2023 Drexler-Automotive Formula Cup

2023 Drexler-Automotive Formula Cup

Formula 3 Cup winner:
Benjámin Berta
Formula 3 Trophy winner:
Marcel Tobler
Formula Light Cup winner:
Fabio Turchetto

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2022

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2024

The 2023 Drexler-Automotive Formula Cup was the 42nd Austria Formula 3 Cup season and the fifth season since Drexler-Automotive took over the title sponsoring of the series.

The 2023 season was held over eight race weekends across Europe. It started in March at Mugello Circuit and concluded in October at the same venue. The rounds at Mugello, Imola, Red Bull Ring and Spa had joint grids with the F2000 Italian Formula Trophy.

Benjámin Berta, driving for Franz Wöss Racing, claimed the Formula 3 Cup title. Marcel Tobler, driving for Jo Zeller Racing, won the Formula 3 Trophy title. Fabio Turchetto, driving for A.S.D. Ruote Scoperte M., won the Formula Light Cup.

Teams and drivers

Teams and drivers competed in either Formula 3 or the Formula Light Cup. Formula 3 entries were divided between the Cup class and the Trophy class.

Formula 3 Cup entries

Team	No.	Driver	Car	Engine	Rounds
Franz Wöss Racing	1	Benjamin Berta	Dallara F316	Mercedes	All
	19	Cian Carey	Dallara F318	Mercedes	6
Puresport	8	Dino Rasero	Dallara 320	Mercedes	1–2, 4
	12	Christof Ledermann	Dallara F309	Volkswagen	4–5
	14	Andrea Benalli	Dallara F309	VW Spiess	1–2, 4–5, 8
Noda Racing	10	Juju Noda	Dallara 320	Spiess	1–2, 4–8
Jo Zeller Racing	11	Kurt Böhlen	Dallara F316	Mercedes	5–6, 8
	44	Sandro Zeller	Dallara F316	Mercedes	All
One Sport Performance	21	Alessandro Bracalente	Dallara F317	Volkswagen	1
	23	Marco Marotta	Dallara F312	Volkswagen	5
TVS Motorsport	23	Enzo Stentella	Dallara 320	Mercedes	1–2, 4, 8
Rennsport Wachter	24	Victor Smialek	Dallara F308	Fiat	5–6, 8
Bellspeed	27	Patrick Bellezza	Dallara F300	Fiat	1–2, 5, 8
Team Perego	46	Riccardo Perego	Dallara F317	Volkswagen	1–2, 4–5, 8
Magyar Racing Team		Janos Magyar	Tatuus FM	Honda	3–4, 7
HT Powertrain	51	Bernardo Pellegrini	Dallara 320	Mercedes	1–2, 4–5, 8
Racing in Italy	75	Mei Shibi	Dallara F308	Volkswagen	4–5, 8
G Motorsport	131	Francesco Galli	Dallara 320	Mercedes	1–2, 4–5, 8
Source:

