Italia: Series Varano preview

Italian Formula 3 enters in the decisive part of the season

The summer break being concluded, Italian Formula 3 Championship returns on track this weekend at Varano de' Melegari for the fifth round of the season.

Four drivers belonging to as many different teams are currently involved in the title fight. The classification leader, Daniel Mancinelli (Team Ghinzani), thanks to his 85 points can enjoy a small advantage of four points on Cesar Ramos (BVM-Target), while Stephane Richelmi (Lucidi Motors) and Andrea Caldarelli (Prema Junior) respectively standing at 75 and 73 points will try in this event to get into the lead.

Among the rookies, the challenge appears to be restricted to Kevin Giovesi (JD Motorsport, 109 points) and Gabriel Chaves (Eurointernational, 101 points), but also Gianmarco Raimondo (Lucidi Motors, 75 points) could get back in the fight.

In terms of drivers' market, the decision by Alan Racing Team to stop its sportive programme has to be mentioned as the move to BVM-Target by Barret Mertins. RC Motorsport will be present with Andrea Roda, even if last minute negotiations could take the team to line a second Dallara up.

Protagonists' comments follow:

Daniel Mancinelli (Team Ghinzani):
"I exploited the summer break to relax a bit in sight of the two busy months ahead. I am hopeful for the weekend: collective tests in July gave us interesting data and I believe we will have the chance to do well with the new Ickx turn that is going to be a surprise for everyone".

Cesar Ramos (BVM-Target):
"My first part of the season has been certainly positive and my objective is to confirm this in the second part too, recovering the minimal gap that separates myself from the classification lead. After the latest tests at Varano I am sure our car will allow us to aim at the victory in this occasion too: the title fight is getting into the decisive part and I think that the challenge for the top place of the podium will include all the four drivers battling for the final success; it is going to be crucial to be ahead of all of them. Varano is a short but not easy circuit: there are several corners were it is possible to make the difference and I will try to exploit all my experience there".

Andrea Caldarelli (Prema Junior):
"The latest collective test made us identifying some setup improvements that should allow us to express ourselves at the highest levels of competitiveness during the weekend. The break charged me and the team and we are ready to face the second half of the season with great determination".

-source: italian f3