The 2011 British Formula Three International Series – the championship's 60th year – will once more feature events a t a mix of Britain's top tracks and some of the most famous venues Europe has to offer.
These famous tracks include an April season opener at Monza, where the series will return to after opting away from a trip to Italy in recent years. The remainder of the championship's continental swing will consist of three races across July and August as the F3 teams return to Spa-Francochamps, supporting the 24 Hours at the Belgian track, as well as travelling to Paul Ricard. A trip to the Nurburgring is also scheduled – rounding off the three races – but not confirmed at this early stage.
The racing in the UK will take in the country's premier tracks and some of its newest facilities. September will see the series partake of the brand new '300' layout at Snetterton, followed a month later with a season finale on the Arena layout at Silverstone.
“We're absolutely delighted by the way the F3 calendar has developed,” says SRO General Manager Lisa Crampton. “The circuits we plan to visit give drivers invaluable time on top Grand Prix tracks and will challenge them on some of Britain's greatest driver circuits. There are many more improvements in the pipeline to underline the status of British F3 and these will be worked on together with feedback from FOTA over coming months.”
“We understand teams require a schedule at this point in the year to show to prospective drivers and sponsors,” she continues, explaining the necessary vagueness of the calendar released. “We've held the exact dates, as one or two may still change by a week or fortnight. We'd rather announce the month than to announce a date and then have to change it.”
Like this year each of the ten events will feature three races and like this year the series will part of a varying number of packages through the year. All six events in the UK will see it sharing a paddock with the British GT Championship, while the Silverstone finale will also include the new GT Endurance Series – a championship it will also support at Monza and Nurburgring. It will support the GT1 World Championship at Paul Ricard.
The 2011 season will see an overhaul to the National Class – which will be rebranded the Rookie Championship, aiming to nurture new talent in the series with a reduced budget category where full season entries will be entitled to a branded race suit and helped with data sharing provided by Neil Brown Engineering.
The rookie who emerges victorious at the end of the season will win a season in the premier International Class with the entry fee waived. Those who finish first, second and third in the overall points standings will win a a test in World Series by Renualt machinery.
Provisional 2011 British Formula Three International Series calendar
March Silverstone, UK Media & Test Day
April Monza, Italy
April Oulton Park, UK
May Donington Park GP, UK
June Brands Hatch GP, UK
July Paul Ricard, France
July Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium
August Nürburgring, Germany — TBC
September Rockingham, UK
September Snetterton 300, UK
October Silverstone Arena, UK