Formula 3 Trophy entries

Team	No.	Driver	Car	Engine	Rounds
Jo Zeller Racing	2	Urs Rüttimann	Dallara F306	Volkswagen	4–6
	3	Marcel Tobler	Dallara F308	Mercedes	2, 4–6
Franz Wöss Racing	4	Thomas Amweg	Dallara F309	Volkswagen	4
	5	Thomas Aregger	Dallara F309	Volkswagen	5
		Maximilian Malinowski			6
	9	Luca Iannacone	Dallara F308	Mercedes	1, 3–4, 7–8
	95	Tom Beckhäuser	Dallara F309	Volkswagen	3
	98	Vaclav Safar	Dallara F309	Volkswagen	7–8
Team Hoffmann Racing	4	Robert Rowe	Dallara F312	Toyota	5
		Danny Luderer			8
	26	André Petropolus	Dallara F316	Opel	6–7
SAPE Motorsport	6	Vaclav Lausmann	Dallara F317	Toyota	4, 6–7
Facondini Racing		Enrico Milani	Dallara F308	Fiat	2, 5
	36	Francesco Solfaroli	Dallara F317	Toyota	1–2, 5, 8
Team Speed Center	7	Christian Zeller	Dallara F312	Opel	5
	12	Philipp Todtenhaupt	Dallara F317	Toyota	5
	180	Patrick Harmuth	Dallara F308	Toyota	5
	199	Thomas Zeltner	Dallara F317	Toyota	5
Team Tramonti Corse	11	Carmine Tancredi	Dallara F308	Toyota	1–2
Living KC	12	Umberto Vaglio	Dallara F308	Toyota	2, 5
Twister Italia	13	Sergio Terrini	Dallara F308	Fiat	1–2, 4
Neri Autosport	18	Jean-Luc Neri	Dallara F311	Fiat	8
	30	Sébastien Banchereau	Dallara F308	Fiat	8
BMG Racing	28	Giorgio Berto	Dallara F308	Fiat	1–2
Sud Motorsport	33	Salvatore Marinaro	Dallara F310	Fiat	1–2, 8
	85	Daniele Siano	Dallara F308	Fiat	1
Team Automobile Tricolore	39	Edoardo Bonanomi	Dallara F312	Mercedes	1–2, 5
Nannini Racing	42	Davide Pedetti	Dallara	Toyota	6, 8
	81	Marco Falci	Dallara F317	Toyota	1–2
		Giancarlo Pedetti			6, 8
Chabr Motorsport	54	Tomáš Chabr	Dallara F308	Mugen-Honda	8
Racing in Italy	75	Mei Shibi	Dallara F314	Toyota	6
Emotion Motorsport	83	Daniele Radrizzani	Dallara F317	Toyota	1–2
VS Racing	99	Tim Buckley	Dallara F302	Toyota	5
Source:

Formula Light Cup entries

Team	No.	Driver	Car	Engine	Rounds
Viola Formula Racing	2	Laurence Balestrini	Tatuus FR2.0	Renault	4
Team Hoffmann Racing	4	Robert Rowe	Tatuus FR2.0	Renault	6
		Walter Steding	Tatuus FR2.0	Renault	7
	122	Dr. Norbert Groer	Tatuus FR2.0	Renault	4–8
Team Speed Center	8	Dennis Hübl	Tatuus FR2.0	Renault	6
Andreas Stamann	32	Andreas Stamann	Tatuus FR2.0	Renault	5
PLMRACING	29	Stefano Palummieri	Tatuus FR2.0	Renault	4, 8
A.S.D. Ruote Scoperte M.	34	Sergio Conti	Tatuus F4-T014	Abarth	5, 8
	79	Fabio Turchetto	Tatuus FR2.0	Renault	1–2, 4, 8
Padoviani Corse ASD	89	Simone Padoviani	Tatuus FR2.0	Renault	2, 8
Franz Wöss Racing	125	Robert Siska	Tatuus FR2.0	Renault	2–3, 7
Schwarze-Motorsport	163	Falk Schwarze	Tatuus FR2.0	Renault	7
Jo Zeller Racing	717	Stephan Glaser	Tatuus FR2.0	Renault	7–8
Source:

Race calendar

The championship did not return to Vallelunga, but instead returned to Spa-Francorchamps after not visiting the circuit in 2022.

R.	RN	Circuit	Date	Support bill	Map of circuit locations
1	1	Mugello Circuit, Scarperia e San Piero	25 March	F2000 Italian Formula Trophy 24H Series (12 Hours of Mugello)	Mugello Imola Budapest Spielberg Spa Hockenheim Brno
	2
2	1	Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola	22 April	TCR Italian Series Formula Regional European Championship
	2		23 April
3	1	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	29 April	ESET Cup Series TCR Eastern Europe
	2		30 April
4	1	Red Bull Ring, Spielberg	21 May	ESET Cup Series TCR Eastern Europe
	2
5	1	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	8 July	Spa Summer Classics Spa 3 Hours
	2		9 July
6	1	Hockenheimring, Hockenheim	29 July	Porsche Club Historic Challenge P9 Challenge
	2
7	1	Brno Circuit, Brno	9 September	TCR Eastern Europe BOSS GP Series
	2		10 September
8	1	Mugello Circuit, Scarperia e San Piero	8 October	BOSS GP Series F2000 Italian Formula Trophy
	2

