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Giammaria to test for Durango Euro 3000 frontrunner Raffaele Giammaria will test at Imola in the official sessions which take place today and tomorrow, Ivone Pinton confirmed with italiaracing.net. Yesterday three other candidates were also in negotiations to test: Euro 3000 champion Jaime Melo, Italian F3 champion Milos Pavlovic and Michele Rugolo.

Spa back on the calendar As expected, it has been confirmed by FOM that an International F3000 race will be held at Spa-Francorchamps, despite the cancellation of the Belgian Grand Prix. The race will take place on August 31st, one day after the FIA Sportscar race. It is the first time since 1998 that an FIA F3000 race has been held at a non-F1 race meeting. The 2003 calendar has been amended.

Euro 3000 calendar changed There has been a modification to the Euro 3000 calendar. The race at the Nurburgring in Germany has been moved from September 7th to May 4th, so it will now be the second round of the series (source: italiaracing.net). The 2003 calendar has been amended.

Arden to enter CART? According to this CART forum, Motorsport News claims that top F3000 team Arden International will run a Lola in selected rounds of the Champ Car World Series. They claim that the team will run up to five races, including the two European rounds at Brands Hatch and Eurospeedway Lausitz. A rumoured driver is their F3000 star Tomas Enge, who controversially lost last year's title due to a drugs offence.

Nadin ruled out of Energy Racing seat Frenchman Kevin Nadin is not a possible driver for new Euro 3000 team Energy Racing, the team have confirmed with us. The silly season page has been updated.

Toccacelo signs for Jordan Junior Team The Super Nova-run Jordan Grand Prix Junior Team has signed Enrico Toccacelo for the forthcoming season. The 24-year old Italian commented: "I am delighted to have this opportunity." Team Manager David Sears said: "It’s great to have Enrico aboard for the 2003 season. I’m glad that we have finally made a contract and I believe that he can challenge for the Championship title." Toccacelo finished equal ninth last year with Coloni, including a win at the Hungaroring inherited after Tomas Enge's post-season disqualification. Toccacelo made his F3000 debut in the final four races of 2001 with Team Astromega, alongside Giorgio Pantano. The pair have remained teammates ever since, and with Pantano a favourite for the other Jordan Jr. seat, they could line up together again. The silly season page has been updated.

Super Nova confirm Jordan junior team status Super Nova has sealed a deal with Jordan Grand Prix, and will become the Jordan Grand Prix Junior Team from this season. Read the full press release here at F3000.com. According to the release: "Drivers at the moment are to be announced in the near future but it is hopeful that perhaps Giorgio Pantano who missed out on a Champ Car opportunity recently could be a possibility as a test driver for Jordan Ford Formula One and as a race driver with Jordan Grand Prix Junior Team... Other drivers in the frame such as American Derek Hill could be considered along with Italian Enrico Toccacelo and Frenchman Bruce Jouanny." It adds: "The Super Nova cars will be painted in the familiar Jordan yellow and black as the base colour with the sponsors and drivers to be announced in due course." Jordan were last involved in F3000 in 1991, when the team linked up with Middlebridge Racing to form Team Barclay EJR. Previously as Eddie Jordan Racing they had considerable success, winning the 1989 title with Jean Alesi. The silly season page has been updated.

Energy Racing launched You might have seen this downloadable Energy Racing team presentation (918KB) at F3000.com recently; the new Euro 3000 team have supplied it to us too, but unfortunately it cannot be uploaded here for technical reasons. The team also sent the following information: "Energy Racing is a new Team based at the circuit of Magny-Cours. Its aim is to contest this year's Euroseries F3000. There are three directors, Georges Kaczka (the founder of the team who worked since the early 70's with such drivers as Didier Pironi, Patrick Depailler, Jacques Laffite), Bruno Cordese (financial director) and Alan Langridge (technical director). At the end of last year, they bought the race winning F3000 cars of ISR, a brand new transporter and all the pit/race equipment of the ex Prost F3000 team." (source: Energy Racing).

Bruni signs for ADM Former British F3 frontrunner Gianmaria "Gimmi" Bruni has signed to race for ADM Motorsport, italiaracing.net confirms. The 21-year old Italian is set to race his first full season, having taken part in only three races with Coloni and ADM last year. His form last year suggests that he should be a frontrunner this season, as he took a 3rd and a 6th in his two starts with Coloni, while qualifying on the front row with ADM at Donington. Bruni had been linked to an International F3000 seat with Durango, having tested for the team, but the chance of a deal evaporated. The silly season page has been updated.

Four drivers to test for BCN F3000 New FIA F3000 team BCN F3000 have announced that they will be testing four drivers at the Imola tests (20th-21st February). Angel Burgueño and Marcel Costa had already been expected to test, but they will also be joined by Kevin Nadin and Rodrigo Sperafico (sources: F3000.com / italiaracing.net). The silly season page has been updated.

