With the merger of the F3 Euroseries championship winning team ASM, with two time champions in the GP2 series, ART back in February of 2007, it can now be confirmed that both teams will race under the ART banner effective immediately.

With ART Grand prix winning the GP2 crown in the first two years in the sports history and ASM having an extraordinary record in F3, including multiple championships in the Euroseries and International events, the culmination of these two great entities will make a stronger force and adopting just one name was a necessary progression.

Frédéric Vasseur:

“To use two different names, ASM and ART, for the same company, with the same people working under the same roof did not make sense anymore, ART which is involved in the GP2 Series since its creation and ASM which won F3 Euro Series drivers and team titles the last four years, have merged at the beginning of the year. It?s a success and we go forward by using just one name from now on: ART.”

Nicolas Todt:

“It is more logical to use only the one name for all our activities, which will make it possible to avoid any confusion and to give the company a stronger image. Therefore, all our new projects will be done under the name of ART.”

ART is proud to announce its new driver line-up for the 2008 F3 Euro Series championship. Nico Hülkenberg, who finished third in 2007 with the stable, will be joined by James Jakes who finished 5th, Jules Bianchi and Jon Lancaster.

James’s first season in the F3 EuroSeries convinced ART that he had the experience, the technical knowledge and the talent to be a valued member of the team and to add his name to the team’s strong tradition.

Jules and Jon respectively dominated the Formula Renault 2.0 France and the Eurocup respectively and represent the future with ART wanting to unite the blossoming of these two future talents.

Frédéric Vasseur: I wanted two drivers in their second season in F3 Euro Series because we’ll have to handle the new car in the best and fastest way. Nico had an exceptional season in 2007 and James gave us excellent technical feedback during recent private testing. Jules and Jon easily defeated their adversaries in Formula Renault and are logical choices for ART.

Drivers from GP2, Formula Three, Touring Cars and even motorbike racers will gather at Rye House on Sunday for an event which is raising money for the Cancer Research charity.

British F3 and F3 Euro Series champions Marko Asmer and Romain Grosjean are two of the high-profile names attending, while World Touring Car Championship race winners Alain Menu and Rob Huff are also competing.

Event organiser Rick Osborn said: “What’s great is that not only is the driver line-up populated by a variety of nationalities, but also that many of the drivers are currently in fine form in their respective championships.

“Marko Asmer and Romain Grosjean who have just won the British and European F3 championships, plus Mika Kallio (250cc MotoGP) and Javier Villa GP2) are stars of the future in the two and four wheeled world.

“Throw in the experienced and popular hands of Alain Menu and Tim Sugden and it should make for a fantastic day of racing.”

More information on Sunday’s event can be found on the event’s website.

Driver Line-up:

• Marko Asmer - British F3
• Sam Bird – British F3
• Riki Christodoulou – UK Formula Renault
• Dan Clarke – Champcars
• Jonny Cocker – British GT
• Chaz Davies – MotoGP
• Thor-Christian Ebbesvik – Spanish F3
• Maro Engel – British F3
• Romain Grosjean – European F3
• Matt Hamilton – Formula Palmer Audi
• Ben Hanley – World Series Renault
• Chris Harris – British Speedway
• Sebastien Hohenthal – British F3
• Rob Huff – WTCC
• James Jakes – European F3
• Stephen Jelley – British F3
• Mika Kallio – MotoGP 250
• Jonathan Kennard – British F3
• Jon Lancaster – French Formula Renault
• Katherine Legge – Champcar
• Stacey McMahon – Australian 125cc
• Alain Menu – WTCC
• Atte Mustonen – British F3
• Alexandre Premat – DTM
• Bradley Smith – MotoGP 125
• Tim Sugden – Sports cars
• Henry Surtees – Formula BMW
• Laura Tillett – European Karting
• Darren Turner – BTCC
• Javier Villa – GP2

While Jarvis led all the way from lights to flag to claim the coveted win in the prestigious event, there were quite a lot of position fights further down in the field. Yelmer Buurman (Manor Motorsport), who had started sixth and looked set for a good result on his second participation in Macau, was sidelined very early after a wheel had come off his car on the opening lap. For a while, Franck Mailleux (Manor Motorsport) was the best-placed driver from the Formula 3 Euro Series, running in eighth place, but on lap seven, he hit the barrier at Moorish Hill. After that, the safety-car was deployed for three laps. In the remaining five laps after racing resumed, Grosjean and Mortara continued their remarkable recovery and both made it into the top ten.

Oliver Jarvis (Team Reckless TOM’s): “Winning this race 25 years after Ayrton Senna means a lot to me, especially having won both races. Coming to Mandarin in the lead was important and so I did. After that, I was able to drive victory home.”

