the event has only been held for Italian F3000/Euro 3000, which used the older T96/50 in previous years.

Friesacher tops Barcelona test times Patrick Friesacher was quickest in the three day testing session at Barcelona which finished on Thursday. His time of 1:29.63 from day 1 remained the benchmark throughout the rain-affected meeting. Coloni, Arden and Durango were the three teams participating. Coloni, in addition to Friesacher and Zsolt Baumgartner, ran four Italians as part of their "SUPER TEST" promotion (see story below). Arden ran Yannick Schroeder, German F3 graduate Norbert Siedler and Euro 3000 star Jaroslav Janis. Durango ran Schroeder and Gianmaria Bruni. Times can be seen at the various private tests page (sources: Coloni / crash.net / F3000.com). The silly season page has been updated with the drivers participating.

Free tests for prospective Euro 3000 drivers Euro 3000 teams are working together with series boss Pierluigi Corbari to offer candidates a free test session. International Promotion and the ESTA (Euro Series Team Association) have organised a test at Vallelunga tomorrow (Saturday 23rd). 35-40 drivers are expected to turn up. Each team will run one car at the test, with each drivers' track time dependent on how many accept an invitation. (Source: crash.net). When the competing pilots are known, the silly season page will be updated.

Italians in Coloni "Super Test" Four Italians will test an International F3000 Lola for Coloni in a special "Super Test" at Barcelona on 19th-21st November. The test has been organised in cooperation with SCUOLA FEDERALE CSAI and the motorsport magazine AUTOSPRINT. The drivers taking part are Alessandro Piccolo (best Italian in Euro 3000 this year, with GP Racing and Euro Nova), Matteo Grassotto (best Italian rookie in Euro 3000 this year, with Draco), Vitantonio Liuzzi (best Italian in German F3 this year) and Davide di Benedetto (best Italian in the country's Formula Renault series this year). Read more in the press release at F3000.com. The silly season page has been updated.

Schmidt confirmed at Astromega; no deal for Nguyen Team Astromega has announced a surprise U-turn, having previously stated that Rob Nguyen would be retained for a second year. Now Nguyen's future is unclear, while ex-PSM Racing Line driver Tony Schmidt has signed for the Belgian squad. Read more in the press release at F3000.com (see news 16/11/02). The silly season page has been updated.

Astromega test in Germany Team Astromega tested at Hockenheim in Germany on Thursday and Friday, with Tony Schmidt, Alex Sperafico and newcomer Jan Heylen. Known times have been added to the various private tests page, while press releases are available at F3000.com.

Jensen joins Brand Motorsport It has been confirmed that David Jensen has joined Brand Motorsports, following earlier rumours. The press release states: "Television and radio personality David Jensen has today been confirmed as the latest high profile signing for ambitious Formula 3000 team, Brand Motorsports. The dynamic team will be using the expert services of the Capital Gold DJ as their 'ambassador at large' with specific responsibilities for corporate events and race day entertaining. David, who has extensive experience in corporate hospitality and hosting events at all levels, will be an integrated member of the team ensuring that Brand Motorsports provides its sponsor partners and guests with a memorable experience both on and off the track. David has the added advantage of a thorough working knowledge of the sport, having been involved in the running of an international F3000 team and closely associated with motor racing for many years." Jensen said: "Brand Motorsports is already making an impact in the racing world and I am delighted to be working with the team on this exciting venture. When we took Kid Jensen Racing into F3000 we were considered the new kids on the block. We won a race and were named Rookie Team of the Year. Brand Motorsports has the opportunity in 2003 to do even better, and judging by the ambition and meticulous planning of team owner Martin Kendrick, I'm sure the team will be successful. I will be working with Brand to ensure that the off track experience for sponsors and their guests is an inspiring and thoroughly enjoyable experience." Martin Kendrick, Owner and Team Principal said: "Our goal in 2003 is to offer the highest standards of performance both on and off the track. Delivering real value to our sponsor partners is not just about winning races, it's also essential that race weekends and corporate days are very special occasions. Securing the services of David Jensen represents an exciting and valuable addition to our growing team. We had identified the need for a team ambassador who possesses excellent communications skills and is totally comfortable in this type of environment. At Brand Motorsports we will only work with the very best people and the involvement of David further underlines this. (Source: brandmotorsports.com)

Red Bull driver Nelson joins John Village American Joel Nelson, a winner in the Red Bull F1 Driver Search programme, will race for John Village Automotive in Euro 3000 next season, Autosport announced. The Formula Palmer Audi frontrunner is due to test in Barcelona next week. Red Bull consultant Helmut Marko, who sold his International F3000 team recently, concluded a deal with John Village at the Cagliari Euro 3000 finale last weekend. Marko said: "We chose Euro F3000 for its testing possibilities, which are double that of the International series, and Village's team for it's performance and for language reasons." Romain Dumas was runner-up in the championship with JVA this season. The silly season page has been updated.

