Italian F3 Kaput

[snowmanmtl]

after nearly 50 years
http://www.auto123.com/en/news/f3-th...p?artid=150683

[Paddy O'Brien]

That is great news for the Canadian F3 Series! Lots of cheap F3 cars hit the market, why buy just one? Why rebuild the motors? Just thow it away and get another.

[Matt King]

They killed it because they only had 10 cars on the grid? These days that could be considered a raging success story.

[Canadian Formula 3 Championship]

Jeez...that's incredible but terrible news, especially since their 50th Year Anniversary was just coming up. They used to have 20+ cars on their grids, whose running the "show" over there!

Lots of cheap F3 cars hit the market, why buy just one?

Yes...there probably will be alot of good-conditioned, cheap and recent Dallaras and Mygales for sale. Mostly the 2008-2009 F308 / F309 models which are incredible race cars for the value.

[turnbaugh]

Does anyone know why the series declined? I know the Italian prototype series has been growing.

[Tiago Santos]

Formula Abarth as well..

[Canadian Formula 3 Championship]

yes, Formula Abarth and this new Formula 4 set-up is being pushed heavily in Italy at Formula 3's demise. Incredible that they shut this Series down, I'm still in shock.

http://www.acisportitalia.it/F3/home/ita

Should have kept it solvent even if it had only 10 or 12 cars running, so what, it will turn around eventually. A big gap in their proposed Formula ladder system in that country now.

[philippinemotorsports]

now that the Italian formula 3 Is gone, will FPT sell or produce f3 engines...

[Canadian Formula 3 Championship]

A few of the reasons why the Italian Formula 3 Championship failed was because of their high registration fees. It cost teams €5,000 EUR, ($6,675 USD) to register 1 car for the Series with a firm commitment to 5 group tests for €7,000 EUR, ($9,350 USD) for a subtotal of €12,000 EUR, ($16,018 USD) plus a 21% VAT at €2,520 EUR, ($3,364 USD) for a grand total of €14,520 EUR, ($19,382 USD) all for 1 car!...just to say, "hello...let me join up."

A race entry fee for 1 car is €2,600 EUR, ($4,105 USD) with that Thursday before the race weekend being an extra test day, (not part of the group test commitment) plus the 21% VAT ofcourse at €546 EUR, ($862 USD) for another grand total of €3,146 EUR, ($4,967 USD) per race weekend.

What single-seater Series here in North America charges those kinds of numbers besides a true, professional Series like IndyCar?...no one. Are we going to have those kind of fees?...certainly not.

Another reason was the higher logistic costs of traveling to race venues outside of their own home country like Valencia, Spain, then Budapest, Hungary and Spielberg, Austria. With so many great, suitable race tracks within' Italy, there is no reason to venture outside of it. Why race elsewhere and incur more costs to your race teams.

There's clearly some misguided management views there that helped contribute to its downfall. Lastly, Italy's highest unemployment rate in 13 years doesn't help their economic climate either.

[Phil Creighton]

I think its more of the Fiat Abarth championship taking the up and comers from F3 and its part of the Ferrari Driver Academy program which is attractive to the wannabes. CSAI have thrown their weight behind it too (Italy's SCCA) and its actually the ACI-CSAI Italian Championship The car is built to FIA F3 safety specs and its a lot cheaper to buy and run than an F3 car. Engines, parts costs etc are cheaper as its a spec car - the transport, labor etc is probably the same. Season entry is about 3500 euros and there is prize money - ironically a lot of the prizes are for participation in the F3 Series the following year (tires/entry).
There are a lot of options in Italy as there are in the USA - I hear similar laments about the state of British F3.

[Canadian Formula 3 Championship]

Yes, but what you are saying is EXACTLY true for the Italian Formula 3 Championship as well. The F3 Italia was part of the Ferrari Drivers Academy too with their last graduate Riccardo Agostini and rookie of the year Eddie Cheever Jr. testing a Ferrari F1 car last September;

(http://www.acisportitalia.it/F3/home/ing/%20/%20/2012) and other Formula 1 hopefuls from Italian Formula 3 have been testing Ferrari F1 cars for years now;

(http://www.gpupdate.net/en/f1-news/2...ivers-f1-test/)

ACI-CSAI was and is the only sanctioning body there so their Formula 3 Series had their support as well. F3 Italia was a "spec" Series too as all cars had the same engine, tires, fuel, electronics with all the cars being Dallaras besides two of them being Mygales.

