The first race used the winged junior single-seater chassis from SRS-Formula, a 25-year-old championship that is run by Suzuka Circuit Racing School.

Former Formula 1 driver Takuma Sato, a SCRS graduate in 1997, is now principal of SRS-F and SRS-Kart and assembled some of his fellow Japanese stars to race his training cars in a six-lap encounter.

Sato started from pole, ahead of Super Formula race-winners Takuya Izawa, Koudai Tsukakoshi, Naoki Yamamoto and Tomoki Nojiri, series rookies Nirei Fukuzumi and Tadasuke Makino, and Euroformula Open star Teppei Natori.

The massively experienced Sato left his grid box early on the warm-up lap, then lost his lead by going wide at the second apex of Turn 1. Izawa profited, but had lost the place a lap later to Nojiri.

Nojiri established a healthy lead, as Sato settled in second. On lap four, Sato went too deep into the downhill Turn 11 and conceded his place to Tsukakoshi, then backed off down the pit straight to start a fight for third with Izawa and Makino.

Makino edged past Izawa at Turn 11 on the penultimate lap, while Tsukakoshi started hunting down leader Nojiri.

Nojiri went unusually slow on the last lap, meaning Tsukakoshi was on his gearbox by Turn 10. He couldn’t get a move done before the sweeping final few corners, but managed to pull alongside down the pit straight and pipped Nojiri to victory in a photo finish.

Sato also slowed up so that he was only just ahead of Makino as they met the chequered flag, which was being waved by Toro Rosso F1 driver Daniil Kvyat and a young fan. Izawa beat Natori to fifth, while Fukuzumi finished a very distant seventh. Two-time SF champion Yamamoto, who admitted he had joined in for fun, retired in the pits.

The second race used the Honda-powered SF cars, with a seven-car grid that consisted of Makino, Yamamoto, Fukuzumi, Alex Palou, Tsukakoshi, Nojiri and Lucas Auer.

Yamamoto passed Makino for the lead within two corners, while bad starts for Tsukakoshi and Auer left them way behind.

Fukuzumi made a brilliant move around the outside of Turn 9 to claim second from Makino on lap one, but Makino reclaimed it a corner later.

Makino took the lead at the start of lap two, with Yamamoto snatching it back on lap three at the Turn 7 sweep. Nojiri followed him through two corners later, then took the lead himself at Turn 1.

Fukuzumi passed three cars in nine corners to then move into first, but was there for a few seconds at Nojiri got back past. Yamamoto slipstreamed past both at Turn 11, but Nojiri was back ahead a few corners later.

Auer meanwhile was on a charge, going from fourth to first on lap five. He was passed by Yamamoto, but triumphed in a side-by-side battle through the final corners of lap seven to take victory.

The post Honda single-seater stars contest thrilling demo races at Motegi appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photos: Super Formula

It only took three races for Red Bull to make the decision to remove Dan Ticktum from its driver development programme after an underwhelming start to his Super Formula season, but in the seven-race quasi-Formula 1 feeder championship that equated to a substantial amount of time and money wasted.

Reigning Indy Lights champion Patricio O’Ward – who’s also just made his Formula 2 debut – has been drafted in by Red Bull to replace Ticktum at Team Mugen, and will have to beat a quality rookie field if he wants to succeed in the new Dallara SF19 car.

Nine rookies have appeared this season, four of which can legitimately claim to be aiming for F1. With Honda engines propelling Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen to victory in last weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix – the team’s home race – it may now be more willing to promote one of its Japanese partner’s juniors into Toro Rosso if they acquire a FIA superlicence.

Lucas Auer AUSTRIA?B-Max Racing with Motopark
6th in standings, 8 points (1 fastest lap, 1 podium)

After his Mercedes-Benz DTM contract ended late last year, Auer got the call to join the Red Bull Junior Team and help the development of its ‘customer’ team Motopark in its first season of SF with the backmarker B-Max Racing outfit.

The Austrian, nephew of former Toro Rosso team boss and F1 race-winner Gerhard Berger, was also brought in to strengthen the partnership between Red Bull and its engine supplier. If he impresses, he could be retained by either party in 2020.

Auer got his first taste of the series in post-season testing and struggled, and although Motopark has made B-Max a more efficient entity since joining it, it struggled for one-lap pace until the most recent Sugo round.

High attrition meant Auer finished seventh in the Suzuka season-opener, beating Ticktum in a straight battle. Motopark was where it expected to be, mired back in the pack,?but it could at least celebrate B-Max’s first championship point.

Autopolis was much of the same, with Auer coming out of a chaotic weekend with an 11th place. At Sugo he was on the pace, and after pitting late was denied second place by former F1 racer Kamui Kobayashi while navigating lapped traffic.

Team-mate battle: Like Auer, Harrison Newey hasn’t raced single-seaters in several years, and had the same leap in performance at Sugo as Auer did. His long-run pace looked strong enough for fifth place until his car set on fire.

Nirei Fukuzumi?JAPAN?Dandelion Racing
7th in standings, 8 points

The Honda junior, who raced as a Red Bull athlete last year, cannot really be considered a rookie from now on, having entered four races last year alongside his disappointing F2 campaign with Arden.

This came as no surprise given Arden’s recent struggles, and this was a driver who took the fight to F1 racers Charles Leclerc and Alexander Albon in GP3.

Fukuzumi did look dire at times during his SF appearances in 2018, involving himself in several on-track incidents, but his one-lap pace was unquestionable – he qualified second on his debut and nabbed a fastest lap on his return.

Dropping F2, and sticking with champion team-mate Naoki Yamamoto in a switch to Dandelion Racing, has enabled Fukuzumi to demonstrate his talent further this year, and he topped the times as soon as he switched teams in testing.

He’s mostly held his own against Yamamoto and the other Honda runners in qualifying and the fastest lap stakes, and has coupled it with race pace that has propelled him to two fifth places. A F2 return in the right circumstances would no doubt be a success.

Tadasuke Makino?JAPAN?Nakajima Racing
9th in standings, 6 points (1 pole)

Makino, despite not being a household name, has turned heads his whole career but truly marked himself out as a star talent with a unexpected win at Monza in his sole F2 season last year.

This followed two low-hitting seasons in Formula 3, one with Toda Racing in Japan and the other with Hitech GP in Europe.

Returning to Japan, the scene of his dominant Formula 4 season as a car racing rookie in 2015, has unlocked even more of the pace he teased at briefly in F2. After all, it’s not unusual for Japanese drivers to thrive best in their home habitat.

The 22-year-old matched veteran F2 team-mate Artem Markelov in qualifying last year, but a disrupted testing schedule made it unclear if he could translate that into SF.

Makino quashed the doubters with a stunning debut pole position at Suzuka, the first time Nakajima Racing had started at the front since 2010. He dominated the first stint of the race, but a safety car wiped out his advantage and he then suffered from a wheel failure.

Although he crashed in torrid conditions at Autopolis, in the race he made the most of a opportunistic strategy to finish fourth. There was another crash at Sugo, but Makino still impressed.

Honda sent Nobuharu Matsushita to SF for a season after he couldn’t deliver the goods in F2, but he’s returned to Europe this year, and Makino is doing enough to deserve a second chance in the F1 paddock in 2020.

Sho Tsuboi?JAPAN?INGING
12th in standings, 4 points

Japanese F3 dominator Tsuboi had a lot of pressure on his shoulders going into this season, with Toyota hiring him as early as it could for both SF and Super GT, disposing 2016 SF champion Yuji Kunimoto of a seat in the process.

Toyota has lost any advantage it held with the previous generation car, but being paired with two-time champion and leading Toyota driver Hiroaki Ishiura at INGING meant Tsuboi haw a great driver to learn from in getting the most from the car.

He’s so far outperformed his illustrious team-mate, helped mostly by finishing fifth at Suzuka. Tsuboi has been poor in qualifying, like Ticktum, often pushing the limit too early. However, that approach did earn him a front-row start at Autopolis.

