United_States_Formula_Three_Championship
United States Formula Three Championship
Formula Three championship contested in the United States and Canada 2000–2001
The United States Formula Three Championship was a short-lived Formula Three championship contested in the United States and Canada. Sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America,[1] the series lasted for two seasons, 2000 and 2001. All teams used Volkswagen engines tuned by Bertils Racing Engines.[2]
| Category | Formula Three |
|---|---|
| Country | United States, Canada |
| Inaugural season | 2000 |
| Folded | 2001 |
| Constructors | Dallara, Ralt |
| Engine suppliers | Volkswagen |
| Tyre suppliers | Avon |
| Last Drivers' champion |  Luciano Gomide |
| Last Teams' champion |  EuroInternational |
The series was plagued by low car counts; no more than 6 cars contested races in the inaugural season. In 2001, fields were bolstered by Formula Ford, Formula Continental, and even Sports 2000 and historic Formula 5000 cars, as no race had more than 3 Formula Three cars on the grid. 14 of the series' 19 races were won by Brazilian driver Luciano Gomide. A 2002 season was planned with 13 races, including a doubleheader supporting the 2002 United States Grand Prix, but was ultimately cancelled.[3]
The 2000 season was contested over 11 races at 6 race meetings. The schedule initially included two oval races at Indianapolis Raceway Park and Irwindale Speedway, but these were later cancelled.[4][5] The round at San Diego was a joint race with the Mexican Formula Three Championship, although the Mexican series ran with older, slower machinery.[6] Stuart Crow won the championship by 5 points over Luciano Gomide. Gomide joined the series after the first 4 rounds, and won pole and the race at the final 7 events on the calendar.
Schedule and results
| Rnd | Date | Track | Location | Pole position | Fastest race lap | Race winner | Winning team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | June 24 | Hallett Motor Racing Circuit |  Hallett, Oklahoma |
Stuart Crow |
Stuart Crow |
Adam Andretti |
Duesenberg Racing |
| 2 | June 25 | Adam Andretti |
Stuart Crow |
Stuart Crow |
Dave McMillan Racing | ||
| 3 | July 7 | Memphis Motorsports Park | Millington, Tennessee |
Stuart Crow |
Stuart Crow |
Stuart Crow |
Dave McMillan Racing |
| 4 | July 8 | Stuart Crow |
Stuart Crow |
Stuart Crow |
Dave McMillan Racing | ||
| 5 | August 19 | Circuit Ste-Croix |  Sainte-Croix, Quebec |
Luciano Gomide |
Luciano Gomide |
Luciano Gomide |
EuroInternational |
| 6 | August 20 | Luciano Gomide |
Luciano Gomide |
Luciano Gomide |
EuroInternational | ||
| 7 | August 27 | Watkins Glen International | Watkins Glen, New York |
Luciano Gomide |
Luciano Gomide |
Luciano Gomide |
EuroInternational |
| — | September 22 | Indianapolis Raceway Park | Clermont, Indiana |
Race cancelled | |||
| 8 | October 14 | Sears Point Raceway | Sonoma, California |
Luciano Gomide |
Luciano Gomide |
Luciano Gomide |
EuroInternational |
| 9 | October 15 | Luciano Gomide |
Luciano Gomide |
Luciano Gomide |
EuroInternational | ||
| — | October 28 | Irwindale Speedway | Irwindale, California |
Race cancelled | |||
| 10 | November 4 | Streets of San Diego | San Diego, California |
Luciano Gomide |
Luciano Gomide |
Luciano Gomide |
EuroInternational |
| 11 | November 5 | Luciano Gomide |
Luciano Gomide |
Luciano Gomide |
EuroInternational | ||
| [7] | |||||||
Points standings
| Pos | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 20 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
One bonus point was also awarded to the driver completing the fastest lap during the race.
| Pos | Driver | Team | Chassis | HAL | MEM | STC | WGL | SPT | SDG | Pts | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stuart Crow |
Dave McMillan Racing | Ralt F3/2000 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 152 |
| 2 | Luciano Gomide |
EuroInternational | Dallara F399 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 147 | ||||
| 3 | Adam Andretti |
Duesenberg Racing | Dallara F399 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 6 | DNS | 129 |
| 4 | George Frazier |
EuroInternational | Dallara F399 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 122 |
| 5 | Skip Weld |
Weldsports | Dallara F399 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | DNS | 5 | 3 | 99 |
| 6 | Paul Jenkins |
Pilette Speed Tradition | Dallara F399 | 4 | 3 | DNS | 6 | 4 | 38 | ||||||
| 7 |  Robert Skollenskog |
Pilette Speed Tradition | Dallara F399 | 2 | 5 | 15 | |||||||||
| 8 | Marcelo Gaffoglio |
Pilette Speed Tradition | Dallara F399 | 3 | DNS | 12 | |||||||||
| 9 | David Rosenblum |
Weldsports | Dallara F399 | 6 | 6 | 6 | |||||||||
| [8] | |||||||||||||||
An initial 13-race calendar was announced for the 2001 season,[9] however after losing their financial backing,[10] the series was re-arranged to a 15-race schedule with the addition of more rounds in Canada.[11] With low car counts eminent, the series considered using Formula Super Vee cars as a "Class B",[12] but instead Formula Ford and Formula Continental cars filled out fields. No more than three Formula 3 cars participated in any race; five of the nine races were contested only by the EuroInternational teammates Luciano Gomide and John C. Antonio. Gomide won all but one race and took the championship title.