Nordic could sell up Rumours continue that Nordic Racing will not be on the grid next year. Team founder Derek Mower told Autosport that there have been three serious enquiries from potential buyers of the team. Mower said: "I've got to retire some time, and now [son Chris] is going [to work the USA], maybe the time is right." The silly season page has been updated.

Piccolo linked to Coloni test According to Autosport, Euro 3000 frontrunner Alessandro Piccolo will test for Coloni at next week's Barcelona test. They also claim Billy Asaro will test, but Coloni have denied any rumours of the Canadian driving for them. The silly season page has been updated.

DAMS to enter ASCAR French team DAMS, who quit International F3000 at the end of 2001, will enter the ASCAR stock-car series next year, Autosport confirms. DAMS drivers Eric Bernard and Emmanuel Collard are tipped to enter the European oval-based series with the squad. Erik Comas, who won the 1990 F3000 title for DAMS, had initially been linked to the team, but the ex-F1 driver is likely to continue in Japanese GTs. DAMS will initially run the team from their Le Mans base, but will move to Britain later in 2003.

Farfus, Lopez and Hill tipped for Super Nova test Three drivers are tipped to test for Super Nova in Barcelona this month, according to Motorsport News. Brazil's Euro 3000 frontrunner Augusto Farfus (who raced for Draco this year), Argentina's Jose Maria Lopez (Italian Formula Renault champion, fourth in the Eurocup) and F3000 regular Derek Hill are all expected to test. The silly season page has been updated.

Vilander to test for Ghinzani Italian Formula Renault front-runner Toni Vilander will have his first experience of F3000 when he tests for Team Ghinzani at Vallelunga this month. Press release (source - Racing Management): "Pierluigi Corbari and Piercarlo Ghinzani has invited young talented Finnish driver Toni Vilander (22) to test at Vallelunga race track 23rd of November. Toni Vilander after a strong career in go-karts, ended his first ever racing season as first rookie and fifth overall in the Italian Formula Renault series. "I am very delighted by this proposal and I hope I will show my skill and pace. For sure, it is always a nice opportunity for a racing driver to test a so powerful car... Now I will concentrate on the coming weeks where I will race the Italian Winter series at Magione racetrack." The silly season page has been updated.

Heylen, Sperafico and Schmidt to test for Astromega According to Team Astromega (press release here at F3000.com), three drivers will drive for the squad in a private test at Hockenheim on Thursday and Friday (14th/15th) of this week. The drivers testing are Jan Heylen (third in the Formula Ford Zetec UK championship, and the Formula Ford Festival winner) along with F3000 regulars Alex Sperafico and Tony Schmidt. The latter has already tested for the team in the off-season. The silly season page has been updated.

Coloni deny Asaro test rumour Coloni Motorsport have denied that British F3 Scholarship Class driver Billy Asaro will test for the team. More here. The silly season page has been updated.

Monteiro linked to Fittipaldi CART team Rumour: Tiago Monteiro, an F3000 rookie with Super Nova this season, could race for Emerson Fittipaldi's proposed new CART team in 2003 according to sportmotores.com.

Power boost for Euro 3000 In agreement with Zytek and International Promotion, an engine airscope will be introduced in Euro 3000 for next season. The objective is to improve horsepower (by 10-15hp) and engine driveability (Source: F3000.com / Euro Series Team Association).

MELO WINS EURO 3000 CHAMPIONSHIP Congratulations to Jaime Melo Jr (Great Wall Racing), the 2002 Euro 3000 champion. Melo finished second today at the Cagliari street circuit behind winner Jaroslav Janis (Charouz ISR), with Matteo Grassotto (Draco) in third. Melo's title rival Romain Dumas (John Village) could not improve on his fifth place grid position in the race. Find race results and news at the Tiscali site (UK version). Full race-by-race results for the season will be added to this site very soon, while the results table will also be updated with the positions from the final round. Melo follows former Sauber F1 driver Felipe Massa as the second champion of Euro 3000, the series which developed from F3000 Italia.

