Signatech , currently competing as the Alpine Endurance Team , is a French auto racing team and racing car constructor that competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship . Signatech has been a long-term partner for Alpine since 2013, and has been responsible for running their Le Mans Prototype race cars in the WEC, most notably in the LMP2 class and more recently stepping up to the Le Mans Hypercar class with Alpine's A424 sports prototype. Alpine purchased a stake in Signatech in 2024.
30-766: The team won the FIA European Formula Three Cup in 1999 with Benoît Tréluyer . It won the French Formula Three Championship in 2000 with Jonathan Cochet as driver, who also won the European Cup and Masters of Formula 3 that year, and won the Korea Super Prix for the team in 2001. In 2002, Renaud Derlot won the European F3 Cup for the team. In 2003, Signature won the team championship in
60-580: A protection system to the cockpit called the "halo" , a wishbone-shaped frame aimed to deflect debris away from a driver's head. Despite initial criticism, including for the reason of obstructing the driver's vision, it gained some praise in the Formula 2 sprint race in Catalunya when Nirei Fukuzumi spun and had the back of his car land on fellow countryman Tadasuke Makino 's halo. In the 2018 Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix , McLaren driver Fernando Alonso
90-479: A revolutionary concept which would become the originator and forefather of the single-seater (i.e. monoposto) racecar design. Harroun has also been credited by some as pioneering the rear-view mirror which appeared on his 1911 Indianapolis 500 winning car, though he himself claimed he got the idea from seeing a mirror used for a similar purpose on a horse-drawn vehicle in 1904. Prior to World War II , street automobiles generally had wheels that protruded beyond
120-580: Is 1,500 kilograms (3,200 lb). Open-wheeled racing is among the fastest in the world. Formula One cars can reach speeds in excess of 360 kilometres per hour (220 mph). At Autodromo Nazionale Monza , Antônio Pizzonia of BMW Williams F1 team recorded a top speed of 369.9 kilometres per hour (229.8 mph) (over 102 m/s) in the 2004 Italian Grand Prix . Since the end of the V10 era in 2006, such high speeds have not been reached, with later vehicles reaching around 360 kilometres per hour (220 mph). It
150-582: Is a car with the wheels outside the car's main body, and usually having only one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, sports cars , stock cars , and touring cars , which have their wheels below the body or inside fenders . Open-wheel cars are built both for road racing and oval track racing . Open-wheel cars licensed for use on public roads ( street legal ), such as the Ariel Atom , are uncommon, as they are often impractical for everyday use. American racecar driver and constructor Ray Harroun
180-748: Is difficult to give precise figures for the absolute top speeds of Formula One cars as the data are not generally released by teams. The 'speed traps' on fast circuits such as Monza give a good indication, but are not necessarily located at the point on the track where the car is travelling at its fastest. BAR Honda team recorded an average top speed of 400 kilometres per hour (250 mph) in 2006 at Bonneville Salt Flats , with unofficial top speed reaching 413 kilometres per hour (257 mph) using their modified BAR 007 Formula One car. Speeds on ovals can range in constant excess of 210–220 miles per hour (340–350 km/h), and at Indianapolis in excess of 230 miles per hour (370 km/h). In 2000, Gil de Ferran set
210-474: Is expected in covered-wheel racing, as for example in NASCAR. Open-wheeled drivers must be extremely precise to avoid contact. Regulations tend to permit much lower open-wheel car weights than in categories that more closely resemble street-legal vehicles, such as sports , touring , and stock cars . For instance, a Formula One car must weigh at least 798 kilograms (1,759 lb); the minimum weight for NASCAR
240-642: Is not always the case; some open-wheel categories raced primarily as development or amateur categories, such as Formula Ford or Formula Vee , do not permit the use of wings or ground effect aerodynamics. Some major races, such as the Singapore Grand Prix , Monaco Grand Prix (sanctioned by Formula One) and the Long Beach Grand Prix (sanctioned by IndyCar), are held on temporary street circuits . However, most open-wheel races are on dedicated road courses , such as Watkins Glen in
