Mansell brothers to contest '07 series.

Greg and Leo Mansell, sons of the 1992 Formula One world champion Nigel Mansell, are to compete in the 2007 Lloyds TSB Insurance British F3 International Series after inking deals to join Fortec Motorsport.

The pair, who spent the 2006 season competing in the UK Formula BMW championship, tested for the team on numerous occasions during the year before making their F3 bows in the final round of the season at Thruxton.

Driving in the Invitational class, both drivers impressed during the course of the weekend with Greg taking an eighth place overall finish in race one and Leo claiming 13th in race two.

Leo, the older of the two at 21-years-old, admitted that Formula Three was the logical place for the brothers to continue their motorsport education in 2007 and said he was excited at the prospect of competing on famous Grand Prix venues like Spa and Monza during the new campaign.

"British F3 was the right choice for us because, one, it is our home formula and two, we have a great relationship with Fortec, working with them through testing and the race at Thruxton," he said. "We're also visiting some great tracks next year Spa, Monza, Silverstone GP, Brands Hatch GP and the street race in Bucharest. It's a schedule we're really excited about.

"We did start our motor racing careers late but now we are trying to catch up. We know we haven't got a lot of experience but we've been working hard to change that. We've done some karting and we did Formula BMW this year, which was good and we gained a lot of experience from that. We just want to continue gaining experience and use it as a stepping stone for the future."

Younger brother Greg was also excited at the confirmation of the deal for the 2007 season and said the pair would be working together to push each other forward.

"British F3 is highly respected amongst the other F3 series and next years calendar is fantastic with four tracks from the old F1 calendar and as a driver you couldn't wish for any more," he said. "There are fantastic cars and we have a great team in Fortec supporting us and I'm just really looking forward to it, it was the right choice for us.

"We had our first F3 experience when we raced at Thruxton in the last races of the year and it was very much the deep end, it rained and the track was wet and then dry all weekend. It was very difficult; we did what we could and got on quite well."

"We work as a team. If Leo wins and I come second, I take his victory as my own. We are a team, Fortec's our team, and we try and work together. The best way to progress quickly is to use his experience as well as my own. Leo is a lot quicker than me in some corners; he has a different driving style and we can use each others experience to help us both go faster."