March 2002

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Formula Nippon on Sky TV As usual Sky are broadcasting Formula Nippon coverage in the first hour of their "World Motorsports" programme. Times (BST): today (Sunday 31st March) - Sky Sports 3, 13:00 and 17:30; Tuesday 2nd April - 13:00.

F3000 round 1: Sperafico takes maiden win as Brazil dominates Rodrigo Sperafico produced a shock result on home ground by winning at Interlagos for Durango today, after race leader Tomas Enge retired. It was both Sperafico's first race win and his first points finish, and only the second race victory for Durango in the team's history. Brazilians dominated the podium, with Mario Haberfeld having his best ever finish in second for Astromega, just 0.7s behind Sperafico, and Ricardo Mauricio taking third for Red Bull Junior. Another Brazilian, Petrobras Junior's Antonio Pizzonia, took fourth place, ahead of newcomer Bjorn Wirdheim (Arden) and Coloni's Enrico Toccacelo, taking the final point. Tomas Enge (Arden) led from the early running after passing polesitter Sebastien Bourdais (Super Nova) into turn 4, with Sperafico, Haberfeld, Mauricio and Pizzonia following. On lap 7, Bourdais started dropping down the order after he suffered a puncture, forcing him into the pits. Alex Sperafico, down the field, was another driver with technical problems, retiring his European Minardi Lola after coming into the pits. Enge then led Rodrigo Sperafico and Haberfeld for much of the race, the Czech pulling out a big lead of 14 seconds before he too was forced to retire, gifting first position to Sperafico. The safety car made an appearance after Zsolt Baumgartner (Nordic Racing) spun in the Senna "S", and stalled attempting to rejoin. The final race results are available here, while the positions have been added in the championship, qualifying & race results page.

Montagny signs for Racing Engineering; Vilariño's position not certain Reigning Formula Nissan champion Franck Montagny has signed to race for Racing Engineering in the Telefonica World Series V6 by Nissan, according to Spanish reports (news thanks to Jose Ramon Galan). The former F3000 and French F3 driver will graduate to the new series with the team which last year won the inaugural Spanish F3 title. Montagny had earlier been strongly linked to Meycom and also linked to Epsilon by Graff. Now Spanish F3 champion Ander Vilariño, who had signed to stay with Racing Engineering according to reports, will not necessarily race for the team. He has been tipped to join Angel Burgueno at Meycom instead. The silly season page has been updated.

Kiesa punished for parc fermé offence PSM Racing Line rookie Nicolas Kiesa lost his best time from qualifying yesterday. The Dane received outside assistance on the track, but failed to take his car to parc fermé where an FIA official would inspect it according to the rules (source: warmup.com.br). The loss of the best time did not affect him, however, as it made no difference to his final placing of 19th on the grid.

Sperafico mix-up: Rodrigo was 4th, Ricardo 9th The qualifying times - here - and positions - here - have been corrected, as our source times mixed up Rodrigo and Ricardo Sperafico. In fact Rodrigo was the higher qualifier for the less fancied Durango team, taking fourth on the grid, with Ricardo (Petrobras Junior) in ninth. Apologies for the confusion. In more news from Brazil, the reason Baumgartner was well off the pace in 20th place was that he had an accident in session 1, which left him on the sidelines like Patrick Friesacher.

No F3000 on British Eurosport In another blow to British motorsport fans, there will be no coverage of the Interlagos F3000 round tomorrow on British Eurosport, despite the race appearing on the on-screen TV guide recently. Gareth Rees said in this forum thread: "I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the Interlagos F3000 race won't be shown on British Eurosport. Although it was all set for broadcast, there are apparently contractual issues still to be resolved and they cannot be sorted out in time." The race could still be broadcast delayed on International Eurosport, available in the UK via analogue satellite TV, at 19:00-20:00 tomorrow night. However, Rees added: "I don't know about the other Eurosport stations for sure, but I understand that the contractual issues affect all of them." The schedule on International Eurosport teletext shows the race was due to be broadcast on the channel.

Rookies impress in Interlagos qualifying While the first two rows of the Interlagos grid were filled by experienced drivers, some of the rookies to the series impressed. Bjorn Wirdheim was the most successful of these, the Swedish driver putting his Arden Lola in fifth place on the grid, just three places behind teammate and championship favourite Tomas Enge. Ryan Briscoe made a solid debut with last year's top team Nordic Racing with 11th on the grid, but for the very inexperienced Rob Nguyen to take 12th for Astromega was a big surprise. The other rookies, Tiago Monteiro (Super Nova), Tony Schmidt (PSM Racing Line), Alex Sperafico (European Minardi) and Nicolas Kiesa (PSM) were 15th, 16th, 18th and 19th respectively on the 20 car grid, PSM Racing Line the only team to be making their series debut.

Friesacher shunts in Brazil Patrick Friesacher suffered a difficult start to the 2002 season. In qualifying session 1, the Austrian crashed his Red Bull Junior Lola exiting turn 3 (source: autosport.com), the car sustaining heavy damage after going backwards into the barriers. He finished up 17th overall on the grid after he was left on the sidelines in session 2.

F3000 round 1: Interlagos qualifying - Bourdais in pole position Super Nova's Sebastien Bourdais took pole position for round 1 in final qualifying at Interlagos, Brazil, this afternoon. The Frenchman's time of 1m26.056s puts him ahead of Arden's Tomas Enge (1:26.120), the Czech having set fastest time in the opening session. Astromega's Mario Haberfeld will start as the best Brazilian on home ground in third, ahead of Ricardo Sperafico (Petrobras Junior Team), Bjorn Wirdheim (Arden) and Enrico Toccacelo (Coloni). The final qualifying times are available here, while the positions have been added in the championship, qualifying & race results page.

F3000 Round 1: Enge on provisional pole after qualifying session 1 Tomas Enge (Arden Team Russia) is on provisional pole after the first of two qualifying sessions. Times from session 1 available here.

F3000 Interlagos TV coverage on Eurosport Eurosport (both British and International) will be showing the first round of the International F3000 championship tomorrow, probably on a delayed basis, due to a clashing tennis event. An introduction and race highlights will be shown from 1900-2000 (Saturday 30th March), but there is a chance that the race could be shown live. Co-commentator and former F3000 driver Gareth Rees commented in a thread on the Ten Tenths single seater forum: "The Interlagos race will definitely be shown this Saturday on British Eurosport, but whether it is shown live depends on the tennis. If the tennis goes ahead the race will be recorded and shown an hour or so later, if the tennis doesn't go ahead the race will be shown live." He added "Coverage for the rest of the season appears to be in place, but I don't know how many will be live." According to the schedule Eurosport supplied us with, the races from round two onwards look set to be broadcast live as expected, despite rumours that the Imola race was also due to be shown delayed.

