The Formula 3000 International Championship was a motor racing series created by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) in 1985 to become the final preparatory step for drivers hoping to enter Formula One. Formula Two had become too expensive, and was dominated by works-run cars with factory engines; the hope was that Formula 3000 would offer quicker, cheaper, more open racing. The series began as an open specification, then tyres were standardized from 1986 onwards, followed by engines and chassis in 1996. The series ran annually until 2004, and was replaced in 2005 by the GP2 Series.
Formula Two, abbreviated to F2, also called Formula 2, is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009–2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name returned in 2017 when the former GP2 Series became known as the FIA Formula 2 Championship.
Formula Three, also called Formula 3, abbreviated as F3, is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers.
Lola Cars International Ltd. was a British race car engineering company in operation from 1958 to 2012. The company was founded by Eric Broadley in Bromley, England, before moving to new premises in Slough, Buckinghamshire and finally Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, and endured for more than fifty years to become one of the oldest and largest manufacturers of racing cars in the world. Lola Cars started by building small front-engined sports cars, and branched out into Formula Junior cars before diversifying into a wider range of sporting vehicles. Lola was acquired by Martin Birrane in 1998 after the unsuccessful MasterCard Lola attempt at Formula One.
The Japanese Super Formula Championship is a formula racing series. It is considered as the top level of single-seater racing in Japan and regional major motorsports of Asia. The series is sanctioned by the Japan Automobile Federation (JAF) and managed by Japan Race Promotion (JRP).
Satoru Nakajima is a Japanese former racing driver. He is a five-time Japanese Top Formula champion, and was the first full-time Japanese Formula One driver. Accordingly, he is responsible for several firsts for Japanese drivers in Formula One, including being the first to score championship points, and being the first to record a fastest lap.
Norberto Edgardo Fontana is an Argentine racing driver. He participated in four Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 29 June 1997 but scoring no championship points.
Formula racing is any of several forms of open-wheeled single-seater motorsport. The origin of the term lies in the nomenclature that was adopted by the FIA for all of its post-World War II single-seater regulations, or formulae. The best known of these formulae are Formula One, Formula E, Formula Two, Formula Three, regional Formula Three and Formula Four. Common usage of "formula racing" encompasses other single-seater series, including the GP2 Series, which replaced Formula 3000.
Formula Holden was an Australian open wheel racing category introduced in 1989.
Mugen Motorsports (無限), legally known as M-TEC Company, Ltd., is a Japanese company formed in 1973 by Hirotoshi Honda, the son of Honda Motor Company founder Soichiro Honda, and Masao Kimura. Mugen, meaning "without limit", "unlimited" or "vast", is an engine tuner and parts manufacturer that manufactures OEM parts such as body kits and sports exhausts for Honda. Despite the family relationship, however, Mugen is not, and has never been, owned by Honda Motor Company; Mugen owner Hirotoshi Honda has been the biggest shareholder in Honda since his father's death in 1991.
The Formula 3 Euro Series was a European-based junior single seater formula for Formula Three chassis that was launched in 2003 as a merger of the French Formula Three Championship and German Formula Three Championship. The Formula Three category, including this championship, is part of the established career ladder up which European drivers progress to the Formula One world championship, the highest form of single seater racing defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's world governing body.
The German Formula Three Championship was the national Formula Three championship of Germany, and the former West Germany, from 1950 to 2002, then as Formel 3 until 2014. In 2003, the series had merged with the French Formula Three Championship to form the Formula 3 Euro Series. The lower-level series, the ATS Formel 3 Cup, subsequently operated in Germany, but it folded after the end of the 2014 season. Since the late 1980s, the list of German F3 champions has included many notable drivers, including Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher and nine-time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen.
The 2007 Formula Nippon Championship was contested over 9 rounds. 12 different teams, 22 different drivers competed. All teams had to use Lola chassis and use either a Mugen Honda or Toyota engine.
The 2008 Formula Nippon Championship was the thirty-sixth season of the premier Japanese open-wheel motor racing series. The series for Formula Nippon racing cars was contested over eight rounds. All teams were required to use Lola chassis and have the choice between utilising Mugen Honda or Toyota engines.
Formula 3000 (F3000) was a type of open wheel, single seater formula racing, occupying the tier immediately below Formula One and above Formula Three. It was so named because the cars were powered by 3.0 L engines.
Tatuus is an Italian chassis manufacturer for a series of formula racing series, being first founded in 1980. The company is known for its association with Renault Sport for its production of the Formula Renault chassis.
The Formula Toyota was a spec racing series in Japan between 1991 and 2007. Many Japanese Formula One drivers, like Kazuki Nakajima and Toranosuke Takagi, made their racing debut in the Formula Toyota. The class folded after the 2007 season when it was effectively replaced by the Formula Challenge Japan.
The Lola T96/50 is an open-wheel formula race car chassis developed by British manufacturer Lola, for use in the International Formula 3000 series, a feeder-series for Formula One, between 1996 to 1998 ,, until it was replaced by the new Lola B99/50 chassis for the new in 1998. Similar chassis', dubbed the Lola T96/51 and Lola T96/52, were used in the Japanese Formula Nippon series until 1999, and were powered by 3.0 L (180 cu in) Mugen V8 engines.
The Lola B03/51 is an open-wheel formula racing car, designed, developed and built by Lola for the Japanese Formula Nippon championship series, in 2003. It was powered by a naturally aspirated 3,000 cc (180 cu in) Mugen MF308 engine that produced around 550 hp (410 kW) @ 13,500 rpm.
The Mugen MF308 is a naturally aspirated, gasoline-powered, 3.0 L (180 cu in), V8 racing engine, designed, developed, and built by Mugen Motorsports, for Formula 3000 racing categories, between 1988 and 2005. It produced between 490–500 hp (370–370 kW) over its lifetime. It famously powered Jean Alesi to the 1989 International Formula 3000 Championship, with Eddie Jordan Racing.
