1998 German Formula Three Championship Explained

The 1998 German Formula Three Championship (German: 1998 Deutsche Formel-3-Meisterschaft) was a multi-event motor racing championship for single-seat open wheel formula racing cars that held across Europe. The championship featured drivers competing in two-litre Formula Three racing cars built by Dallara and Martini which conform to the technical regulations, or formula, for the championship. It commenced on 18 April May at Hockenheimring and ended at Nürburgring on 4 October after ten double-header rounds.

Van Amersfoort Racing driver Bas Leinders became the first Belgian champion of the series. He clinched the title, winning seven of 20 races. Robert Lechner won the rookie championship and finished as runner-up with wins on home soil at Salzburgring, losing 21 points to Leinders. Wolf Henzler was victorious at Nürburgring. The other race winners was Pierre Kaffer, Christijan Albers, Timo Scheider, Thomas Jäger and Thomas Mutsch.^[1]

Teams and drivers

1998 Entry list^[2]
Team		Driver	Chassis	Engine	Status	Rounds
Opel Team BSR	0	Tomáš Enge	Martini MK73/09	Opel		1-2, 4-5
		Tom Schwister	Martini MK73/09			6
		Timo Rumpfkeil	Dallara F397/029			9
		Toby Scheckter	Martini MK73/09			10
	1	Pierre Kaffer	Martini MK73/10			All
	2	Norman Simon	Dallara F397/049			All
	3	Steffen Widmann				All
KMS Benetton Junior Team	5	Thomas Mutsch	Dallara F397/023	Opel		All
	6	Johnny Mislijevic	Dallara F397/002			1-9
	6	Alex Müller	Dallara F397/002			10
	7	Jeffrey van Hooydonk	Dallara F398/001			All
Josef Kaufmann Racing	8	Wolf Henzler	Martini MK73/06	Opel		All
Josef Kaufmann Racing	9	Timo Scheider	Martini MK73/05	Opel		3-9
GM-DSF-F3 Team	10	Wouter van Eeuwijk	Dallara F397/054	Opel		All
	11	Robert Lechner	Dallara F397/052			All
	12	Tim Bergmeister	Dallara F397/062			1, 4
Tim Bergmeister	12	Tim Bergmeister	Dallara F397/062	Opel		5-10
Klaus Trella Motorsport	14	Thomas Jäger	Martini MK73/11	Opel		All
Klaus Trella Motorsport	15	Thomas Braumüller	Dallara F396/012	Opel		1-4
Van Amersfoort Racing	16	Bas Leinders		Opel		All
Van Amersfoort Racing	17	Christijan Albers	Dallara F398/004	Opel		All
IPS Motorsport	18	Johan Stureson	Dallara F397/046	Opel		All
JB Motorsport	19	Yves Olivier	Dallara F398/021	Opel		All
JB Motorsport	20	Marcin Biernacki		Opel		All
MKL F3 Racing	21	Lucas Luhr	Dallara F397/056	Opel		All
TKF Racing	22	Petr Křižan	Dallara F396/022	Opel		7-9
	23	Jarosław Wierczuk	Dallara F398/009			All
	24	Lasse Jakobsen	Dallara F396/022			1-6
MKL F3 Racing	27	Michael Becker	Dallara F398/023	Opel		1-2, 4-9
MKL F3 Racing	27	Tim Bergmeister	Dallara F397/062	Opel		3
Royal Automobile Club of Sweden	28	Nicklas Karlsson	Dallara F395/045	Fiat		4
Austrian Formula 3 Cup
Křižan Racing Team	51	Petr Křižan	Dallara F396/043	Opel		3
Franz Wöss Racing	52	Jaromír Zdražil	Dallara F396/042	Opel		3
Franz Wöss Racing	53	André Fibier	Dallara F395/015	Opel		3
Achleitner Motorsport	54	Josef Neuhauser	Dallara F394/021	Opel		3
Jenichen Motorsport	56	Dirk Jenichen	Dallara F396/023	Opel		3
Fritz Kopp Racing Team	57	Osmunde Dolischka	Dallara F395/070	Opel		3
Leoš Prokopec	59	Leoš Prokopec	Dallara F397/047	Fiat		3
Steffek Racing Team	61	Claudia Steffek	Dallara F391/002	Alfa Romeo		3
Dietmar Frischmann	62	Dietmar Frischmann	Dallara F396/004	Opel		3

Calendar

With the exception of round at Salzuburg in Austria, all rounds took place on German soil.

