This year’s Superleague Formula champion will receive a Formula 1 test drive as the series announces its expansion at AUTOSPORT International today.

The prize fund has been increased to €5 million and the schedule increased from six to 12 weekends for its third season.

The top three finishers in the championship will receive €1 million, €500,000 and €250,000 respectively, while the superfinal of each race will pay out €100,000, €75,000, €50,000, €30,000, €20,000 and €10,000 to the top six finishers.

“It is the biggest prize fund in European motorsport,” said Superleague competition director Robin Webb. “Starting at AUTOSPORT International, we are going to be inviting entries and applications for the championship. The person who holds the entry – and that could be a driver, a race team or a third party which could be a football club – will receive the prize money.”

The F1 test drive is planned for the end of the Superleague season, but no team has yet been confirmed.

The six new venues on this year’s calendar are Silverstone, Assen, Nurburgring, Oschersleben, Brands Hatch and Jerez.

“Silverstone have been fantastic to us and we’re really pleased to be starting our season on the famous grand prix circuit,” added Webb. “Brands is another superb addition.

“We are looking at one or two non-European rounds at the end of the year. We are getting offers from outside of Europe and our two major targets are the Middle East and South America.”

This year’s Superleague Formula champion will receive a Formula 1 test drive as the series announces its expansion at AUTOSPORT International today.

The prize fund has been increased to €5 million and the schedule increased from six to 12 weekends for its third season.

The top three finishers in the championship will receive €1 million, €500,000 and €250,000 respectively, while the superfinal of each race will pay out €100,000, €75,000, €50,000, €30,000, €20,000 and €10,000 to the top six finishers.

“It is the biggest prize fund in European motorsport,” said Superleague competition director Robin Webb. “Starting at AUTOSPORT International, we are going to be inviting entries and applications for the championship. The person who holds the entry – and that could be a driver, a race team or a third party which could be a football club – will receive the prize money.”

The F1 test drive is planned for the end of the Superleague season, but no team has yet been confirmed.

The six new venues on this year’s calendar are Silverstone, Assen, Nurburgring, Oschersleben, Brands Hatch and Jerez.

“Silverstone have been fantastic to us and we’re really pleased to be starting our season on the famous grand prix circuit,” added Webb. “Brands is another superb addition.

“We are looking at one or two non-European rounds at the end of the year. We are getting offers from outside of Europe and our two major targets are the Middle East and South America.”

Superleague Formula has unveiled a calendar of 12 events for 2010 – making its third season double the length of last year’s championship.

The football-themed series opens with its maiden appearance at Silverstone in April, nearly three months earlier in the year than its 2009 opener was held.

It retains all its ‘09 venues bar the troubled Donington Park, but still visits the UK twice with a date at Brands Hatch joining Silverstone on the schedule.

Superleague also makes its debut at Assen in Holland, and at Germany’s Nurburgring and Oschersleben – although the Spa and Adria dates mooted on the provisional calendar last autumn did not make the final schedule.

The series’ competition director Robin Webb is pleased with the balance of high-profile venues and circuits where Superleague has an established fanbase.

“Although we’ve had to make some changes in the last few weeks, I’m extremely happy with the new schedule,” he said.

“There’s a great mix of circuits with some existing and ex-F1 venues supplemented by regional tracks which are ideal given their location. Jarama’s proximity to Madrid for instance allowed local Atletico fans the chance to come along and support their team this year, a factor which helped attract 30,000 people.

“With more established drivers also taking an interest in Superleague, I’m confident that 2010 will prove a vintage season.”

The circuit and date for the final round of the championship has yet to be confirmed, but Webb hinted it would be outside Europe.

“We are still looking at one or two non-European rounds at the end of the year,” he said. “We are getting offers from outside of Europe, and our two major targets are the Middle East and South America.”