Correction: Pantano/Super Nova news is false We (along with F3000.com) were supplied with false information about the Brask Management and Pantano vs Super Nova court case. We would like to stress that the news is not true, and we also doubt any of the other news this so-called "journalist" supplied us with is reliable. This person used the email address of a current F3000 team member to send the mail, so we can only ask what their motives were... The news reports sent by this person have been removed from this page and the silly season page has been amended. The incorrect/doubtful news reports regarded the Pantano/Super Nova case, Bruni allegedly signing for Brand Motorsports, Nordic allegedly being bought by Brand, David Jensen allegedly joining Brand and Schmidt allegedly signing for Astromega.

F3000 an option for Kovalainen Renault Development Driver Heikki Kovalainen could race in F3000 next year. The Finn, third in his rookie British F3 year this season with five wins, told Autosport: "I will have a meeting with the Renault people in a couple of weeks. It's difficult to say what I'll be doing. There are three options - Dallara Nissan, maybe Formula 3000, maybe Renault V6." The Telefonica World Series V6 (Dallara Nissan) currently seems a likely option for Kovalainen and his team-mate at Fortec from this season, Fabio Carbone. Previously the pair had been expected to move into the new Formula Renault V6, but sources suggest Renault would want to avoid the political ramifications of its own drivers competing in a Renault-backed series. The silly season page has been updated.

Asaro to test for Coloni Scholarship F3 front-runner Billy Asaro will test for Coloni F3000 at Barcelona later this month, according to F3000.com. The Canadian was third in the class this season with Sweeney Racing.

Keen to test for Arden As expected, Justin Keen will test for Arden International in the official test session scheduled for Barcelona on November 20th-21st (source: Autosport). Keen has driven for KJR/Monaco Motorsport and European Minardi for part-seasons since 2001. The silly season page has been updated.

Bentwood to race at Cagliari Former Fortec Italia driver Michael Bentwood will return to Euro 3000 this weekend for the final round at Cagliari (source: Autosport). The Briton will apparently race for the RM sportscar squad, which has taken over the Fortec Italia team (we thought this was Euro Nova Racing).

Nelson to race in Euro 3000? According to Autosport, Red Bull F1 Driver Search programme winner Joel Nelson could race in Euro 3000 next year, rather than European F3 (where he was linked to BSR), scheme founder Danny Sullivan claimed. The information will be added to the Euro 3000 silly season page when it is online soon.

Friesacher won't run with full Red Bull livery After signing for Coloni, Autosport reports that Patrick Friesacher will not be running in full Red Bull livery next season. The Austrian has run in the distinctive colours for the past two seasons with Red Bull Junior (RSM Marko), and before that in German F3. He will however continue to be backed by the energy drink company. He said: "Of course, my goal for next year will be to win the title."

Kavanagh linked to Super Nova and Astromega Irish female racer Sarah Kavanagh has cemented a long term sponsorship deal with TAG HEUER. Discussions are continuing with teams for 2003 with Super Nova and Astromega interested in reaching early agreement. (source: F3000.com / sarahkavanagh.com).

(5/11/02): FIA F3000 2003 silly season update: Sigi Muller has cleared up some rumours regarding PSM Racing Line; the team will continue next year; Kiesa has not signed for Super Nova; Tony Schmidt will not race for PSM Racing Line. (source: Marcel ten Caat).

(3/11/02): Congratulations to Ralph Firman (PIAA Nakajima) for winning the Formula Nippon championship from Satoshi Motoyama, with a third place at Suzuka today. Read about it here and at the official site.

(3/11/02): Euro 3000 testing news: Augusto Farfus was quickest in testing at Magione on Friday. More here.

(3/11/02): FIA F3000 2003 silly season update: According to this report Red Bull Driver Search winners Joel Nelson and Paul Edwards could race in F3000. However, with Red Bull set to switch to the Telefonica World Series V6, a move there would seem more likely. Reports earlier had stated that Edwards would race in TWS V6.

