Joel Eriksson will continue his allegiance with Team Motopark into 2016 after moving from the ADAC Formula 4 Championship into the FIA European Formula 3 Championship.
The young Swedish driver, the younger brother of multiple GP3 Series race winner Jimmy Eriksson, becomes the third driver to be confirmed to Motopark for the upcoming season, joining Sergio Sette Camara and Niko Kari, with the team still aiming to run four cars in 2016.
“[Formula 3 is ]one of the toughest series out there at the moment, and it will be a major challenge,” revealed Eriksson. “Having said that, I did learn a lot in winter testing, and I really enjoyed the car. I’m thrilled to be doing this with Motopark and I can’t wait for the season to begin!
“There will be a lot of firsts for me this season. For example, I have only driven at one of the first five tracks we will visit. I’m particularly excited about going to Pau; that will be my first taste of a street circuit.
“From mid-summer, we will attend some venues I’m more familiar with, and hopefully I’ll be able to fight near the front. It won’t be easy, but so it shouldn’t be at this level.”
Team Principal Timo Rumpfkeil believes Eriksson moving into Formula 3 was a logical move for the Swede, and is happy the team continue its long history with the Eriksson family, having run both Jimmy and Joel in recent years across multiple championships.
“[It’s] a logical move, given the great success we enjoyed together last year in Formula Four,“ said Rumpfkeil. “We are completely convinced he’s got what it takes; the first tests ran extremely promising.
“Joel Eriksson has managed a seamless transition from the Formula Four car into the F3. He impressed us big time in that he was both quick and consistent straight out of the box. I believe we can hit the ground running and fight for the Rookie of the Year award.“