Karthikeyan to race in World Series? According to a thread at the Ten Tenths single seater forum, Indian Narain Karthikeyan has put his Formula Nippon plans on hold, and will return to Europe to compete in the new V6 Telefoncia World Series by Nissan. According to the press he considers Europe the place to be. Karthikeyan failed to compete in the opening Formula Nippon round, being replaced by Masami Kageyama. According to a team press release (news thanks to S.Rowe), Karthikeyan became sick suddenly, forcing the team to withdraw him from the Suzuka race. The World Series V6 silly season page has been updated.

Russians won't race for Bi Effe According to a good source, the two Russian drivers strongly linked to the Bi Effe team in the Russian press (see news, 3rd March) will not race for the squad this year. Neither Sergei Zlobin nor Roman Rusinov have signed a contract to race for the team of Guido Forti and Beppe Barbieri. The silly season page has been updated.

Reynard placed in receivership Reynard Motorsport has been placed in receivership. In a statement the company claimed that job losses would exceed 100, although the company will continue to run under the management of receivers for the immediate future. Previously the major player in CART, the firm has lost much of its market share to Lola recently. Reynard were the dominant force in International F3000 in the early 1990s, before the one-make formula was introduced in 1996 for which Lola controversially won the first contract. Reynard remain the main chassis manufacturer in Formula Nippon, this year every driver racing one of their cars, while they also produced the chassis for the one-make Formula Chrysler Euro Series launched last year.

International F3000 Season Preview The FIA International F3000 season kicks off at Interlagos, Brazil, on Saturday. Read our season preview here.

Vallelunga testing day 2: Dumas on top after switching to JVA Official Euro 3000 testing from Vallelunga finished today with Frenchman Romain Dumas setting the pace on 1m04.770s, now testing for John Village Automotive after driving for Coloni on day 1. Dumas outpaced veteran Thomas Biagi (Team Ghinzani, 1:04.858), and rookie Julien Vidot, the French Formula Renault runner-up, third for Victory Engineering (1:05.038). In fourth and fifth were the Draco pair, Matteo Grassotto and first day pacesetter Augusto Farfus, while Martin Basso (GP Racing) was sixth. Canada's David Rutledge did not test for John Village as had been expected. Overall times from the two days (source: Prorace) are available here. The silly season page has been updated with Dumas testing for JVA.

Villaamil and Garcia confirmed at Campos Motorsport Telefonica World Series V6 team Adrian Campos Motorsport have confirmed the reported news that Antonio Garcia will be partnered by fellow Spaniard Polo Villaamil this season. Garcia raced for the team in Formula Nissan (now Formula Nissan 2000) from 1998 to 2000, taking the title in his final year before a brief graduation to F3000. Villaamil also previously competed in Formula Nissan, before turning to International F3000, Euro 3000 (last year he was 8th with Fortec Italia) and GT racing.

Camathias to dovetail Euro 3000 with GTs Swiss Joel Camathias revealed recently that he will continue to race in the FIA GT championship alongside his season in Euro 3000. The former KTR International F3000 driver will race in the N-GT class for Autorlando Sport, driving a Porsche 996 GT3-R in four rounds, including the Proximus 24 Hours of Spa. He told the Super Racing Weekends site: "This is a big opportunity for me to gain experience on a number of international tracks. I am especially looking forward to driving in my first 24 hour race. I wanted to do it last year, but conditions should be better this year." Camathias also drove the Porsche 996 GT3-R last year. "It was difficult at the beginning, as it was the first time I had driven anything like that. But by Estoril, I had a good feeling for the car, and I really enjoyed it. I think it is very important for me to compete in the GT Championship. Although my main program is still in single-seaters, realistically speaking I know that it will be difficult to get to Formula One, and I have more hope of a good career in endurance racing."

Vallelunga testing day 1: Farfus quickest Formula Renault Eurocup champion Augusto Farfus showed he is a championship favourite today by topping the times on the first day of official Euro 3000 testing from Vallelunga, Italy. The Brazilian, driving for Draco, last year's championship winning team with Felipe Massa, was the quickest of 20 drivers taking part. His time of 1:05.12 put him ahead of Alessandro Piccolo (GP Racing, 1:05.32) and Draco teammate Matteo Grassotto (1:05.33). Max Busnelli (Great Wall Racing) was fourth, Vitor Meira (ADM) fifth and Martin Basso (GP Racing) sixth. Times (source: Prorace) are available here. The silly season page has been updated with a number of appearances at the test. As mentioned, Great Wall Racing tested their 2001 season driver Busnelli, while Coloni tested Romain Dumas, Scuderia Famà tested SudAm F3 champion Juliano Moro, and John Village Automotive tested an as yet unidentified driver with the surname Boss. We speculate that this is likely to have been either of the American drivers Peter or Geoff Boss. The BiEffe squad (or B&F) co-founded by Guido Forti was not present at the test.

Euronova enter Italian Formula Renault New Euro 3000 team Euronova Racing will enter a junior squad in this year's Italian Formula Renault championhip. The Euronova Junior Team are competing with Briton James Kirkpatrick and Italian Alessandro Tonoli, apparently a rebranding of last season's Fortec Italia team. Euronova, run by ex-International F3000 champion Vincenzo Sospiri with the assistance of Super Nova, are the latest Euro 3000 team to have a junior FRenault squad. ADM Motorsport have the ADM Junior Team (Mike den Tandt and Gregory Franchi driving), while Sighinolfi Autoracing have this year linked up with Facondini Racing (Giancarlo Serenelli and Matteo Pellegrino are the drivers).

Round 1: Firman wins at Suzuka Brit Ralph Firman took the opening honours in the Formula Nippon championship by winning the opening round from pole position at Suzuka today. The PIAA Nakajima pilot beat Team LeMan's Takeshi Tsuchiya to the line by three and a half seconds, setting fastest lap en route. Third position went to Firman's teammate Tsugio Matsuda, fourth to Ryo Michigami (Team 5Zigen), fifth to Juichi Wakisaka (ARTA) and sixth to Naoki Hattori (Team 5Zigen). There were three retirements: Toshihiro Kaneishi, reigning champion Satoshi Motoyama and Yudai Igarashi. Race positions and driver/team standings have been added here. Full race results are here on the official site (where a race report should follow soon).