So I don't think the costs will be that much cheaper, especially on the fixed costs like travel, fuel, hotels, etc. and not on the Series registration and race entry fees which are only €500 EUR less for each than what the Formula 3 Series was paying, (as per their own Entry Forms).

[snowmanmtl]

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/105307

[Canadian Formula 3 Championship]

Just like with the Italian Formula 3 Championship, the British Series has an International Class and a National Class, yet they shouldn't, and just have one, a National Class only, like the German F3.

Competing in an International Class simply costs too much money. There is no need for them to travel outside their own home country when they have a ton of circuits right in their own backyard.

So their philosophy is to go to the Nurburgring, Spa and Pau to appease other F3 teams based in those regions to participate at the demise of their own smaller British teams in the National Class?

The higher costs to compete in the more competitive International Class has all the big teams involved therefore a dwindling participation in the National Class suffers. Sure, go ahead and spend more money and loose your nationalistic basis of British drivers, British teams, and British circuits.

[SEComposites]

Just like with the Italian Formula 3 Championship, the British Series has an International Class and a National Class, yet they shouldn't, and just have one, a National Class only, like the German F3.

Strictly speaking the National class runs within the International class and is for year old chassis i believe. There are a couple of club series that are pretty popular home for older F3 cars. I agree there was no need to run races outside the UK though. Either way its not a cheap class to run competitively in.

[Canadian Formula 3 Championship]

Strictly speaking the National class runs within the International class and is for year old chassis i belive.

Yes, correct they run both classes in the same races much like an ALMS or Grand Am style, and they use the 2005 F305 - 2007 F307 cars and now the 2008 F308+ model generation since the new F312's came out last year.

But since these cheaper cars are sold to teams with lower budgets that can only afford to race at their local circuits like a Snetterton or Rockingham it means the end to their 2013 campaign if BF3 is mostly focusing on overseas races.

[prestonparke]

Class B budget is not much cheaper than A class
as 1 team owner said to me it is not any cheaper to run a B class car than A class car
same tyre cost mechanic truck workshop costs
engine costs not any cheaper entry fees the same
parts wear n tear the same cost
accident damage is the same cost for replacement parts
the cost of the car is the least of the teams problems
there are 20 races 20 official test days
the cost to go to france or germany for a race is not that much higher than running in the UK
i know of 1 UK team running in Spanish F3 and has done for 4 years
what needs to happen is is fewer race days and test days to cut the costs down

[philippinemotorsports]

won't the series survive if it stays in their own country??? I mean, like the british formula 3, they have enough tracks to race on without the need to go overseas... and yes, fia or the governing body for open wheel single seaters, particularly for the formula 3 should do something about the lessening number of drivers, teams and not to mention the series' itself for the past couple of years...

[philippinemotorsports]

why does the Australian formula 3 series survived despite the series just being raced around Australia???

[prestonparke]

A series survives for a number of reasons some financial some political
There are some countries that hang on to a series past the time any accountant would terminate a poorly run/supported business because the ASN has no other top drawer single seater platform and they hope 8/9 cars running is enough to retain a grip on the ladder or FIA club membership
Another will be some $$ man has an interest and underwrites the championship in the form of title sponsor or pays for the track time to keep the lads running for another year or 2 in the hope people will join the grid

Ultimately when ever a race grid drops below double figures the writing is on the wall that the Grim reaper is coming hence why the Italians have had to merge with the German grid.

The French lost its national championship many years ago essentially emersed into the European c/ship and the top flight German teams went there too and 1 Division 2 German c/ship emerged for club men and teams with lower budgets.

The Italians have in the past gone to another country to run their cars when they assisted the Russian F3 series circa 2003/4.
The Asian F3 championship ran for 3 or 4 years and was essentially underwritten by a business man who bought some cars gave to drivers to run and paid for races to be staged and even the shipping when the cars left Philippines to race in China Malaysia

A lot has happened to keep the costs down cars running for 2 years went to a 3 year cycle now on 4 years and for UK that means a team can run older model car in B class and get another 4 years use from their ?130k rolling chassis investment. Uk has also brought in 6 tyres per weekend rule to cut down on tyre bill. However there are still some issues to be looked into

1 engine costs are high as they are all bespoke motors based on a production block and adding in the air restrictor means each tuner has an R & D programme to fund perform and then recoup on the motors they lease out and service
2 number of test days races that some series have increases the cost of a drivers budget he needs to find so the more miles a car runs the more engine rebuilds are needed more tyres used more fuel more wear n tear on the car and its components and the more a team has to travel to events and personnel required to run & maintain the cars
Bottom line is the cost need to be addressed and that can only happen by running the car less