Since the season 2009, "Art-line" participates in ATS Formel-3 Ñup. It is one of the most prestigious European series, uniting pilots from 18 countries and racing teams from seven countries of the world. To learn more about the series, please visit an official site formel3.de
“Our championship has completely changed,” said Bertram Schafer during the 25th German Formula 3 Championship season. “In the old days, in 1975, you arranged your life first. You learned a profession and made your own money to use it for starting a motor racing career.” Sponsors were nearly unheard-of, then. ‘Self’s the man’, was the motto in these days – on and off the track.
The year 2008 mainly stands for two factors: the new cooperation with ADAC and the variety of brands. The ATS Formula 3 Cup is going to hold the majority of its rounds in joint events with the series ADAC GT Masters and ADAC Formula Masters, resulting in even bigger publicity for the ATS Formula 3 Cup.
It doesn’t come by chance that the most successful racing drivers use to call the Formula 3 a crucial step on the motor-racing ladder. After all, it is regarded as the final examination on the way to a major single-seater racing career. A clean line is a must, avoiding going over the curbs vital – and you have to learn to defeat your opponents racing cars on the same performance level.
Despite both chassis and engine choice being free, the balance of power on the grid is wellbalanced – thanks to the regulations that have remained consistent for several decades. Minimum weight of the cars including drivers, air restrictors, limited use of tyres, control tyres, identical gearbox technology and strict scrutineering make for fair chances for everybody. The young drivers, however, have to cope with extreme demands. Reading and analysing the flood of data, for instance, has to be learned. Spring and damper travel, stabiliser adjustments, throttle-valve adjustments, brake pressure, shifting actions – everything is analysed and assessed.
In 2003, the International German Formula 3 Championship was turned into the Formula 3 Cup. Today, the cup’s exclusive wheel partner also represents a vital part of the series’ name that therefore is called ATS Formula 3 Cup. The facts and sporting regulations, however, have remained virtually untouched since 1975: the race weekends consist of practice sessions, thrilling qualifying sessions and two exciting and enthralling sprint races. The 2009 season features 18 of these 30-minute races that will be held on nine race weekends.
The 2-liter engines used in Formula 3 deliver 210bhp. This may look moderate at first glance, but taking a look at the technical data you will quickly realise that this assessment is totally wrong: the weight of a Formula 3 car amounts to just 550kg – including the driver. Consequently, the Formula 3 single-seaters are accelerated from 0 to 100kph in less than three seconds – and decelerated from 200kph to 0 in less than four. Their top speed amounts to some 270kph. Nonetheless, their cornering speed is even far more impressive. Thanks to the single-seaters’ extremely low centre of gravity and their sophisticated aerodynamics, they are virtually sucked to the track surface. At the end of the day you could say: the more corners, the faster the Formula 3. While cornering, the Formula drivers have to cope with lateral of up to four g, making their bodies weigh four times as much as usual. These performance data clearly confirm the public opinion: Who wants to make it to Formula 1 hast to succeed in Formula 3 first.
