Russians take on Dallara in F3

A new Formula 3 car from Russia will aim to break Dallara's domination of the category in 2015. The ArtTech P315, designed and built by Moscow-based ArtLine Engineering, is intended for the F3 European Championship plus a program in the lower-level German series.

ArtLine's last car competed in the German F3 Cup, most recently with Mikhail Aleshin in 2010, before the organisation took a break to design its new car, build a new facility in Moscow and rework its test tracks: the ADM Raceway in the Moscow region and Rustavi International Motorpark in Georgia.

Under project manager Egor Nazarov, the ArtTech represents what the company describes as "an unconventional approach to the F3 racing car," using low-drag bodywork designed around a central exhaust system.

ArtLine intends to begin testing through February and March at Rustavi. The company plans to use engines from British independent Neil Brown Engineering and French firm ORECA (initially badged as Renault) before working on installation kits for Mercedes and Volkswagen powerplants later in 2015.

As before, the racing program will be entrusted to ArtLine's own Frankfurt-based team.