Rutledge to test for John Village David Rutledge appears to remain in strong contention for a drive at John Village Automotive this year. A reliable source has informed us that he has the budget to drive for the team and is currently in England in order to see how he fits in and if he feels the team is capable of fielding a front-running car for him. The Canadian is due to test for JVA on Tuesday (26th), presumably in the Vallelunga official tests. Rutledge competed in CART Toyota Atlantic for the past two years with Lynx Racing, finishing runner-up last year.

Takagi B-1 set to enter Japan GTs According to the Takagi B-1 Racing message board, the Japanese team will enter the All-Japan GT championship this year. Having decided not to enter Formula Nippon this season, they will follow the route taken by Team Leyjun last year. Translated messages can be viewed here. News thanks to Nicolas Korzan.

Couto tests for Vergani Racing Ex-F3000 and Formula Nippon driver Andre Couto is due to test for Vergani Racing when their team of Dallara-Nissan V6's make their debut at Albacete, Spain, in the next few days. (source: Jose Ramon Galan / official site). The Macau pilot, a former winner of the Macau F3 Grand Prix, was 11th overall in Formula Nippon last year, the Nova team the only squad running the G-Force chassis. The silly season page has been updated. Please note: From now on at this site we will refer to the series (formerly Formula Super Nissan, then Dallara Nissan V6) as World Series V6, which is the name that organisers appear to have finally settled on using.

Calendar update... The third round of the inaugural Telefonica World Series V6 championship (or Dallara Nissan V6) at Albacete has been brought forward a week to June 23rd. Meanwhile the Magny Cours race (round 5) will take place on August 31st, not August 1st as originally stated. The updated calendar can be seen in the World Series V6 section.

New Kiwi team in Formula Holden There will be a new team entering Formula Holden this year. The squad from New Zealand is to be announced soon, and has been put together by Formula Ford veteran and ex F5000/F.Atlantic champion Kenny Smith. They have bought two ex-Gibson Motorsport cars (the ex-Paul Dumbrell/Scott Dixon hybrid Reynard 93D, with 97D modifications including a sequential gearbox, and an ex-Dumbrell 94D) along with three engines and spare parts. The team will be based at Calder Park Raceway in Melbourne. Sixteen year old New Zealander Nelson Hartley, who recently tested for Ralt Australia, looks set to drive one of the cars, while the other car may appear later in the season. Read the full story here at the official site. The silly season page has been updated.

Power linked to Ralt Australia Australian Formula Ford runner-up Will Power is "earmarked for" the second seat at Graham Watson's Ralt Australia team according to the Formula Holden official site. Watson is trying to sort out a deal for the Queensland driver, who was runner up to British Formula Renault rookie Will Davison last year. Alan Gurr is a "virtual certainty" to remain at the team. The silly season page has been updated.

Murchison to test for Hocking Formula Holden frontrunner Christian Murchison is to test for Hocking Motorsport on April 2nd. He is hoping to find the backing for a third assault on the title, and is currently in negotiations with a number of potential backers. (source: official site). The silly season page has been updated.

Formula Holden silly season updates... In addition to the stories above, the Formula Holden silly season page has been updated with some news at the official site: A "young Kiwi FF star" is tipped to join Murphy Motorsport (Peter Hill and Roger Oakeshott already confirmed), and could test the remaining Reynard 95D next week; Terry Clearihan (National Neon Signs) has bought the ex-Damien Digby Reynard 92D; Rohan Carrig (CRD Motorsport) has backing from ARLEC and will drive the ex-Todd Kelly 92D; Ian Peters remains with Peters Racing; Mark Ellis and Brian Sala are both set to race at the season opener; a driver from America is attempting to finalise a deal to race in the series. Official testing will take place at Phillip Island on April 2nd.

Sighinolfi sign Vacis and Wierczuk Luca Vacis and Jaroslaw Wierczuk will race for Sighinolfi Autoracing in this year's Euro 3000 series, the team of Franco Sighinolfi have confirmed. Series regular Vacis had already been announced as a driver, but Poland's Wierczuk moves into Euro 3000 after one and a half seasons of Formula Nippon. He raced in the series, previously Italian F3000, in 1999 for Durango. Italian Vacis was 14th overall in Euro 3000 last year, as teammate to Felipe Massa at Draco. Sighinolfi will take to the track next week in the two-day Vallelunga test session. The silly season page has been updated.

Formula Nippon round 1: Firman on pole PIAA Nakajima's Ralph Firman took pole position for tomorrow's opening Formula Nippon round at Suzuka today. The British series veteran, who won the final two races of 2001, was quickest with a lap of 1:42.600. He commented: "I'm looking forward to the race. The pre season test result was good. It's nice to be the same team this season again. The relationship with the team is very good. I think I have a great chance of winning the race tomorrow." Firman will start the race ahead of Juichi Wakisaka (ARTA), on 1:42.772, and Nakajima teammate Tsugio Matsuda (1:42.793). Fourth on the grid is Takeshi Tsuchiya (Team LeMans), fifth Satoshi Motoyama (XBOX IMPUL) and sixth Naoki Hattori (Team 5Zigen). Daisuke Ito was an impressive ninth with the new Team 22 entry, while French rookies Benoit Treluyer (Cosmo Oil Cerumo) and Jonathan Cochet (DoCoMo Dandelion) were 10th and 16th respectively. Qualifying positions have been added here. Full qualifying results are here on the official site.

Karthikeyan replaced by Kageyama A surprise change ahead of qualifying for the opening Formula Nippon round today saw India's Narain Karthikeyan replaced by Masami Kageyama in the number 7 Team LeMans Reynard. Japan's Kageyama qualified in 14th position.

Wilson looking at Gabord Competicion drive International F3000 champion Justin Wilson still looks to be in contention for a drive with Gabord Competicion in the new Telefonica World Series Dallara Nissan V6 series. After finishing sixth at the Sebring 12 Hours with Ascari last weekend, Wilson was asked by Autosport about the reported offer of a free drive by the Spanish team. He said: "Yes, that certainly looks a good option at the minute, but it all came out just before I left for Sebring. I need to go and see the team and find out what it's all about, which I'll be doing this week." The Brit commented that he is also looking at CART and the Indy Racing League, but "there's nothing serious on the horizon yet." Despite dominating last year's F3000 championship with Nordic Racing and having an impressive F1 test with Jordan, Wilson has been left without a regular drive this year.

Rookie Sperafico tests at Donington F3000 newcomer Alexandre Sperafico drove on European Minardi's 2002 testing debut at Donington Park, England, on Wednesday. The Brazilian, cousin (not brother as we incorrectly stated before) of Ricardo and Rodrigo Sperafico, completed 21 laps in the Lola B2/50, shaking down the car and working with engineer Nick Potter.

