Reigning German Formula 3 Champion Marvin Kirchhofer has become the third and final driver to be confirmed for the ART Grand Prix team for the 2014 season, joining the previously announced Alex Fontana and Dino Zamparelli.
19-year-old Kirchhofer dominated the 2013 German Formula 3 championship, winning thirteen times and taking thirteen pole positions. He defeated Russian driver (and new GP2 driver) Artem Markelov by a massive 172 points in the championship.
“It’s really a pleasure for me to compete in the GP3 series and to be joining ART Grand Prix,” said Kirchhofer on the official ART press release on his announcement. “I’m looking forward to this new challenge which is the biggest of my career so far. For me, ART Grand Prix is one of the best teams in the field as their records surely testify.
“It will be exciting to grow with this team as I know they will give me the best support and that’s one of the keys to a good adaptation. It’s too early to set myself a target. My first test in Abu Dhabi went well: the speed was there and I was consistent, but we have to wait for the winter tests to know where we are and what to aim for in my first season in the series.”
Frederic Vasseur, the team principal of ART Grand Prix, is delighted to have someone of the talent of Kirchhofer on board for 2014, and is hoping his trio of drivers can retain the teams’ championship they have won every year that GP3 has run, and regain the drivers’ championship they last won in 2011 with Valtteri Bottas.
“Marvin is a fast and intelligent driver that harmoniously complements the trio of ART Grand Prix GP3 drivers,” said Vasseur. “His record is already very rich and the ambition of ART Grand Prix is to accompany him throughout this first season so that all his talent will shine through as effectively in GP3 as it did in previous formulas where he was champion the last two years.”