Initial schedule
| Date | Track |
|---|---|
| April 22 | Phoenix International Raceway, Avondale, Arizona |
| May 20 | Mosport Park, Bowmanville, Ontario |
| June 10 | Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio |
| June 30/July 1 | Quebec City Street Course, Quebec City, Quebec |
| July 8 | TBA |
| September 23 | TBA |
| October 27/28 | Laguna Seca Raceway, Monterey, California |
| November 3/4 | Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas, Nevada |
| November | Streets of San Diego, San Diego, California |
| [9] | |
Schedule and results
| Rnd | Date | Track | Location | Pole position | Race winner | Winning team | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | May 20 | Mosport Park | Bowmanville, Ontario |
Luciano Gomide |
Luciano Gomide |
EuroInternational | |
| 2 | June 24 | Mosport Park | Bowmanville, Ontario |
Luciano Gomide |
Luciano Gomide |
EuroInternational | |
| 3 | July 29 | Watkins Glen International | Watkins Glen, New York |
Luciano Gomide |
Luciano Gomide |
EuroInternational | |
| — | August 5 | Circuit Trois-Rivières | Trois-Rivières, Quebec |
Race cancelled | |||
| 4 | August 19 | Mosport Park | Bowmanville, Ontario |
Luciano Gomide |
Luciano Gomide |
EuroInternational | |
| — | September 1 | Circuit Ste-Croix | Sainte-Croix, Quebec |
Race cancelled | |||
| — | September 2 | ||||||
| 5 | September 1 | Mosport Park | Bowmanville, Ontario |
John C. Antonio |
Race abandoned | ||
| 6 | September 2 | ? | Luciano Gomide |
EuroInternational | |||
| — | September 16 | Pocono Raceway | Long Pond, Pennsylvania |
Race cancelled due to the September 11 attacks | |||
| 7 | September 22 | Circuit Mont-Tremblant | Mont-Tremblant, Quebec |
Luciano Gomide |
Luciano Gomide |
EuroInternational | |
| 8 | September 23 | John C. Antonio |
Luciano Gomide |
EuroInternational | |||
| 9 | October 21 | Watkins Glen International | Watkins Glen, New York |
John C. Antonio |
John C. Antonio |
EuroInternational | |
| — | October 27 | Sears Point Raceway | Sonoma, California |
Race cancelled | |||
| — | October 28 | ||||||
| — | November 3 | Las Vegas Motor Speedway | Las Vegas, Nevada |
Race cancelled | |||
| — | November 4 | ||||||
| [13] | |||||||
Points standings
| Pos | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 10 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Pos | Driver | Team | Chassis | MOS | MOS | WGL | MOS | MOS | MTB | WGL | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Luciano Gomide |
EuroInternational | Dallara F399 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | NC | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 70 |
| 2 | John C. Antonio |
EuroInternational | Dallara F399 | 2 | 2 | 2 | DNS | NC | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 46 |
| 3 | Paul Dana |
Bertils Racing Engines | Dallara F399 | 2 | 6 | ||||||||
| 4= | B. J. Zacharias |
Olsson Engineering | Dallara F399 | 3 | 4 | ||||||||
| 4= | Jacek Mucha |
Orion | Ralt F3/2000 | NC | 3 | 4 | |||||||
| [14] | |||||||||||||
- "SCCA Pro Racing to sanction U.S. Formula Three". Press release. 18 August 1999. Archived from the original on 29 January 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
- Örnerdal, Stefan, ed. (11 August 2010). "Formula 3 2000 Championship Tables". Formula2.net. Archived from the original on 17 June 2010. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
- "2002 USF3 tentative schedule". Press release. 5 December 2001. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
- "US-F3 Schedule Announced". Press release. 10 December 1999. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
- "Irwindale event cancelled". Press release. 17 September 2000. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
- "Largest filed heads to San Diego GP". Press release. 31 October 2000. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
- Zenger, Michael (ed.). "Race Calendar: US Formula 3 - Season 2000". Speedsport Magazine. Archived from the original on 7 January 2011. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
- Zenger, Michael (ed.). "Complete quali- and race-results: US Formula 3 - Season 2000". Speedsport Magazine. Archived from the original on 29 September 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
- "US-F3 2001 race schedule". Press release. 4 December 2000. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
- "Series looses backing". 8 February 2001. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
- "United States Formula Three 2001 schedule". Press release. 21 June 2001. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
- "USF3 to consider Super Vee as 'Group B'". 11 January 2001. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 24 June 2012.
- Zenger, Michael (ed.). "Race Calendar: US Formula 3 - Season 2001". Speedsport Magazine. Archived from the original on 29 September 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
- Zenger, Michael (ed.). "Complete quali- and race-results: US Formula 3 - Season 2001". Speedsport Magazine. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2012.