International Formula Master, also known as Formula Super 2000, was a European-based junior

single seater 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. The series was conceived as a competitor for

Formula Three Formula Three (F3) is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. History Formula Three (adop ...

and made its debut at

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

in 2007. European television channel

Eurosport Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia, owned and operated by Warner Bros. Discovery through its WBD Sports unit, it operates two main channels—Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2—across most of its territorie ...

were backing the series and the series regularly supported the

World Touring Car Championship The FIA World Touring Car Championship was an international touring car championship promoted by Eurosport Events and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). It has had several different incarnations, including a sing ...

during its European races. The championship started in 2005 as the 3000 Pro Series, organised by Peroni Promotion and based in Italy; it used

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B99/50 chassis alongside 2002 cars. MTC Organisation took over for 2006 and renamed it F3000 International Masters, running a support series to the WTCC. In 2007 this series changed regulations, with N.Technology now running technical operations for MTC Organisation, and it became the International Formula Master. N.Technology had previously been involved in motorsport as an

Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian carmaker known for its sports-oriented vehicles, strong auto racing heritage, and iconic design. Headquartered in Turin, Italy, it is a subsidiary of Stellantis Europe and one of 14 brands of mu ...

works team.

History

The 2010 season was due to be the fourth under the International Formula Master name. As with previous seasons, the series was to support the

, consisting of seven double-header events beginning on 22 May at

Autodromo Nazionale Monza The Monza Circuit ( Italian: ; ) is a race track near the city of Monza, north of Milan, in Italy. Built in 1922, it was the world's third purpose-built motor racing circuit after Brooklands and Indianapolis and the oldest in mainland Europe ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and ending on 19 September at the

Circuit de Valencia Circuit Ricardo Tormo, also known as ''Circuit de Valencia'' is a motorsport race track located in Cheste (Valencian Community, Spain) and built in 1999. The track is named after Spanish, two-time world champion Grand Prix motorcycle racer Ri ...

. It was due to be the first year that the series included secondary Light Class, and was to be broadcast live on

. There were two test sessions on 6 November and 7, 2009 at the

Hungaroring The Hungaroring is a motorsport racetrack in Mogyoród, Pest County, Hungary where the Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix is held. In 1986, it became the location of the first Formula One Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix behind the Iron Curtai ...

Nico Müller Nico Sebastian Müller (born 25 February 1992) is a Swiss people, Swiss professional Auto racing, racing driver currently competing in Formula E for Andretti Global, Andretti Formula E. Career Karting Müller began his karting career in 2004 a ...

and

Philip Forsman Philip, also Phillip, is a male name derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularized the n ...

were the fastest drivers on each day, which would ultimately prove to be the last outings for an IFM car.

Venues

The championship consisted of eight events, each comprising two races, which were held at a variety of European circuits. Notable venues used included Pau in France,

Brands Hatch Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently hosts ...

in Britain,

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in the Czech Republic,

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in Portugal, and

Monza Monza (, ; ; , locally ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the Lambro, River Lambro, a tributary of the Po (river), River Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the province of Mo ...

in Italy. During the International Formula Master years, the series supported the

for its European events.

Technical and sporting regulations

The series was a one-make series in that only one type of car was allowed – the Formula 2000 made by Tatuus. The cars were powered by a Honda K20A

naturally aspirated engine A naturally aspirated engine, also known as a normally aspirated engine, and abbreviated to N/A or NA, is an internal combustion engine in which air intake depends solely on atmospheric pressure and does not have forced induction through a turboc ...

, built according to the FIA S2000 regulations with approximately 250 HP.

Event schedule

Each race weekend began on Friday, with two 45-minute practice sessions and a 30-minute qualifying session that decided the starting grid for the first race. There were two races; one of approximately 75 km on Saturday and one of approximately 100 km on Sunday. With just one qualifying session, the grid for the second race was determined by the results of Race 1. The top eight positions were reversed, giving

pole position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the ra ...

to the eighth-placed finisher.

Scoring system

Teams only scored from their two highest placed cars. Feature race pole-winners were awarded one point, whereas no points were given to the reverse-grid pole winner in the sprint race. 19 points was the maximum possible haul for one driver in a race weekend. * The scoring system between 2005–2008 was to give the same points given for both races: 10–8–6–5–4–3–2–1.

Champions

References

External links

International Formula Master official website
{{Class of Auto racing Formula racing series Recurring sporting events established in 2005 Recurring events disestablished in 2009 Defunct auto racing series One-make series 2005 establishments in Europe 2009 disestablishments in Europe