Round		Location	Circuit	Date	Supporting
1	R1	Hockenheim, Germany	Hockenheimring	18 April	ADAC-Preis Hockenheim
1	R2	Hockenheim, Germany	Hockenheimring	19 April	ADAC-Preis Hockenheim
2	R1	Nürburg, Germany	Nürburgring	9 May	60. ADAC Eifelrennen
2	R2	Nürburg, Germany	Nürburgring	10 May	60. ADAC Eifelrennen
3	R1	Saxony, Germany	Sachsenring	23 May	ADAC-Preis des mdr Sachsenring"
3	R2	Saxony, Germany	Sachsenring	24 May	ADAC-Preis des mdr Sachsenring"
4	R1	Nuremberg, Germany	Norisring	4 July	56. ADAC Norisring Rennen "200 Meilen von Nürnberg"
4	R2	Nuremberg, Germany	Norisring	5 July	56. ADAC Norisring Rennen "200 Meilen von Nürnberg"
5	R1	Lahr, Germany	Regio-Ring	18 July	ADAC-Preis Regio Ring Lahr
5	R2	Lahr, Germany	Regio-Ring	19 July	ADAC-Preis Regio Ring Lahr
6	R1	Wunstorf, Germany	Wunstorf Air Base	1 August	ADAC-Flugplatzrennen Wunstorf
6	R2	Wunstorf, Germany	Wunstorf Air Base	2 August	ADAC-Flugplatzrennen Wunstorf
7	R1	Zweibrücken, Germany	Zweibrücken Air Base	15 August	ADAC-Preis Flugplatz Zweibrücken
7	R2	Zweibrücken, Germany	Zweibrücken Air Base	16 August	ADAC-Preis Flugplatz Zweibrücken
8	R1	Salzburg, Austria	Salzburgring	29 August	ADAC-Alpentrophäe
8	R2	Salzburg, Austria	Salzburgring	30 August	ADAC-Alpentrophäe
9	R1	Oschersleben, Germany	Motorsport Arena Oschersleben	12 September	ADAC-Preis der Tourenwagen von "Sachsen-Anhalt"
9	R2	Oschersleben, Germany	Motorsport Arena Oschersleben	13 September	ADAC-Preis der Tourenwagen von "Sachsen-Anhalt"
10	R1	Nürburg, Germany	Nürburgring	3 October	25. ADAC Bilstein Supersprint
10	R2	Nürburg, Germany	Nürburgring	4 October	25. ADAC Bilstein Supersprint

Results

Round		Circuit	Pole Position	Fastest Lap	Winning Driver	Winning Team
1	R1	Hockenheimring	Robert Lechner	Wolf Henzler	Bas Leinders	Van Amersfoort Racing
1	R2	Hockenheimring	Bas Leinders	Jeffrey van Hooydonk	Bas Leinders	Van Amersfoort Racing
2	R1	Nürburgring	Bas Leinders	Wolf Henzler	Wolf Henzler	Josef Kaufmann Racing
2	R2	Nürburgring	Wolf Henzler	Bas Leinders	Wolf Henzler	Josef Kaufmann Racing
3	R1	Sachsenring	Bas Leinders	Bas Leinders	Bas Leinders	Van Amersfoort Racing
3	R2	Sachsenring	Bas Leinders	Christijan Albers	Bas Leinders	Van Amersfoort Racing
4	R1		Pierre Kaffer	Yves Olivier	Christijan Albers	Van Amersfoort Racing
4	R2		Christijan Albers	Robert Lechner	Christijan Albers	Van Amersfoort Racing
5	R1	Regio-Ring	Thomas Mutsch	Timo Scheider	Timo Scheider	Josef Kaufmann Racing
5	R2	Regio-Ring	Timo Scheider	Pierre Kaffer	Timo Scheider	Josef Kaufmann Racing
6	R1	Wunstorf Air Base	Thomas Jäger	Steffen Widmann	Thomas Jäger	Opel Team BSR
6	R2	Wunstorf Air Base	Thomas Jäger	Wolf Henzler	Pierre Kaffer	Opel Team BSR
7	R1	Zweibrücken Air Base	Bas Leinders	Bas Leinders	Bas Leinders	Van Amersfoort Racing
7	R2	Zweibrücken Air Base	Bas Leinders	Robert Lechner	Pierre Kaffer	Opel Team BSR
8	R1	Salzburgring	Robert Lechner	Bas Leinders	Robert Lechner	GM-DSF-F3 Team
8	R2	Salzburgring	Robert Lechner	Pierre Kaffer	Robert Lechner	GM-DSF-F3 Team
9	R1	Motorsport Arena Oschersleben	Bas Leinders	Lucas Luhr	Bas Leinders	Van Amersfoort Racing
9	R2	Motorsport Arena Oschersleben	Bas Leinders	Jeffrey van Hooydonk	Bas Leinders	Van Amersfoort Racing
10		Nürburgring	Bas Leinders	Thomas Mutch	Thomas Mutch	KMS Benetton Junior Team
10	R2	Nürburgring	Thomas Mutsch	Alex Müller	Timo Scheider	Josef Kaufmann Racing