Tavano races at Enna Euro 3000 race winner Salvatore Tavano raced in the 24 Hours of Sicily at Enna-Pergusa last weekend in a Lamborghini Diablo squad. Although the car battled for the lead for 14 hours, it was held up for five hours with differential problems.

Charouz Racing link up with Arden The new Czech team entering Euro 3000 this season, Charouz Racing, will link up with International F3000 team Arden International, Autosport reports. The FIA GT Championship team, which ran Porsches last year, will use the ex-Arden Lola B99/50s and will operate from their Czech base. They will receive technical support from Arden. Jaroslav Janis is confirmed as one of the drivers. The silly season page has been updated.

Moro set to sign for Euronova SudAm F3 champion Juliano Moro is set to sign for Euronova Racing, Autosport reports. The Brazilian will test for the team of Vincenzo Sospiri, which has the technical support of Super Nova, at Vallelunga next week. Ex-International F3000 champion Sospiri told the magazine: "After that, we should finalise the deal." This winter Moro had already been linked to Coloni and Fortec Italia, the team Sospiri was previously involved with. The silly season page has been updated.

Yamanishi set to enter British F3 Formula Nippon regular Koji Yamanishi is close to a deal with British F3 Scholarship Class team Rowan Racing, Autosport reports. The Japanese, who raced for Team LeMans in the latter half of last season, tested Rowan Racing's Dallara-Toyota at Croft last week and is currently working on a budget.

Manning chases Le Mans drive Arden F3000 refugee Darren Manning is in contention for a Le Mans 24 Hours drive in the Prodrive Allstars team's second Ferrari 550 Maranello, Autosport reports. The BAR F1 test driver is in discussions with the team. His former F3000 teammate Viktor Maslov is believed to be one of seven drivers on the shortlist for the second car. Meanwhile another ex-F3000 driver, Andrea Piccini, looks certain to race in the FIA GT Championship alongside Jean-Denis Deletraz in Scuderia Italia's number one Ferrari 550.

Firman to race GT Honda Formula Nippon frontrunner Ralph Firman will race a Honda NSX for Nakajima Planning in the All-Japan GT series this year, alongside his Formula Nippon commitments for the team.

van der Ende joins Formula Renault field Reigning FC Euro Series champion Ricardo van der Ende will race in British Formula Renault 2000 this year. He has signed a last-minute deal with Aztec International to replace Chaz Small, who had budget problems. The Dutchman has the funding for the first five or six rounds and the team hopes he will find the rest as the season goes on.

Briscoe almost made F1 debut Nordic Racing F3000 driver and Toyota F1 test driver Ryan Briscoe almost made a surprise F1 race debut in the Australian GP, it has emerged. Autosport reports that the Australian was within five days of standing in for Toyota's Mika Salo, who was struck down with the flu. Briscoe was told to get ready to replace the Finn, but Salo recovered in time to race.

Great Wall Racing to enter Formula 2 with 3 Chinese drivers The Great Wall Racing Team, run by Traini Corse under the management of Luciano Traini and Prof. Vanni, will enter the new Italian Formula 2 series this year. Great Wall will enter three Lola T96/50s, with three Chinese pilots set to drive (source: official site). Asian Formula 2000 racers Liu Yang and Wang Chao have been announced for two of the seats, while another Chinese driver will take the third. Yang and Chao were linked to Great Wall's Euro 3000 team before the start of last year, but two Italian drivers took the seats. Earlier this month Li Yun Chang and Sun Tsi Hang had been linked to the Italian F2 team, then expected to enter as Traini Corse, along with Italian Daniele Cardinali. It remains to be seen whether Great Wall Racing will also continue in Euro 3000 this season. The silly season page has been updated.

Venturini will not enter Dallara Nissan series Venturini Racing have decided not to enter the inaugural Dallara Nissan V6/Telefonica World Series championship, instead opting to remain in the original 2-litre Formula Nissan category, now known as Formula Nissan 2000. Luciano Gomide of Brazil had earlier signed for the team to contest the senior category. The news means that only ten teams (as originally planned) are likely to enter the 2002 series, unless F3000 refugees DAMS make a last minute decision to enter as an 11th team. News thanks to Jose Ramon Galan. The silly season page has been updated.

Villaamil to race for Adrian Campos It has been confirmed in Spain that Polo Villaamil will race for Adrian Campos Motorsport in the Dallara Nissan V6 Telefonica World Series this year. The Spaniard partners another former F3000 driver, Antonio Garcia. News thanks to Jose Ramon Galan. The silly season page has been updated.

Montagny close to Repsol-Meycom deal Formula Nissan champion Franck Montagny is close to signing for Repsol Meycom, Spanish reports suggest, with Angel Burgueño set to be his teammate (source: Jose Ramon Galan). Meanwhile it seems that Victor Ordoñez will not step up to the high powered category but will probably remain in Formula Nissan 2000 for another season. The silly season page has been updated.

Formula 2 calendar changes; provisional first round scrapped There have been some changes to the schedule of the inaugural Formula 2 series in Italy. According to calendar on the official site, the first round, provisionally pencilled in for Vallelunga on April 7th, will now be the April 28th round at either Imola or Misano. San Marino GP venue Imola had been the original venue provisionally scheduled for this date. Meanwhile the September 29th race could now be held at either Monza or Imola, the former circuit previously pencilled in for this date. To replace the cancelled Vallelunga race, another date at Mugello on October 6th has been announced, subject to confirmation. The latest version of the calendar can be seen here. The testing schedule has also been updated, the apparently cancelled Misano date of February 28th being replaced by a new date - April 5th.

Saelens on single-race deal Belgian series veteran David Saelens has only signed a one-race deal so far for European Minardi. He will partner Alexandre Sperafico at the Interlagos opener this month, but it remains to be seen whether Saelens will stay at the team for the rest of the year.

Draco testing clarification... It has been clarified (source: Braga circuit) that Draco tested for two days at Braga, Northern Portugal, at the start of the month, not Estoril as reported earlier due to an incorrect source. The winter testing page has been corrected with this information.

González brothers to race in CART? The González brothers could race for Dale Coyne Racing in CART this season. Roberto and Ricardo González competed in the inaugural FC Euro Series last year, finishing 2nd and 4th respectively in the standings for Alpie Motorsport. Dale Coyne Racing could return to Champ Cars in the Laguna Seca round with Cosworth powered Lolas, with the two Mexican pilots funded by their family business. Read the full article at autoracing1.com.

