John Bryant-Meisner is set to return to competitive action in the German ATS Formula 3 Cup championship together with Performance Racing in 2013. The 18-year-old Swede made his debut in the series one year ago and claimed a podium finish on his very first Formula 3 race weekend, only for his campaign to be dramatically cut short following a career-threatening crash in testing at Rockingham in the UK in May.
Bryant-Meisner, who is part of the national Swedish motor racing team, has spent the winter undergoing final surgery on the injuries he sustained in the accident – which included two fractured vertebrae in his spine – and has now been given the go-ahead to return to full-fledged ATS Formula 3 Cup competition on the back of completing two trouble-free tests in Spain in December. “I’m obviously excited to be back on the ATS Formula 3 Cup grid together with my mates at Performance Racing in 2013,” says John Bryant-Meisner. “I feel as strong today as I did before the crash, and the doctors – as well as my personal trainers at Pro Performance over in England – have done an amazing job. The first indications suggested that I would be out of racing for at least 18 months, but the recovery process has been surprisingly quick and I’m now fully focussed on preparing myself in the best possible way for the on-track challenges ahead. I know very well that the competition will be tough – and it’s hardly an advantage to have missed out on most of last year – but I’m massively determined to get going and my target is to be fighting at the top of the timesheets from race one.”
In the team of Performance Racing
Based at the Silverstone Grand Prix circuit in the UK but running on a Swedish license, the Performance Racing squad has fielded cars in the ATS Formula 3 Cup since 2008 – and the enthusiasm ahead of Bryant-Meisner’s comeback is evident. “John has recuperated faster than we could ever have dreamed about, and we are genuinely thrilled to be able to welcome him back to the grid with us for the new campaign,” says Performance Racing team principal Bobby Issazadhe. “He has shown immense determination and impetus on his road to recovery, and he put in a great performance at the tests in Spain in December, where he drove better than ever despite not having sat in a racing car for months. John’s ability to transform the mentally wearing time outside of the cockpit into something positive only goes to prove his psychological strength, and I’m convinced that we can look forward to a very good season together.”
High class support programme in top events
The 2013 ATS Formula 3 Cup curtain-raiser takes place at Oschersleben, Germany, on April 26-28. A total of nine meetings are scheduled in for the up-coming campaign – eight of them in Germany and one at Belgium’s Spa-Francorchamps – with the finale set to be staged at Hockenheim in late September. The championship will form part of the support programme for German touring car series the DTM on two occasions throughout the year and the ADAC Zurich 24h race at Nürburgring.