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Rising
British star Jon Lancaster bids to become the best Formula 3 driver in
Europe when he takes on the cream of
the European competition at this weekend’s RTL GP Masters of Formula 3 in
Zolder. The non-championship
event attracts the top young drivers from across the continent all eager
to follow in the wheel tracks of some of the past winners.
The
first Masters of Formula 3 race was held in 1991 and won by one David
Coulthard. Since then, the prestigious title has been held by only four
other British drivers including Lewis Hamilton in his championship-winning
2005 season. This year Jon
starts as one of the favourites to uphold British honours but looks to the
event as a challenge rather than a pressure.
“I
like one-off events like this. In some ways there’s a lot less pressure on
a driver than when you’re competing in a championship as there are no
points at stake, it’s a straight shoot-out for victory. I’ll push as hard
as I can in qualifying to try and get a good grid position and in the race
I’ll be going all out for victory. There is only one winner at the Masters
and I think I have as good a chance as any to come home with that
trophy.”
The
Masters of Formula 3 pits the best of European competition against the
best of British but with all drivers running on Kumho tyres, those
utilised in the Euroseries, success has often gone the way of the European
runners. This year though it
is expected that the compound of tyre used for the Masters of F3 will be
more suitable for both as the organisers bid to make the race more
equal.
For 19
year-old Jon, he doesn’t see this as being a problem and remains confident
of just having the edge over his British rivals. “I understand Kumho are
producing a new compound for the weekend which should equalise
things. However, I’m pretty
sure they will still favour the Euroseries runners as we’re all used to
competing on that tyre,” said Jon.
“But
this weekend will not just be about who has the advantage with the rubber
we use. The event attracts
the best drivers in Europe, so in addition to the
Euroseries drivers, we’ll also be competing against some of the best
British runners.
“Most
of them are already race winners in the
UK series and so of course
they’ll be quick and the competition will be fierce. Probably one of the
strongest challenges from the domestic championship will be Brendon
Hartley; he was fourth there last year and has a lot of experience.”
The
BRDC Superstar, in only his second season out of karts and in his first
year in F3, recently took his first ever F3 win in
Germany with a faultless lights to
flag performance. Buoyed by that result, the Multiflight-back teenager
heads to Belgium full of confidence and insists
he will treat it just like any other race.
“The
Masters of Formula 3 is the race that every F3 driver wants to win. But at the end of the day, it’s
just another motor race.
We’ve had the pace pretty much all season and I know the circuit so
I think I have a good chance to come away with a strong result. The ART
Grand Prix team has worked hard to give me a great car all season and I’ve
got the pace and the confidence to know victory is
possible.”
Jon
will fly out to Belgium today (Thursday) and take part
in two one-hour free practice sessions scheduled to start at 13.05 and
15.15 on Friday. On Saturday
morning, there will be two pre-qualifying sessions, split into odd and
even numbers which will determine groups for the qualifying in the
afternoon. The RTL GP Masters of F3 race will take place at 14.00 on
Sunday.
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