2010 Superleague Formula calendar:

Date          Circuit       Country

Apr 3/4       Silverstone   UK

May 15/16     Assen         Holland

May 22/23     Magny-Cours   France

Jun 19/20     Jarama        Spain

Jun 26/27     Nurburgring   Germany

Jul 3/4       Oschersleben  Germany

Jul 17/18     Zolder        Belgium

Jul 31/Aug 1  Brands Hatch  UK

Sep 18/19     Estoril       Portugal

Oct 2/3       Monza         Italy

Nov 13/14     Jerez         Spain

TBC           TBC           TBC

The British Formula 3 championship will make a maiden voyage to Magny-Cours this season after revealing its 2010 calendar today.

The series will race at the former home of the French Grand Prix on May 22-23, supporting a round of the third season of Superleague Formula.

The Magny-Cours date will be round three of 10 and form the first part of a planned foreign triple-header that includes Hockenheim the following weekend and ends with the non-championship F3 Masters event at Zandvoort on June 5-6.

F3 Teams Association [FOTA] boss Peter Briggs said: “The teams are excited about going to Magny-Cours. It’s a good circuit and a safe circuit, and I think the French Grand Prix might end up there again.”

British F3 will also return to Thruxton in 2010, after a year’s hiatus from the calendar. The track dropped off the schedule following an aborted attempt to switch British F3 onto the British Touring Car Championship’s TOCA package in 2009.

The series will visit the high-speed Hampshire venue on the first weekend of August, a week after supporting the Spa 24 Hours FIA GT event.

“I’m a politician and mending bridges is what I do,” added Briggs. “Thruxton will be interesting because it’s a great slipstreamer of a circuit.”

The Thruxton date replaces the beleaguered Donington Park on this year’s calendar. The future of the venue remains uncertain until a new leaseholder is found and repairs are made to get the circuit up and running again following Simon Gillett’s abortive attempt to host the 2010 British Grand Prix.

British F3 will also not return to the fledgling Algarve circuit in 2010. The Portuguese venue became a last-minute replacement for a race at the Bucharest street circuit in 2009, but Briggs said the cost of travelling, plus clashes with other dates, means British F3 will lose one of last season’s most popular rounds.

The season once again begins on April Bank Holiday weekend, with a round at Oulton Park, and ends with a September date on the Brands Hatch GP circuit. The series will also visit Rockingham, Snetterton and make two trips to the Silverstone GP circuit.

British F3 calendar 2010

3/5 April – Oulton Park

1 /2 May – Silverstone GP (supporting FIA GT)

22/23 May – Magny Cours (supporting Superleague Formula)

29/30 May – Hockenheim (supporting ADAC GT)

17/18 July – Rockingham

30/31 July – Spa (supporting FIA GT 24)

7/8 August – Thruxton

14/15 August – Silverstone GP

29/30 August – Snetterton

25/26 September – Brands Hatch GP

Tiago Monteiro is hoping to continue his career with SEAT in the WTCC next year, despite uncertainty over the Spanish manufacturer’s future, although he warns that the championship faces a “transitional season” in 2010.

SEAT is still yet to confirm its WTCC plans for next season, however a dramatic downscale from its current five-car works line-up is expected.

Rival BMW confirmed last month that it was reducing its factory entries from five cars to two next season.

“Basically, SEAT Sport is not sure what is going to happen,” Monteiro told AUTOSPORT.

“Everybody at SEAT Sport wants it to go on and wants to do something – they have 100 people there, they have the cars, the people, the materials – everything is there. All the driver contracts finish at the end of December, so we are all free agents. Everybody wants to go on, but nobody knows what to do.

“Still my main objective is to try and stay in the WTCC, and especially I would love to stay with SEAT. I really believe in the brand, but I also feel at home there. So I would like to stay. And also, in 2011 I think there will be a rebirth [in the WTCC – new rules, you’ll have new manufacturers, and we also have a strong belief that SEAT will come back strongly.

“So 2010 is basically a transition year, and everybody just needs to survive.

“For sure there will be less manufacturer cars, but there will be more privateers. It will change the shape of the championship a little bit, for sure, and I’m curious to see what will happen.”

In the meantime, Monteiro said that he was looking at alternative options for 2010.

“There are plenty of opportunities out there,” he said. “Nothing is confirmed; everybody struggled to finalise their deals. For professional drivers, 2010 – if you want to get paid to drive – is going to be a tough year. But maybe in the Le Mans Series, or the new GT World Championship, there are some opportunities.