Pantano, Toccacelo and an American tipped for Den Blå Avis Three drivers have been linked to the remaining Den Blå Avis seat. Team manager Paul Jackson told crash.net: "We are currently awaiting the results of negotiations with other drivers, including an American and an Italian, and hope to make an announcement shortly." The site claims that the Italian is rumoured to be Giorgio Pantano or Enrico Toccacelo, both of whom drove for Coloni last season. The silly season page has been updated.

Kiesa officially confirmed at Den Blå Avis Nicolas Kiesa has been officially confirmed at Den Blå Avis. The news had leaked out in earlier reports, but now the team have clarified that he will race for them, rather than for Super Nova, the other David Sears founded outfit. Den Blå Avis team manager Paul Jackson said in this crash.net article: "The team is very happy to finally conclude a deal with Nicolas. He is a driver who impressed us last year and we feel has a lot of potential. He obviously re-affirms our Danish connection and we would like to see him carry on where Jason Watt finished off in 1998." The silly season page has been updated.

Costa to test for BCN F3000 Spanish F3 champion Marcel Costa will test for BCN F3000 at the forthcoming Imola test, according to reports in Spain (source: Jose Ramon Galan). Costa, also linked to Team Ghinzani for Euro 3000, looks set to test alongside Angel Burgueño. Costa has already had a seat fitting in the BCN F3000 factory. The silly season page has been updated.

Bruni update... According to a thread at this forum, Gianmaria Bruni, who is said to have confirmed he will be in the Euro 3000 series, is linked to ADM Motorsport, GP Racing and Uboldi Corse.

Sears blasts van Hool Super Nova and Den Blå Avis boss David Sears has followed Paolo Coloni in criticising comments made by Mikke van Hool of Astromega. Sears said in this crash.net article: "First of all, I was surprised to read this information on F3000.com [which translated van Hool's original comments], and fascinated to learn that Mikke van Hool obviously seems to be making press statements on behalf of my business. In the event that we that decide not to run two teams in Formula 3000, we will put a press release out." Of the four Sears drives available, he said: "We have signed two drivers out of four, and have another six drivers chasing two seats. Expect an announcement next week." Sears confirmed that an announcement regarding an F1 tie-up was imminent, and it appears that van Hool let the cat out of the bag by naming the team "Super Nova Jordan Jr." Both Gary Paffett and Giorgio Pantano were linked to F1 seats with Jordan, and Paffett is still chasing an F1 test deal with the team.

Bruni to race in Euro 3000? According to a thread at this forum, Gianmaria Bruni is set to return to Euro 3000 this year. We have no information as to the team or the reliability of this rumour.

Rumour: Super Nova to be Jordan junior team? According to the same translated article as in the story below, Mikke van Hool claimed that "David Sears' Super Nova Jordan Jr. team has (Giorgio) Pantano and (Nicolas) Kiesa...", suggesting that Super Nova would be affiliated to the Jordan F1 team. Kiesa has been confirmed for Den Blå Avis, the secondary Sears-founded team, but according to van Hool this team is switching to Renault V6 (see below). He claims therefore that Kiesa is to drive for Super Nova. Although Pantano has been linked to Super Nova along with a return to Coloni, there has been no official announcement as yet. Again, we stress that these are just rumours at present. We await any official updates.

Rumour: Den Blå Avis moving to Renault V6? According to a translation of this article appearing on F3000.com (see news 13/2/03), Astromega's Mikke van Hool, while listing the entries for 2003, claimed that David Sears will move "...his Den Blå Avis team to the new Renault V6-Championship." He also claims Nicolas Kiesa, who had apparently signed for Den Blå Avis, will be in F3000 with Super Nova instead (see story above). Recent rumours have suggested that Super Nova would be entering a team in Renault V6, but it was not clear if this would be in addition to the two Sears F3000 teams. We stress that this is just a rumour at present, and we await official confirmation.

Astromega look certain to quit In a translation of an autosport.be article on F3000.com (see news 13/2/03), Team Astromega's Mikke van Hool is quoted as saying: "Finding two drivers in these hard times that can bring 1 million Euro each is no longer realistic... And then I'm not even talking about the organisation and the costs for spare parts which has risen significantly. No, a small miracle will have to happen to see Astromega in 2003 in the F3000 Championship." He added: "We are not going to test in Imola in 14 days." Of the 18 Tatuus cars in production for the new Renault V6 series, van Hool said: "...two of them have written Astromega on them." van Hool hopes to run with the same backing from Renault Belgium that their new team in the junior Benelux Formula Renault Monza series has. Coloni boss Paolo Coloni criticised van Hool's comments in this press release.

