Reborn series set to nurture future F1 stars

With motorsport hit hard by the global recession, Brands Hatch provided a light at the end of a dark tunnel with the launch of the reformed Formula Two Championship this week.

Circuit owner Jonathan Palmer unveiled the new F2 car and the series details to the media at Brands Hatch’s season launch. The series was popular during the 70’s and 80’s, with Palmer winning the penultimate drivers’ title, but has a new look for its revival after 25 years.

On paper the car it is not on the same level as the machinery used in GP2, the current Formula One feeder series, but the closer you look at the championship the more it makes sense.

The 24 drivers will compete in an identical car designed by the Williams Formula One team at circuits all over the world. The prize for the champion is an F1 test with Frank Williams’ outfit.

One of the most attractive factors is the cost. To complete a season in the series will take £200,000 which may seem a lot, but in motorsport terms it is peanuts – half that of a full season in Formula 3 and a quarter of the price for a GP2.

The credit crunch has already claimed several victims, including F1’s Super Aguri team, Kawasaki in Moto GP and Subaru’s World Rally team. In the harsh climate the series to be run by Palmer and his MotorSport Vision team could be the saviour of many Formula One hopefuls.

With uncertainty over the length of the current recession, the series could be an extremely clever move by Palmer and he believes it will become the new breeding ground for the next wave of Lewis Hamiltons.

With the first race in Valencia two months away, the championship is certainly something to keep an eye on this season.

Looking ahead to the 2009 season at Brands Hatch the usual suspects are there with the British Superbike Championship, British Touring Car Championship, World Touring Car Championship, A1 Grand Prix and DTM all returning to the Kent circuit.

One notable absentee will be the World Superbike Championship, which ends its 16-year association with the series following a rise in the fee from the organisers.

It will be a shame for Kent fans as it regularly attracted 100,000 through the gates and with local rider Shane Byrne competing this year it has come as a double blow. However, as Murray Walker used to say ‘anything can happen in Motorsport and it usually does’, so do not rule out a comeback in the future.

Tom Howard