The 2001 German Formula Three Championship () was a multi-event

motor racing An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gene ...

championship for single-seat

open wheel An open-wheel car 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 fend ...

formula racing cars that held across

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. The championship featured drivers competing in two-litre Formula Three racing cars built by

Dallara Dallara Group S.r.l. is the largest multi-national Italian race car manufacturer, founded by its current President, Giampaolo Dallara. After working for Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini and De Tomaso, in 1972 in his native village of Varano de' M ...

which conform to the technical regulations, or formula, for the championship. It commenced on 21 April at

Hockenheim Hockenheim () is a town in northwest Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about 20 km south of Mannheim and 10 km west of Walldorf. It is located in the Upper Rhine Plain, Upper Rhine valley on the tourist theme routes "Baden Asparagus Route" ( ...

and ended at the same place on 6 October after ten double-header rounds. Opel Team BSR driver

Toshihiro Kaneishi is a Japanese racing driver. He has competed in such series as Formula Nippon and Super GT Super GT (stylized as SUPER GT) is a sports car racing series that began in 1993. Launched as the , generally referred to as the All Japan Grand Tour ...

became the first and only Japanese champion and the first champion from Asia. He clinched the title, winning races at

Norisring The Norisring is a street circuit in Nuremberg, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as a motorcycle racing venue in 1947 and named in a 1950 competition to win a light motorcycle, the track became known as a sports car racing venue in the 19 ...

and A1-Ring.

Stefan Mücke Stefan Mücke (born 22 November 1981) is a German racing driver. Racing career Born in Berlin, Mücke started his racing career in 1998, when he won the Formula BMW ADAC series, with his father's Mücke Motorsport team, also making their debut. ...

finished as runner-up with wins at

Nürburgring The () is a 150,000-person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long configuration, built in the 1920s ...

and Hockenheim, losing just four points to Kaneishi.

Frank Diefenbacher Frank Diefenbacher (born 19 March 1982 in Pforzheim) is a German auto racing driver. Career Diefenbacher won the German Junior Kart Championship in 1996. His first steps out of karting were in Formula Ford in Germany in 1998, where he finished t ...

and

Pierre Kaffer Pierre Kaffer (born 7 November 1976 in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, Rhineland-Palatinate) is a race car driver from Germany, currently living in Switzerland. Career In 1990, Kaffer started in Kart racing, Karting, moving in 1994 to Formula Ford, late ...

both won four races to end the season third and fourth in the drivers' standings.

Markus Winkelhock Markus Winkelhock (; born 13 June 1980) is a German professional racing driver. He is the son of Manfred Winkelhock and nephew of Joachim Winkelhock, both of whom were Formula One drivers in the 1980s. During his brief Formula One career he led th ...

won Rookie title and three races. The other race winners was

Gary Paffett Gary James Paffett (born 24 March 1981 in Bromley) is a British former racing driver. Having become a household name in the DTM, following fifteen years in the series and two championship wins, Paffett moved onto Formula E for the 2018/19 champ ...

João Paulo de Oliveira João Paulo Lima de Oliveira (born 13 July 1981) is a Brazilian professional racing driver currently competing in the Japanese Super GT series and in the FIA World Endurance Championship driving for the Vanwall Racing Team. He won the Super GT G ...

Kosuke Matsuura is a Japanese race car driver currently competing in the Super GT series. He previously competed in the Formula Nippon and IRL IndyCar Series. Early career After winning the Japanese Formula Dream Championship in 2001, Kosuke attracted the at ...

and

Björn Wirdheim Björn Karl Mikael Wirdheim (born 4 April 1980) is a Swedish professional racing driver. He is the son of Örnulf Wirdheim, also a racing driver. Björn began racing karts, competing in his first race, at the age of 10. His main achievement to d ...

Teams and drivers

All drivers competed in

chassis and used Yokohama tyres; model listed.

Calendar

With the exception of round at A1-Ring in Austria, all rounds took place on German soil.

Results

Championship standings

Championship

*† — Drivers did not finish the race, but were classified as they completed over 90% of the race distance.

Junior-Pokal (Rookie) standings

References

External links

* {{Use dmy dates, date=September 2016 German Formula Three Championship seasons Formula Three season

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

German Formula 3