“I’ve also had some contact over the last two years with Superleague Formula and they have been putting a lot of pressure on me to move back to single-seaters, so that could be another option. I just need to be more confident that the championship will evolve. I’m pretty impressed with what they’ve done so far, to be honest.”

The Portuguese driver is also considering offers from Japan after testing with the NISMO Super GT squad at Fuji earlier this month.

“They knew that I was interested in the GT1 championship, and they are preparing a new GT1 car,” he said.

“They called me up to do this GT500 test in Japan, so I went over there and I tried the car, which was pretty impressive actually. It’s a shame that in Europe we don’t know that much about it – we know about it, we read about it in AUTOSPORT, but it’s an amazing car and an amazing championship.

“The car is really impressive and it is a works team, so they are very professional, and I was really impressed with everything. It’s more of a Prototype than a GT car – carbon chassis, lots of downforce, the way that the suspension and the geometry is done. So it was a big change from what I’m used to.

“I didn’t have many laps because they were also testing three other Japanese drivers, but it was very good. So that is another possibility.”

Monteiro has won two WTCC races since making his debut in the championship in 2007.

Tiago Monteiro is hoping to continue his career with SEAT in the WTCC next year, despite uncertainty over the Spanish manufacturer’s future, although he warns that the championship faces a “transitional season” in 2010.

SEAT is still yet to confirm its WTCC plans for next season, however a dramatic downscale from its current five-car works line-up is expected.

Rival BMW confirmed last month that it was reducing its factory entries from five cars to two next season.

“Basically, SEAT Sport is not sure what is going to happen,” Monteiro told AUTOSPORT.

“Everybody at SEAT Sport wants it to go on and wants to do something – they have 100 people there, they have the cars, the people, the materials – everything is there. All the driver contracts finish at the end of December, so we are all free agents. Everybody wants to go on, but nobody knows what to do.

“Still my main objective is to try and stay in the WTCC, and especially I would love to stay with SEAT. I really believe in the brand, but I also feel at home there. So I would like to stay. And also, in 2011 I think there will be a rebirth [in the WTCC – new rules, you’ll have new manufacturers, and we also have a strong belief that SEAT will come back strongly.

“So 2010 is basically a transition year, and everybody just needs to survive.

“For sure there will be less manufacturer cars, but there will be more privateers. It will change the shape of the championship a little bit, for sure, and I’m curious to see what will happen.”

In the meantime, Monteiro said that he was looking at alternative options for 2010.

“There are plenty of opportunities out there,” he said. “Nothing is confirmed; everybody struggled to finalise their deals. For professional drivers, 2010 – if you want to get paid to drive – is going to be a tough year. But maybe in the Le Mans Series, or the new GT World Championship, there are some opportunities.

“I’ve also had some contact over the last two years with Superleague Formula and they have been putting a lot of pressure on me to move back to single-seaters, so that could be another option. I just need to be more confident that the championship will evolve. I’m pretty impressed with what they’ve done so far, to be honest.”

The Portuguese driver is also considering offers from Japan after testing with the NISMO Super GT squad at Fuji earlier this month.

“They knew that I was interested in the GT1 championship, and they are preparing a new GT1 car,” he said.

“They called me up to do this GT500 test in Japan, so I went over there and I tried the car, which was pretty impressive actually. It’s a shame that in Europe we don’t know that much about it – we know about it, we read about it in AUTOSPORT, but it’s an amazing car and an amazing championship.

“The car is really impressive and it is a works team, so they are very professional, and I was really impressed with everything. It’s more of a Prototype than a GT car – carbon chassis, lots of downforce, the way that the suspension and the geometry is done. So it was a big change from what I’m used to.

“I didn’t have many laps because they were also testing three other Japanese drivers, but it was very good. So that is another possibility.”

Monteiro has won two WTCC races since making his debut in the championship in 2007.

Formula 3 race-winner Renger van der Zande is the latest driver to commit to this week’s Formula 2 test at Portimao.

The 23-year-old Dutchman took third in the British F3 standings this year with Hitech despite not contesting the full season, and also secured Motopark Academy’s first F3 Euro Series victory in another partial campaign.

