Chris Dittmann Racing has signed 2011 Monoposto champion Peter Venn for the 2017 season of F3 Cup.
Venn will partner the up-and-coming Cian Carey in a new look three-car CDR team in the championship, with the third driver to be announced soon.
Venn will pilot the Mercedes-powered Dallara F308/11 previously driven by Stuart Wiltshire in the championship, which took him to second in the standings in 2015 including a win at Spa.
He has a wealth of experience in UK motorsport, contesting part campaigns in the single seater championship Monoposto for the last few years. He finished 14th in the points in 2016, despite competing in just six races, with a best finish of second place recorded at Oulton Park. Venn won the Mono 2000 title in 2011.
The Cheltenham racer said: “I’ve been thinking about a move up to F3 Cup for some time, and spoke to Chris about it last season. If I made the move to F3 Cup is was always going to be with Chris – we’ve known one another for years, he built my championship-winning engine for Monoposto and they’re just around the corner from our Mono team base. It is an obvious and good fit, plus he runs a good team.
“When Chris told me that Stuart was selling his F308/311 car, and that CDR would have the capacity to run it for me in 2017, the decision was made – I would probably have waited until 2018 to make the move but sometimes an opportunity comes up and you just have to take it!
“I’m really looking forward to the season – I’ve been very busy with work the last few years so although I’ve done some races, my last full season was in 2011 when we won the Monoposto Classic championship with a CDR engine and CDR no.1 mechanic Matty spannering, so the omens are good. I’ve got a very quick young team-mate in Cian Carey so I’ll have to be at the top of my game but it will be an exciting season – I can’t wait to start testing!”
Team owner Chris Dittmann said: “To have signed Peter is great for us. He’s proven through the years in Monoposto that he is quick in these cars and I have every confidence he will transfer that into F3 Cup. We’ll be pushing him and Cian on as much as possible to improve on our year last year.
“Having run the car recently in the championship we l know it well. That will only help us and we’ll be able to maximise its potential. It’s a known quantity for us so we should be able to ensure Peter hits the ground running and is up as high as he can be.”