FIA releases entry list; Pantano to Coloni, Saelens to European Minardi The FIA released the official International F3000 entry list yesterday. The list confirms that race winner Giorgio Pantano, who lost his seat at Super Nova, has signed to partner Enrico Toccacelo at Coloni. The other remaining seat, at European Minardi, will go to David Saelens, who raced for Paul Stoddart's squad last year. He is partnered by recent signing Alexandre Sperafico. The team, who signed the drivers at the last minute, will make their 2002 testing debut at Donington Park next week, having missed the official sessions. The silly season page has been updated - number allocation between drivers is now confirmed.

Roden explains decision to pull out According to Prorace, Stewart Roden's decision not to enter his new team in Euro 3000 was due to the fact that to operate competitively in the series required a budget of £600 000, which he was unable to raise. Roden is selling his two Lola B99/50s (see news below of 14th March).

Eastern Creek pre-season testing Formula Holden pre-season testing kicked off at Eastern Creek on Monday, with three teams taking part and evaluating drivers. Murphy Motorsport, Ralt Australia and Hocking Motorsport each brought two cars to the Sydney circuit. Ralt Australia tested Will Power and Nelson Hartley, Murphy Motorsport ran Peter Hill and Roger Oakeshott (with Tim Leahey in assistance), while Hocking Motorsport ran Akihiro Asai in both cars. Australian Formula Ford runner-up Power emerged quickest on the day with 1m23.72s. Read the full report here. Formula Holden testing will resume at Phillip Island on April 2nd. The Formula Holden silly season page has been updated.

Youngster Hartley tests for Ralt Australia New Zealand Formula Ford frontrunner Nelson Hartley could race in Formula Holden this season. The 16-year old Kiwi, from Palmerston North, tested for Graham Watson's Ralt Australia team at Eastern Creek on Monday. The full report can be read here. The Formula Holden silly season page has been updated.

Stewart Roden sells '99 Lolas Stewart Roden Racing appear to have abandoned plans to compete in Euro 3000 this year. Stewart Roden has advertised for sale two Lola B99/50s in the classified section of Autosport. The businessman had bought two cars from Fortec Motorsport and planned to enter Euro 3000 with American Nathan Kinch, who tested for the fledgling team this winter. The silly season page has been updated.

Uboldi Corse test at Nogaro with Gardel, Schroeder Davide Uboldi's Euro 3000 squad Uboldi Corse tested for two days at Nogaro, France, on Tuesday and Wednesday (12th-13th, source: Prorace). Confirmed driver Gabriel Gardel drove alongside Yannick Schroeder, who twice raced for the team last year. Gardel was quickest with 1m18.0s, with Frenchman Schroeder setting a best of 1:18.3. The times improved on Stephane Sarrazin's track record of 1:19.8. Apparently Gianmaria Bruni was rumoured to be taking part in the test, but Uboldi denied that his fellow Italian had driven the car. The winter testing page has been updated, while the silly season page has been updated to link Schroeder to the team.

Paffett chooses F3 over F3000 British driver Gary Paffett will not compete in either of the F3000 series this year, deciding to remain in German F3 with Team Rosberg. Paffett had tested for Coloni this winter and was looking at possibilities in International and Euro F3000. But he was thwarted by the common problem of finding the huge budget required to race, telling Autosport: "F3000 International would have been the first choice, but the budgets are just unreachable. This [German F3] seems to be the best option and the standard of drivers is better than Euro F3000..." Paffett was sixth in the German F3 series last year with ex-F1 champion Keke Rosberg's squad. The International F3000 and Euro 3000 silly season pages have been updated.

Davies close to Edenbridge return Former International F3000 race-winner Jamie Davies could return to Edenbridge Racing in the British Touring Car Championship. The former F3000 team are running two BMW 320i's in the BTC Production class this year, with Tom Boardman already confirmed. Davies tested the car at Brands Hatch, and is one of two drivers in contention for the remaining seat. Edenbridge last appeared in F3000 in 1999, when their involvement with Paul Stoddart's European Racing (the team named European Edenbridge Racing) ended after a few races.

Alexandre Sperafico signs for European Minardi There will be three Sperafico brothers in International F3000 this season, with Alexandre Sperafico signing for European Minardi earlier today. Alex, 28, brother of twins Ricardo and Rodrigo, raced in the Barber Dodge Pro Series last year, finishing 12th overall (cousin Rafael was 7th). Following the season he tested an F3000 Lola during the winter for Super Nova. He previously competed in SudAm F3 in 1998 and 1999. The news confirms that European Minardi will contest this year's championship, despite having missed all of the official testing sessions. Sperafico will have only one chance to test the car before the championship opener at Interlagos this month. He will drive at Donington Park next Wednesday (20th). The team will also test on Friday 22nd, but Sperafico's teammate, yet to be decided, will be in the cockpit. Giorgio Pantano has been linked to the seat, as has 2001 driver David Saelens. It is a possibility that Saelens will initially be signed for the Interlagos race, with a decision for the remainder of the season being delayed. (sources: formulanews.br / pitstop.com.br / F3000.com). The silly season page has been updated.

Silverstone FIA testing day 2: Enge quicker again Arden finished the final day of the last official pre-season test at Silverstone in first and second places, with Tomas Enge again setting the pace ahead of teammate Bjorn Wirdheim. The pair were the only two to improve on the best time set yesterday. Enge's 1:34.40 was more than 0.7 seconds quicker than his benchmark time from yesterday.Wirdheim's time of 1:35.05 was a full 0.6 seconds slower than Enge's, with third-placed Sebastien Bourdais (Super Nova) on 1:35.29. The Frenchman was quickest in the slower morning session. Giorgio Pantano continued testing for Coloni, finishing fourth today. Times are available here.

Silverstone FIA testing day 1: Enge fastest; Pantano to sign for Coloni? The first of two days of official testing at Silverstone took place today, Arden's Tomas Enge setting the pace in the faster afternoon session with 1:35.183. The Czech outpaced Durango's Rodrigo Sperafico and Giorgio Pantano, making his Coloni debut after being controversially dropped by Super Nova. The Italian and Brask Management are looking for a last minute deal with the team, which appears to be his only option to remain in the series. Pantano was second quickest in the morning session, with confirmed Coloni driver Enrico Toccacelo a surprise pacesetter on 1:36.761. Times are available here.

Another no-show for European Minardi European Minardi were once again absent from official testing as the Silverstone meeting started today. With no drivers signed for the season, it looks doubtful whether the squad will make it to the grid for the opening round at Interlagos later this month.

