Carlin target Euro Series points

The three-time British F3 champions are making the foray into the European championship for the first time this year, fielding cars for Richard Philippe and Rodolfo Gonzalez.

And although their success in Britain makes them one of the most formidable opponents in F3, team boss Trevor Carlin is keeping expectations in check ahead of this weekend's action.

"The entire team is looking forward to the first race of the season," he said. "We're very excited to have joined another prestigious championship.

"We're new to the series and we have two Euro Series rookies but I think we will be able to challenge for top ten positions. I'd be extremely happy if we came away with points finishes in both races."

F3 rookie Philippe showed he had made a good transition to the series when he set the sixth fastest time in the first official test at Valencia, but he is cautious about making too many predictions.

"I'm eager to see exactly where we stand compared to the rest of the field," he said. "Our pace in pre-season testing has been very promising, but we don't know what everyone else has been doing in terms of weight and fuel loads.

"I haven't been to Hockenheim before, so it will be a challenge, but I think we will have a better idea of our pace after this first race weekend."