Does British F3 have a future?
A cut-down calendar and strong European grid has cast doubt on the viability of a British F3 Championship. Marcus Simmons talks to the major players to find out what happens next
The British Formula 3 International Series is set to kick off its truncated 2013 calendar at Silverstone on May 25/26, and indications are that the decision by promoter SRO and teams group FOTA to change the format could bear fruit.
AUTOSPORT spoke to all the teams competing in the Formula 3 European Championship, and there appears to be interest in competing in British F3 even from some of those that have traditionally had little to do with the UK series.
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Marcus Simmons is the Deputy Editor of Autosport magazine. As a child he was a regular on the chalk banks of Thruxton – hence his unhealthy obsession with 1970s Formula 2 and F3 – before he became an MSA timekeeper at the age of 17. At 19, his reporting debut for Motoring News arguably overshadowed Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ goal as the sporting moment of June 1986, and he joined the staff in 1990 after graduating from his degree course in Plymouth. A parallel Formula First career – which was as incident-packed as his childhood exploits in show-jumping and hunter trials – finished when he wrote off his car and put himself in hospital in 1991.
Marcus moved to Autosport in the summer of 1996. Since then he has had two stints as a freelancer and a brief spell as editor of Motor Sport magazine, during which the revered green cover was revived, before he rejoined Autosport in 2008. He lives in Teddington with his wife (who, gratifyingly, grew up within earshot of Castle Combe), daughter, stepson, dog, cat and guitars, and additionally has an adult daughter and stepson.
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