In races he has worked his way into strong positions though, his vast circuit knowledge helping him charge through the order better than his rookie rivals.

His Sugo race ended embarrassingly when he got caught out accelerating on a late safety car restart and span himself out.

Alex Palou?SPAIN?Nakajima Racing
13th in standings, 3 points (1 fastest lap)

Languishing 13th in the standings with three points, European F3 expat Palou is still being feted by some as a title contender.

The Spaniard broke lap records in testing, and has kicked off Nakajima Racing’s revival with Makino. His Japanese F3 experience has helped, but more importantly has been the way Palou’s driving style cooperates with the Yokohama tyres.

After topping free practice and the first segments of qualifying, he was set for pole on his debut until Makino pipped him at the last minute by 0.029 seconds. He ran second behind his team-mate until serving a drive-through penalty that was earned from a team-induced error, took fastest lap, but then challenged for the lead until he too had a wheel failure.

Palou was immediately on the pace again at Autopolis, but was compromised by the wet, and he had to fight his way up to sixth in the race. It was a similar story at Sugo, where Dandelion was never going to be beaten, but Palou’s frontrunning pace only resulted in eighth on the grid after his best time was deleted for causing a red flag.

A natty pit strategy almost resulted in fourth in the race, a position denied to him by 0.099s, but he was then penalised and classified 13th. The SF title has been won with two non-scores before, but only by a rookie once: Ralf Schumacher in 1996.

The post The Super Formula rookies that outperformed Ticktum appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: Red Bull Content Pool / Taku Nagami

Although 34 of the 46 Super Formula titles have been won by home-grown Japanese talents – including each of the last seven – there has always been a global touch to the championship.

Since 2016 the global stature of Super Formula (SF) has grown, with both the McLaren and Red Bull Formula 1 teams using it as a finishing school for its juniors. Over a third of this year’s grid comes from abroad, and with considerable upheaval taking place in Europe?s junior single-seater ladder, Japan has emerged as a evermore suitable alternative to becoming a professional driver.

The key to Japan?s appeal is that, just like IndyCar, there?s the opportunity to be a paid single-seater driver outside of F1. Audi Le Mans stars Andre Lotterer, Loic Duval and Benoit Treluyer took advantage of this in the 2000s, each adding a title to their name. More recently Kiwi talent Nick Cassidy, who played second fiddle for Lance Stroll in European Formula 3, has made himself a crucial part of Toyota?s domestic programmes.

This year Red Bull is bringing two big names to Japan: one who?s aching for a F1 drive, and another who could relaunch his career.

Dan Ticktum?s story is oft told, and the 19-year-old Briton is not a stranger to SF having contested two rounds in 2018. He scored zero points, but could take solace in being the best of the cameoing drivers.

As Red Bull junior boss Dr Helmut Marko likely intended, Ticktum was left with the impression that SF would make him a better driver before his eventual F1 debut, even if the teenager believes he’s more than ready for that challenge.

Photo: Red Bull Content Pool / Taku Nagami

Mick Schumacher?s late season European F3 dominance got into Ticktum?s mind last year, but one thing he does even more against his own advice is think too much about F1. Or as he once put it to Formula Scout: giving too much of his pie away.

In the second half of ’18, all the way through to after his second Macau Grand Prix win, it was still unclear where Ticktum would be driving next. Even after his SF seat with Team Mugen was confirmed in early December, the idea of being in the F1 paddock for select Formula 2 outings was still on the table.

SF?s new halo-equipped Dallara SF19 car is built to the same standards as F2?s latest machine, produces even greater levels of downforce and despite the use of grippy Yokohama tyres for flat-out racing is probably the closest thing to a modern-day F1 car. Early tests of the car which appeared gremlin free (something Marko looks out for), suggested it was on par with peak LMP1 machinery too.

This hasn?t been lost on Ticktum, who admitted that even its predecessor was better than the Dallara F2-2018, and considerably cheaper for the season.

The inclusion of a halo means the SF19 weighs roughly the same as a ’18 F1 car, and although a push-to-pass system exists, the car’s reliance on underbody downforce means racing should be close regardless. F2 proved a hit last year with its side-by-side action, and against a higher calibre of drivers it means the likes of Ticktum won?t have their FIA superlicence hopes dashed by points lost to crashes with more risk-prone rivals.

Ticktum crashed the preceding Dallara SF14 in post-season testing at Suzuka as he searched for the limit of Yokohama?s tyres. It?s a problem former F2 racer and Team LeMans signing Artem Markelov is also facing, having mastered Pirelli?s high degradation rubber, but Ticktum?s fellow European F3 graduate Alex Palou seems to be ahead of the curve at Nakajima Racing.

Photo: Super Formula

The Spaniard does have prior experience of Japanese F3 (more on that later), and throughout his career has always looked stronger on ‘harder’ compounds. His winning 2017 Formula V8 3.5 cameo on Michelins proved just that, as did breaking the Suzuka track record in the first pre-season Super Formula test. And unlike Ticktum and Markelov, he?s been teamed up with another rookie: F2 race-winner Tadasuke Makino.

Markelov is the only of the European converts to side with a Toyota-powered team, with Palou and Ticktum joining Honda juniors Makino and Nirei Fukuzumi in the opposition camp. Importantly for Ticktum, it?s Honda who Stoffel Vandoorne and Pierre Gasly impressed before racing in F1 with its power units.

Japan?s appeal has extended to teams too, with European F3 squad Motopark responding to its FIA F3 Championship snub by dominating the Macau GP and then linking up with B-Max Racing for a joint entry in Japan. Its SF line-up consists of Harrison Newey, who beat Schumacher Jr to the 2016-17 MRF Challenge title and is son of F1 design legend Adrian, and Red Bull?s latest junior Lucas Auer.

After starring in F3 in Germany and Europe, Mercedes-Benz signed Auer to its DTM programme for 2015. He won four races before the marque quit the series, leaving him without a drive. Then Red Bull came calling.

“It was a surprise to me, but I believe the timing of the talks was good,” Auer explains to Formula Scout.

“Me with having no contract [for 2019], and Red Bull and their Honda partnership I think was perfect timing to have another try at single-seaters. I told them: yes, I would love to do this challenge.

“Partnering up with Red Bull is for an Austrian, or for anybody, is something special. So for me it was a clear decision, although it [SF] will be difficult for sure. But I [really] want to do this.”

Photo: Super Formula

The 24-year-old’s Red Bull deal was announced in December, and Auer’s single-seater return was brought forward when he contested the Toyota Racing Series a few weeks later. He didn’t even have time to visit a simulator to prepare, flying straight from Japan to the first race in New Zealand.

While Auer was beaten by now Red Bull stablemate Liam Lawson in TRS, results weren’t the aim, and he was riddled early on with car issues. It’s a problem he may have to deal with again with a new collaboration in SF, and Auer is assured he has the professionalism that Red Bull and the series requires.

“[Adapting back] takes time. I learned some stuff in touring cars which is very useful, there’s some?stuff I need a bit of time on but at the end of the day it’s all manageable because the car has proper downforce and I just need to be open-minded.

“I’m a lot more experienced [than in 2014] and I should have a lot more mental and physical power, which should help over a season. In terms of pure pace, I?m not sure. For sure I saw and learned a lot more stuff so I should be overall a couple of steps higher.

“When I was in New Zealand [in 2012-’13 & ’19], it was bloody tough. There’s a couple of good guys from Europe, and then we have a couple of Kiwi guys. They’re normally proper fast because they know the tracks, they know everything, they’re at home, so at the end you have all these drivers that make your life bloody difficult.

“Of course that?s the best preparation. The more competitors, the higher the levels, the more you learn.

“We tested with the old Super Formula car [last December] in a rookie test. At first it was amazing, the car is so fast. It was incredible. But eventually you think: is there a lot of stuff to learn? Yes. A lot.

“Managing the new car will be bloody hard. And the Japanese drivers are flying. The levels here are proper high.”