270-719: The Monza Circuit the fastest lap in the 2021 Grand Prix ( Daniel Ricciardo 1:24.812) is more than six seconds per lap faster than the fastest closed-wheel racing car, an LMP1 sports car , and more than 20 seconds per lap faster than the DTM touring car lap record. Driving an open-wheel car is substantially different from driving a car with fenders. Virtually all Formula One and IndyCar drivers spend some time in various open-wheel categories before joining either top series. Open-wheel vehicles, due to their light weight, aerodynamic capabilities, and powerful engines, are often considered
300-737: The Nissan GT Academy, Signatech finished second in LMP2 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans . In 2012, Signature decided to pull out of the Formula 3 Euro Series, to concentrate on its involvement in sport car races. The team finished tenth overall at the 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans using a Nissan -powered Oreca 03 . In 2013, Alpine partnered with Signatech to run an LMP2 car in the European Le Mans Series with French drivers Pierre Ragues and Nelson Panciatici . Signatech won
330-686: The 2009 European Le Mans Series in the LMP1 category. The 2010 season was an outstanding one for Signature in the F3 Euroseries with Edoardo Mortara and Marco Wittmann finishing first and second in the series, winning eight races between them, and also taking the team championship. Signatech provided the chassis for the Formula Future Fiat , a junior formula racing series in Brazil held in 2010 and 2011. In 2011, in cooperation with
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#1732765334890360-5080: The Cup between the headline event of the Pau Grand Prix . In 2003 the Formula 3 Euro Series was started, and the event was ended the following year. European Formula 3 Cup winners [ edit ] Year Circuit Champion Team Car 1985 Circuit Paul Ricard , France [REDACTED] Alex Caffi [REDACTED] Gulf - Coloni Dallara F385/ Alfa Romeo Novamotor 1986 Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari , Italy [REDACTED] Stefano Modena [REDACTED] Euroteam Reynard 863/ Alfa Romeo Novamotor 1987 Silverstone Circuit , Great Britain [REDACTED] Steve Kempton [REDACTED] Reynard R&D Reynard 873/ Alfa Romeo Novamotor 1988 Nürburgring , West Germany [REDACTED] Joachim Winkelhock [REDACTED] WTS - Liqui Moly Reynard 883/ Volkswagen Spiess 1989 Misano World Circuit , Italy [REDACTED] Gianni Morbidelli [REDACTED] Forti Corse Dallara F389/ Alfa Romeo Novamotor 1990 Bugatti Circuit , France [REDACTED] Alessandro Zanardi [REDACTED] RC Motorsport Dallara F390/ Alfa Romeo Novamotor 1991–1998 Race not held 1999 Pau Grand Prix , France [REDACTED] Benoît Tréluyer [REDACTED] Signature Compétition Dallara F399/ Renault Sodemo 2000 Pau Grand Prix , France [REDACTED] Jonathan Cochet [REDACTED] Signature - Elf Dallara F300/ Renault Sodemo 2001 Pau Grand Prix , France [REDACTED] Anthony Davidson [REDACTED] Carlin Motorsport Dallara F301/ Honda Mugen 2002 Pau Grand Prix , France [REDACTED] Renaud Derlot [REDACTED] ARTA - Signature - Elf Dallara F302/ Renault Sodemo 2003 Pau Grand Prix , France [REDACTED] Ryan Briscoe [REDACTED] Prema Powerteam Dallara F303/ Opel 2004 Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps , Belgium [REDACTED] Adam Carroll [REDACTED] P1 Motorsport Dallara F304/ Honda Mugen Performance by country [ edit ] Rank Country Winning Driver Winning Team 1 [REDACTED] Italy 4 ( 1985 , 1986 , 1989 , 1990 ) 5 ( 1985 , 1986 , 1989 , 1990 , 2003 ) 2 [REDACTED] France 3 ( 1999 , 2000 , 2002 ) 3 ( 1999 , 2000 , 2002 ) 2 [REDACTED] Great Britain 3 ( 1987 , 2001 , 2004 ) 3 ( 1987 , 2001 , 2004 ) 4 [REDACTED] Germany 1 ( 1988 ) 1 ( 1988 ) 5 [REDACTED] Australia 1 ( 2003 ) See also [ edit ] FIA European Formula Three Championship Formula 3 Euro Series External links [ edit ] FIA European Formula 3 Cup at forix.com v t e European Formula Three seasons European Formula 3 (1975–1984) 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 ( List of drivers ) Replaced by FIA European Formula 3 Cup European Formula 3 Cup (1985–2004) 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991–1998: not held 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Formula 3 Euro Series (2003–2012) 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 ( List of drivers ) Replaced by FIA Formula 3 European Championship Formula 3 European (2012–2018) 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 ( List of drivers ) Replaced by Formula Regional European Championship Formula Regional European (2019–present) 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 ( List of drivers ) Related F3 racing series GP3 Series (2010–2018) predecessor to FIA F3 FIA Formula 3 Championship (since 2019) successor to FIA GP3 Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=FIA_European_Formula_3_Cup&oldid=1259639381 " Categories : FIA European Formula Three Cup Formula Three races FIA championships 1985 establishments in Europe 2004 disestablishments in Europe Hidden categories: Articles needing additional references from November 2015 All articles needing additional references Open-wheel car An open-wheel car