Championship standings

Championship

Pos	Driver	HOC		NÜR1		SAC		NOR		LAH		WUN		ZWE		SAL		OSC		NÜR2		Points
1	Bas Leinders	1	1	16	7	1	1	2	6	7	7	Ret	Ret	1	2	14	3	1	1	2	Ret	200
2	Robert Lechner	8	4	13	12	5	Ret	3	3	2	2	4	4	6	4	1	1	4	4	Ret	5	179
3	Wolf Henzler	5	2	1	1	14	9	Ret	Ret	5	5	2	2	4	3	2	7	8	8	10	4	168
4	Pierre Kaffer	2	Ret	20	Ret	11	20	4	2	8	17	7	1	2	1	3	2	17	10	Ret	9	132
5	Christijan Albers	3	Ret	6	10	13	10	1	1	16	18	9	5	8	6	7	4	2	3	3	11	120
6	Jeffrey van Hooydonk	6	6	4	2	3	2	Ret	9	14	13	8	9	15	10	10	8	3	2	5	3	115
7	Timo Scheider					9	3	6	14	1	1	6	6	3	Ret	4	11	15	13	7	1	114
8	Lucas Luhr	Ret	9	8	5	8	6	9	7	3	3	5	Ret	9	7	11	6	5	6	8	7	90
9	Yves Olivier	4	5	2	3	20	Ret	15	Ret	12	8	13	7	5	5	Ret	16	9	Ret	6	6	76
10	Steffen Widmann	11	Ret	21	13	Ret	19	8	5	6	9	3	3	DNS	9	5	20	11	19	4	2	68
11	Thomas Jäger	7	3	3	6	12	8	Ret	12	Ret	11	1	Ret	Ret	13	Ret	17	10	12	11	Ret	58
12	Norman Simon	15	Ret	7	10	2	7	7	10	9	6	Ret	Ret	11	19	Ret	5	12	9	16	16	56
13	Johan Stureson	12	8	11	11	6	4	11	8	Ret	15	17	8	7	8	6	15	6	5	Ret	15	52
14	Tim Bergmeister	Ret	12			10	Ret	5	4	4	4	11	Ret	10	11	8	21	Ret	DNS	14	Ret	43
15	Thomas Mutsch	Ret	Ret	5	8	4	21	10	15	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	12	12	Ret	12	7	7	1	Ret	30
16	Johnny Mislijevic	Ret	11	10	14	7	5	12	Ret	18	Ret	10	Ret	13	17	Ret	18	13	Ret			14
17	Wouter van Eeuwijk	Ret	Ret	9	15	15	Ret	13	20	17	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	18	9	9	Ret	11	13	8	9
18	Lasse Jakobsen	10	7	14	16	Ret	14	Ret	13	19	16	14	DSQ									5
19	Jarosław Wierczuk	9	Ret	15	19	DSQ	13	14	17	15	16	16	10	17	15	15	19	18	17	15	14	3
20	Tomáš Enge	14	DNS	12	9			Ret	11	10	12											3
21	Thomas Braumüller	16	10	17	17	23	Ret	Ret	16													1
22	Michael Becker	Ret	DNS	18	DNS			Ret	Ret	11	10	12	Ret	14	Ret	12	13	Ret	18			1
23	Petr Křižan					17	12							18	14	13	10	16	14			1
24	Alex Müller																			9	10	1
25	Tom Schwister											15	11									0
26	Marcin Biernacki	13	Ret	19	19	22	Ret	16	18	13	14	DNS	DNS	16	16	Ret	14	14	16	17	12	0
27	Toby Scheckter																			12	13	0
28	André Fibier					21	15															0
29	Timo Rumpfkeil																	Ret	15			0
30	Claudia Steffek					18	16															0
31	Josef Neuhauser					16	Ret															0
32	Dirk Jenichen					24	17															0
33	Ole Martin Lindum					19	18															0
34	Nicklas Karlsson							Ret	19													0
	Osmunde Dolischka					Ret	Ret															0
	Dietmar Frischmann					Ret	Ret															0
	Jaromír Zdražil					Ret	Ret															0
	Leoš Prokopec					Ret	DSQ															0
	Jörg Sandek					DNS	DNS															0
	Frank Brendecke					DNQ	DNQ															0
Pos	Driver	HOC		NÜR1		SAC		NOR		LAH		WUN		ZWE		SAL		OSC		NÜR2		Points

Junior-Pokal (Rookie) standings

	Driver	Points
1	Robert Lechner	176
2	Jeffrey van Hooydonk	159
3	Christijan Albers	150
4	Thomas Jäger	93
5	Thomas Mutsch	74
6	Johnny Mislijevic	33
7	Wouter van Eeuwijk	29
8	Lasse Jakobsen	14
9	Petr Křižan	9
10	Thomas Braumüller	3
11	Timo Rumpfkeil	2

Notes and References

Web site: Formula 3 Germany 1998 standings. driverdb.com. Driver Database. 24 September 2016.
Web site: STARTERLISTE 1998 DEUTSCHE FORMEL-3-MEISTERSCHAFT. formel3guide.com. German. 24 September 2016.