Reigning Euroformula Open Champion Team Motopark will defend its three titles (Drivers, Rookies and Teams) with a three-car entry. The team based in Oschersleben today confirmed its driver line-up, which will be composed of Cameron Das, Niklas Krütten and Manuel Maldonado.
Cameron Das (19), from USA, will return to both the series and the German team with which he competed part-season last year. Germany’s Niklas Krütten (17), from Trier, has also been driving for Motopark last year and will now return, hot on the heels of his silver medal at the FIA World Motorsports Games in Italy. “Both Niklas and Cameron have been testing and preparing themselves extensively over the winter months”, says team principal Timo Rumpfkeil. “We’re sure they can follow the footsteps of our successful 2019 campaign”. Das and Krütten will be joined by Venezuelan Manuel Maldonado (20), the cousin of Pastor Maldonado, the one-time Grand Prix winner with Williams. “He, too, has been testing and preparing a lot over the winter and looks a very promising rookie indeed”, says Rumpfkeil, “We’re sure we’re going to have an exciting and successful season in what is one of the most important feeder series in Europe”.
In 2020, the new Dallara 320 is going to replace the F317 as the Euroformula Open car.
Timo Rumpfkeil comments: “The new car follows the long-standing tradition of Formula Three – light cars with a high aero efficiency and very good suspension mechanics. The drivers get an ever better base than with the previous car, which already was a benchmark. As a long-serving Formula Three team, we have learned and understood a lot about these cars and their philosophy. Thus, we are confident that we will manage the transition to the new Dallara rather well and quickly and hit the ground running right from the very first meeting”.
“Due to the Coronavirus pandemic everything got sadly delayed. We did manage to do some testing in March before the lock-down which was good to get some bases for the new car sorted. We are aiming at starting testing again as soon as mid-May here on our home track in Oschersleben.”
Manuel Maldonado: “I am extremely excited to be joining Motopark for the upcoming season, having done the winter testing in 2019, I can say that it is a privilege to be part of such a team, who works around the clock to be the best. There is no doubt of what they are capable of achieving and this is the reason I wanted to join the team so much. We now wait eagerly for the season to start. Despite of the current situation, the team and I are ready to go for when it is safe to do so”.