Photo: Super Formula

The mental strength shouldn’t be ignored. Like in F1, SF is manufacturer versus manufacturer as well as team against team, and on a grid where talent speaks as much as money, you’ll inevitably lose your seat if there’s somebody better. On the other side of the coin, loyalty and results are thoroughly rewarded.

Auer could continue with Red Bull or engine supplier Honda for 2020 if he impresses, as there’s nothing in writing beyond ’19. If the inexperienced B-Max/Motopark team struggles, that’s by no means a reflection on Auer’s talent. As for Ticktum, he’s been placed in the team that ran Naoki Yakamoto to last year’s title, and knows he must finish top six in the standings to get the five superlicense points needed for F1.

Many have questioned Ticktum’s attitude in the past, but there’s undeniable dedication in carving out your career on the other side of the planet. There’s limited coverage in Europe, and a likely culture shock that could unbalance a driver as they try to embed themselves into very different surroundings. For proof of said phenomenon, look at the many Japanese drivers that have gone in the opposite direction, or the recent operational miscommunication between McLaren and Honda in F1.

Of course Ticktum has been placed in Japan by Marko, will still be UK-based due to his Red Bull simulator commitments, and will need to finish far higher than sixth to displace the current Toro Rosso line-up if they excel. His career is shepherded along by an F1 team, something those in SF’s feeder series do not enjoy.

Although grid size and quality perhaps don?t reach the peaks Europe has, anyone who heads to Japanese F3 will tell you it?s an almighty challenge.

Photo: All-Japan Formula Three

Cassidy won the 2015 title before his brief full-time ride in Europe, and ?top foreigners? Jann Mardenborough and Palou were second and third in the ?16 and ?17 standings off the back of already successful junior single-seater careers.

Bar the Nissan-backed but relatively inexperienced Mardenborough, each driver has headed east of their own independence, and at least three rising talents have picked Japan over the European alternatives for ’19.

Carlin is following Motopark in entering Japanese F3, and is fielding Formula Renault Eurocup race-winner Charles Milesi. The entry is a collaboration with Okayama Team, which ran Yoshiaki Katayama last year.

Milesi’s name hovers under the radar in Europe, having won little on his way up the ladder, but his ability to come to terms with new machinery is proven and made his ’18 Eurocup season a success with his back-to-back wins at Silverstone and Monaco. Pre-season testing suggests he’s adapted to F3 already too, and the 18-year-old has even logged miles in SF machinery over the winter.

Motopark comes to the championship with Sacha Fenestraz and Enaam Ahmed, both of whom demonstrate two unique aspects of Japanese F3’s appeal.

After failing to find a drive in Europe, 2017 BRDC British F3 champion Ahmed won a shooutout test to drive for the Tomei-powered ThreeBond team, but ended up moving to Motopark after a sponsor issue meant he had to forfeit his original seat. Ahmed spoke to Formula Scout about his move Japan prior to switching teams.

Photo: Japanese F3

“[The] car’s not very different in driving style, but you can attack on corners a lot more because the Yokohamas have a lot more grip than the Hankooks [used in European F3].?That was a bit difficult to get used to. It’s so much grip, so it’s really nice.

“Super Formula has got a lot of grip as well. I think this car teaches you how to use downforce really well.”

Driving for ThreeBond was a deal Ahmed “couldn’t refuse”, and with it being the only team running Tomei engines it would’ve technically made Ahmed a professional driver, with certain development responsibilities.

A ban on in-season testing means circuits and engine developments will be tried out for the first time in free practice, handing a considerable advantage to local drivers who have been racing in the same championship and circuits for several years.

ThreeBond had hired Ahmed because it thought he could better the locals though, but he should also be a title contender with his new team, as he points out: “Motopark were at their finest in F3 last year.”

The change of teams denies Ahmed the chance to replicate the previous heroics of ThreeBond drivers Alexander Sims and Cassidy. Both are now highly rated professionals, and relaunched their careers with top four finishes at Macau with the Japanese engine. Their reputations for brilliant technical feedback are no coincidence.

“I think it?s good that Sacha, Charles and I? have gone [to Japan]. It?s going to boost the championship?s profile a bit more,” reckons Ahmed.

“I?ve noticed that this season, not just in F3 but in Super Formula, Japan?s started to become a lot more popular again for European drivers, because there?s opportunity there.

“It’s starting a new life. I?ve raced in Europe my whole career, and now I?m going all the way to Japan to race cars. I?m looking forward to that. Not just in racing terms, but where my life can take me out there.”

Feeling similarly philosophical is Fenestraz, the ’17 Formula Renault Eurocup champion, and like Ahmed had a mixed year in European F3 last year. He ended 2018 being dropped as a Renault F1 junior, prompting him to look to Japan, and responded to Renault’s decision by finishing third at Macau. The two cars ahead of him were both run by Motopark.

Fenestraz is also making use of the fact that F3 often shares a bill with the other big Japanese series: Super GT. The likes of Cassidy and Naoki Yamamoto double up in SF and Super GT’s top GT500 class, and Yamamoto even won both for Honda last year.

GT500 now has a shared rulebook with the DTM, the home of the European F3 paddock for the last 15 years, and it seems remarkable nobody in Europe has simultaneously competed in both. The closest anyone came was Pascal Wehrlein, who dropped F3 after one round to forge a career in the DTM, F1 and then Formula E.

Reigning Japanese F3 champion Sho Tsuboi also starred in the secondary GT300 class last year, earning himself top seats in SF and Super GT’s GT500 class with Toyota. It’s a path Fenestraz is looking directly to follow.

“Coming to Japan [was always the plan], and when we knew Motopark was joining B-Max we were like: let’s do this. So we confirmed pretty early,” explains Fenestraz.

“The Super GT drive was a pretty late call. My manager got a call saying they were looking for a driver, we spoke a bit and decided to race that as well. It?will be the first time for me doing a double championship.”

Being able to race a variety of machinery at a professional level is standard for Japan’s best, and opens up doors further afield. Multi-faceted talents fill much of today’s IndyCar, FE and WEC grids, many of whom raced prior in Japan.

“I know Loic Duval and Benoit Treluyer pretty well. They raced in Japan for quite a long time, so they knew how everything was here. I asked for their opinions, what?s the best teams and that stuff.

“Having a roof on top of me is something completely new. I?m not alone [in the car] too. It?s a big car. Really massive compared to a formula car. You need to adapt quite a lot from a F3, in this case, but once you?ve done the first couple of tests and you?re used to it, then jumping from to another I don?t think will be a big issue.”

For a driver who admittedly struggled in his rookie F3 season, and expected his Renault dismissal, Fenestraz’s confidence ahead of the season is encouraging. He’s with Kondo Racing, which with Cassidy has recently become a benchmark squad, and he’s evidently very relaxed. Although Japan could open doors for him elsewhere, the aim is still F1.

“My goal is the same as since I was a kid: to get to F1. Coming to Japan is putting me a little bit out of that road, it?s just a little harder by coming to [F1] this way. But nothing is impossible.

“The plan is to jump to Super Formula next year with a dual programme in Super GT[500]. Then it depends on how things happen in SF. I think after Super Formula you are closer to F1 than doing a F2 season.

“Everything is going really well with Kondo. We?re still learning quite a lot, but I think we definitely have the speed to be battling in the top five, top three through the season. It?s going to be a tough but really nice season.”

Both Ahmed and Fenestraz cite recent dominator TOM’S as the team to beat in F3, with a line-up led by 2018 runner-up Ritomo Miyata. He’s another who’s learning, and probably eventually earning, in Super GT.

“Japan is an incredible experience, and the people here are really big fans of motorsport. At the moment I?m having by far the best year I?ve ever had in motorsport,” concludes Fenestraz.

The post Why it’s not just Red Bull with eyes on Japan appeared first on Formula Scout.

The 2019 Toyota Racing Series was preceded by a barrage of anticipation, unanswered questions and the announcement of an incredibly-talented field, which featured a DTM race-winner, a Formula 3 champion and a Ferrari junior.

