Following the philosophy of supporting various forms of motorsport, Repsol also wanted a presence in F–3000. Drivers like Alfonso Garcia de Vinuesa, Fermin Velez and many more had the chance to receive Repsol sponsorship in the discipline.
With the introduction of Repsol’s new image and aspirations in the national and foreign markets, the energy company wanted to become involved on all fronts –including Formula 1. Reaching the highest level via the front door requires a great deal of economic power and financial management, making the use of a Spanish driver essential. There was no margin for error, and thus it made sense to develop firstly in the feeder class.
The successor to the old Formula 2 class and started by the FIA in 1985 –in existence due to the wealth of stock Cosworth 3L turbo engines available, Formula 3000 was a proving ground for F1. Luis Perez-Sala had been an F-300 champion in 1987 and had driven for Minardi in F1, making him the example to follow.
Alfonso García de Vinuesa and Fermin Velez were given Repsol support in 1988 to aid their Formula 3000 budget. For Alfonso Garcia de Vinuesa it was his third season in a series in which he had shown promise despite poor material. Unfortunately, a big crash at Spa in 1987 with Luis Perez–Sala kept him out of action for half a year. At the last minute, Alfonso signed for the Onyx team with whom Stefano Modena had won the title the previous year. The new March 88B did not perform as well as the 87 model, however, and after the opening three races results were poor. Garcia de Vinuesa decided to change teams, breaking contract. He went from team–to–team, placing in only one race in Birmingham with the new Reynard 88D machines and picking up multiple DNFs.
Recently crowned champion of the C2 Sport–Prototypes series, Fermin Velez returned to monocoque racing after almost ten years away. This saw the formation of Barcelona Motor Racing, set up by his manager Raimon Duran, to acquire a Lola T88/50 which would be delivered right before the Jerez round. Fermin barely had time to learn the reactions of his car, but got onto the grid for the race. He would do likewise at 4 of the 8 races in which he participated, missing out on the Silverstone and Brands Hatch rounds due to mechanical issues late on. A split with Duran followed, with the driver opining that a withdrawal until the following season would afford a larger budget. Velez’ spot was eventually occupied by Claudio Langes for the final two rounds, showing the difficulties in chassis and engine which the Spaniard had struggled with until then.
The next year, Vinuesa and Velez took different routes, with the former deciding to leave the series and the latter returning to his speciality of Sport–Prototypes. Repsol moved over to supporting the “Racing for Spain” team which had been started up by the Spanish Federation, in order to give young talents like Alvaro de Arenzana and Jordi Gene from British Formula Ford competition a chance. Both shone, but for various reasons eventually had a stroke of bad luck. The best result was a fourth place for Spain in the Formula Ford Festival, thanks to both drivers. Gene took the same placing in the drivers standings, moving up one spot from the previous year.
Another young talent, Victor Lopez, continued the same path by taking part in the British Formula Ford series, combining his entry with participation in the Spanish Championship and taking five wins. However, his adventures in the UK were not so successful. The Spaniard maintained his Repsol sponsorship to take part in the 1990 Formula Opel-Lotus, in which he went fantastically in practice and the start of the race, up until a gearbox problem unresolved because of budgetary issues reasons the previous year. At the Race of Nations he was up to fourth on the opening laps, before experiencing problems which dropped him down to eleventh by the end of the race.