Race results

R.	RN	Circuit	Pole position	Fastest lap	F3 Cup winner	F3 Trophy winner	Formula Light Cup winner
1	1	Mugello Circuit	Juju Noda	Francesco Galli	Benjamin Berta	Marco Falci	Fabio Turchetto
	2		Juju Noda	Juju Noda	Juju Noda	Marco Falci	Fabio Turchetto
2	1	Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari	Benjamin Berta	Benjamin Berta	Benjamin Berta	Edoardo Bonanomi	Fabio Turchetto
	2		Benjamin Berta	Benjamin Berta	Benjamin Berta	Enrico Milani	Fabio Turchetto
3	1	Hungaroring	Sandro Zeller	Sandro Zeller	Sandro Zeller	Tom Beckhäuser	Robert Siska
	2		Benjamin Berta	Sandro Zeller	Sandro Zeller	Tom Beckhäuser	Robert Siska
4	1	Red Bull Ring	Benjamin Berta	Benjamin Berta	Benjamin Berta	Marcel Tobler	Dr. Norbert Groer
	2		Benjamin Berta	Benjamin Berta	Benjamin Berta	Marcel Tobler	Stefano Palummieri
5	1	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps	Juju Noda	Juju Noda	Juju Noda	Marcel Tobler	Andreas Stamann
	2		Juju Noda	Juju Noda	Juju Noda	Marcel Tobler	Dr. Norbert Groer
6	1	Hockenheimring	Juju Noda	Benjamin Berta	Kurt Böhlen	Marcel Tobler	Dennis Hübl
	2		Juju Noda	Juju Noda	Juju Noda	Marcel Tobler	Robert Rowe
7	1	Brno Circuit	Juju Noda	Juju Noda	Juju Noda	Vaclav Safar	Dr. Norbert Groer
	2		Juju Noda	Juju Noda	Juju Noda	Vaclav Safar	Walter Steding
8	1	Mugello Circuit	Francesco Galli	Juju Noda	Francesco Galli	Vaclav Safar	Stefano Palummieri
	2		Francesco Galli	Juju Noda	Juju Noda	Vaclav Safar	Stefano Palummieri

Season report

First half

The season began in March at Mugello Circuit with a 34-car grid together with the F2000 Italian Formula Trophy. Noda Racing's Juju Noda took pole position for both races. She had to concede the win of the first race to Franz Wöss Racing's Benjamin Berta, as she finished third behind the Hungarian and Jo Zeller Racing's Sandro Zeller. She turned her luck around later in the day, to claim the win in race two, ahead of HT Powertrain's Bernardo Pellegrini and Zeller. The F3 Trophy was dominated by Nannini Racing's Marco Falci, who took both race wins. The Formula Light Cup saw only a single car entered into the races: Fabio Turchetto, driving for A.S.D. Ruote Scoperte M., therefore won both races.

The second round at Imola was also held in conjunction with the Italian F2000 series. This time, Berta was the man to beat in qualifying as he took two pole positions. He took two largely unchallenged victories to claim the championship lead. The first race had its podium completed by Pellegrini and Noda, while the latter had to fight through from the back of the grid in race two. That race saw Zeller return to the podium, ahead of Pellegrini. Team Automobile Tricolore's Edoardo Bonanomi and Facondini Racing's Enrico Milani shared the wins in the F3 Trophy class, while standings leader Falci was unable to finish both races. Three cars entered the Formula Light Cup, but Turchetto remained unbeaten.

Only eight cars were present for the third round at the Hungaroring. Zeller and Berta shared pole positions, but Zeller was the better man in both races, winning from pole position in race one and fighting past Berta to take the win in race two. Magyar Racing Team's Janos Magyar completed both podiums as the only other F3 Cup entrant, as Zeller closed up to Berta and moved past the absent Noda in the standings. Franz Wöss Racing's Tom Beckhäuser won both F3 Trophy races, ahead of his teammate Luca Iannacone. The Formula Light Cup saw a new winner, as Turchetto was absent and Franz Wöss Racing's Robert Siska won both races as the only entrant in the class.