Ghinzani test at Albacete; del Monte drives Team Ghinzani tested for three days at Albacete, Spain, last week (source: Prorace). Between last Wednesday and Friday (6th-8th March) Italians Thomas Biagi and Fabrizio del Monte both drove, last year's runner-up Biagi, already confirmed at the team, setting a best time of 1:19.30 and del Monte setting a best of 1:19.90. The winter testing page has been updated, while the silly season page has been updated to link del Monte to the team.

Hynes tests Dallara at Varano Former British F3 champion and F3000 driver Marc Hynes tested the new Dallara Nissan V6 chassis at Varano yesterday (Monday). Former British Formula 3 champion Marc Hynes tested the new Dallara-Nissan car for the Open Telefonica World Series at Varano in Italy on Monday. The British driver completed a full race distance in the car to test the new gearbox. Hynes commented: "It's a great car. It has excellent balance and traction, just what you’d expect from a Dallara. It felt like a Formula 3 car with a lot more power. The engine is really nice and sounds mega! The power curve is really smooth, and would've been even better but we were running it without a flatshift. I think the performance will be very close to an F3000 car, it's certainly a lot more driveable than the old F3000s. I think this championship will be something to watch this year. I reckon you could get out of these and into an F1 car quite easily." Hynes, who attended the Telefonica World Series launch recently, is working on a budget to compete this year. He added: "I'm really keen to do it, I think it's going to turn a few heads." (source: autosport.com). The silly season page has been updated.

Zele Motorsport in discussions with Schwager, Piccini, Santavirta New Dallara Nissan V6/Telefonica World Series team Zele Motorsport are currently in conversation with three drivers for their two available seats. Former F3000 and Formula Nippon driver Dominik Schwager is ready to sign a contract with the Austrian team, with F3000 regular Andrea Piccini and Finnish driver Miku Santavirta the other main contenders. Former Formula Palmer Audi driver Santavirta's manager Peter Collins is trying to find more sponsors to complete the required budget, while Piccini is waiting on the decision of his main sponsors for him to enter the series. The silly season page has been updated.

Farfus and Grassotto test at Estoril The Draco Junior Team conducted a two-day private test at Estoril, Portugal, last week. Brazil's Augusto Farfus declared himself happy with the Lola B99/50 of the team, and said that the car was well balanced. Teammate Matteo Grassotto also took part, but the team did not release any times.

Formula 2 silly season updates... The Italian Formula 2 silly season page has been updated significantly with the provisional entries released by the official site. As mentioned in the news stories below, Wolf Racing and Sport Center will compete this year, with Sighinolfi Motorsport and Traini Corse also intending to take part. Other updates include ex-Prost Junior F3000 driver Nicolas Filiberti being linked to GP Racing and Euro 3000 drivers Valerio Scassellati and "Babalus" linked to Coloni Motorsport.

Sighinolfi and Traini Corse to enter F2? According to the provisional entry list released by formula2info, Euro 3000 squads Sighinolfi Motorsport and Traini Corse are planning to enter the new Formula 2 series in Italy this year, Sighinolfi with two cars and Traini Corse with three. Traini Corse ran the Great Wall Racing Euro 3000 team last year, having previously linked up with GP Racing. Li Yun Chang, Daniele Cardinali and Sun Tsi Hang are all linked to the seats at the team. The silly season page has been updated.

Sport Center enter F2; Bleekemolen to drive? Sport Center will enter Italian F2 as expected, the provisional entry list from formula2info confirms. Dutch driver Jeroen Bleekemolen could drive one car, while Sandro Murff has been linked to the other. Bleekemolen is a former Dutch and Benelux Formula Ford champion, who has since competed in Formula Palmer Audi and Formula Opel. The silly season page has been updated.

Wolf Racing to enter F2 Wolf Racing will enter Italian F2 this year, the provisional entry list from formula2info confirms. Ivan Bellarosa, the Italian F3 runner-up of 2000, will drive, while Simone Galluzzo has been linked to the second car. The silly season page has been updated.

Symbol to run fourth car? According to the provisional entry list released by formula2info, Nestor Biglieri's Symbol Racing Team will run a fourth car in this year's inaugural Formula 2 championship. Giovanni Montanari, Paolo Biglieri and Gianmaria Gabbiani are all already signed for the other three cars. The silly season page has been updated.

Camathias signs for Scuderia Famà Joel Camathias, who scored points on his International F3000 debut last year with KTR, has returned to Scuderia Famà to contest this year's Euro 3000 championship. The Swiss last drove for the team in Formula Nissan in 2000. Camathias, running with an Italian license, will drive one of the team's two Lola B99/50 cars, bought from Nordic Racing, the team that took Justin Wilson to last year's International title. His teammate at Famà could be English or Brazilian according to Prorace. Brazil's Nilton Rossoni had been linked to a seat, but he is currently on the provisional entries for the Barber Dodge Pro Series where he is a series regular. Scuderia Famà are planning to test at the Pannoniaring in Hungary or at Albacete in Spain before the official tests at Vallelunga later this month.

Suzuka testing day 2: Motoyama fastest Official testing from Suzuka concluded yesterday, reigning champion Satoshi Motoyama (XBOX IMPUL) emerging quickest with 1m42.702s in the final session. His time was over four-tenths quicker than second placed Ryo Michigami (5Zigen), with Tsugio Matsuda (PIAA Nakajima) third after the two days and Juichi Wakisaka (ARTA) fourth. Ralph Firman (PIAA Nakajima) dropped to fifth after setting the pace on the opening day. Rookie Benoit Treluyer (CERUMO) impressed by finishing sixth overall of the 18 drivers taking part. Full times available here on the official series site.

Piccini could race FIA GT Ferrari F3000 regular Andrea Piccini could race in the FIA GT Championship this season. The Italian is a potential driver for the lead Ferrari 550 Maranello of reigning champions Scuderia Italia, yet to confirm an agreement to run two of the cars. Other potential drivers are 2001 champion Marco Zadra and ex-F1 and F3000 driver Jean-Denis Deletraz. Autosport reports that the second car will be raced by Enzo Calderari, Lilian Bryner and possibly Frederic Dor. Meanwhile, in other sportscar related news, ex-DAMS F3000 driver Kristian Kolby will contest selected FIA Sportscar rounds, the Sebring 12 Hours, Le Mans 24 Hours and the Petit Le Mans with Team Ascari. Justin Wilson, reigning F3000 champion, will also be racing for Ascari at Sebring (see news from February).

