US Formula Three prepares for 2002.

The United States Formula Three Championship powered by Volkswagen announced its 2002 racing program at a conference hosted by Indy Partnership during the Performance Racing Industry show in Indianapolis.

USF3 LLC owners, Arturo Antonio Ferrari Ph.D.ME and Bertil Sollenskog, presented their plan for the 2002 season to an interested audience of drivers, team owners, chassis manufacturers, technical partners, and sponsors, who shared information, ideas, and proposals for the upcoming third US Formula Three season.

Dr. Ferrari presented the status of the USF3 Championship and the results achieved in 2001 under its new ownership group, USF3 LLC. Also highlighted were next season's goals.

"Now all the racing world is aware of USF3," said Dr. Ferrari. "Our champion, Luciano Gomide, and our Rookie of the Year, John C. Antonino, have already received several offers and conducted tests for famous European teams, which is the best kind of recognition our series can get."

Dr. Ferrari continued: "Today's conference, with the presentation of the 2002 provisional schedule, the technical rules, and the new marketing and management program, will bring stability to the series for the next three seasons, allowing investments and solid plans by drivers, teams, and sponsors."

For the next three seasons, 2002, 2003, 2004, USF3 will allow only Formula Three chassis built in 1999, 2000, and 2001, with FIA specifications valid up to December 31, 2001, and will continue to use the 2.0 liter Volkswagen USF3 Spec engine by Bertils Racing Engines, which has proven so successful for the past two seasons.

"For 2002, the Volkswagen USF3 engines will be sold for $18,000(US) each, complete with ECU and harness," said Bertil Sollenskog, "with a standard rebuild costing $3,500 every 1,000 miles. Our VW engine, with over 200 HP has proven completely reliable and nearly indestructible over the past 20 races in two seasons of racing, and USF3 will guarantee equal performance for all units sold, providing track assistance to the teams at all events."

USF3 LLC has fixed the team entrant cost for a season at $2,500 for the first car and $1,000 for each additional car, while the race entry fees will be $1,000 per car for a one-race event and $1,500 per car for a two-race event.

The new FIA Rules for F3 introduced for the 2002 season have resulted in the placement of over 100 used F3 chassis on the market. These chassis will be usable in the USF3 Championship for the next three seasons. The chassis are available at very competitive prices and can be updated to USF3 spec with an installation kit for the chassis-engine combination. Teams can purchase a used chassis, race-ready, with a new engine and USF3 installation kit for around $75,000, while a brand new car, with engine, will cost under $100,000, resulting in a 2002 USF3 full season budget of approximately $325,000-$350,000 per team.

USF3 LLC will announce the total purse and contingency funds available per event by March 15, 2002. The organization also announced that the 2002 USF3 Champion will receive a complete test program in a 2003 F3000 car.

USF3 LLC is in negotiations with several companies to become the title sponsor for the series, and with a television network to provide US and international coverage of the major USF3 events.