Kiesa signs for Den Blå Avis Nicolas Kiesa has signed for Den Blå Avis (formerly Petrobras Junior), various sources confirm. The Dane will make his team debut at the FIA test at Imola on February 20th-21st. Kiesa raced in his rookie season with PSM Racing Line last year, finishing the year with two points finishes. The team's second driver should be confirmed before the Imola test, according to Autosport.

Grassotto signs for Traini Corse Traini Corse have completed their driver line-up by signing Matteo Grassotto (source: italiaracing.net). The Italian finished 7th overall in the series last year with Draco Junior Team. Grasotto will line up alongside rookie Colin Brown this year, with the squad reverting to its own name after running Jaime Melo to the title as Great Wall Racing. The silly season page has been updated.

Rusinov signs for GP Racing Formula Palmer Audi graduate Roman Rusinov has signed an agreement with GP Racing to compete in Euro 3000 this season, according to italiaracing.net. The Russian was third overall in the club level FPA series last year, having previously shown promise in French Formula Renault. A teammate is yet to be decided, but Tancredi Pagiaro expects to announce a driver in the next week. The silly season page has been updated.

Paffett/Minassian linked to Brand; Kendrick gives clues to livery According to Autosport, German F3 champion Gary Paffett is tipped for one seat in the new Brand Motorsports F3000 team. Meanwhile former F3000 runner-up Nicolas Minassian is "close to a deal" with Brand to race in at least one European CART round, which would probably be the Eurospeedway Lausitz round, as the Barcelona F3000 round clashes with the Brands Hatch race. Minassian said: "The deal is not done, but Martin and I are getting on very well." Meanwhile, according to a thread at the Ten Tenths single seater forum, Motorsport News states Minassian is also on a shortlist of drivers to sign for the F3000 team. Team boss Martin Kendrick recently said himself on the forum: "You will have to wait till the real cars roll out the truck in 2 weeks to see what those colours are but a hint is; I come from Merseyside and the cars in in the colours of my favourite team! You'll see the drivers for the first time at that test as well - both well known, both rapid, in 2003 we will give you some entertainment, I expect nothing less than podium finishes and the steps already have our names engraved on them!" The silly season page has been updated.

Rumour: Renault V6 targeted as F1 support replacement? We cannot be sure that the information is genuine, but a comment at this forum stated: "I have heard from Renault Sport that Bernie (Ecclestone) has ask if Renault would like to take over the spot from F3000 at the GP. But Renault is currently not interested because they feel that this will bring the same problems to the series as in F3000. No tracktime, only one race per event, no hospitality, no paddock access, high costs for the teams (hotels, etc). Also Renault said that Super Nova is considering Renault V6." We stress that this should only be considered as a rumour at the present time. Reports last year had stated that Super Nova would be entering the Renault series alongside their F3000 effort, but their plans appeared to have faltered as they have not been subsequently mentioned in relation to the series.

More Astromega rumours: team to quit? According to a thread at this forum, autosport.be reported: "Mikke van Hool has declared that Astromega will quit F3000 and possibly enter the Renault V6 championship. Tony Schmidt would be prepared to make the change with Astromega. van Hool also reffered to the 'problem Nguyen'." Astromega are yet to deny or confirm rumours that they will quit F3000 for the cheaper Renault V6 Eurocup. We await further news.

Fontana turns down BCN test invite Former F3000, F.Nippon, CART and F1 driver Norberto Fontana had to turn down an opportunity to test for BCN F3000 recently (source: F3000.com). The Argentinian was invited by Enrique Scalabroni to take part in the FIA tests at Imola on February 20th-21st, but clashing commitments meant he had to turn the chance down. He said: "It is a pain not to be able to accept this invitation. Anyway, it a pleasure to me that they have considered me to the test, for that reason I am thankful to him, to Scalabroni and to all its people." The silly season page has been updated with this information.

Euro 3000 heading to Brazil? A report at italiaracing.net claims that the Euro 3000 series could have two races in Brazil this season. Due to the presence of Brazilian drivers in the series, sponsors are said to have launched the idea for two races to be held, probably at Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Such a move would see F3000 cars continue to race in the country, FIA F3000 having removed Interlagos from their calendar for this season. The similar 3-litre Telefonica World Series also runs a pair of races in Brazil. Meanwhile according to the official Euro 3000 site, the date at Spa has been moved back a week to July 27th. The 2003 calendar has been amended.

Astromega update More on the Astromega situation from Motorsport News, information taken from this forum thread - apparently Astromega may quit F3000, Rob Nguyen having run into sponsorship difficulties. Sam Boyle is quoted as saying: "There is a real possibility we may have to withdraw". The report also claims Astromega are looking at the Renault V6 series, and that Tony Schmidt and Olivier Muytjens will test at Valencia. Before the rumours of withdrawal started, Schmidt had been confirmed with the team for F3000, while conflicting press releases made it uncertain whether Nguyen would be retained for a second season. We are still awaiting an official update from the team.