Rutledge strongly linked to John Village Automotive drive A source has informed us that there is a strong rumour David Rutledge will race for John Village Automotive in Euro 3000 this season. Canadian Rutledge, 23, was runner-up in CART Toyota Atlantic last year. He is set to be partnered by an unnamed American. Although the news is not official, an announcement could be made in the coming days. It had previously been reported that JVA were aiming for a North American pairing, one Canadian and one American. The silly season page has been updated.

Wilson offered free Dallara Nissan drive International F3000 champion Justin Wilson has been offered a free drive with Gabord Competicion in the new Telefonica World Series Dallara Nissan V6 championship, Autosport reports. Wilson, who has been unable to find a regular seat in any series for this season, said: "I'm definitely interested. But I'm looking at everything at the moment. The new Dallara looks good, it is an option." Wilson will race in the Sebring 12-Hours for Team Ascari, his only confirmed drive so far this season. Gabord Competicion had previously planned to run Stephane Sarrazin in Dallara Nissan V6, but the Frenchman's deal to test for Toyota means he couldn't race in a series run by Nissan. The silly season page has been updated.

Bruni set to sign for Coloni? Schwager tests... Former British F3 frontrunner Gianmaria Bruni is close to finalising a deal with Coloni Motorsport, according to today's Autosport. "Gimmi" has already tested for the team late last year, having also been linked to a European Minardi seat. However, another driver looks to be in the frame also. Dominik Schwager, who raced for ORECA's BMW junior team in 1998, tested for Coloni today at Imola. The silly season page has been updated.

Official Imola F3000 testing day 2: Durango's Sperafico quickest Durango Formula's Rodrigo Sperafico continued to impress in pre-season testing by topping the times at the end of the two-day Imola test. The Brazilian's time of 1m36.879s was the fastest set in both days of official testing. Today he outpaced Super Nova's Sebastien Bourdais and the Arden pair of Tomas Enge and Bjorn Wirdheim. The Petrobras Junior pair Ricardo Sperafico and Antonio Pizzonia were fifth and sixth. Dominik Schwager tested for Coloni, meaning their were 18 drivers participating today. European Minardi missed the test, and it is not clear whether they will appear at the upcoming Silverstone test next week. Times are available here.

Schmidt unhurt in Imola shunt PSM Racing Line's rookie Tony Schmidt was unhurt in a heavy crash in testing at Imola today. The German shunted after putting a wheel on the dirt, and his car was extensively damaged. PSM are confident of rebuilding it in time for next week's Silverstone testing.

Suzuka testing day 1: Firman fastest Official testing got underway at a dry but cloudy Suzuka today, PIAA Nakajima's Ralph Firman setting the pace with 1m43.496s in the afternoon session. In second was Satoshi Motoyama (XBOX IMPUL) and third Ryo Michigami (5Zigen). Full times available here on the official series site. Testing concludes tomorrow, with the opening round fast approaching on 24th March.

Perth circuit plans released Ross Roberts, the Director of Westrend Corporation, released the plans of the proposed F1-standard track in Perth, Australia today, which is set to host a Formula Nippon race next February. He said: "The circuit will be designed to FIA standards to allow it to be used by Formula One race cars and Grand Prix motor bikes for testing and practice, however, whilst Westrend plan to hold at least 3 International Standard races each year, the circuit's principal use will be by vehicle manufacturers and for driver training. The overall construction cost of the circuit, including grandstand will be about $30 million. Once negotiations have been concluded with investors, we will begin the process of public consultation and completion of the necessary government approvals in conjunction with the Westralian Airports Corporation, who are the leasees of the land." He added: "This is a great project for Perth and the circuit will not only be useful as a driver training facility to help improve the standard of driver skills in the State but through the exposure of international motor races will also boost tourism and jobs in Western Australia." A plan of the proposed circuit can be seen here on the Formula Nippon site.

Medeiros and Belicchi ruled out of Euro 3000 Brazil's Thiago Medeiros has been ruled out of Euro 3000 this season, having re-signed for Amir Nasr Racing in the SudAm F3 championship (source: Autosport). Medeiros tested for GP Racing over the winter. Meanwhile Andrea Belicchi, who tested for Scuderia Fama, will now compete in Russian F3 for Lukoil Racing Team (news thanks to Andy of iloveracing.ru). The silly season page has been updated.

Official Imola F3000 testing day 1: Mauricio quickest Red Bull Junior driver Ricardo Mauricio emerged quickest of the pack in the opening day's official testing from Imola, Italy. His time of 1:37.917 set the pace ahead of Durango's Rodrigo Sperafico (1:37.965) and Super Nova's Sebastien Bourdais (1:37.981). The morning session times were slower due to wet conditions, the best times set at the end of the session, with Bourdais quickest on 1:47.043. Times are available here.

European Minardi miss another test Doubts continue to grow over the participation of European Minardi this season. Once again the team were not present in official testing as the Imola sessions got underway today. Seventeen cars in total took part, Coloni only running one car for their signed driver Enrico Toccacelo.

No clues for Coloni's second driver Coloni Motorsport ran only their confirmed driver Enrico Toccacelo in the first day's official testing at Imola today. Many people's eyes are on the team, which currently holds the only International F3000 seat still available with the exception of European Minardi.

Pantano seeks court injunction; Bourdais and Monteiro confirmed As predicted here on Sunday, the management team of Giorgio Pantano are to take legal action against Super Nova Racing. autosport.com reports that Pantano's management are seeking a court injunction to prevent any driver taking the seat at Super Nova for which they claim the Italian race winner was contracted to fill. Pantano allegedly signed a contract for Super Nova which was then terminated on March 1st. Lars-Christian Brask, chairman of Pantano's management, said: "We still believe that with the terms of the contract, and as a race team, Super Nova were the top option for Giorgio in 2002. The way we were ultimately treated leaves us very disappointed from a professional and ethical point of view." Super Nova boss David Sears suggested that the failure of the team to find sufficient sponsorship meant they had to drop Pantano: "The idea of the agreement with Pantano was made in consideration of us attracting a team sponsor, but this has not happened. We cannot run someone on thin air. We will fight in court. It's a shame because Pantano's talented and a nice guy." It has now been confirmed that Sebastien Bourdais and Tiago Monteiro, Pantano's rivals in a three-way battle for the two seats, will race this season.

Kavanagh and Davies linked to F3000 Rumours: According to this Ten Tenth's forum thread, Irish female racer Sarah Kavanagh (from BOSS Formula and ex-Formula Nippon) is hoping to get enough sponsorship to do International F3000. Meanwhile according to this thread, ex-British F3 front-runner Matt Davies reportedly had a sponsor signed to compete in F3000 late last year, and is at present said to be looking for a drive in F3000 or Indycars.

