Felix Serralles joins Fortec for British F3 campaign

Fortec Motorsports confirms today that 19-year-old Felix Serralles is to join its four-car assault on the Cooper Tires British Formula 3 International Series. Puerto Rican racer Serralles will team up with Brazil's Pipo Derani and young Brit Alex Lynn on the Fortec force for 2012.

Felix Serralles Credit: Jakob Ebrey/British F3

Serralles steps up to British Formula 3 after strong showings for Fortec in the Formula Renault Eurocup last year and some impressive F3 winter test results. "We gave Felix some runs in the F3 car towards the end of 2011 and he surprised us with his pace," said team chief Mick Kouros. "We think he will take to the new car and be a key player in the team alongside Pipo and Alex."

The identity of Fortec's fourth man is expected to be revealed soon; Kouros believes that the team will be in good shape for what is likely to be a season of surprises as all the teams get to grips with the new Dallara F312 chassis. "We are all excited for the coming season - the drivers are enthusiastic and the engineering team is looking forward to working with the new car."

The first of Fortec's new Mercedes-powered Dallaras will take centre stage at next week's Autosport Show in Birmingham alongside illustrious cars from the last 60 seasons of British Formula 3.

Florida-based Serralles is thrilled by the challenge of British F3 but is expecting it to be tough: "I am very pleased to be racing again with Fortec - I know that they will be the best team for me as I progress to Formula 3 - and very excited to be among the first drivers to try the new car from Dallara. I know that it will be hard to adapt, though, and will be giving it everything."

Serralles began competing in karts in Puerto Rico at age nine and raced single-seaters in the USA from 2008. He won a full season in the Skip Barber National Series in 2010, finishing third in the championship, and graduated to Formula Renault 2.0 with Fortec for 2011, becoming a top-10 regular.

Serralles, Derani and Lynn look certain to be key players in the 2012 British Formula 3 title battle. Eighteen-year-old Lynn joins the championship after a season of domination in Formula Renault UK, while Derani has an F3 season under his belt already, the highlight of which was a second-place finish for Double R Racing at Donington Park towards the end of the year. Fortec drivers claimed seven championship race wins in 2011 and the squad's William Buller placed fourth in the drivers championship.

British Formula 3, which enjoys the headlining support of Cooper Tires and is additionally backed by Sunoco Racing Fuels and Anglo American Oil Company, features a 30-race schedule for 2012. There will be races on the Formula 1 Grand Prix circuits of Monza, Spa-Francorchamps and Silverstone, as well as the blue riband Grand Prix de Pau and events alongside the Blancpain Endurance Series at Paul Ricard and with British GT on the UK's top circuits. The season gets underway at Oulton Park at Easter.

Provisional calendar 2012 Cooper Tires British Formula 3 International Series

Date       Circuit                     Event
   21 Mar  Silverstone GP              Championship launch & media day 
06/07 Apr  Oulton Park                 British F3 & GT 
14/15 Apr  Monza, Italy                Blancpain Endurance Series 
11-13 May  Pau, France                 Grand Prix de Pau 
09/10 Jun  Rockingham                  British F3 & GT 
23/24 Jun  Brands Hatch GP             British F3 & GT 
29/01 Jul  Paul Ricard, France         Blancpain Endurance Series 
26-28 Jul  Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium  Blancpain Endurance Series 
04/05 Aug  Snetterton 300              British F3 & GT 
08/09 Sep  Silverstone GP              British F3 & GT 
29/30 Sep  Donington Park GP           British F3 & GT 

All dates and circuits are provisional and subject to change

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