The season began with a near incident-free opening race, with all 15 starters reaching the chequered flag. This would prove to be a false omen, with either a red flag or a safety car (or both) in nearly all of the remaining 14 races – the most high-profile being the crash at the safety car restart of the rescheduled opener at Hampton Downs, which saw race leader Cameron Das tangle with second-placed Liam Lawson on the pit straight.

It soon became a two-horse race in the championship, fought between two of New Zealand’s biggest rising stars, leaving the combined talents of European,?Asia and America in the shade.?There were plenty of surprises – both exciting ones as well as disappointments – in what will surely go down as a classic TRS season. Here’s five things we learned from the 2019 series.

Liam Lawson is the real deal

For those who hadn’t been watching his career closely, Lawson’s display of speed on his Asian F3 debut late last year, where he won all three races at Sepang came as a big shock.

Fresh from narrowly losing out on winning the Road to Indy Shootout victory and Australian Formula 4 title in 2017, Lawson put his stamp on the European map in 2018, with a stellar rookie ADAC F4 season that resulted in another second place.

He wouldn’t have been the first driver to arrive in Europe with a bang and fizzle out later, so it was a relief that up against established European competition,?Lawson immediately showed that from the first TRS weekend he meant business.

The 16-year-old wasted little time in establishing himself as the man to beat, winning the opening race, but more impressively, dominating the final race of the weekend in style – passing his M2 Competition team-mates and pre-season favourites Marcus Armstrong and Lucas Auer on his way to winning the feature race by 9.921 seconds.

These moves demonstrated his brave racecraft, passing Ferrari Driver Academy member Armstrong around the outside as well as throwing it down the inside of DTM race-winner Auer.

Lawson repeatedly showed this, excelling in all weather conditions, only occasionally being caught out by his audacity. Sluggish race starts were compensated by a knack for efficiently slicing his way through the field.

He was perhaps unnecessarily over-ambitious when it came to the title decider, but at the end of the day, it was team-mate Armstrong, not Lawson, who felt the wrath of the stewards when it mattered.

It was inevitable that an F1 team would soon snap Lawson up to its junior programme, and it took just a week for him to be named a member of the Red Bull Junior Team, having reportedly received offers for multiple teams.

The now 17-year-old (his birthday was the day after the season ended) is far from the finished article, but he truly proved that 2018 was no flash in the pan.

Armstrong not at his best, but better than ever

While Lawson realised his dream of not only racing in, but winning the New Zealand Grand Prix and TRS title, Armstrong faced a third successive year of defeat.?But it wasn’t all negatives for the Ferrari junior, who won five races, and was only denied the title by two stewards decisions.

“The TRS car is really different to anything you race in Europe, especially because it’s extremely light and the [Michelin] tyre is very good as well,” Armstrong explained to Formula Scout.

“You use techniques in the TRS car that you wouldn’t be able to get away with in F3, and it’s quite feeling dependant. You can’t really just put your finger on what makes you faster in a TRS car. You just have to drive by feeling.

“I think I was good at that in ’17. This year I feel maybe I overdrove a little bit, considering it’s underpowered. Even though it was my third season, when I did the first free practice, it was like starting from zero.”

Armstrong enjoyed the challenge, particularly Taupo’s abrasive surface, and despite the closeness of the title fight, found it less intense than 2018’s battle after a suspension failure at Taupo meant he went to Manfeild as the chaser rather than chased.

Known for his maturity, Armstrong was tested in the title decider, with a penalty in the penultimate race only revealed to him 20 minutes before the start of the season-ending grand prix, taking him by surprise. During that race, he seized the lead from Lawson with a move that resulted in his rival taking to the grass when neither backed out. Armstrong was penalised again.

“It was quite clear that both of my penalties were unreasonable. [Team-mate] Esteban Muth got a penalty for almost the identical move that I did, and the penalty was given because Lucas [Auer] had to lift, which to me makes no sense.

“Liam had to make the choice whether or not – because the nature of the corner means we’re going to the outside of it whether we like it or not – to stay full throttle and drive off track, or lift and try to fight back at the next corner.

“That was my best drive. I was fired up because of the penalty, and winning the title was looking to be a bit of a challenge starting from third. I made it to the lead, the car was spot on, and I really enjoyed it until I was told I had a five-second penalty.”

His plan to back Lawson into third place had to be abandoned, and a late race push proved insufficient, but eye-opening. Armstrong set his fastest lap on the final tour, demonstrating tyre management that other drivers were only dreaming of.

The other star rookie is one to watch

With Lawson’s stunning title win as a rookie, it would be easy to overlook the other star debutants down under. Esteban Muth had a solid if unspectacular debut in car racing, finishing seventh in French F4 last year, so it was a shock when he won in only his second TRS race.

He would lose that win as a result of a jumped start, but it showcased the raw potential of the 17-year-old protege of Andre Lotterer. The incidents and mistakes would continue, but that’s expected as a rookie, and they were less frequent than the far more experienced Auer.

In the Taupo reversed-grid race Muth finally got his win, and ended the season fifth in the standings, just 12 points adrift of Auer in third. He’d have been even closer had he not been denied a podium in the New Zealand Grand Prix by a harsh penalty for a pass on Auer.

Muth far exceeded fellow rookies Kazuto Kotaka and Petr Ptacek, both who made it onto the podium once, and although he was in the shadow of team-mate Lawson, expect him to shine in whichever series he decides to race in full-time this year. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he stuck with M2 Competition for its Formula Renault Eurocup expansion, which it is basing in Muth’s hometown in Belgium…

M2 Competition is ideally placed for Europe

Since its debut in 2011, M2 has consistently been the team to beat, but its 2019 campaign was statistically its most prolific yet. For the first time in the history of the series, it won 14 out of the 15 races, with each of its six drivers winning at least once.

There’s no doubt that M2 always attracts the top driving talents, granting it an advantage over its rivals, but operationally it has consistently proven itself the team to beat in all conditions as well.

That should transfer well when it makes its European racing debut in the Formula Renault Eurocup later this year. The series is a tough nut to crack, but will be somewhat of a more level playing field now with the addition of a new car, a new tyre supplier and the departure of two of its most experienced teams, Josef Kaufmann Racing and Fortec Motorsports.

It’s signed Kush Maini to its programme already, and it would be beneficial to call upon a couple of the many talents its had success with in TRS in recent years.

There’s an element of naivety to expect similar levels of success in the Eurocup, but don’t be surprised if it manages to establish itself as one of the leading teams in European junior single-seaters over the next decade.

TRS is still the best winter racing series

TRS faced and exceeded its usual competitor MRF Challenge this winter, which had just 12 entries for its season opener, and did the same to its new FIA-backed challenger in the Asian F3 Winter Series.

The Asian championship initially boasted more superlicence points than TRS,?threatening to dislodge TRS from its usual spot as the go-to winter series before it was revealed that the F3 series actually counted for none.

Red Bull junior Dan Ticktum and Formula Renault Eurocup stars Max Fewtrell and Yifei Ye had already joined the series before the superlicence clarification had been made, but low entry numbers beyond the big names meant the series would have lost superlicence eligibility anyway.

It made a mockery of the whole reason why Red Bull placed Ticktum in the series, a point made even more bizarre by the fact that his Red Bull stablemate driver Auer headed to TRS in an independently-funded deal. Had Ticktum elected to compete in TRS, he could have now received enough points to make his F1 debut – or perhaps Lawson would have shocked him too.

The racing in Asian F3’s two opening rounds has been dull in comparison to the excitement that TRS regularly produced throughout its five back-to-back weekends format.

The post Five things we learned from the 2019 Toyota Racing Series appeared first on Formula Scout.

The idea that Formula 1 contains the 20 greatest drivers in the world is an unrealistic unfair assumption, especially when you consider the strength and breadth of talent outside of the supposed ‘pinnacle of motorsport’.

We all know various factors, such as finances, injury and just sheer bad timing can prevent an extremely promising driver from reaching F1, meaning that many great drivers have to display their talent in other top-tier series.

