British F3/GT Action at Castle Combe

13 June 2003

One of the biggest spectator events of the British motor racing season will be the next event in the British F3/GT calendar at Castle Combe over the weekend of 21/22 June. The John Guest Speedfit Festival is expected to draw more than 20,000 fans to the Wiltshire venue for a superb programme of racing headlined by rounds 11 and 12 of the British F3 Championship gripped by AVON Tyres and round six of the BRDC British GT Championship.

Topping the race action will be two races for the British F3 Championship, the world's finest proving ground for rising young stars. This year 85% of the current Formula 1 drivers made their name in F3, and the class of 2003 seems certain to spotlight several future racing stars.

Alan van der Merwe scored his debut F3 win at Castle Combe last season, and now he returns to the circuit as championship leader. "I'm going to be pretty confident going to Castle Combe. I'll aim to get my head down and qualify on the front row. I do look forward to going back to the circuit," he says.

While Van der Merwe knows how to win F3 races at Castle Combe, his two closest challengers for the title are new to the challenging Wiltshire track. Neither Jamie Green nor Nelson Piquet Junior has raced there before, although young Piquet has recently spent a day learning the track. The fact that Piquet Junior scored a race win on his first visit to the Knockhill circuit last month suggests that he learns new tracks very quickly!

Along with Green, Rob Austin and Danny Watts carry English hopes, while the superbly competitive field is packed with ambitious young drivers from all over the world, including Richard Antinucci (USA), Ronnie Bremer (Denmark) and Will Davison (Australia). The pit-road walkabout will give fans the chance to meet these rising stars of the sport.

Flame-spitting 500bhp monsters pack the grid for a round of the British GT Championship, with an entry of Porsches, Ferraris, TVRs, Morgans, Lotuses, Corvettes and many other marques. With a 60-minute race featuring pit-stops and driver changes, this should be a real thriller. Some of the top names in national racing will be on the grid, including several drivers fresh from competing in the Le Mans 24-hour race over the preceding weekend.

The Mosler MT900Rs of Shaun Balfe/Jamie Derbyshire and Martin Short/Tom Herridge should set the pace, but a gaggle of TVR T400Rs will be chasing hard, including Silverstone winners Shane Lynch and Piers Johnson. Straight back from Le Mans will be the pair of DeWalt-backed TVRs for Richard Stanton/Rob Barff and Michael Caine/Richard Hay. However, the biggest threat of all to the Moslers could come from the Porsche 911GT3RS of Mike Jordan and Mark Sumpter, which will be carrying the colours of John Guest. "We're going for a race win," says Jordan. "I don't know about the Moslers, looking at the times they are doing it's a tall order. But I'm really looking forward to Castle Combe."

Ensuring tremendous support race action are twin races for the Carlube TVR Tuscan Challenge and the Powertrain Caterham R400 Challenge, both of which are famed for producing thrilling racing at Castle Combe. Finally, big grids and close racing will also be provided by rounds of the local National Mobile Windscreens Formula Ford 1600 Championship and Castle Combe Saloon Car Championship.

See series calendar for British GT Championship | British F3 Championship

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