Double R Racing is delighted to announce its continued participation in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship this year after today, Friday, 7th March, naming Brazilian youngster Felipe Guimaraes as its maiden signing for the globe’s biggest F3 category.

Having already confirmed a minimum two car entry for the Cooper Tires British F3 International Series, the Woking team is overjoyed to also be returning to the FIA Formula 3 European category for a second season after completing a deal with the 2013 Formula 3 Sudamericana Champion.

Guimaraes, who hails from Brasilia, enjoyed a hugely successful season last year with no fewer than 13 race wins on his way to the South American ‘Sudamericana’ title and two further wins in British F3, in addition to success in the F3 Brazil Open. As one of the most successful kart drivers in Brazilian motorsport history, he is supported by former F1 racers Emerson Fittipaldi and Alex Dias Ribeiro.

The 22-year-old, who will pilot a Mercedes-powered Dallara F312 in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship, is a welcome addition to Double R’s ranks and team owner Anthony ‘Boyo’ Hieatt is confident Guimaraes has what it takes to deliver a consistently strong campaign.

“Felipe is a fantastic young driver, we were very impressed by what we saw of him in British F3 last year”, said Hieatt, “He obviously did a fantastic job in the South American championship and he’s certainly got the experience to be very competitive in Europe this year, I’m hopeful of a very strong season from him.

“We always wanted to maintain an FIA Formula 3 European Championship programme alongside British F3 again this year, so we’re delighted to have agreed the deal with Felipe. Ideally, we’d like to run two or three cars in Europe – hopefully we’ll be able to confirm our next signing very soon.”

Since moving from karts to cars at the age of 16, Guimaraes has carved out an impressive career in single-seaters. Making the immediate leap into Formula 3 for his car racing debut back in 2007, the Brazilian starred with two race victories in his maiden season in the Sudamericana Championship.

Travelling to Europe the following year to race in Euroseries 3000, where he secured a podium finish, the youngster competed for Team Brazil in the A1 Grand Prix ‘World Cup of Motorsport’ in 2008 and 2009 where he again enjoyed podium success. He also claimed two podiums from three starts in the Indy Lights series in the USA.

Stepping-up into the FIA Formula One World Championship-supporting GP3 Series in 2010, where he became a podium finisher, Guimaraes then returned home to South America and spent the majority of 2011 on the single-seater sidelines but did keep his competitive skills sharp in karting.

Returning to full-time car racing action the following year, he ended the F3 Sudamericana campaign fourth overall with four race wins to his credit despite only contesting the final three events. Going on to claim the title in fine style in 2013, he secured a total of 17 race wins across the year and was a double winner in the F3 Brazil Open too to claim his second championship crown.

Guimaraes also became a double race winner in his dovetailed British Formula 3 programme which he ended a highly competitive fourth overall in the standings. He then defended his Brazil Open title earlier this year to make it back-to-back triumphs.

Officially timed pre-season testing for the FIA Formula 3 European Championship will take place on 4th/5th April at the Hungaroring in Hungary and on 8th/9th April at Austria’s Red Bull Ring. The season itself will commence over the weekend 19th/20th April at Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit in the UK.