The first half of the season ended at Spielberg. Noda was back in action, but Berta was in his best form, dominating qualifying and taking both race wins to extend his championship advantage. Noda came second in race one, but was unable to finish race two. Zeller was also right in the mix, completing the podium in race one and finishing second ahead of G Motorsport's Francesco Galli in race two. Jo Zeller Racing's Marcel Tobler sweeped the weekend in the F3 Trophy class, while four cars battled for Formula Light Cup honors. Team Hoffmann Racing's Dr. Norbert Groer and PLMRACING's Stefano Palummieri shared the wins, while Turchetto solidified his points lead with two podiums.

Second half

30 cars entered the event at Spa, where Noda set out to reduce her points deficit to the leader. She did so in style, claiming both pole positions and winning both races in her class. Berta minimized the damage to his championship lead with two second places, while Zeller and Galli completed the two podiums. Tobler extended his winning run to four races in the F3 Trophy class. Groer also continued his efforts to catch up to Formula Light Cup leader Turchetto, taking a win and a second place in absence of the latter. privateer entry Andreas Stamann took the other win, but did not enter race two, so Groer had to be content with half points for his win.

The sixth round at the Hockenheimring was another one without the Italian F2000, so only 16 cars entered. The weekend began in tricky wet conditions, with Noda coping the best in qualifying to claim double pole positions, before all three championship contenders had to concede race one victory to Jo Zeller Racing's Kurt Böhlen. Race two however saw the familiar trio back on top, with Noda ahead of Zeller and Berta. The F3 Trophy class still saw no different winners, with Tobler sweeping his third weekend. Groer had to take a hit in his Formula Light Cup catch-up efforts, as he was unable to start both races which were won by Speed Center's Dennis Hübl and Team Hoffmann's Robert Rowe.

Brno Circuit hosted the penultimate round, and only four cars entered the Formula 3 Cup. Berta had a chance to clinch the championship, but Noda was unbeaten all weekend to keep the fight alive. Both races saw the same podium, Noda ahead of Berta and Zeller. Tobler was absent, so his F3 Trophy winning streak ended in favor of Franz Wöss Racing's Vaclav Safar, who took victory in both races. Groer claimed another Formula Light Cup win, but only came fifth in the second race. Team Hoffmann Racing's Walter Steding won the other race. Leader Turchetto had now been absent for four weekends running, and Groer was now in striking distance to take the title.

The championship concluded right were it began, at Mugello Circuit. Noda and Berta were in close competition for the title, but had to concede the first race to Galli, with Berta coming second ahead of Noda. This three-point advantage was enough to earn Berta the championship. Noda won the second race but had no way of overhauling the Hungarian's points tally. Tobler was crowned F3 Trophy champion in absence - Safar won two more races, but Toblers six-race win streak was too much to overcome. The Formula Lighty Trophy ended in very close fashion: Palummieri won both races, but the returning leader Turchetto earned just enough points to win the title, 2.5 points ahead of Groer.

High entry fluctuation meant that only the F3 Cup had a real continuous championship fight, with the other classes either having no fight at all or a fight being decided by drivers being absent or not. Noda was the strongest driver in the second half of the season, but missing the round at Hungaroring really hurt her campaign. Zeller, who had won the title the last seven seasons running, lacked pace to keep up with the leading pair on most occasions.

Standings

Scoring system

Points were awarded per class. If less than three cars entered in a class, half points were awarded for the race.

Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th
Points	25	18	15	12	10	8	6	4	2	1

Drivers' championship

Formula 3 Cup Standings

Pos	Driver	MUG1		IMO		HUN		RBR		SPA		HOC		BRN		MUG2		Pts
		R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2
1	Benjamin Berta	1	5	1	1	2	2	1	1	2	2	3	3	2	2	2	3	306
2	Juju Noda	3	1	3	4			2	Ret	1	1	4	1	1	1	3	1	262
3	Sandro Zeller	2	3	4	2	1	1	3	2	4	3	2	2	3	3	5	5	259
4	Bernardo Pellegrini	9	2	2	3			4	Ret	6	4					4	4	109
5	Francesco Galli	11	4	5	9			8	3	5	7					1	2	102
6	Janos Magyar					3	3	7	6					4	4			68
7	Riccardo Perego	5	8	7	5			Ret	4	9	9					7	7	58
8	Kurt Böhlen									8	6	1	4			6	Ret	57
9	Andrea Benalli	7	10	8	6			Ret	5	8	4					8	6	51
10	Dino Rasero	6	7	6	Ret			Ret	7									28
11	Enzo Stentella	8	9	10	8			6	9							10	8	26
12	Cian Carey									3	5							25
13	Alessandro Bracalente	4	6															20
14	Mei Shibi							5	Ret	11	12					9	10	13
15	Victor Smialek									13	14	Ret	5			11	9	12
16	Patrick Bellezza	10	11	9	7					12	11					12	11	9
17	Christof Ledermann							Ret	8	14	13							4
18	Marco Marotta									10	10							2
Pos	Driver	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	Pts
		MUG1		IMO		HUN		RBR		SPA		HOC		BRN		MUG2

