29th July 2005

To become firmly established as a race winning team in only your first season in any championship is a major achievement, but to do so in the realms of a series as intense and competitive as the Formula 3 Euroseries is nothing short of superb.

Manor Motorsport began the 2005 season in confident mood and with Mercedes-backed Scottish sensation Paul Di Resta and Renault Driver Development programme member, Brazil’s Lucas Tucci Di Grassi, on board results were almost certainly guaranteed.

To have drivers with such pedigree and talent underlines Manor’s position and the level of respect the team commands within the world of motorsport, but the question remained…would Manor be able to achieve the unthinkable and defeat the all-conquering ASM outfit?

At the start of the season that poser was almost immediately answered with Di Resta claiming an excellent pole position for the second race of the opening meeting of the year at Hockenheim, home of the German Grand Prix.

Sadly, the teenager couldn’t convert his qualifying performance into a result and at Pau for the third and fourth rounds of the year things didn’t get any better. However, team-mate Di Grassi achieved fifth and seventh place finishes at the street circuit to give Manor something to smile about.

At Spa-Francorchamps, for rounds five and six of the season, the second of the weekend’s races would see Di Grassi qualify in fourth position and Di Resta in sixth with both drivers taking good results. The Brazilian achieved the team’s first podium of the season in third place while his team-mate was fifth.

Monaco was next, the most glamorous and renowned motor racing venue in the world, and in both rounds the Manor drivers took solid results – Di Grassi finishing seventh and fifth in the two races with Di Resta taking eighth and sixth place finishes.

After the trip to Monte Carlo, all eyes were on the annual Marlboro Masters Formula 3 race held at Zandvoort in the Netherlands. Both Di Resta and Di Grassi were very quick in qualifying and in the race itself, the latter enjoyed a podium finish with third place while his team-mate was just eight 10ths of a second behind in fourth spot.

A return to Germany came next with rounds nine and 10 of the regular F3 Euroseries at Oschersleben and this was where everything began to gel for the Dinnington-based team with the first all-Manor front row of 2005 ahead of the weekend’s opening race.

Di Grassi took his maiden pole position of the season and converted it into his and the team’s first victory of the year while Di Resta finished in fourth place. In race two, Di Grassi took his second podium of the weekend after finishing in second place while Di Resta just missed out on a podium in fourth spot.

The start of the second half of the championship came at the Norisring with Di Resta qualifying fourth on the grid for round 11 but finishing the race in third place after a great drive to achieve his maiden podium of the year.

Di Grassi, meanwhile, drove superbly to take fifth position having qualified down the order but in the 12th round the Brazilian finished ahead of his team-mate with sixth place, Di Resta taking eighth at the chequered flag.