390-491: The Indy 500. Compared to covered-wheel race cars, open-wheeled cars allow more precise placement of the front wheels on the race course, as the tires are clearly visible to the driver. This allows the maximum potential of the cars to be achieved during cornering and passing. Furthermore, open-wheeled cars are less tolerant of vehicle-to-vehicle contact, which usually results in vehicle damage and retiring, whereas some level of contact
420-700: The LMP2 Team's and Driver's championships. In 2014, Signatech delivered chassis for the Formula 4 Sudamericana . In 2015, Signatech, continuing its partnership with Alpine, returned to the FIA World Endurance Championship , winning the championship LMP2 category in 2016 and 2018–19 . In 2020, Signatech returned to the European Le Mans Series under the name of Richard Mille Racing Team. The team previously planned to run an all-female lineup of Tatiana Calderón , Katherine Legge and Sophia Flörsch , however, due to Legge's injury, she
450-574: The Le Mans Hypercar class for the 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship season, which finished third overall at the 2021 24 Hours of Le Mans . The team continued with this lineup in 2022. For 2023, Signatech returned to the LMP2 category with two Oreca 07s ; they will return to the top class of the World Endurance Championship in 2024 with two Alpine A424s . FIA European Formula Three Cup From Misplaced Pages,
480-767: The US, Nürburgring in Germany, Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium and Silverstone in Great Britain. In the United States, some top-level open-wheel events are held on ovals, of both short track and superspeedway variety, with emphasis more on speed and endurance than the maneuverability required for road and street course events. The Whelen Modified Tour is the only opened wheeled race car series endorsed by NASCAR . This series races on most of NASCAR's most famous tracks in
510-570: The United States. Other asphalt modified series race on short tracks in the United States and Canada, such as Wyoming County International Speedway in New York. The best-attended oval race in the world is the annual Indianapolis 500 (Indy 500) in Speedway, Indiana , sanctioned by IndyCar; in the United States it is quite common to refer to open-wheel cars as IndyCars, because of their recognizable appearance and widespread popularity across America at
540-696: The Whelen Modified Tour, where the engine is in front of the driver. Depending on the rules of the class, many types of open-wheelers have wings at the front and rear of the vehicle, as well as a very low and virtually flat undertray that helps achieve additional aerodynamic downforce pushing the car onto the road. While many other categories of racing cars produce downforce, the top categories of open-wheel racing cars (particularly Formula One and IndyCar ) produce far more downforce relative to their mass than any other racing category, allowing much higher corner speeds on comparable tracks. However, this
570-492: The fastest racing vehicles available and among the most challenging to master. Wheel-to-wheel contact is dangerous, particularly when the forward edge of one tire contacts the rear of another tire: since the treads are moving in opposite directions (one upward, one downward) at the point of contact, both wheels rapidly decelerate, torquing the chassis of both cars and often causing one or both vehicles to be suddenly and powerfully flung upwards (the rear car tends to pitch forward, and
600-406: The first Formula Renault V6 Eurocup , with Tristan Gommendy and Kosuke Matsuura as drivers. They moved from the defunct French F3 series to its replacement, the Formula 3 Euro Series , and Nicolas Lapierre and Fabio Carbone completed a 1–2 finish for the team at the prestigious Macau Grand Prix . Edoardo Mortara and Jean-Karl Vernay repeated this feat in 2009. The team began competing in