The FIA Formula 3 European Championship built a reputation as the greatest proving ground for young drivers since its revamp in 2012, having previously run as the F3 Euro Series between 2003-’11. Confusingly, the two coexisted for the ’12 season.

In its seven years of FIA blessing, it produced 12 F1 graduates, compared to the six that third tier rival and F1 support GP3 was able to supply.

The quality of the grids each year was maintained at a high level not only in terms of drivers but also chassis-optimisation and engine competition, something lacking in the new FIA F3 championship that it makes way for.

It’s not just the European F3 drivers that have reached F1 that prove the series’ pedigree, with champions and race winners in Super Formula, Formula E, DTM, Blancpain GT and Super GT all honing their craft in Dallara’s much-loved F3 chassis.

Here are 10 of the best European F3 drivers (who raced between 2012-’18) to never make it to F1.

As they were ran to the same regulations and majority filled with European F3 drivers, we have considered the editions of the Macau Grand Prix and Masters of F3 during this period an extension of the drivers’ achievements for the sake of this article.

Raffaele Marciello?ITALY?24y/o
currently 2nd in 2019 Intercontinental GT Challenge, 2018 Blancpain GT Series champion -?2013 European F3 champion

Marciello was the breakout star of the first re-branded European F3 season. He announced himself on an international level by winning the Pau Grand Prix as a rookie, and then won twice on his first visit to Brands Hatch to take an early championship lead.

He was eventually overtaken by his more experienced Prema team-mate Daniel Jundacella, but it was Jundacella who looked more like the rookie, earning two disqualifications in successive weekends, the first of which had resulted in Jundacella robbing Marciello of victory.

Marciello’s charge effectively ended at Zandvoort, where team-mate Sven Muller’s over-cautious safety car restart caused the Ferrari junior to run into the back of him, capping off a miserable weekend for Marciello.

Marciello battled back in his second F3 season in 2013, taking 12 poles and 13 wins to triumph in a thrilling title duel with Mucke Motorsport’s Felix Rosenqvist, with the killer blow delivered at Marciello’s home round at Vallelunga – winning two of the three races as Rosenqvist’s title challenge crumbled amid a number of mistakes and technical issues.

Although he was never quite able to deliver on his full potential in GP2, he was Sauber’s F1 reserve driver and has since demonstrated his class in the Blancpain GT Series with Mercedes-Benz by winning the overall and Sprint titles in 2018, with many calling him the top GT driver of 2018.

Alexander Sims?ENGLAND?25y/o
currently 10th in 2018-19 FE, 2nd in 2015 British GT – 2nd in 2010 Masters of F3,?4th in 2009 & ’10 F3 Euro Series

Alexander Sims’ junior career was patchy. Not in terms of results like most drivers, but in terms of appearances. He spent two years racing in the F3 Euro Series, finishing fourth in the points both years, before moving to GP3 in 2011, where he finished sixth with one win.

When his backing from the Gravity management firm was then pulled, he initially looked to sportscars, but he did return to F3 during ’12, making a one-off appearance with underdog T-Sport (running a ThreeBond engine) at the Nurburgring. Two of the three races counted for FIA points, with Sims winning the one that didn’t, beating regular frontrunners Marciello, Juncadella and Pascal Wehrlein.

In ’13 he increased his track time with T-Sport to four rounds, taking five podiums for a team on a shoestring budget and with minimal experience of the championship.

He spent 2014 racing in British GT, but Hitech GP snapped him up for a development role the following year and he drove in two of the final three F3 rounds – finishing in the top five twice before returning to the Macau Grand Prix with Double R Racing and finishing third.

In 2016, Sims made his final F3 appearance, joining Hitech for the Hockenheim season finale and getting a top five result.

As Sims scaled back his single-seater commitments, his reputation increased internationally as a BMW factory driver in GTs. Ge came close to the British GT and IMSA GTLM titles while doing development work on BMW’s FE programme, and was rewarded for his work with a single-seater return alongside old GP3 team-mate Antonio Felix da Costa as part of the BMW Andretti line-up in FE for the 2018-19 season.

Off-track Sims is one of the most unassuming racing drivers, whose politeness masks his ruthless talent behind the wheel. This is already evident in FE, where he was denied an first win after clashing with da Costa in Marrakesh, and arguably should’ve been on the podium in each of the first three races. Watch this space.

Alex Lynn?ENGLAND?25y/o
6th in 2015 & ’16 GP2, 2014 GP3 champion – 2013 Macau GP winner, 2nd in 2013 Masters of F3,?3rd in 2013 European F3

After impressing in a part-season with Fortec in ’12, Lynn was snapped up by Prema to partner eventual champion Raffaele Marciello for the following season. While he was unable to match Marciello’s consistency over the season, he still shone, taking a triple-pole on home turf at Brands Hatch, three wins across the season and third in the standings.

His most impressive achievement was saved for his final race of the year – Macau. Lynn excelled around the twisty street circuit, showing raw bravery and speed and unsurprisingly winning the grand prix. The year previous, he had taken pole in his first visit and ended as top rookie in third.

Lynn moved to GP3 in 2014 with Red Bull backing, winning the title with Carlin. He became Williams’ development driver the following season, and dovetailed his duties with a solid rookie year in GP2. He failed to make a significant step in his second year, and with Lance Stroll’s arrival at Williams, Lynn’s F1 chances faded.

It didn’t take long for the wider motorsport world to take notice of Lynn. He won the Sebring 12 hour and Spa 6 hour races in 2017, and took pole position on his FE debut in New York. This earned him a full-time seat for the 2017-’18 season with DS Virgin, where he was plagued with bad luck.

Aston Martin now has Lynn’s signature, and he races in the World Endurance Championship’s GTE Pro class.

Lucas Auer?AUSTRIA?24y/o
2nd in 2012 German F3, 3rd in 2013 & ’19 TRS, 6th in 2017 DTM – 2nd in 2014 Macau GP, 4th in 2013 & ’14 European F3

The nephew of F1 race-winner Gerhard Berger has returned to junior single-seaters this year for the Toyota Racing Series and Super Formula as a Red Bull junior, but has spent the last five years in the DTM with Mercedes.

Auer’s previous single-seater stint ended in victory as he won the final race of the ’14 European F3 season – considered one of the greatest F3 seasons of all time – with Mucke. One year prior he’d finished fourth in the championship with Prema, but behind two of his team-mates.

His year with Mucke was far more impressive, taking 13 podiums from 30 races, and beating the likes of Antonio Giovinazzi, team-mate Felix Rosenqvist, Jordan King and Jake Dennis. He was narrowly beaten by Rosenqvist in Macau.

In four years in the DTM he picked him up four wins, and his single-seater return has been prompted by previous employer Mercedes’s DTM departure. Auer’s comeback showing in TRS was troublesome, with tyres proving particularly challenging, but the pace was still there. He won once, and took pole for the coveted New Zealand GP.

Felix Rosenqvist?SWEDEN?27y/o
3rd in 2017 Super Formula, 3rd in 2016-17 FE, 6th in 2017-18 FE, 11th in 2016 Blancpain GT Series, 12th in 2016 Indy Lights – 2015 European F3 champion, 2014 & ’15 Macau GP winner, 2011 & ’13 Masters of F3 winner, 2nd in 2013 European F3

Rosenqvist has won in FE, Super Formula, Indy Lights and Blancpain as a rookie, has been poached by legendary IndyCar team Chip Ganassi Racing for the upcoming season, yet has never driven an F1 car.

After success in Formula Renault 2.0 and an indifferent German F3 campaign,?Rosenqvist burst onto the international scene in 2011 with fifth in the F3 Euro Series and Masters of F3 victory with Mucke.

He spent the next two seasons with the team, while Mercedes assisted in making sure he had the budget to compete, and was third in the ’12 European F3 standings – the best non-Prema driver.

That was followed by a stellar ’13, where his 10 wins wasn’t enough to beat Marciello to the title, and he got another Masters win. Budget limitations meant F3 was where Rosenqvist stayed in ’14, his fourth season proving to be his worst despite Pau GP victory, slumping to eighth in the standings.

