Masters of F3 race gets 20 entries

Twenty cars are provisionally entered for next week's Masters of Formula 3 at Zandvoort as the race recovers from its 2014 lowpoint.

All but three of the regular F3 European Championship teams have committed to the September 18-20 event, which last year was run for an 11-car grid of national-spec cars because of the impossibility of getting the Euro F3 field from the Dutch circuit to the following weekend's championship event at Moscow Raceway.

Of the regular Euro F3 teams, Prema Powerteam, Mucke Motorsport and Signature are not attending.

Even though the Masters has returned to current FIA-spec machinery for 2015, there is more difficulty in assembling a full field as this year the event takes place after the circuit's European round, therefore providing less of an incentive to get mileage on the circuit.

Two of the drivers who won European F3 rounds at Zandvoort in July – Antonio Giovinazzi and Markus Pommer – are on the provisional entry list. Title contender Giovinazzi leads a four-strong Carlin lineup, which also includes Silverstone winner George Russell.

Pommer spearheads a five-car Motopark attack, the German team bidding to take its second successive win in the race after Max Verstappen triumphed in 2014 in a one-off outing in the squad's German F3 car.

Two drivers look set to make their debuts at the top level of F3: Israeli Yarin Stern steps up with Team West-Tec, the same team with which he has taken nine podiums in Euroformula Open; and T-Sport plans to run Formula Renault Eurocup frontrunner Dennis Olsen, who will give the new Japanese Tomei-built ThreeBond engine its race debut.

Three drivers are yet to be nominated: Double R Racing is waiting to confirm, while Jo Zeller Racing – which dropped from Euro F3 into the Austrian F3 Cup this season – returns to the category's top level.

PROVISIONAL ENTRY LIST

Originally on Autosport.com