The British
F3 Championship will see a third chassis constructor make its debut at the next round of the series at
Snetterton after new team Litespeed confirmed that the new R1 machine was ready to race.
Although mooted for its first outing earlier in the season, an intensive testing programme has seen Litespeed put off the debut of the chassis until rounds nine and ten at the Norfolk circuit.
The R1 will join stalwart contenders Dallara and Mygale, the latter having proved competitive with its entry since debuting in 2007.
The R1 chassis is a heavily updated version of the SLC chassis used in the
F3 Euroseries and German
F3 Championship, although it has not raced competitively since 2006. Since then, using a pure engineering base with no compromise, the car has been delivered by the ATR Group, which was previosuly responsible for the development and manufacturing of the Porsche Carrera GT, the Ferrari Enzo, and the Bugatti Veyron.
Teh revamped car has undergone a full aero upgrade, with a minimal frontal area, which produced phenomenal results on high-speed tracks such as the Nurburgring, where it attained pole position in 2006. By having autonomy on suspension geometry and layout, the R1 also has a slow-speed cornering advantage over most
F3 cars due to its set-up capabilities.
And, with an experienced team behind its development – including ex-Lotus F1 personnel Nino Judge, now managing director of Litespeed, and technical director Steve Kenchington, the team is making bold claims for its arrival.
“We are here and we will make an impact," Judge insists, "We're open and honest about what we do – at the end of the day, we want to win so we will dedicate resources, personnel and of course technical know-how to making things happen.”
Reigning Formula Ford champion Callum Macleod will be in the driving seat for this round and, Judge claims, he is the perfect driver to hit the ground running.
“Callum Macleod is one of the UK's most promising up and coming motorsport talents. He complements what we, as a team, are looking to achieve both in the short and long term.”