James Jakes (Manor Motorsport): “I was sixth here last year, so it is fair to say that I had expected a little bit more from this weekend than only a seventh place. Basically, we have been struggling all weekend and were around tenth place in almost every session. The main problem was lack of top speed.”

Romain Grosjean (ASM Formule 3): “Finishing eighth after starting 21st is not bad at all, is it? At the start, I could already make up quite a few places and my re-start after the safety-car intervention was good as well. The car was very good, although sometimes I struggled a bit in a few corners.”

Edoardo Mortara (Signature Plus): “Had it not been for my mistake yesterday, I could have had a much better result here, but the great recovery I had finishing tenth after having started 26th is something I am proud of. Sometimes, I overtook three, four drivers a lap. I really enjoyed it!”

The street races at Nuremberg’s Norisring (D) and in Pau (F) represent special highlights for the young drivers. Furthermore, the Formula 3 Euro Series will race on the Formula 1 tracks Hockenheimring (D), Circuit de Catalunya (Barcelona, E) and Nürburgring (D). The other race weekends will be held at Zandvoort (NL), Brands Hatch (GB), Mugello (I) and the rich in tradition Le Mans circuit (France). Hockenheim traditionally represents the venue of both season opener and season finale.

For the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, Nico Rosberg, Adrian Sutil and Kazuki Nakajima, the Formula 3 Euro Series represented the stepping stone to Formula One. They all received a GP driver or test driver deal at the pinnacle of motor racing, following their successes achieved in the world’s most competitive young-gun series. At the same time, Bruno Spengler, Paul di Resta, Jamie Green and Alexandros Margaritis were signed by Mercedes-Benz for DTM. Since the creation of the Formula 3 Euro Series, a total of 21 drivers made it straight to Formula 1 or DTM, from there – more than from any other series worldwide.

The 2008 Formula 3 Euro Series race calendar

• 11th to 13th April Hockenheim (D) with DTM
• 02nd to 04th May Mugello (I) with DTM
• 30th May to 01st June Pau (F) with WTCC
• 27th to 29th June Norisring (D) with DTM
• 11th to 13th July Zandvoort (NL) with DTM
• 25th to 27th July Nürburgring (D) with DTM
• 29th to 31st August Brands Hatch (GB) with DTM
• 19th to 21st September Barcelona (E) with DTM
• 03rd to 05th October Le Mans (F) with DTM
• 24th to 26th October Hockenheim (D) with DTM

The British driver had started the race towards the back of the field due to his retirement from the first race of the weekend, and he had passed several cars in the early stages before an attempt to make another pass went wrong in the stadium section.

“It was my mistake, I was just too optimistic,” said a philosophical Jakes. “It’s been a disappointing way to end the season, because these races don’t reflect the year we’ve had.”

Jakes could at least take some consolation from his top-five finish in the championship, and the 20-year-old finished the season as the highest placed driver for Manor Motorsport.

“It’s been really good for me competing in this championship this year,” he added. “I’ve learned a lot, and I’ve improved so much in so many different areas. I think I’m a more complete driver now.”

James will now turn his focus to the prestigious Macau Formula Three Grand Prix which takes place in November, where he is likely to be one of the frontrunners on his second visit to the daunting street circuit.

“We should go well at Macau,” he said. “We were quick there last year but I messed up in qualifying. Manor always has a good car there, so I’m really looking forward to getting back there.”

Swiss driver Sebastien Buemi won the final race of the season at Hockenheim, ahead of Edoardo Mortara and 2007 champion Romain Grosjean.

The British driver had worked his way back into contention for a top eight finish after he lost ground at the start of the race, and after chasing down Dani Clos for several laps, Jakes was caught out by the Spaniard’s early braking point, and he ran into the back of him.

The collision brought an end to the 20-year-old’s recovery drive, which would have earned him pole position for Sunday’s race if he had been able to get ahead of Clos.

“It was my mistake really, I just got caught out by how early he braked,” said Jakes. “He was probably braking at the same point every lap, but I had only just caught him and I was trying to make the pass before he started defending too much.”

The accident happened in the Mercedes Arena section of the track, where Jakes was lining up to make a pass into the tight left-hander.

“He had moved to the middle of the track, and he stamped on the brakes just as I was switching to the inside to try to pass him,” Jakes added.

“It’s unfortunate, because I think if we had been in some clear track during that race we would have been one of the fastest cars out there.”

The Manor Motorsport driver will start 21st for the final race of the season on Sunday, and he is hoping to finish on a high with a charge through the field.

“Fifth place in the championship looks pretty secure now, so I just want to go out there and have fun,” he said. “It’s going to be a great fight, and I’m going out there to see how many cars I can overtake. It should be pretty exciting.”

