A little faster in F3000

[Steven]

hehe seems like some more speed will be available in the Euro F3000:

Zytek continued the development of their new chassis with another highly successful test at the Italian circuit of Misano last Thursday 18 and Friday 19 December 2003.

Initially, on day one Enrico familiarised himself with the all new Zytek electric paddle shift system, but soon completed a best time of 1 minute 18.6 on old tyres. Further developments were carried out overnight on the car and the following day Enrico covered the track in a stunning 1 minute 17.4. Over the two days the Italian driver completed 50 laps saying the car was "mega". He was delighted with the initial feeling of the car saying the engine and the paddle shift gear-change were very impressive, and went on to add that there is a lot more time to come from the car. To compare times Enrico then stepped into a Euro 3000 car and did a 1 minute 21.2 - some 3.8 seconds slower than the Zytek package.

Zytek will continue its test program in January 2004.

They might catch up with F1 that way

[Reca]

On the current issue of an Italian weekly there’s an article about the test with Enrico Toccacelo first impressions.
The car, called 03H, is designed by Tim Holloway and David Leach. The chassis is an evolution of the Reynard adopted in F.Nippon in 2001. The engine at the moment is a V8 Zytek, 3500 cc with 575 hp (about 100 hp more than an Euro3000 Lola B99), they expect to reach 600 hp. Anyway the definitive engine will be a Renault V10, Mecachrome is working on it.
Enrico said :
“Obviously the engine is terrific... it pushes hard in the whole rpm range and the reaction to any throttle movement is immediate. Also the power delivery is smooth, it makes easy to drive the car. Talking about the chassis I had a good feeling in slow corners, you can carry lot of speed in and typically you can be faster than with a F3000 [Lola B2/50]. The most impressive feature anyway is that the car is very easy on tyres [same Avon as in F3000], is spite of the huge power, tyre performance is still constant after several laps, with the Lola after a few laps the traction isn’t so good [...] We are currently using a 5-speed gearbox and not the definitive 6 speed, and the gear ratios weren’t the right ones for Misano. It was basically little more than a shakedown. I’ve worked a lot with gearbox control ‘strategies’, it was first time I drove with a similar system and it’s exceptional.”

[SpeedTech]

Guy's you might find this article some what interesting

New Formula GP2 Series
To replace F3000 Championship from 2005

"An agreement has been reached at Formula One events to replace F3000 Championship from 2005 with the new Formula GP2 Series, which will take place at the European Formula One events.

This will be a stepping-stone into Formula One. The chassis and the engine will be more sophisticated than the current F3000 and the engine will produce 600 HP. This formula is supported by Renault with the chassis produced by Dallara and the engine to be designed, built and serviced by Renault.

Bernie Ecclestone has been helpful in this new formula and said that this will be a very good way for drivers, engineers and mechanics into Formula One.

As with F3000, the FIA will be the technical and sporting regulator of the series as they are in Formula One."


Press release
Formula GP2 Series

Direct from F1-live.com

[Reca]

Thanks Speedtech I’ve read it too in some magazines. It looks like made in Italy chassis and Renault engines are very close to get the monopoly in the lower spec series.
Clever move by Dallara to substitute Lola in the F1 support champ since they’re just starting to lose, exactly because of Lola-Dome, the de facto monopoly they’ve enjoyed for years in F3.
Anyway I’m still perplexed about the spec series, I’m persuaded that a good driver should be also a good tester and to force them to grow always using chassis/engine where possibility of personalization are limited reduces the importance of ability in car development that is fundamental for F1. Without considering that it also reduces the technical interest for the champ.