Having signed for Carlin Motorsport, Harry Tincknell is focused on this season’s FIA European Formula 3 Championship.
But we thought we’d share this one with you anyway. A bit of light relief from the Carlin team prior to the season ahead.
Brilliant!
Harry Tincknell has extended his deal with multiple Championship winning team, Carlin Motorsport, for this season’s FIA European Formula 3 Championship. The five time Formula Three race winner will continue his relationship with the team and will be joined by Canadian racer Nicholas Latifi and British rookies Jann Mardenborough and Jordan King.
Tincknell will make the move to Europe following his 5th place finish in the 2012 British International Series, claiming four victories and nine podium finishes. The Devon-based Tipton St John racer has already tasted success on the continent, following a famous victory at last year’s European Championship event at the Norisring, Germany. He went on to end the season with a 9th place finish at the Macau Grand Prix, regarded as the Formula Three World Championship.
Looking forward to the season ahead, Tincknell said: “I’m delighted to have the opportunity to continue with Carlin Motorsport for the coming season. It will be the first time in my career where I have had the continuity of the same team and car for two years running and I aim to make the most of that. I learned a lot last year and have improved over the winter. I’m ready to mix it with the best guys in Europe and claim as many race wins as possible and hopefully the championship.”
Over the off season Tincknell has been put through a rigorous development program on a state of the art racing simulator in Holland, coupled with a demanding physical fitness schedule.
“I’ve been beating all the records in the simulator and I’ve been beating all my personal bests in the gym,” the 21 year old explained. “This is the most prepared that I have ever been and I can’t wait for pre-season testing to begin next week”.
Team boss Trevor Carlin commented: “I’m extremely pleased to have four such talented drivers with us for the season ahead. Harry makes an extremely welcome return to the team and his experience of F3 will be key. We have high hopes for him this season.”
Harry Tincknell will enter the Southern Counties Darts Open at the George Albert Hotel near Dorchester, Dorset, being held over the weekend of 16/17 February 2013.
The annual Open tournament attracts a broad range of players – from professionals to pub players and everything in between. Previous winners include the highly-regarded Justin Pipe who plays on the professional circuit and recently competed at the 2013 world championships.
With a big year in racing ahead, Harry Tincknell is testing new ways to gain the competitive advantage he’ll need to find in the car. Already a keen darts player, it was nevertheless Harry’s sports psychologist, Don Macpherson, who suggested Harry enter the Open – simply because darts is such as a precision sport where you have so many different variables. In motor racing’s case variables include: each track, lap, turn, condition, time etc, so it is very hard to be consistently exceptional.
Harry Tincknell explains further:
“My sports psychologist, Don, ranks the top mental sports as being golf, darts and motorsport. All three demand extreme levels of concentration. But in golf and darts you have more time to talk yourself out of it which is why they are slightly higher than motorsports, although you’re unlikely to injure yourself in the first 2!”
“Entering the Southern Counties Darts Open is about pushing to the next level, getting out of my comfort zone. The pressure is the same in darts as in motor racing – pushing for more, be it every twist and turn or throw. It’s also about keeping your concentration throughout and staying mentally tough, particularly when the pressure shots will be on in the Open.”
So, whilst Harry Tincknell isn’t in the car due to the off-season, he is using precious time to get mentally prepared for the gruelling season ahead when the pressure will be back on the track.
You can catch Harry Tincknell on the oche at the Southern Counties Open on Sunday 17 February 2013 at the George Albert Hotel, Wardon Hill, Evershot, Nr Dorchester, Dorset, DT2 9PW. The first stage is a round-robin format starting at 11am.
You can find all details about the Open tournament on the official website at www.sthcountiesdarts.co.uk
Here are some great shots from Jakob Ebrey of Harry Tincknell racing the Macau F3 GP 2012.
You can also read the official Macau report on the Harry Tincknell Racing website, in which Harry says: “I couldn’t have driven any harder. We were a little unlucky with the issues but the team did an absolutely fantastic job and I learned a lot over the weekend.”
With Harry Tincknell back at home following a superb 9th position in his rookie race at the 59th Macau F3 GP, we’d like to finalise our coverage of the prestigious annual event with some congratulations and thanks.
Congratulations to eventual winner Antonio da Costa (pictured). And to all racers for toughing out the gruelling street circuit.
Thanks to everyone at Fortec Motorsports, who Harry raced for.
And well done to Harry Tincknell himself for some superb racing and a great result. What an end to a rookie appearance at the race, as it’s unheard of for a rookie to make the top ten!
The 59th Macau GP is well underway and the F3 qualification rounds and race now complete.
The week got off to a good start with the car arriving safely and Harry taking the time to 
explore the gruelling street circuit (pictured below). And following a couple of fantastic drives in the qualification round and race, Harry will start the F3 final in 6th position.