(3/11/02): FIA F3000 rumours: According to this forum thread, a team based on key members of Super Nova could enter CART next year, with Australian Motorsport news claiming that former team drivers Kenny Brack (2nd in '96) and Ricardo Zonta (champion in 1997) could race in a David Sears-run team. Another rumour suggests that TWS V6 team Racing Engineering could move into CART, with their driver Justin Wilson, the 2001 F3000 champ.

(3/11/02): FIA F3000 rumours: According to F1 na Web, Alex Sperafico could race in Euro 3000 next year.

(2/11/02): FIA F3000 official testing, Misano - UPDATE: The times originally listed were in fact the day 2 times. Now the overall times from the test have been added, along with some day 1 times, with many thanks to Martin Fjord. Also thanks to Martin the full times from the earlier Imola test can now be viewed in order of time (rather than driver name) for day 1 AM/PM and day 2 AM/PM.

(2/11/02): FIA F3000 2003 silly season update: Former Red Bull Junior driver Patrick Friesacher has signed for Coloni Motorsport. A press release stated: "Patrick Friesacher will race in one of the two technical structures officially supported by Coloni Motorsport: the name and the official colors of the Team will be revealed to the international media in a short time." It is not clear therefore whether he will race the main Coloni team (alongside Baumgartner), or their second team, European Minardi. Friesacher is expected to keep Red Bull backing.

(1/11/02): FIA F3000 2003 silly season update #2: Russian Roman Rusinov told "Formula" magazine that he is to test (or has been linked to a test) with Arden in November. (source: Andy of iLoveRacing.com). Last year he negotiated with the team for a 2002 drive, but the deal was cancelled at the last minute. Rusinov, a former French Formula Renault race winner, was third overall in Club Formula Palmer Audi this year.

(1/11/02): FIA F3000 2003 silly season update #1: British F3 champion Robbie Kerr told Autosport: "I've got some Formula 3000 test offers, but I'm going to concentrate on the Macau Grand Prix first."

(31/10/02): FIA F3000 official testing, Misano: Friesacher fastest in the 2-day test, times here.

(31/10/02): FIA F3000 2003 silly season update #2: German Tony Schmidt will not drive for PSM Racing Line again next year (source: Autosport). He has tested for Coloni and Astromega in the off-season.

(31/10/02): FIA F3000 2003 silly season update #1: Euro 3000 frontrunner Jaroslav Janis will test for Arden Int'l at Barcelona next month. The Czech currently races for the Arden affiliated Charouz ISR team (source: Autosport).

(29/10/02): FIA F3000 2003 silly season update: Canadian Formula Ford, Toyota Atlantic and Grand-Am driver Bruno St-Jacques is to test for Coloni at Misano this week (source: motorsport.com / F3000.com). Meanwhile Astromega will miss the tests, and will have their own private test at Hockenheim on November 14th-15th.

(28/10/02): FIA F3000 2003 silly season update: Euro 3000 championship leader Jaime Melo will test for FIA F3000 team Durango Formula at Misano on Thursday (source: Jaime Melo). Melo raced for the team in 2001. The Euro 3000 championship is to be decided at the final round on the streets of Cagliari on November 10th. Melo, driving for Great Wall Racing, currently leads Romain Dumas (John Village Automotive) by three points.

(27/10/02): FIA F3000 2003 silly season update: Italian team GP Racing have been ruled out of returning to FIA F3000 next year. They will continue in Euro 3000 (source: Daniel Dalence Garcia / GP Racing).

(25/10/02): FIA F3000 2003 silly season update #3: The page was updated with more Imola test news: Michele Rugolo tested for Durango Formula, Vitantonio Liuzzi for Coloni F3000 and Gottfried Grasser for "Coloni 2".

(25/10/02): FIA F3000 2003 Official Testing, Imola: Day 2 times added here, also yesterday's times updated and overall times added. Thanks to Marcel ten Caat for locating the times at the Imola website.

(25/10/02): FIA F3000 2003 silly season update #2: The page has been updated with the Imola test news: Patrick Friesacher and Ricardo Sperafico tested for "Coloni 2"; 2002 driver Tiago Monteiro tested for Super Nova. Two of the 12 drivers reportedly testing yesterday are yet to be identified.

(25/10/02): FIA F3000 2003 silly season update #1: After topping test times yesterday, it appears that European Minardi is no more and the squad is now being referred to as "Coloni 2".