Van der Zande has now set his sights on F2 for 2010, having been impressed by the boost it gave champion Andy Soucek’s profile.

“I have followed Formula 2 closely during 2009,” said van der Zande. “Jonathan Palmer has a reputation for doing things right and that is one of the reasons why I am really excited about testing the car this week.

“When you look at what the championship has done for Andy Soucek, you can see that it is a great way to raise your profile and show F1 teams what you are capable of.

“For these reasons, I have to be extremely interested in the possibility of running in Formula 2 next year.”

Superleague Formula driver Duncan Tappy, McLaren AUTOSPORT BRDC Award winner Dean Smith, US F1 aspirant Jonathan Summerton and GP2 midfielder Ricardo Teixeira are among the other people trying F2 for the first time at Portimao.

Series regulars Kazim Vasiliauskas, Alex Brundle, Jolyon Palmer, Jack Clarke and Tristan Vautier will also be in action at the test, along with champion Soucek – although he will be focusing on 2010 developments with the Williams-designed F2 car.

Duncan Tappy will join this week’s official Formula 2 test at the Portimao circuit in Portugal.

The 25-year-old Briton, who won the Formula Renault UK title in 2007, is considering joining the series for 2010 and will get his first taste of the F2 car on Friday and Saturday.

“I’m weighing up my options for 2010 and there was the opportunity to spend two days in the F2 car,” Tappy told AUTOSPORT.

“It’s something I’m looking at, so we’ll take a look and see how it goes.”

Since 2007, Tappy has raced in Formula Renault 3.5, Superleague, Indy Lights, Formula Master and the Le Mans Series but has been unable to fund a full championship season.

He will join his ex-Formula Renault team-mate and newly-crowned McLaren AUTOSPORT BRDC Award winner Dean Smith at the test.

Newly-crowned Superleague Formula champion Adrian Valles plans to emulate his Liverpool team’s success in European and domestic football by winning multiple titles in the high-powered single-seater series.

Valles wrapped up the title for Liverpool at Jarama in Spain this weekend, and hopes it is the first of many with the Premier League club, whose training ground he visited last week to meet star players Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard, as well as manager Rafa Benitez.

“To win this title is fantastic, but what makes it even better is that I’m doing it for Liverpool Football Club,” said Valles. “It is such a big team and it was great to go there and get the support of the players and the manager, who all wished me luck for this weekend.

“It was a great moment when I crossed the finish line and knew I was champion. I hope to race for Liverpool for many years in this series and to repeat this success. They have lots of European titles, and I want to do that with them too.”

Valles also praised the efforts of title rival Craig Dolby of Tottenham Hotspur, who stormed from 13th to second in the final race of the year.

“Craig did a great job, and it was like he had a rocket in his car in that second race today,” Valles quipped.

Dolby said he had still enjoyed his charge through the field even though it was not enough to deny Liverpool and Valles the title.

“The goal this weekend was to score more points than anyone else, and we did that,” said Dolby.

“The second race was a real buzz: I passed Adrian and Yelmer [Buurman] in one move at the restart, then passed Sebastien [Bourdais] around the outside. Not many people can say they’ve done that – I’ll overtake anyone, anywhere!

“I did everything I could to win this championship, and even though I didn’t, we’ve had a great year.”

Anderlecht’s Yelmer Buurman won the €100,000 Superleague Formula super final at Jarama, as the top six scorers of the weekend were given a five-lap dash for cash.

The race was decided in the opening few seconds. Poleman Craig Dolby (Tottenham) lurched forward on the red light and stalled, so the race for the lead to the first corner was between Sebastien Bourdais (Sevilla) and Tristan Gommendy (Porto) – or so it seemed.

Gommendy locked up and went off, Bourdais had also outbraked himself and only just scrabbled around, leaving the way clear for Buurman to sneak through and blast away.

Bourdais held on to second, while series champion Adrian Valles (Liverpool) held off the early challenge of race two winner Ho-Pin Tung of Galatasaray for third.

Gommendy was fifth, ahead of the distant Dolby, who finally got going 30 seconds after everyone else.