The Jim Russell Championship Series (JRCS) has revealed an extra-special incentive to its competitors for 2010 - the carrot of a fully-funded drive in the FIA Formula Two Championship in 2011...
The Jim Russell Racing Drivers' School is welcoming in the new decade in terrific style – by opening entries and confirming details for its 2010 campaign that will reward the eventual champion with a fully-funded drive in next year's
FIA Formula Two Championship, worth in excess of $440,000.
The 2010 Jim Russell Championship Series (JRCS) features eight weekends of two races on consecutive days, utilising a variety of configurations at the challenging Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California – a venue that features the Jim Russell Racing Drivers' School's multi-million dollar facility. The school offers a complete driver training programme courtesy of some of the finest coaches in the world, whilst the cost for a seat in the 2010 JRCS is $129,000.
The FJR-50 single-seaters are owned and prepared 'in-house' by the JRCS, ensuring equality and placing the emphasis firmly on driver talent. The Lola-built Formula 3 machines feature a carbon/kevlar fibre composite monocoque, a sequential five-speed gearbox and a two-litre, turbocharged Mitsubishi engine producing 300bhp.
Gary Carlton and Alex Ellis are already confirmed on the 2010 grid after being chosen as the winners of the inaugural Jim Russell Future Driver Search by Britain's double
Le Mans 24 Hours winner Allan McNish. Meanwhile, Brett Smrz – winner of the Jim Russell series for the past two years – has been tempted back by the phenomenal prize on offer.
“The 2010 JRCS will be an exciting competition,” underlined McNish. “The standard of drivers at Jim Russell's Future Driver Search event was extremely high, and with ultimate winners Gary [Carlton] and Alex [Ellis] joining double JRCS champion Brett [Smrz], plus the other competitors, that guarantees it will be a hard-fought 16-race series. They'll all be fighting for the title and the stunning prize of a fully-paid F2 drive in 2011, which offers a clear plan for a driver and the prospect of knocking on the door of Formula 1.
“The FJR-50 is essentially an
F3 chassis with high downforce and 300bhp, and is a perfect platform to develop a driver's talent. Having a 'common' chassis, each prepared to the same specification, allows for a driver's skills to shine through. The championship offers great value for money, giving every driver a development programme, both in and out of the cockpit, plus a clear career direction through to the very top – helping today's aspiring young drivers on the road to becoming tomorrow's champions.”
The outright 2010 JRCS Champion will compete in the 2011
FIA Formula Two Championship aboard a Williams F1-developed single-seater. Last year's F2 champion Andy Soucek was awarded an F1 test outing with Williams at
Jerez in December as his prize for winning the title, as the top three championship finishers all qualified for an
FIA Superlicence and are thus now eligible to compete in F1.
“The addition of the Formula Two award to our series champion firmly sets the Jim Russell Championship Series as the premier developmental formula car series that provides an excellent path to the upper echelons of motorsport at an amazingly modest cost,” remarked Chip Pankow, President of the Jim Russell Racing Drivers' School.
“Our series has been designed to foster and identify talent with the emphasis on value for money. Our philosophy is that a career in motorsport should be as merit-based as possible, not purely a financial equation.”