(25/10/02): FIA F3000 2003 Official Testing, Imola: Day 1 times from yesterday added here.

(23/10/02): FIA F3000 2003 silly season update #4: Euro 3000 team GP Racing are pressing on with plans to return to FIA F3000, according to Motorsport News. Current drivers Alex Piccolo and Martin Basso may graduate with them.

(23/10/02): FIA F3000 2003 silly season update #3: Brazil's Alex Sperafico will test for Super Nova at Imola (source: F3000.com). He was going to test for Team Astromega, but this was not possible.

(23/10/02): FIA F3000 2003 silly season update #2: Former Formula Nippon and EuroBOSS driver Sarah Kavanagh is planning to compete in F3000 next year, with the support of her sponsor Eurosport. She said: "Sponsorship and fundraising for the 2003 season is looking very promising and we are making progress every day....At this point it looks like we are going to make it and we have had contact with a number of our favourite teams regarding a seat for 2003." (Source: www.sarahkavanagh.com, thanks to William de Jager)

(23/10/02): FIA F3000 2003 silly season update #1: Euro 3000 frontrunner Jaroslav Janis was reportedly due to test for Arden according to Motorsport News, although he was not mentioned in the team's press release yesterday.

(22/10/02): FIA F3000 2003 silly season update #4: Teams champion Arden International have announced the drivers they are to evaluate in the coming months, to determine the partner of confirmed driver Bjorn Wirdheim for next year. This week at Imola (24th/25th) they will test British F3 runner-up James Courtney; next week at Misano they will test Yannick Schroeder (who drives for Arden-affiliated Charouz ISR in Euro 3000), Derek Hill and Westley Barber; next month at Estoril they will test Justin Keen (source: Arden press/F3000.com).

(22/10/02): FIA F3000 2003 silly season update #3: According to this forum thread, 2001 season pace-setters Nordic Racing are rumoured to be selling the team: "Chris Mower, son of Derek Mower has quit Nordic to continue his career in North America."

(22/10/02): FIA F3000 2003 silly season update #2: Ricardo Sperafico will test for Coloni F3000 at Imola this week (source: warmup.com.br/F3000.com)

(22/10/02): FIA F3000 2003 silly season update #1: According to Danish press reports, Nicolas Kiesa has signed for Super Nova for 2003 (source: formula-3000.net). We await official confirmation of any deal.

(20/10/02): 2003 silly season news: Red Bull Junior F3000 refugee Patrick Friesacher is to test for Telefonica World Series V6 team Racing Engineering at Valencia on 21st October, alongside Spanish F3 drivers Alvaro Parente, Felipe Silva, Borja Garcia and Philip Giebler (source: F3000.com). Meanwhile, Ricardo Sperafico will test on the same day for Vergani Racing, alongside Milka Durno. The team wants to change its line-up for 2003. Brother Rodrigo Sperafico has already joined the series for the final rounds with Repsol Meycom. 1997 F3000 champion Ricardo Zonta won the inaugural title at Valencia yesterday, while 2001 champion Justin Wilson took his maiden win in the series.

(19/10/02): FIA F3000 2003 silly season update - EXCLUSIVE! Further to the news of 6/10, Brand Motorsports have now established one of their planned new teams after buying the Red Bull Junior Team operation. Martin Kendrick told us: "We are still negotiating on a second team and are in talks with a number of quality drivers for the seats we have available for next year. We have some very strong experienced F1 and F3000 personnel and will hit the ground running and fully expect to be challenging for the championship in our first year. Our operation is more like a small F1 team than a typical F3000 outfit."

(19/10/02): Euro 3000 - A new association of teams will work with series boss Pierluigi Corbari to try and strengthen the category. ESTA (Euro Series Team Association), formed at Jerez, comprises ADM Motorsport, B&C Competition, Draco Junior Team Multiracing USA, GP Racing, Great Wall Racing, Scuderia Famà, Team Ghinzani, Uboldi Corse and Victory Engineering. President is Adriano Morini, vice-president Mario Zecchi. (source: autosportnews.com).

(18/10/02): FIA F3000 2003 silly season update: British Formula Ford Zetec champion, and ex-British F3 driver Westley Barber is to test for Arden at Misano on October 31st, according to Reg Barber (source: F3000.com). He is seriously looking to find a seat for 2003.

