Sports14 November 20153 min read

GP3 Series to make racing history

By DT News Network. H istory will be made at the FIA WEC Six Hours of Bahrain next weekend when Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) hosts for the very first time the world-renowned GP3 Series, an international single- seater championship that runs usually in support of Formula One Grand Prix races.

Editorial Team Legacy

Published 14 November 2015, 8:00 · Updated 22:15

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History will be made at the FIA WEC Six Hours of Bahrain next weekend when Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) hosts for the very first time the world-renowned GP3 Series, an international single- seater championship that runs usually in support of Formula One Grand Prix races.

It is a sister-series of GP2, with its talented core of young drivers often moving up the motorsport ladder to even bigger championships.

Five former GP3 drivers have secured a Formula One seat right after competing in GP3 and include Esteban Gutierrez, Daniil Kvyat, Valtteri Bottas, Jean-Eric Vergne and Carlos Sainz Jr.

The GP3 cars feature Dallara chassis, six-cylinder AER engines, bespoke six- gear longitudinal Hewland gearboxes and Pirelli tyres.

They can go to a top speed of 285km/h, and can accelerate from zero to 100km/h in 3.0 seconds. Each GP3 round comprises one 45-minute practice, a 30-minute qualifying session, and two races – a feature race and a sprint race.

Qualifying determines the grid for the feature, while the grid for the sprint will have the top eight finishers from the opening race in reverse order.

Eight teams are competing in the current GP3 campaign, many of whom are also in GP2. The field includes ART Grand Prix, Carlin, Status Grand Prix, Arden International, Campos Racing, Trident, Jenzer Motorsport and Koiranen GP. Some GP3 teams run three cars in a race.

The 2015 GP3 season is the sixth of the series and features nine rounds, with round eight being held as the maiden GP3 event at BIC.

Other races supporting the FIA WEC Six Hours of Bahrain next Friday and Saturday are the GP2, the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East and the India-based MRF Challenge.

Heading into the Bahrain round, Italian Luca Ghiotto (196 points) of Trident and

Frenchman Esteban Ocon (194) of ART Grand Prix are in a heated battle for first place.

Briton Emil Bernstorff (146) of Arden is in a distant third place, while ART’s German driver Marvin Kichhofer (144) is fourth.

All four championship leaders are included on a 24-car provisional entry list for Bahrain. Each of the eight GP3 teams will be running three cars.

The rest of the field includes Alfonso Celis Jr of ART; Artur Janosz and Michele Beretta of Trident; Antonio Fuoco, Jann Mardenborough and Mitchell Gilbert of Carlin; Seb Morris, Alex Fontana and Sandy Stuvik of Status Grand Prix; Matevos Isaakyan, Jimmy Eriksson and Matthew Parry of Koiranen GP; Kevin Ceccon and Aleksander Bosak of Arden; Pal Varhug, Matheo Tuscher and Ralph Boschung of Jenzer Motorsport; and Alex Palou, Konstantin Tereshchenko and Zaid Ashkanani of Campos Racing.

GP3 Series to make racing history

Editorial Team Legacy

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