Manama: History will be made at the FIA WEC Six Hours of Bahrain next weekend when Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) hosts for the very first time the world-renowned GP3 Series.
GP3 is an international single-seater championship that runs usually in support of Formula One Grands Prix.
It is a sister-series of GP2, with its talented core of young drivers often moving up the motorsport ladder to even bigger championships.
Five former GP3 drivers have secured a Formula One seat right after competing in GP3. They are Esteban Gutierrez, Daniil Kvyat, Valtteri Bottas, Jean-Eric Vergne and Carlos Sainz Jr.
GP3 cars feature Dallara chassis, six-cylinder AER engines, bespoke six-gear longitudinal Hewland gearboxes and Pirelli tyres. They can go to a top speed of 285km/h, and can accelerate from zero to 100km/h in 3.0 seconds.
Each GP3 round comprises one 45-minute practice, a 30-minute qualifying session, and two races – a feature race and a sprint race. Qualifying determines the grid for the feature, while the grid for the sprint will have the top eight finishers from the opening race in reverse order.
Eight international racing teams are competing in the current GP3 campaign, many of whom are also in GP2. The field includes ART Grand Prix, Carlin, Status Grand Prix, Arden International, Campos Racing, Trident, Jenzer Motorsport and Koiranen GP. Some GP3 teams run three cars in a race.
The 2015 GP3 season is the sixth of the series. It features nine rounds, with round eight being held as the maiden GP3 event in Sakhir.
It is taking place as part of a packed international race programme supporting the FIA WEC Six Hours of Bahrain on November 20 and 21. The other series backing the World Endurance Championship (WEC) at BIC will be GP2, the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Middle East and the India-based MRF Challenge.
Heading into the Bahrain round, Italian Luca Ghiotto of Trident and Frenchman Esteban Ocon of ART Grand Prix are in a heated battle for first place.
Ghiotto is the championship leader with 196 points, a mere two markers ahead of Ocon with 194 points. Ghiotto has won four times this season, winning the weekend’s feature race in Austria, Hungary and Russia while taking the sprint in Belgium.
Ocon has made it to the top of the podium just once in the season-opening race in Spain, but since the sprint of round three in Britain, has been the runner-up all the way until the last meeting in Russia – a remarkable string of nine straight podiums in second place.
Briton Emil Bernstorff of Arden is in a distant third place with 146 points, while ART’s German driver Marvin Kichhofer is fourth on 144 markers.
All four championship leaders are included on a 24-car provisional entry list for Bahrain. Each of the eight GP3 teams will be running three cars.
The rest of the field includes Alfonso Celis Jr of ART; Artur Janosz and Michele Beretta of Trident; Antonio Fuoco, Jann Mardenborough and Mitchell Gilbert of Carlin; Seb Morris, Alex Fontana and Sandy Stuvik of Status Grand Prix; Matevos Isaakyan, Jimmy Eriksson and Matthew Parry of Koiranen GP; Kevin Ceccon and Aleksander Bosak of Arden; Pal Varhug, Matheo Tuscher and Ralph Boschung of Jenzer Motorsport; and Alex Palou, Konstantin Tereshchenko and Zaid Ashkanani of Campos Racing.
Tickets to the FIA WEC Six Hours of Bahrain can be purchased at the BIC stand in Bahrain City Centre, online at www.bahraingp.com or by telephone by calling the BIC Hotline on 17-450000. Tickets cost just BD10 for the entire weekend of action. All those aged 15 and below can get in free.
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