• * - half points awarded as less than three cars entered the race

Formula 3 Trophy standings

Pos	Driver	MUG1		IMO		HUN		RBR		SPA		HOC		BRN		MUG2		Pts
		R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2
1	Marcel Tobler			Ret	Ret			1	1	1	1	1	1					150
2	Vaclav Safar													1	1	1	1	100
3	Francesco Solfaroli	9	2	3	4					3	3					6	4	97
4	Luca Iannacone	5	8			2*	2*	5	4					3	3	9	8	90
5	Edoardo Bonanomi	7	4	1	2					5	Ret							69
6	André Petropolus											3	5	2	2			61
7	Urs Rüttimann							3	Ret	4	4	6	3					60
8	Marco Falci	1	1	Ret	DNS													50
9	Carmine Tancredi	3	7	4	3													48
10	Vaclav Lausmann							4	3			Ret	7	Ret	4			45
11	Daniele Radrizzani	8	5	2	5													42
12	Enrico Milani			Ret	1					4	10							38
=13	Thomas Amweg							2	2									36
=13	Thomas Aregger									2	2							36
=13	Maximilian Malinowski											2	2					36
16	Salvatore Marinaro	6	9	5	8											4	Ret	36
=17	Danny Luderer															2	3	33
=17	Davide Pedetti											Ret	Ret			3	2	33
19	Giancarlo Pedetti											4	6			8	6	32
20	Daniele Siano	2	6															26
21	Umberto Vaglio			6	6					Ret	5							26
22	Tom Beckhäuser					1*	1*											25
23	Giorgio Berto	4	10	8	7													23
24	Sergio Terrini	10	3	7	DNS			Ret	DNS									22
25	Mei Shibi											5	4					22
26	Sébastien Banchereau															5	5	20
27	Christian Zeller									7	6							14
28	Tomáš Chabr															7	9	8
=29	Thomas Zeltner									10	7							7
=29	Jean-Luc Neri															10	7	7
31	Patrick Harmuth									9	8							6
32	Tim Buckley									8	Ret							4
33	Philipp Todtenhaupt									11	9							2
34	Robert Rowe									Ret	11							0
Pos	Driver	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	Pts
		MUG1		IMO		HUN		RBR		SPA		HOC		BRN		MUG2

* - half points awarded as less than three cars entered the race

Formula Light Cup standings

Pos	Driver	MUG1		IMO		HUN		RBR		SPA		HOC		BRN		MUG2		Pts
		R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2
1	Fabio Turchetto	1*	1*	1	1			3	2							4	2	138
2	Dr. Norbert Groer							1	4	2	1*	Ret	DNS	1	5	2	3	135.5
3	Stefano Palummieri							4	1							1	1	87
4	Robert Siska			3	3	1*	1*							5	4			77
5	Simone Padoviani			2	2											3	4	63
6	Walter Steding													2	1			43
7	Sergio Conti									3	2*					5	6	42
8	Stephan Glaser													4	2	Ret	5	40
9	Dennis Hübl											1	2*					34
10	Laurence Balestrini							2	3									33
11	Robert Rowe											2	1*					30.5
12	Falk Schwarze													3	3			30
13	Andreas Stamann									1	WD							25
Pos	Driver	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	R1	R2	Pts
		MUG1		IMO		HUN		RBR		SPA		HOC		BRN		MUG2

* - half points awarded as less than three cars entered the race

External links

• Website of the AFR Cups [German]