He’d been fighting against the might of Prema his entire F3 career up to that point, but he joined them for 2015, ending his association with Mucke after four years together. Facilitated by the Stroll family, this decision paid off with a supreme season, where he beat Antonio Giovinazzi, Jake Dennis and Charles Leclerc to the crown, as well as picking up a second successive Macau win.

Since he left the series at the end of 2015, he’s driven in most other top tiers of motorsport, with success in Formula E, Super Formula and Super GT. This has accumulated in him securing a full-time IndyCar ride with Chip Ganassi Racing for 2019.

All-time FIA European Formula 3 statistics

Blomqvist is often forgotten when people talk about the legendary 2014 F3 season, which saw plenty of thrilling duels between Esteban Ocon and Max Verstappen. Although not in spectacular style, Blomqvist finished the year as runner-up to Ocon, beating Verstappen thanks to a stellar final weekend at Hockenheim.

After a season each with the small Ma-con and Eurointernational teams, Blomqvist got the opportunity to drive for the Jagonya Ayam-backed Carlin squad in ’14, the latter actually lacking in pedigree in European F3 at this point, having never taken a driver to the top three in the standings since joining the Euro Series in 2008.

It was also the strongest opposition yet for Blomqvist, but the 2010 FR2.0 UK champion was unfazed and demonstrated his talent with wins at six of the 11 rounds.

BMW swiftly snapped him up for DTM, where he won in his rookie season then was sixth in the standings the year after. A part season in FE with BMW’s backing wasn’t entirely successful, but he is now one of the manufacturer’s?leading GT assets.

Jake Dennis ENGLAND?23y/o
2nd in 2019 Bathurst 12 Hours, 4th in 2016 GP3? – 3rd in 2015 European F3, 9th in 2014 European F3, 9th in 2015 Macau GP

2014 was far from the easiest year for Jake Dennis to make his F3 debut, but he placed third in the rookies’ championship with Carlin, only behind Ocon and Verstappen.

His debut efforts earned him a seat with Prema for ’15, and he improved to third in the standings, ahead of four 2019 F1 drivers. Pau highlighted his excellence, as he took a triple pole and two race victories to propel him into a title fight with the more experienced Rosenqvist and Giovinazzi.

His challenge faded amid inconsistencies and a nightmare weekend at the Norisring, but he’d firmly put himself among the best British racing drivers around, and secured himself a GP3 seat with Arden for the following year. The Racing Steps Foundation-backed driver finished fourth but returned to Euro F3 for 2017, competing in the opening three rounds for Carlin, helping its rookies and regularly sacrificing?his own race results for the benefit of his team-mates – a testament to his willingness and ability to play the team game.

He’s now carved a career in GT racing for himself, with a stunning pole lap for the Bathurst 12 Hours his most recent achievement (even if a small technical breach stripped him of it). Driving F1 cars is part of his job now too, having become a valuable part of Red Bull Racing’s test and simulator programme.

Nick Cassidy?NEW ZEALAND?24y/o
2017 Super GT champion, 2nd in 2018 Super Formula – 3rd in 2014 Macau GP,?4th in 2016 European F3

Two-time TRS champion Nick Cassidy made sporadic appearances in European F3 from 2013-’15, before finally racing there full-time with Prema in 2016.

His season started with three second places, but a combination of misfortune, playing second fiddle to team-mate Lance Stroll and a failure to deliver the goods meant Cassidy was not a title threat. Commuting from Japan -? where he was undertaking his debut season in Super GT after winning the national F3 title the previous season – may also have played its part.

At the Hungaroring, the wear on his tyres was so extreme that his rubber was shot on the formation lap of one race, and he had engine and gearbox issues at the Red Bull Ring and Norisring.

Fourth in the standings was a disappointment by all standards, especially as Cassidy’s name had been on people’s lips since his stunning third place as a rookie with T-Sport in the ’14 Macau GP.

The New Zealander’s achievements since have made up for it, winning the 2017 Super GT title in his first full season and finishing a close second last year, then coming achingly close to the 2018 Super Formula title as a rookie.

Cassidy is a good example of a driver who didn’t waste years of his career scrambling for an unlikely F1 seat by racing in F2/GP3 for several years, but instead one who is among the best racing in Japan right now.

Maximilian Gunther?GERMANY?21y/o
currently 18th in 2018-19 FE, 14th in 2018 F2 – 2nd in 2016 European F3, 3rd in 2017 European F3, 5th in 2017 Macau GP

The disbelief at the recent news that Dragon has dropped Maximilian Gunther just three rounds into his debut FE season should tell you all you need to know about the quality of the 21-year-old’s career so far.

He made his F3 debut in 2015 with Mucke, impressing immediately by qualifying third for six successive races early in the season. He struggled to convert these into race results, with only one podium at Pau to show for it.

However, he produced the goods at the Norisring with a stunning win from 12th on the grid. Team-mate tensions boiled over leading to his premature departure from Mucke, but he found a new home with Prema, and impressed in his one-off outing with them in the ’15 season finale.

Unsurprisingly this led to a full-time drive for ’16, in which he finished runner-up to champion Stroll. Considering the extra testing miles and backing behind his team-mate, Gunther could be pleased with his efforts.

For ’17 he chose a third season in F3, as he still had much to improve in his driving. He dropped a spot in the standings, but had a much better, more rounded year. He didn’t quite have the outright pace to match the might of Lando Norris, but he could regularly wrestle himself in front of the Englishman in races.

He moved up to Formula 2 with Arden last year, but the partnership was never an easy one, with his focus moving on to securing a FE drive having become Dragon’s reserve driver. One win and five other points finishes was enough to convince Dragon to promote him to a race seat, and he missed the final F2 round in preparation.

His FE debut was a chastening experience, but in the Santiago E-Prix he starred in qualifying, and was doing even better in the race before a technical failure intervened.

Gunther is still Dragon’s reserve driver and may be recalled later in the year. Regardless, it’s a shame that the German has ended up on the sidelines.

Joel Eriksson?SWEDEN?20y/o
14th in 2018 DTM – 2016 Masters of F3 winner,?2nd in 2017 European F3, 2nd in 2018 Macau GP, 5th in 2016 European F3

Younger brother to former GP2 driver Jimmy, Joel Eriksson has reaped the rewards of sticking with one team in his single-seater career.

Two years in entry-level German categories helped forge a strong relationship with Motopark, with whom he graduated to F3 in style with in ’16

That season he was paired up with Red Bull juniors Niko Kari and Sergio Sette Camara, beating them both and soon finding himself being courted by BMW. Having one victory to his name (aside from his excellent Masters of F3 win at Zandvoort) did no justice to what Eriksson was achieving that year.

People were taking Eriksson and Motopark seriously for 2017, and he pushed now-McLaren F1 driver Norris for the title. He won in each of the first four rounds but a mid-season qualifying dip meant his three wins in the last five races were too late to deny Norris.

The 19-year-old then switched to the DTM with BMW, and faired well against his more-experienced team-mates. Everything fell into place at the Misano round for him to take a rather fortunate maiden victory, helping him to 14th in the standings.

Late last year he returned to F3 with Motopark to tackle the Macau GP. He made the most of a bruising weekend to finish second, and his street circuit nous may come useful were he to race in FE in the future.

Honourable mentions?

The most obvious absentee from this list is 2012 champion Daniel Juncadella. His title victory was marred with controversy, with two disqualifications for his driving. It was still an impressive year, but his results since have been unremarkable. Five DTM campaigns with Mercedes yielded just one win, but he’s still a part of the manufacturer’s motorsport plans.

Harry Tincknell has established himself as one of Ford’s leading GT lights, while Pipo Derani is arguably the most exciting young driver in prototypes. Jordan King may have lost his full-time IndyCar drive for 2019, but that was down to a lack of finances rather than talent after a solid debut season. Ed Jones?meanwhile has solidified himself as a staple of the IndyCar grid, heading into his third season and chasing a first win.