(17/10/02): FIA F3000 2003 silly season update: Euro 3000 squad Victory Engineering is eyeing a move up to the International series next year (source: Autosport). Julien Vidot scored two fourth places with the team this year.

(16/10/02): FIA F3000 2003 silly season update: The other German driver to test for Astromega at Imola will be Tony Schmidt, according to Motorsport News.

(15/10/02): FIA F3000 2003 silly season update 2: Alex Muller and another driver, also reported to be a German, will test for Team Astromega at the Imola official tests (24th/25th October). They will join Rob Nguyen, who has already re-signed for the 2003 campaign (source: forum thread).

(15/10/02): FIA F3000 2003 silly season update 1: German F3 driver Gottfried Grasser is set to race in F3000 in 2003, according to a German article at webedition.f1-plus.com (news thanks to Alexander). It is not clear whether this would be in International F3000 or Euro 3000. The Austrian tested for Euro 3000 team Ghinzani last year.

(13/10/02): Euro 3000 2003 silly season: Last month Joao Paulo de Oliveira and F.Renault driver Hayanari Shimoda tested Lola B99/50s for Euro Nova Racing at Adria, Italy (source: Euro Nova news). This info will be added to the Euro 3000 silly season page, will be online as soon as this year's series is over.

(10/10/02): FIA F3000 2003 silly season update #3: Impressive rookie Rob Nguyen is to continue for a second year with Team Astromega, it has been confirmed (source: Astromega press)

(10/10/02): FIA F3000 2003 silly season update #2: Enrico Toccacelo, Patrick Friesacher and Tony Schmidt have been testing for Coloni F3000 alongside Baumgartner at the Hungaroring (details here at F3000.com).

(10/10/02): FIA F3000 2003 silly season update #1: Euro 3000 refugee Gianmaria Bruni tested for Durango at Vallelunga on Tuesday and Wednesday (details here at F3000.com). Bruni has twice raced the team's Durango GMS-Judd in the FIA Sportscar Championship this year.

(10/10/02): Changes for Euro 3000? According to this article, translated from Portuguese using Babelfish, there are big changes for Euro 3000 for 2003. Power is set to increase from 480hp to 520hp (we don't yet know how), to make performance closer to F1; an Association of Teams will work to strengthen the category and support teams in financial difficulties and with problems regarding team/driver contractual issues (frequent driver changes and withdrawal of teams have been problems this year); TV coverage, media facilities & hospitality are set to improve; finally, while the champion will qualify for an F1 superlicence, the top three will be able to be invited for F1 tests and possibly be offered F1 testing contracts. Next year's calendar will again include 10 events.

(8/10/02): FIA F3000 2003 silly season update: Zsolt Baumgartner signed for Coloni F3000 yesterday. He is the first driver confirmed for 2003. Read the press conference here at F3000.com.

(6/10/02): FIA F3000 2003 silly season update #3: Two new teams in F3000? NDS EuroBOSS squad Brand Motorsports are aiming to enter two teams in 2003, with each team running under their own title sponsor. We hope to hear further news over the next six weeks. News thanks to Brand Motorsport's Martin Kendrick, who races this ex-Formula Nippon Reynard 97D-Judd in the EuroBOSS series.

(6/10/02): FIA F3000 2003 silly season update #2: The teams that Baumgartner is linked too are in fact Coloni, Arden and Astromega. There is apparently no contact with Super Nova. Astromega made contact with Zsolt after the A1-Ring round, while Arden and Coloni did during the second half of the season. Correction with thanks to Martin Fjord. Also, Baumgartner's Coloni test will now start tomorrow at 11am.

(6/10/02): FIA F3000 2003 silly season update #1: Bertram Schäfer Racing will definitely not buy the Red Bull Junior/RSM Marko team, team boss Schäfer has been quoted as saying (source: German F3).

(6/10/02): Euro 3000 2003 silly season: Joao Paulo de Oliveira is looking for a Euro 3000 ride (source: German F3). He's already tested for Euro Nova. The Euro 3000 silly season page will be added once this year's series is over.

(5/10/02): FIA F3000 2003 silly season page updated: Zsolt Baumgartner to test for Coloni at Hungaroring next Tues/Weds (source: F3000.com / a5.hu), and might also test for them in official October tests. He is expected to leave Nordic and could race for Coloni, Arden or Super Nova in 2003.

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