630-704: The 💕 (Redirected from FIA European Formula Three Cup ) [REDACTED] This article relies largely or entirely on a single source . Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page . Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources . Find sources: "FIA European Formula 3 Cup" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR ( November 2015 ) FIA European Formula 3 Cup Category Single seater racing Region Europe Inaugural season 1985 Folded 2004 Classes Formula Three The FIA European Formula 3 Cup
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#1732765334890660-598: The front car tends to pitch backward.) An example of this is the 2005 Chicagoland crash of Ryan Briscoe and Alex Barron . The lower weight of an open-wheel racecar enables better performance. While the exposure of the wheels to the airstream causes a very high aerodynamic drag at high speeds, it allows improved cooling of the brakes, which is important on road courses with their frequent changes of pace. In 2018, several single seater series such as Formula One, Formula 2 (with their new Dallara F2 2018 chassis), and Formula E (with their new Spark SRT05e chassis) introduced
690-507: The main body of the car, and thus the open-wheel design became almost exclusively associated with racing vehicles. Formula One cars have almost exclusively used the open-wheel design throughout the history of the championship. The only notable exception was the "Monza body" variation of the Mercedes-Benz W196 racer of 1954–55, which covered the wheels with bodywork for aerodynamic reasons. Modern Formula One regulations mandate
720-529: The one-lap qualifying record of 241.428 miles per hour (388.541 km/h) at California Speedway . Even on tight non-oval street circuits such as the Grand Prix of Toronto , open-wheel Indy Cars attain speeds of 190 miles per hour (310 km/h). Regardless of top speeds, Formula One open-wheel race cars hold the outright lap record at the circuits where they race due to their combination of top speed, acceleration, and cornering abilities. For example, at
750-482: The open-wheel configuration. A typical open-wheeler has a minimal cockpit, sufficient only to enclose the driver's body, with the head exposed to the air. In the Whelen Modified Tour and other short track modified series, the driver's head is contained in the car. In modern cars, the engine is often located directly behind the driver and drives the rear wheels; except in asphalt modified cars, such as
780-410: The vehicle's main body, though they were typically covered with mudguards to protect the car body and following traffic from water and mud spray. With the advent of unibody vehicle construction, the desire to maximise interior space, to improve aerodynamics, and aircraft-inspired styling trends of the era, by the end of the 1950s the majority of new road-registerable vehicles had wheels that were under
810-622: Was a Formula Three race held annually in Europe from 1985 to 1990 and 1999 to 2004. The Cup was awarded by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile , the world governing body for motorsport, as its main Formula Three title in Europe after the European Formula 3 Championship was cancelled in 1984. A different venue in Europe hosted the Cup each year during its initial run, while the revival in 1999 saw
840-605: Was an early pioneer of the concept of a lightweight single-seater, open-wheel "monoposto" racecar. After working as a mechanic in the automotive industry, Harroun began competitive professional racing in 1906, winning the AAA National Championship in 1910. He was then hired by the Marmon Motor Car Company as chief engineer, charged with building a racecar intended to race at the first Indianapolis 500 , which he went on to win. He developed
870-654: Was sent airborne after being hit from behind by the Renault of Nico Hülkenberg and struck the halo of Sauber driver Charles Leclerc , thereby saving the Monegasque driver from a visor strike. In 2019 , the newly-formed FIA Formula 3 Championship introduced a halo to their new chassis which was unveiled at the 2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix . In 2020 , the IndyCar Series adopted a halo combined with an aeroscreen, built by Red Bull Advanced Technologies. At
900-414: Was then replaced by André Negrão for the first two rounds. Beitske Visser would then take over Legge's place for the rest of the season. The team would then join the LMP2 class of the 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship, with an all-female lineup of Tatiana Calderón, Beitske Visser and Sophia Flörsch. In 2021, the team partnered again with Alpine, this time fielding a "grandfathered" Rebellion R13 in
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