The classic entries

Between 1975 and ‘1984, the FIA ran a championship that was also named European F3. It too produced many an F1 driver, including the likes of Alain Prost, but also had its fair share of overlooked talents.

Anders Olofsson?(1952-2008) was one of many Swedes who flourished in European F3 when Scandinavia had its own F3 championships to supply talent from.

Two titles at home nearly translated into success on the continent, as he finished second in both the 1977 and ’78 standings. In total, he picked up 18 wins across six years.

Like contemporary Rosenqvist, he was fast in whatever he sat in, and won titles in prototypes and touring cars in Japan. His crowning achievement was overall victory at the 1997 Le Mans 24 Hours, achieved in a GT car.

John Nielsen, from neighbouring Denmark, also appeared across six seasons, and was runner-up in 1983. He made up for that loss by triumphing at Macau a year later. After that he topped he podium in F3000, won Le Mans in 1990 for Jaguar, the ’95 Global GT and ’97 Super GT titles in McLarens, and was winning in prototypes as late as 2008.

The post Top 10 European Formula 3 drivers that F1 missed out on appeared first on Formula Scout.

The Austrian initially played second fiddle to Lawson, who extracted a fast time out of his tyres early on, before Auer dropped the benchmark to 1m02.388s. It marks his second grand prix pole, having also achieved the feat back in 2013 under the aggregated times format.

“Yesterday we had some struggles with the tyre choice. We adjusted than and a couple of other things, and we made a huge step,” said Auer.

Lawson was “confused” over how Auer had set his quicker time later in the session, but importantly beat rival Armstrong, who he leads in the Toyota Racing Series standings by one point with two races to go at Manfeild.

A last minute flying lap by Victory Motor Racing’s Brendon Leitch put him fourth on the grid, ahead of M2’s Esteban Muth and Cameron Das and the Giles Motorsport pair of Raoul Hyman and Petr Ptacek.

Artem Petrov, who missed the first race of the weekend through illness, returned to the track with ninth place, with Calan Williams completing the top 10.

At the back of the field was Kenny Smith, who will be making his 48th NZ GP start from 17th on the grid.

Qualifying results

The post Lucas Auer beats title contenders to New Zealand Grand Prix pole appeared first on Formula Scout.

Photo: M2 Competition

Lucas Auer claimed his first Toyota Racing Series victory of the season at Taupo as a Marcus Armstrong off meant the championship lead changed hands once again.

M2 Competition driver Armstrong had been second after a lightening start allowed him to shoot up the inside of title rival Liam Lawson off the line. He was running close behind Auer when the championship leader locked up at turn one, running wide over the gravel and suffering a suspension failure.

He limped back to the pits and, though he returned to the track five laps later, didn?t cover the minimum race distance to be classified.

Lawson capitalised on team-mate Armstrong?s drama and rapidly closed the gap to Auer. The Austiran didn?t put a wheel wrong in the lead though and crossed the line half a second ahead of Lawson to take his first win since his return to single-seater racing at the beginning of the TRS season.

Second was enough to put Lawson at the top of the championship standings, five points ahead of Armstrong with five races remaining.

Giles Motorsport’s Raoul Hyman spent the first half of the race with Artem Petrov and Brendon Leitch ? who had started 11th?? on his tail. Petrov pushed hard but his attack allowed Leitch to pull alongside the Russian and take fourth.

As Leitch and Petrov battled, Hyman was able to pull away. He finished third, albeit almost 12 seconds behind Lawson. Petrov passed Leitch in the closing stages of the race to take fourth.

Esteban Muth finished sixth, ahead of a closely fought battle between Petr Ptacek, Jackson Walls, and Calan Williams.

Kazuto Kotaka suffered another disappointing race. He had been running strong before losing his front wing and plummeting down the order. He finished 15th, ahead of only Armstrong.

It was a similar story for Cameron Das, who also suffered front wing damage, and finished the race in the pits. There was consolation in that he still managed 10th place.

Race results (15 laps)

The post Auer takes first TRS win of 2019, Lawson nabs points lead appeared first on Formula Scout.

All photos: Toyota Racing NZ

Being flown halfway across the planet to compete in a number of events of increasing pressure over a five week period, knowing that one bad result could end your chances of overall victory and that a cult following is watching your every move may sound like reality television, but it’s actually a description of the Toyota Racing Series.

For New Zealand-based drivers the long-haul flight is avoided, but they’re still subject to an packed schedule that includes 15 races and a 1576km journey between the second and third rounds at Teretonga and Hampton Downs.

To get a feel of what racing in the Southern Hemisphere’s premier single-seater series is like, Formula Scout sat down with Mark Pilcher, team principal of current champion team M2 Competition, which is also expanding into the Formula Renault Eurocup. The origin of the team’s entry to TRS in 2011 stemmed from a very different championship though.

“Basically, Flex (Jonathan Moury, co-team principal) and I had been working together on the A1GP Team New Zealand project for Colin Giltrap,” Pilcher explains.

“Once that championship dissolved, the opportunity came up with Toyota to start a thing in New Zealand, because at that point they needed some established teams.

“We chose this championship because I didn’t want to continue travelling so much, and I’ve lived in New Zealand for most of my life, so decided we could make a go of racing down here.”

The travelling miles may be less than a European series (although that is arguable), but the on-track mileage is north of 2,500km and there are 20 hours of track time, the equivalent of a half-season in Europe.

“It’s in five weeks which makes it pretty tough. Particularly if you’re having dramas or accidents,” says Pilcher.

“The tracks are very different [to Europe]. They are technically challenging because they’re narrow. There’s no runoff at most of them. So it really rewards a driver that doesn’t make errors, and really focuses on the technical side of driving. Because you go off at a lot of these circuits and the car is damaged [immediately].

“One of the circuits we race at shouldn’t really be certified. But [Teretonga] is FIA Grade 2 and it’s come under a grandfather clause – the circuit’s so old they basically allow you to race there because of its history. There’s literally two or three metres between each side of the circuit and the tyre wall.”

A symptom of using New Zealand’s old school circuits is close and exciting racing, but what else does TRS offer over alternative ‘winter’ championships?

“Probably it really comes down to the intensity of the championship,” reckons Pilcher.

“They’re racing the cars between three and four days a week. In terms of a level, it’s really just track time. They get a lot more track time than any series in Europe when you break it down per weekend.”

Giles Motorsport’s Thomas Smith facing one of TRS’s challenges

Extreme winds caused much of the second round of the 2019 season to be cancelled, leading to the organisers adding those sessions to subsequent rounds, making the condensed schedule even more intense.

“Last weekend, and this weekend, they’re faced with four races a weekend. And then particularly this weekend there’s three qualifying sessions. It has made the step for the more rookie drivers in the field more difficult. But at the same time it’s a great learning process.”

M2’s sextet of drivers this season is led by highly impressive Kiwi duo Marcus Armstrong and Liam Lawson, currently one-two in the standings. It also features single-seater returnee Lucas Auer, Formula 3 racers Artem Petrov and Cameron Das, and French Formula 4 graduate Esteban Muth.

“The current driver line-up’s interesting. We’ve had a few surprises. The pace of Liam is impressive.

“Marcus is in his third season, we expected him to be quick from the outset, which he was, and to lead the team. I expected Liam to be quick, as quick as Marcus, but certainly not straight away. We assumed it would come from about now, the North Island events onwards.

“Auer’s had a bit of a rough time due to a few things, but as well he’s relearning the technical aspects of single-seater racing. So he’s yet to really deliver, and that’s partly because of technical things and he’s crashed a few times.”

The Austrian has raced in the DTM since 2015, but has been enrolled into the Red Bull Junior Team for this year to compete in Super Formula. He’s taken one pole and two podiums in TRS so far, but it’s been his younger title-contending team-mates who have been grabbing the headlines.

“This title fight [between Armstrong and Lawson] is up there. The 2013 one between Alex Lynn and Nick Cassidy, and [Giles Motorsport’s] Auer at that point, was equally as tough and tight. But this one is up there for sure.”

