JapanThe2006 Formula 3 Euro Series season was the fourth championship year of Europe’s premierFormula Three series. As in previous years, there were ten rounds – each with two races – held at a variety of European circuits. Each weekend consisted of one 60-minute practice session and one qualifying session, followed by one c.110 km race and one c.80 km race. In a revised qualifying system that used only one session, the starting order for race 2 was determined by the finishing order of race 1, with the top eight positions reversed.
2006 saw the Euro Series make its debut at three venues:Brands Hatch in the UK, theCircuit de Catalunya near Barcelona in Spain, andLe Mans. This was the first time that rounds had been held in Britain and Spain.
A number of regulatory changes took place prior to the 2006 season. Mid-season testing was heavily restricted to a maximum of 10 days per driver/car, with no testing at race venues, leaving teams and drivers to make the most of the race weekend test sessions. The qualifying session for race 2 was dropped in favour of a result-based reverse grid system. The finishing order of race 1 decided the grid for race 2, with the top eight finishers reversed. Chassis specifications of between two and four years old (from 2002–2004) were permitted for the first time, with the creation of theDrivers' Trophy title. Eligibility for this award was restricted to drivers who were not more than 22 years old.[1]
AfterLewis Hamilton's domination of the 2005 season, the 2006 championship battle was considerably closer. The title was won byScotsmanPaul di Resta, who ended the year 11 points ahead of Germany'sSebastian Vettel. For much of the season, di Resta and Vettel were exchanging the points lead, but the German's focus wavered towards the end of the year.BMW-Sauber's motorsport directorMario Theissen attributed this to the busy schedule that Vettel undertook as his team's test driver in the last three Grands Prix of the2006 F1 season.[2] Other drivers worthy of note includedKamui Kobayashi, who finished on the podium twice on the way to winning the Rookie Cup, and race winnerKazuki Nakajima, whose performances attracted a testing contract withWilliams.
Not surprisingly, the two main championship contenders were team-mates atASM Formule 3, the French-based team that has dominated the Euro Series for the last three seasons with three Drivers' and Teams' Championship titles in succession. 2006 saw another improvement in form from Manor Motorsport – a former multiple champion team in British F3. With Japan's Kohei Hirate and the experiencedEsteban Guerrieri, it was frequently ASM's closest challenger and finished 2nd in the Teams' Championship standings. This year, Manor was no longer the sole British team in the Euroseries – it was joined by entries from Hitech Racing and Fortec Motorsport at Hockenheim (round 1) and Brands Hatch (round 4).
With only one race win for an Opel-powered car – from a reverse-grid pole position – it was another season of domination by the HWA-built Mercedes engine.Dallara was the de facto sole supplier of chassis, with the Signature SLC project on indefinite hold and the Mygale chassis still yet to race in this series.
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Prema Powerteam's third entry was taken over by Italy's Paulo Maria Nocera for four rounds, starting at the Nürburgring. He in turn was replaced by Brazil's Roberto Streit at the final round of the season. Bruno Rudolf Fechner started five races in SMS Seyffarth Motorsport's #44 entry, but was substituted by fellow German Dominik Schraml in round 3 at Oschersleben. The #44 car was not present at every round. Schraml made a one-off return at the Norisring, driving aDallara-Opel for FS Motorsport. Kevin Fank's #42 SMS Seyffarth Motorsport entry returned at the Norisring in the hands ofGina Maria Adenauer before it, too, failed to make another appearance. Like the drivers that they replaced, Schraml and Adenauer were eligible for theDrivers' Trophy. Julien Abelli, of Janiec Racing, did not make any appearances until the Le Mans round.
In round 5 at the Norisring, F3 rookieNatacha Gachnang of Switzerland drove a second entry for Jo Zeller Racing. She also competed in rounds 6, 9, and 10. In theF3 Masters at Zandvoort,ATS F3 Cup team Van Amersfoort Racing made a one-off appearance with two cars for its Cup regulars, Dominik Muermans andRécardo Bruins Choi.
| Round | Circuit/Location | Country | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | R1 | Hockenheimring |  Germany | 8 April |
| R2 | 9 April | |||
| 2 | R1 | EuroSpeedway Lausitz | Germany | 29 April |
| R2 | 30 April | |||
| 3 | R1 | Motorsport Arena Oschersleben | Germany | 20 May |
| R2 | 21 May | |||
| 4 | R1 | Brands Hatch |  United Kingdom | 1 July |
| R2 | 2 July | |||
| 5 | R1 | Norisring,Nuremberg | Germany | 22 July |
| R2 | 23 July | |||
| 6 | R1 | Nürburgring | Germany | 19 August |
| R2 | 20 August | |||
| 7 | R1 | Circuit Park Zandvoort |  Netherlands | 2 September |
| R2 | 3 September | |||
| 8 | R1 | Circuit de Catalunya |  Spain | 23 September |
| R2 | 24 September | |||
| 9 | R1 | Bugatti Circuit,Le Mans |  France | 14 October |
| R2 | 15 October | |||
| 10 | R1 | Hockenheimring | Germany | 28 October |
| R2 | 29 October | |||
TheDrivers' Trophy is restricted to drivers who are not more than 22 years old, using chassis specifications that are 2 to 4 years old.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | PP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race 1 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Race 2 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
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† — Drivers did not finish the race, but were classified as they completed over 90% of the race distance.
The effects of the new reverse-grid system – which put the 8th-placed finisher from race 1 on pole for race 2 – can be seen clearly in this chart. 50% of the race 2 pole sitters went on to win, while there was only one double winner (Vettel in round 6) and no other race 1 winner even reached the podium in race 2.
Rookie drivers are only eligible for theRookie Cup title if they have not previously competed in a national or international Formula 3 championship.
| Pos | Driver | HOC1 | LAU | OSC | BRH | NOR | NÜR | ZAN | CAT | LMS | HOC2 | Pts | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kamui Kobayashi | 6 | 5 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 5 | Ret | 5 | Ret | DNS | 14 | Ret | 9 | 119 |
| 2 |  Jonathan Summerton | Ret | 11 | 4 | 7 | 17 | Ret | 12 | 10 | 3 | 13 | 24 | 16 | 6 | 17 | Ret | Ret | 2 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 107 |
| 3 | Tim Sandtler | 15 | 22 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 17 | Ret | 22 | 19 | 9 | 13 | 9 | 13 | 6 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 15 | 18 | 15 | 104 |
| 4 |  João Urbano | 11 | 9 | 10 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 19 | 24 | 8 | Ret | 53 | ||||||||||
| Pos | Driver | HOC1 | LAU | OSC | BRH | NOR | NÜR | ZAN | CAT | LMS | HOC2 | Pts | ||||||||||
| Team | Points | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ASM Formule 3 | 197 |
| 2 | Manor Motorsport | 147 |
| 3 | Signature-Plus | 91 |
| 4 | ASL Mücke Motorsport | 69 |
| 5 |  HBR Motorsport | 42 |
| 6 |  Jo Zeller Racing | 18 |
| 7 |  Bas Leinders Junior Racing Team | 16 |
| 8 | Hitech Racing | 11 |
| 9 |  Prema Powerteam | 7 |
| 10 | Fortec Motorsport | 2 |
| Nation | Points | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japan | 124 |
| 2 |  United States | 100 |
| 3 | Great Britain | 90 |
| 4 | Germany | 89 |
| 5 |  Argentina | 56 |
| 6 | France | 53 |
| 7 | Netherlands | 38 |
| 8 | Switzerland | 32 |
| 9 |  Monaco | 12 |
| 10 |  Brazil | 4 |
| 11 | Portugal | 1 |
