The Euroformula Open ready for the delayed kick-off of the 2020 season at the Hungaroring 04.08.2020: The era of the Dallara 320 is about to start! The new Dallara 320 bound to become a reference car at this level of competition Six teams present in Round 1, with drivers from Europe, Asia, Africa

The era of the Dallara 320 is about to start!



The new Dallara 320 bound to become a reference car at this level of competition


Six teams present in Round 1, with drivers from Europe, Asia, Africa, Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean



The 2020 Euroformula Open season makes its long-awaited start this week, with two races at one of the most challenging tracks on the Formula 1 calendar: the Hungaroring.


It’s not just the return to racing that’s got everyone excited to watch the action in Hungary, as the circuit will be home to the first ever competitive appearance of the Dallara 320.



Commenting on this milestone moment, Jesús Pareja, CEO of GT Sport, said: “It will be a fantastic moment to see the new Dallara 320 competing at last. It has been a longer wait than expected, because of the stop imposed by the pandemic, but now time has come.



Dallara has made a good job in designing a car up to today’s highest technological standards without compromising the essence of a Formula 3 racer and the feedback is positive. This season marks the start of a new era for the Euroformula and is also marked by the pandemic, something almost unthinkable that has hit all of us, all businesses and organizations.



I am happy to see that despite the difficulties and plan changes, together with our teams, drivers, suppliers, sponsors and partners, we have been able to put together an attractive proposition that will certainly strengthen the position of the Euroformula among single-seater formulae. Let’s enjoy a great season!”



Like all motorsport series this year, the Euroformula Open will happen behind closed doors, unfortunately without spectators on-site, no guests or hospitality activities in the paddock, severely restricted presence of media and with team, supplier, officials and organization staff reduced to the essential. Work and life in the tracks will be ruled by the protocols put in place together with the visited tracks and that take account of national situation and dispositions as they evolve.




A NEW STAR IS BORN


The lightweight, halo-shod new Dallara 320 single-seater is built to and beyond modern F1 safety standards and takes the popular design philosophy used in Formula 3 racing over the last three decades and brings it into a car that is both brand new and a successor to the Dallara F312/F317 that has served the Euroformula championship since 2012.



Working to such high-tech regulations means the 320 visually resembles F1 cars of recent years, and the enthusiastic response to this car comes not only from the people who have designed it and are those who are going to race it, but also the motorsport fans as well.



The driver who gave the 320 its first running is two-time Macau Grand Prix winner Dan Ticktum, and he is not shy on praising the new racer: “The 320’s got a bit more downforce than the F317, which you notice in the high-speed corners. The direction change in the high-speed is very fast. And the fact that it’s light helps as well. You notice the weight of the halo and the slight difference in centre of gravity only in the slow speed sections. Overall it’s one of the best cars I’ve driven.”



The Euroformula teams have been busy testing the 320 before the season begins, and the quality of the product, also from a running and maintaining point of view, has been praised by the team bosses - many of whom have been competing in formulae for several decades.




DRIVERS FROM THE WHOLE WORLD


A total of 14 of the new Dallara 320s car will be present at the Hungaroring for the Euroformula’s first round of 2020, and it will be the first ever chance that this exciting new car gets to race. More entries are expected as from Round 2 at the Paul Ricard later this month, as some confirmed contenders are taken by double programme commitments this weekend.



Teams from five different countries across Asia and Europe will be running the chassis, with 14 drivers entered for this weekend. Once again, the Euroformula proves to be a very attractive proposition for young talents coming from around the world. In this first round, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America & Caribbean are represented.



Reigning champion team Motopark is using local Spiess engines and is running Niklas Krütten and Manuel Maldonado. It’s lining up another driver to race in its third car in Hungary.


British team Carlin fields reigning British Formula 4 champion Zane Maloney and Israeli talent Ido Cohen in Spiess-powered cars, and it’s joined on a cross-channel trip by Double R Racing and its HWA-powered driver Ayrton Simmons, who holds dual British-Spanish citizenship.


Drivex School comes from Spain with two HWA-powered cars for highly rated F4 graduates Shihab Al Habsi and Glenn van Berlo, while Dutch squad Van Amersfoort Racing will be making its Euroformula debut with a three-car line-up for brothers Andreas and Sebastian Estner, and Frenchman Alexandre Bardinon. It too will use HWA engines, following Euroformula’s move to becoming one of the only open-engine single-seater series in the world last year.





Another team debuting in the series is CryptoTower Racing Team, the first Japanese outfit to compete in the Euroformula. It has three cars and Spiess power, with exciting Chinese racer Yifei Ye and Angolan youngster Rui Andrade being joined by German driver Matthias Luethen, who is at the start of his car racing career.



Last year it was Motopark which won both races in the summer heat of Hungary. Who will triumph in the start of a brand new era?


While there will be no spectators in Hungary this weekend, all the action can be followed from fans at home thanks to live coverage by major broadcasters and online channels in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas.



Moreover, races are also livestreamed on our website www.gtopen.net and on the Euroformula Open channel on Youtube, accessible from all over the world and from all devices. Commentary is in English, by Chris McCarthy and Elliot Wood.







Alfredo Filippone, GT Sport photo