There is a jump and it is something that you need to have clear in your mind before you get in a F3 car. You can’t believe everything you hear as there is a lot of talk about how you drive it like a BMW and you’ll be quick but it doesn’t work like that. The F3 car you don’t carry quite as much apex speed as you would first think, on the slow speed corners in particular it’s all about exit speed, whereas BMW’s you just run as much speed as you can through the corners because you are so restricted on power. They are alike, but don’t believe the hype.
Crash.net:
The Performance Racing car you’ve run today is the new National class car with the Mugen Honda engine – what did you make of that package?
Tim Bridgman:
The conditions are restrictive so it’s difficult to be a fair judge on the National class engine, but as far I’m concerned I drove an A class car with the Mugen Honda engine here with Alan Docking Racing and that was dry so it’s difficult to compare them, but there isn’t a lot of difference to be honest they haven’t gone too far with slowing the engine down to make it reliable. I think they’ve found a good balance and I think it’s an impressive engine given the fixed costs.
Crash.net:
Be it with Performance or somebody else, how confident are you that you will be in F3 next season?
Tim Bridgman:
We’ll be in F3 pretty much whatever happens, National class or A class has yet to be decided. Obviously there is quite a bit budget differential between the two so there is a lot of factors that that depends on. I’m fairly sure that we’ll be out on the grid, but obviously nothing is certain. We need to find money along with a lot of other people, but I have two good seasons behind me now as Formula Zip champion and Formula BMW UK champion so I think we are in a good position to get some backing and get a good drive for 2005.
Crash.net:
So whichever class you end up in you’d hope to battling near the front?
Tim Bridgman:
Of course, I wouldn’t ever do anything where you couldn’t win it. Obviously Formula Three is at a much higher level than Formula
BMW, there is a lot of testing so the standard is much higher although next year there is a testing ban which should help the newcomers slightly and I think it could be a good year next year. I don’t think 2004 was the strongest year for either class, but I think 2005 could be a good season. There is some good drivers coming up from Formula Renault and Formula BMW and I think the National class could be a good little grid. I want to be running at the front of whatever I do, but you’re depending on budgets, so whatever the budget says is what I will do at the end of the day. In an ideal world you’d go straight in with a top A class drive and go from there, but it’s not an ideal world so we’ll have to do a lot of work over the winter and do as much testing as we can and see where we end up next season.
Crash.net:
Tim, thanks very much for your time.
Tim Bridgman:
Thankyou.