Formula 1 drivers Lance Stroll and Lando Norris won the TRS title with M2 after Cassidy’s ’13 triumph, and it is Norris who sticks particularly in the memory.

“Within the first two sessions here you knew, you could see Norris was going on to do bigger things. Off the top of my head, there’s been so many [top drivers]. Lynn too, he was really professional and impressive here.”

Super Formula star Cassidy is an example of New Zealand’s homegrown talent, winning two TRS titles before moving to Europe full-time. M2 likes to keep an eye on who the next Kiwi star could be.

“New Zealand-wise, we’re always keeping a close eye on the karting scene, which is very strong here. That’s the main reason guys like Lawson turn up. NZ Formula Ford and the Toyota 86 [sportscar] championship as well. There’s a couple in FFord that we’re looking at for next year. And we’re constantly looking at the rest of the world on who might be available for 2020.”

Prior to starting M2, Pilcher had worked in Champ Car and the World Rally Championship, and gained TRS experience with Triple X Racing, winning the coveted New Zealand Grand Prix with future Le Mans 24 Hours winner Earl Bamber. His Belgium-based colleague Moury has an even more varied career, having headed Prema in GP2 and Strakka in sportscars, as well as working in the DTM and the America’s Cup sailing race.

Like Moury, most of the team live and work in Europe outside of the TRS season, and of the 25-strong group of race personnel, at least six will remain with M2 for its maiden Eurocup campaign.

“If you break it down: all the engineers are from Europe, all the number one mechanics are from Europe, then we used NZ-based guys for the number two mechanics and truckies etc,” continues Pilcher.

“It works pretty well. And all the Kiwi guys have been doing it since the start, so they’re well experienced in this championship.”

TRS has used two iterations of a Tatuus chassis since its inaugural season in 2005, with the ‘new’ car being introduced in 2015.

“Since 2015, my impression is that it’s level with the Eurocup, in terms of the series. But operationally it’s actually above that, because we have a lot more engineering staff than Eurocup teams are allowed. So there’s a lot more focus on performance. We have [dedicated] performance engineers.

“The series is pretty locked down [on mechanical freedom], with the idea of keeping the level of all the teams’ cars are similar. That’s why we have to work pretty hard on the detail, because the options for running [changes] on the car are limited. More limited than the Eurocup in fact.”

This ties into comments made by championship leader Armstrong after taking his second pole of the Hampton Downs round.

“As the weekend progresses, it’s sort of natural that everyone bunches up a wee bit,” said the Ferrari junior. “I had an advantage from the first practice session this weekend and managed to keep it until the last quali session, which is not always that easy with all the telemetry and videos and analysis we do. So I’m really happy.”

M2 is considered the team to beat in TRS, having won four driver’s titles and five teams’ titles. Formula 2 and Formula E teams have hired directly from the small Kiwi team.

“We’ve developed a lot and learned heaps in TRS. Certainly since 2015 – when the new car came – that was a time for us to ramp things up operationally and engineering-wise. We’ve come a long long way since then.”

M2 will compete in TRS “for as long as it’s around”, but as soon as the season finishes next month, its focus will switch to the Eurocup, which will be using a Tatuus regional F3 car as of this year. Toyota Racing New Zealand is set to commit to another five years supporting the championship, and is in talks to replace the current car with the Tatuus F3 chassis for the 2020 season, bringing it in line with Europe.

“We first looked at the Eurocup probably in early 2018,” explains Pilcher.

“It really started making sense once we saw that Eurocup was going to a new car. Because going into that championship with the existing [FR2.0] car and teams would be tough. A couple of teams have got it completely sorted, and expecting to be competitive in its old format would be difficult.”

“It’s also a good bonus for us, and was kind of part of the thinking, that the TRS car, from what we’re being told, will be identical to Eurocup but powered by Toyota.

“All the engineers are in place [for Eurocup]. Chief mechanic as well. A lot of those guys are here now, with the idea to keep the continuity. And that’s another reason behind it [the Eurocup move], we can use the same people for both programmes [without clashes].

“On the European side, I think it would just be step-by-step. Should we be successful in Eurocup, then maybe look at going further. But until we’re winning races, I don’t see any point in going beyond that.

“We’re looking forward to the challenges that Eurocup is going to throw up, and it’s looking like the driver line-up is going to be good.”

For a country that’s produced F1 world champions but never held a race of its own, it seems New Zealand’s isolated approach to single-seaters is a proven success, and will undoubtedly bring results when exported to Europe this year.

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Photo: Toyota Racing NZ

Marcus Armstrong narrowly beat M2 Competition team-mate Lucas Auer to pole for the final Toyota Racing Series race at Hampton Downs.

The 18-year-old set a 59.780 second lap around the 2.8km circuit, just 0.073s faster than single-seater returnee and Red Bull junior Auer, who is competing in TRS in preparation for a Super Formula programme this year.

“I prefer starting on pole. Especially here – it’s a short run down to turn 1 and it’s not so easy to overtake here,” said Armstrong after taking his second pole of the weekend.

“Although Lucas [Auer] is a bit of an animal in the mirrors, [so] it’s going to be interesting.”

The top 14 on the grid were covered by less than a second, with M2 filling the top four spots on the grid thanks to the efforts of Liam Lawson and Artem Petrov, the winner of the chaotic first race of the weekend. Lawson was only 0.102s off pole.

“As the weekend progresses, it’s sort of natural that everyone bunches up a wee bit,” added Armstrong.

“We had an advantage from the first practice session this weekend and managed to keep it until the last quali session, which is not always that easy with all the telemetry and videos and analysis we do. So I’m really happy.”

Cameron Das failed to make it a M2 lockout of the top five after being beaten to the position by Victory Motor Racing’s Brendon Leitch. Giles Motorsport’s Raoul Hyman was seventh, ahead of Kazuto Kotaka (MTEC Motorsport), Esteban Muth (M2) and Petr Ptacek (Giles).

Qualifying results

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Photo: F3 Asian Championship

Asian Formula 3 champion Raoul Hyman will make his Toyota Racing Series debut with Giles Motorsport.

Hyman, who clinched the Asian F3 crown by two points at the final race of the season in Sepang, is aiming to scoop the maximum seven FIA superlicence points available for winning TRS – a new addition for the 2019 season.

He’ll compete alongside a trio of fellow TRS rookies at Giles, the team which took Clement Novalak to fifth in the drivers’ championship last year. Hyman will be joined by Italian F4 rookie champion Petr Ptacek, Australian F4 driver Thomas Smith and American racer Dev Gore, who competed in the second half of last year’s Euroformula?Open championship.

“My aim is to be fighting at the front from the outset,” he said. “I?ll have to learn five new circuits as well as the car, but I?m looking forward to the challenge. It?s the ideal preparation for me ahead of the 2019 racing season.”

The BRDC Rising Star began his car racing career in the BRDC F4 championship, finishing third to 2019 F1 rookie George Russell in his second year in the series before he switched to European Formula 3 in 2015.

After a partial campaign in 2016, he returned to racing full-time in GP3 with Campos the following year, where he won the reverse-grid race in Austria and finished 13th in the drivers’ championship.

Finishing his University degree in the first half of 2018, his attention then switched to Asian F3 where he triumphed over Jake Hughes, who was forced to miss two rounds due to his GP3 commitments.

When speaking to Formula Scout, Hyman identified?Lucas Auer and Liam Lawson as the main competition among the drivers already confirmed. Auer is a DTM race-winner returning to single-seaters and using TRS as a learning step before competing full-time in Super Formula this year.

Sixteen-year-old Lawson shocked the Asian F3 paddock when he won all three races of his one-off weekend appearance at the season finale in Sepang.

Hyman is the 14th driver confirmed for the series, with at least two more drivers to be announced by the opening round, which will bring the total up to 16, the amount needed for full FIA Super Licence points to be awarded.

The 2019?TRS season kicks off with the first of five successive weekends at Highlands Motorsport Park on January 10-13.

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