Watts linked to Super Nova? Don't know where the information is from, but according to the provisional entries at the frcF3000Championship site, former British Formula Renault champion Danny Watts had been been linked to Super Nova. However, a press release at his official site confirmed last month that the Briton would race for HiTech Racing in British F3. The silly season page has been updated.

Astromega/Schmidt linked to Renault V6 According to italiaracing.net and other sources, Team Astromega are to enter the new Renault V6 Eurocup series. Their driver Tony Schmidt, who was expected to race in F3000, has been linked to an Astromega Renault V6 outfit, along with Olivier Muytjens of Belgium. Furthermore, Schmidt is expected to be among a number of drivers to test a Tatuus car in forthcoming tests at Valencia (8th-9th February) and Albacete (10th-11th February). It is not clear whether Astromega have switched to the new series (their entry was "subject to confirmation" on the recent FIA F3000 entry list) or are planning to enter a secondary team. They are already entering the Benelux Formula Renault Monza series this year. The team have previously denied rumours they would not be competing in F3000 this year. We await further news from the team. The silly season page has been updated.

Victory/Cram Renault V6 deal confirmed According to italiaracing.net the expected deal between Victory Engineering's Gabriele de Bono and Cram Competition to enter a team in the Renault V6 series has been confirmed. The name of the new squad is not yet known, provisional names Cram by Victory or Victory by Cram being pencilled in at present. Gabriele de Bono is said to have lost interest in Euro 3000, but it is not clear whether Victory Engineering will leave the series. The silly season page has been updated.

Burgueño to test for BCN? According to this recent forum thread, reports in Spain suggest that Angel Burgueño will be testing for BCN F3000 in the first collective FIA F3000 tests. If oil giants Repsol bring their sponsorship to BCN, then it is expected that Burgueño would definitely race for the team. Marcel Costa was reportedly in negotiations with BCN along with Burgueño, while Rafael Sarandeses has also been linked to a seat. The silly season page has been updated.

Costa negotiations confirmed Team Ghinzani boss Piercarlo Ghinzani has confirmed with italiaracing.net that negotiations have been going on with Marcel Costa to race in Euro 3000, but he said that nothing has yet been decided.

Costa linked to Team Ghinzani Spanish F3 champion Marcel Costa is rumoured in Spain to be close to a deal with Euro 3000 squad Team Ghinzani, according to David Lopez/ F1es.net. The Spaniard raced for Ghinzani's F3 team in the end of season Macau and Korea classics last year. Costa has reportedly been in talks with International F3000 newcomers BCN F3000, but it is possible that the high costs of the category have made Euro 3000 a more attractive option. Two other Spaniards, Polo Villaamil and Rafael Sarandeses, have also been linked to Euro 3000. The silly season page has been updated.

Victory Engineering involved in Renault V6 squad A new team is set to be confirmed for the inaugural Formula Renault V6 championship this week, with Cram Competition team manager Marcello Rosei linking up with Gabriele de Bono, the boss of Euro 3000 team Victory Engineering. Cram Competition will run the technical side of the operation, with Victory Engineering involved in economic aspects and public relations (source: nuvolari3000).

Red Bull stay in F3000 with Coloni effort Red Bull colours will continue to race in F3000 this year, with the confirmation of a new Red Bull Junior Team F3000, which will run Vitantonio Liuzzi and Patrick Friesacher. The team is a rebranded European Minardi, which was taken over by Coloni Motorsport last year. Richard Salisbury will continue in his role as team principal. The team, is expected to have the "technical support" of Coloni Motorsport, and will be run from Coloni's Italian base. The news confirms that Zsolt Baumgartner will be running in the original Coloni team, alongside a team-mate who is yet to be confirmed. Red Bull's continuation in F3000 looked to be in doubt when RSM Marko, which ran the recent Red Bull Junior Team (1999-2002), sold their equipment to Brand Motorsports. (sources: colonimotorsport.com / F3000.com / crash.net). The silly season page has been updated.

BCN in talks with Spanish stars FIA F3000 newcomers BCN F3000 are rumoured to be in talks with two Spaniards, Telefonica World Series driver Angel Burgueño and Spanish F3 champion Marcel Costa. Meanwhile Paolo Catone has been signed as technical director. The Italian has previously worked in F1 with Ligier and Prost. (sources: italiaracing.net / crash.net). The silly season page has been updated.

FIA publish entry list The FIA published the International F3000 provisional entry list on 30th January. Including 10 teams as expected, the only surprise was the rebranding of European Minardi to "Red Bull Junior Team F3000". The list also confirms that BCN/Barcelona Competicion will be known as "BCN F3000". The official team names and numbers have been added to the silly season page.

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