Zele Motorsport announce Dallara Nissan entry Austria team Zele Motorsport will enter the inaugural Telefonica World Series by Nissan "Dallara Nissan V6" series this year, team manager Michael Zele has informed us. The president of RPM Spain has confirmed with the team that their entry has been accepted. Drivers are not decided yet due to the late decision to enter, but will be named as soon as possible. Zele Motorsport are the only German-speaking team in the championship. Zele Motorsport are the 11th team to commit to the series, although it was originally planned that only ten 2-car teams would be allowed.

Successful Melbourne weekend for Briscoe Ryan Briscoe impressed in his four races in the Nations Cup event supporting the Australian GP at the weekend. Driving a Ferrari 360 Michelotto for Prancing Horse Racing, the Nordic Racing F3000 driver won the third race, and finished second in the first two races behind Paul Stokell's Lamborghini Diablo. In race 4 he was not so lucky, suffering a large accident after suspension failure caused by contact with Stokell. Briscoe's Ferrari, to be raced by John Bowe in the Nations Cup championship, was heavily damaged in high speed contact with the tyre barriers. The Australian was fortunately unhurt. Full coverage available at the PROCAR site.

Coloni test promised for F2 champion Coloni Motorsport's Enzo Coloni has promised a test in a Coloni International F3000 car for the inaugural champion of Italy's new Formula 2 series. In an interview at Prorace, he said [translated]: "..but also we at Coloni Motorsport will be happy to carry out for the winner a test on one of our Formula 3000 International single-seaters." Coloni was interviewed alongside Draco's Adriano Morini and Giancarlo Minardi. All commented positively on the new series, which looks set to replace Italian F3 as the country's premier single-seater championship.

Pantano out of Super Nova drive; legal action promised tomorrow Giorgio Pantano, long considered the favourite for a Super Nova seat, will not race for the team this season. Pantano's manager Lars-Christian Brask told Unofficial F3000 on Friday: "Today we received a fax from Super Nova/David Sears where they/he regrets that they can't fulfil their contract with Giorgio due to failure of team sponsorship to materialise! We have a set in stone contract and are taking legal action first thing Monday morning." The surprise news means that Tiago Monteiro and Sebastien Bourdais now seem the likely drivers for the team.

Russian pair to drive for Bi Effe? According to reports in Russia, two Russian drivers are set to race for Bi Effe team in Euro 3000 this season. Sergei Zlobin and Roman Rusinov are the pair that will race for the squad, set up by ex-F1 boss Guido Forti and B&C Competition's Beppe Barbieri. Moscow based Zlobin, 31 years old, twice successfully drove for a Ferrari in the Rolex Daytona 24 Hours, while Rusinov, 18, competed in the French Formula Renault championship and the Formula Renault Eurocup (with Graff Racing) and is regarded as a future Russian racing star (source: Andrei Larinin of f1-racing.ru). The Euro 3000 silly season page has been updated.

GP Racing to test in Hungary GP Racing will follow up testing from Vallelunga (March 26th/27th) by travelling to the Pannoniaring in Hungary for more running on April 11th & 12th. Martin Basso and Alessandro Piccolo have both been confirmed at the team (source: Prorace).

Official Fuji testing - Wakisaka quickest after 2 days ARTA's Juichi Wakisaka set the pace in official Fuji testing which ended yesterday. The first day was wet, but Wakisaka's time of 1:16.115 set the pace in the afternoon session of day 2. Ryo Michigami (5Zigen) was second ahead of Narain Karthikeyan (LeMans). Times are available on the official site here.

Formula Nippon could visit Australia in 2003 On the official site Japan Race Promotion, Inc. have announced a proposed Formula Nippon race at Perth, Western Australia. Plans are underway to build a circuit meeting International Formula One standards, which would be situated next to Perth International Airport, 6 kilometers from the city. The first race is planned for February 2003. JRP revealed that they have aspirations to expand the formula's boundaries: "..this race will mark the start of Formula Nippon expanding its program to other countries and establishing an International Series." Westrend Corporation are behind the move for the track to host a Formula Nippon round. They visited Japan last November. Ross Roberts, Managing Director of Westrend Corp. said: "I look forward to staging the Formula Nippon race in Perth and for Western Australia to be part of this exciting race."

Formula Nippon field fills up - news on driver signings The Formula Nippon silly season page has been updated with the entries according to the official site. All numbers and drivers are now confirmed. Reigning champion Satoshi Motoyama is joined by Michael Krumm at Team IMPUL, with title sponsorship from the XBOX, Microsoft's games console; Katsutomo Kaneishi has signed for Olympic Kondo; Narain Karthikeyan and Takeshi Tsuchiya have signed for Team LeMans Company; Haruki Kurosawa has signed for Team Nova - his car is sponsored by FORWARD rather than Soft On Demand. It is as yet unclear whether B1-Racing will enter a car this year. Meanwhile, PIAA Nakajima will race with the numbers 31 and 32 rather than those originally stated here.

Drivers linked to Dallara Nissan after launch A number of former/current F3000 drivers have shown their interest in the Dallara Nissan V6 series by attending the launch of the Telefónica World Series by Nissan on Thursday. The launch of the programme, which encapsulates three series - World Series (apparently yet another new name for Dallara Nissan V6), Formula Nissan 2000 and Spanish Formula Junior - saw in attendance ex-F3000 drivers Antonio Garcia (already confirmed for the series), Darren Manning, Marc Hynes, Peter Sundberg and Polo Villaamil, plus Indy Lights star Damien Faulkner, DTM driver Darren Turner, and Formula Nissan drivers Angel Burgueño and Geoffrey Dellus. Niki Lauda's son Mathias Lauda, set to race in Spanish F3, was also present.

Symbol confirmed as Biglieri team name Team boss Nestor Biglieri has confirmed with us that the name of his new team has changed to Symbol. The squad, initially known as Big1, will enter three cars into the Formula 2 championship set up in Italy this year. The silly season page has been updated.

Enge to race for resurrected Prost? Following the purchase of Prost GP's assets by British businessman Charles Nickerson, Tomas Enge, contracted to race in F3000 for Arden, could return to F1 with the team for which he made his debut. He would team up with another former Prost driver, Gaston Mazzacane, if comments from the latter's agent are correct. The team are thought likely to enter the second round in Malaysia on March 17th. More on this story here.

Jaguar rumours not true The rumours that Jaguar could have a junior F3000 squad this year have been confirmed as false. An further email we received clarifies that rumours of an unannounced driver signing for a Jaguar-associated team in fact relate to the British F3 championship rather than F3000.

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