Entering the practice round, Harry Soden (Harry Tincknell Racing coordinator) said: “Today is about learning the track and getting as many laps in as possible.” Harry finished practice in 16th out of the 30-strong field.
“Tomorrow is about pushing harder from the word go and trying to aim for a top ten position,” added Harry Soden, which is exactly what Harry Tincknell then delivered in the first qualifying round.
“Position 7, qualifying as the second highest rookie and 4 tenths off pole was a very good drive,” summarised Harry Soden trackside. Whilst Harry Tincknell tweeted: “Will start from P7 for the qualification race on myMacaudebut. Happy as we’re in the mix from there amongst the best of Formula Three.”
And despite a suspension problem which was only noticed on the grid, Harry Tincknell then produced a mega drive in the qualifying race to move from 7th and claim 6th position in the final tomorrow. Harry Tincknell tweeted his reaction: “Finished P6 from 7th on the grid in the qualifying race here inMacau today! Had to manage a big problem throughout the race so very happy!”
So Harry will start Sunday’s final on the grid in 6th position for what is sure to be an exciting 15-lap race around the tough Macau street circuit.
At this juncture we would like to offer condolences to the families of Portuguese motorbike racer, Luis Carreira, and touring car driver, Phillip Yau, both of whom tragically died in accidents at this year’s Macau GP.
Following Harry’s recent intense training camp with Strakka Racing’s Nick Leventis and Stewart King, which was held in Phuket, Thailand, he was testing at Silverstone at the end of October in preparation for the Macau GP. 
Harry Tincknell Racing Coordinator, Harry Soden, said: “The Silverstone testing went very well with the focus being on the Macau setup. The team had a lot of development parts to test over the two days. They were trying and testing lots of new ideas for the car. It was exciting stuff to watch.”
With the tough street circuit of the Macau GP on the horizon, Harry returned home for further hard training in preparation for the gruelling race.
“He also spent a day on the simulator with his engineer this week and will fly to Macau on Friday to get acclimatised,” added Harry Soden.
“He’s feeling good. The Strakka Racing training camp got him into top condition with lots of CV and resistance work with two training sessions a day. We’re all set for Macau and really looking forward to it.”
You can watch a couple of clips of Harry at the recent training camp on the Harry Tincknell Racing You Tube channel.
Here’s one of Harry sprint training:
With Harry Tincknell racing this year’s Macau Grand Prix, we thought we’d bring you a brief history of the race.
This year sees a superb 30-car line-up for 30th anniversary celebration of the 59th SJM Formula 3 Macau Grand Prix, since it became the biggest stage there is in international Formula 3 competition. While the Macau event has a rich history dating back 59 years, it was 1983 – exactly 30 years ago – that the race was first made specific for Formula 3.
In 1983 an up-and-coming young racing driver, Ayrton Senna, was the man to beat despite 
only racing Macau for the first time. The Brazilian went on to win his first Formula 3 Macau Grand Prix before graduating to Formula 1 and winning three world championships.
Gerhard Berger, who lost to Senna in 1983, has said since: “I still watch the results of it, because any guy who wins it in their first time there has to have something special…. If a guy goes first time to Macau and is quick and doesn’t have a material advantage then that means a lot for me.”
Famous winners
Famous winners of the race include Riccardo Patrese, Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, David Coulthard, Ralf Schumacher and Takuma Sato.
First run in 1954
First run in October, 1954 as a club race for local motoring enthusiasts, the Macau Grand Prix has evolved into what many believe is the finest street circuit race meeting in the world. It is now widely considered to be the jewel in the Formula 3 crown.
And in 2012…
This year Harry Tincknell will race the Macau Grand Prix. Harry is listed at number 15 and will race for Fortec Motorsport, Dallara Mercedes, following his impressive 5th place overall in the Cooper Tires British Formula 3 International Series.
View the full list of entrants
Read about the recent Harry Tincknell Racing training camp
Harry Tincknell headed to Phuket, Thailand, yesterday for a small yet intense training camp with Strakka Racing’s Nick Leventis and Stewart King.
The training will encompass both CV and resistance work with two training sessions a day. It is designed to be varied and tough in order to boost fitness for the important latter part of the season, especially as testing at this time of year is prevalent.
With the tough street circuit of the Macau GP on the horizon, the training is designed to help Harry remain sharp and physically fit for such a demanding race.
Following the F3 season finale, Harry has confirmed he will be entering the prestigious Macau Grand Prix on 16-18 November 2012, where he will be looking to add his name to a list of winners that includes multiple Formula One World Champions Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna.
Harry is to return to Fortec Motorsport for the Macau Grand Prix: “Every year Macau is tough, but it’s a new [Fortec] car this year so that minimises the disadvantage. It’s very exciting to go with Fortec, especially as they seem very good on low-downforce tracks.”
Harry, who is mentored by Audi sportscar star Allan McNish, added: “Allan wanted me to go for the experience of doing it. He said it made him a better driver.”