The British driver, who had been one of the pacesetters during Friday morning’s practice session, was disappointed with his qualifying effort, but he believes that he will be a contender at the front of both races this weekend.

“Eighth is ok, but we lost a bit of time to everyone compared to the morning,” said Jakes. “We just didn’t seem to get the best out of the tyres.”

The 20-year-old is in prime position to take advantage of the reverse grid rule for the second race of the weekend, where the top eight finishers from race one are reversed for Sunday’s race.

“We’ve got good pace here, so I think we can get strong results in both races,” added Jakes. “The whole team has been pretty quick this weekend, so if we can get the tyres working well for us then we should be able to pick up some good points.”

Jakes will be looking to consolidate his top-five status in the championship this weekend, and the Manor Motorsport driver will be pleased to be two places ahead of his team-mate Franck Mailleux, who is five points behind him in the standings.

Pole position for Saturday’s race went to championship leader Romain Grosjean, and the ASM driver will be hoping to seal the title in the first race of the weekend.

While GP2 driver Bruno Senna is the most high-profile name on the list, more drivers have been announced following the confirmation of the Brazilian’s seat with Raikkonen Robertson Racing back in September.

Front-runners from the three major F3 championships in the world will be present, and the grid will definitely feature the champions from Britain and the F3 Euro Series.

British F3 champion Marko Asmer will take part in the event for the third time, while Euro Series title contenders Romain Grosjean and Sebastien Buemi are both confirmed for the event.

Buemi will partner Senna at Raikkonen Robertson though, rather than compete with his regular team Mucke Motorsport.

Oliver Jarvis will represent the Japanese championship, where he has been a front-runner with his Toyota-powered Dallara.

Other names confirmed for the race include Yelmer Buurman and James Jakes for Manor Motorsport, and class rookies Sam Bird and Niall Breen with Carlin Motorsport.

Autosport.com understands that Euro Series front-runners ASM will only take three of their four cars to the race, enabling them to keep one car in Europe for testing purposes.

With Grosjean, Nico Hulkenberg and Kamui Kobayashi all confirmed for the event, Tom Dillman is likely to miss out unless he switches teams.

SOURCE : AUTOSPORT.com By Glenn Freeman Thursday, October 11th 2007, 11:51 GMT

The British driver had moved into second place from his starting position of fourth on the first lap, but as he tried to apply pressure on race leader and eventual winner Renger van der Zande, he went off at the first corner.

There was still a chance of points for Jakes though, but he lost out at the same corner later in the race to championship contender Sebastien Buemi, who took the final point in sixth place.

“It’s really disappointing, because we were heading for a great result,” said Jakes. “But it was my mistake. I was pushing too hard. The car was taking a while to come in, so it probably would have finished the race really strong, but after going off my race didn’t really have any rhythm so it was tough.”

A decision by the stewards to exclude Romain Grosjean from the first race of the weekend means that Jakes has picked up an extra point from Saturday’s race, and he now holds fourth position in the championship with two rounds remaining.

The series heads to Nogaro in France, and Jakes is optimistic that he can perform well at the track after recent tests there.

“The tests went quite well there, and I think the whole team will be quick,” he said. “We could have done with having a few more points this weekend for the sake of the championship, but I think we are going to finish with two strong events at Nogaro and then Hockenheim.”

The British driver had started in the middle of the field due to an accident in qualifying, but he made his way through the order in treacherous conditions to move back into fourth place in the prestigious championship.

Jakes made the majority of his places up at the start, as he found traction while several of his rivals struggled to control wheelspin on the soaked track.

He made his way past Edoardo Piscopo under braking for Turn 1 to snatch sixth place on lap 10, and although championship leader Romain Grosjean was able to take the place a few laps later, Jakes moved back up to fifth as others made mistakes ahead of him.

The 20-year-old was happy with his race though, as he had scored more points than he expected he would.

“We’ve got to be happy with that,” he said. “The car was quick, and we’ve scored good points. We’re now tied in fourth in the championship again, and we’ve got a good chance to take the place tomorrow.

The reverse grid rules in the Euro Series mean that Jakes will start fourth for the second race of the weekend, which takes place on Sunday morning, and the Manor Motorsport driver is optimistic that he can finish the weekend off with another good result.

“We’re set up well to get a good points haul from this weekend now,” he added. “I don’t mind if it’s wet or dry tomorrow, because the car is quick in all conditions. Now we’ve just got to wait and see what we can do.”

Italian driver Edoardo Mortara won the race on Saturday, ahead of Nico Hulkenberg and Grosjean, who extended his championship lead as Sebastien Buemi retired from the race after making an error at the first corner.