French-Italian driver Edoardo Mortara, who is currently leading the prestigious Formula 3 Euroseries, heads to Zolder in Belgium this weekend with the aim of scoring a strong result in the Formula 3 Masters race.

This is a stand-alone event that brings together all the greatest talents in Formula 3 from national championships over the world. Like the Macau F3 Grand Prix at the end of the season, the F3 Masters has been won by all of the sport’s greats. As recently as 2005, Lewis Hamilton carried off the trophy – and a win at the F3 Masters provides a massive career boost to any driver.

Up until last year the race was held at the Zandvoort circuit, but it moved to Zolder in 2007 because of noise restrictions at its former home. On his first attempt at the F3 Masters last year (which was also his debut season of the Euroseries), Edoardo finished a highly creditable sixth. This year though, he is aiming to do even better.

Nonetheless, along with Macau, the Masters race is one of the most difficult encounters of the season. Edoardo will face a field of formidable quality, and the Zolder circuit – a former venue for the Belgian Grand Prix – is renowned for its unpredictability.

Along with his Signature team – which is powered by Volkswagen’s new F3 engine – Edoardo had enjoyed a strong start to the season with six podium finishes from the first eight races. A recent run of bad luck has seen his winning margin eroded to just one point, but he is determined to bounce back in Belgium.

“The F3 Masters is one of those races that everyone wants to win, and of course that is going to be my objective as well,” said Edoardo. “It’s true that the last couple of races have not been fantastic for us, but it’s not something that myself or the Signature team are worried about at all: we know the reasons why and these things just happen sometimes. We’ve got some exciting developments coming for the second half of the Euroseries and in the meantime we’re looking forward to the Masters at Zolder. I’m feeling very positive, and I know that I can count on Signature and Volkswagen to deliver their usual excellent job, so I reckon we have all the ingredients in place to come away with a strong result. Zolder is a circuit that I like, and this time we have a year’s extra experience of both Formula 3 and the Masters.”

First qualifying takes place this Friday, with racing over the weekend.

For more information:
www.edoardomortara.com
www.quadrasports.com

Zolder, 6 August 2008