Jakarta, 27th June 2013 - By the time he arrives at the Zandvoort circuit for his next race, Indonesian Sean Gelael will have gone five weeks without racing – five weeks that have probably been his most frustrating of the year!
But the wait for Europe’s leading junior racers will be over on the first weekend of July, when they descend upon the Dutch venue for the continent’s most important Formula 3 race of the season: the Masters of F3.
First held in 1991, the Masters traditionally brought together the talents from Europe’s leading F3 championships: the British, German, French and Italian. Nowadays, nearly all the competitors come from the FIA F3 European Championship, but that does not mean it is any less competitive!
A full and representative field of the stars of 2013, including 16-year-old Sean and his Double R Racing team-mates, have entered the race on the historic Zandvoort circuit.
Surrounded by sand dunes and just across the road from the North Sea coast, the track hosted the Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix between 1950 and ’85. F1 may no longer go to Zandvoort, but great promotion from the organisers – as well as the track’s proximity to Amsterdam and other important Dutch conurbations – means that the Masters of F3 attracts enthusiastic crowds of up to 100,000. Certainly, it is the F3 race that the team truckies most hate getting out of!
Gelael will get his first taste of the famous circuit when he drives his Dallara-Mercedes in free practice on Friday 5th July, before qualifying on Saturday and then the race on Sunday 7th July.
“Everybody likes to do well in this one,” said Sean’s Double R Racing team boss and engineer Anthony ‘Boyo’ Hieatt. “It’s got a great history and is one of the blue-riband F3 races, along with the Macau Grand Prix in November.”
The Masters of F3 organisers have a contract for the competitors to use Kumho tyres, which mean drivers all gain experience of another different set of characteristics to bolster their learning and knowledge. “This is one of the great things about Formula 3,” said Hieatt. “In one season the drivers will get experience of four different types of tyre – the Hankook in European F3, the Cooper in British F3, the Kumho in the Masters and the Yokohama at Macau – so that when they carry on up the racing ladder towards Formula 1 they will become far more adaptable.
“The Kumho means that the driving style is more stop-and-go than on the Hankook and Cooper. With the Kumho, it is important to brake really late, slow it down and then get the car turned in, whereas with the others you can brake earlier but still be on the brakes when you turn in. We are quite happy with the tyres, so we have no problems with what to expect from the weekend.”
Unfortunately, this is yet another circuit that neither Gelael nor his Double R Racing team-mates have any knowledge of, whereas most of the rest of the field have already raced at Zandvoort or tested there.
“Virtually everyone else knows the circuit already,” added Hieatt, “so it will be very tough for all of our drivers. But on the other hand this is important experience for when we come back to Zandvoort, for a round of the European championship at the end of September.
“Once again we are in a situation where we go into a weekend where the most important thing for Sean is to maximise his track time and gain experience. We must not forget he is the youngest driver in the field and has done the fewest races. At Zandvoort, it will be tough to even make progress in the race, as it is quite narrow and that makes it very tough to overtake.”
But for Gelael, at least the frustration of that five-week break will be over. Now he is returning to gain moreracing experience, with Zandvoort representing the first of five racing events over the next seven weekends. Let the learning recommence! (marcus/arl)
