Twenty years after their fathers competed against each other at Zandvoort in
Formula One, the sons of Keke Rosberg and Nelson Piquet will expect to be at the forefront of the Masters at the same circuit. The Finn has come close to topping the podium in the continental series, while the Brazilian - sharing the same name as his illustrious parent - has taken the fight to the best in the British series despite only committing top run the UK series late in the day.
Of his rivals, South African Alan van der Merwe will be looking to bring his British form - where he is the runaway points leader - to Holland, but knows that he will face a great deal of intra-team rivalry from his three Carlin Motorsport team-mates, Jamie Green, Richard Antinucci and Ronnie Bremer. Also making the short trip across the English Channel will be race winners Danny Watts, Clivio Piccione and Will Davison, while Scholarship Class victor Ernesto Viso makes his top flight debut alongside Robert Dahlgren at Fortec Motorsport.
Italian Fauso Ippoliti is the current leader of his domestic championship, and could spring a surprise at Zandvoort, but the biggest 'unknown' likely to pose a threat is Brazilian Joao Paolo de Oliveira, who is dominating proceedings in the German F3 Cup.
Aiming to prevent anyone from stealing his crown, however, will be last year's winner Carbone, who will be racing with the #1 plate on his Signature Plus Dallara. Opting this season to run in the Euroseries, the Brazilian has not found victories easy to come by, but has gradually been mounting a greater challenge to Briscoe in the overall standings. After his success with Fortec last season, Carbone becomes the first Masters champion to defend his title - and could be the first to retain it too.
