Minardi Team Asia Formula BMW Asia driver, Dado Pena, is to drive for Christian Jones Racing in the Philippine Formula Three Championship, it was announced today. Philippine F3 is open to cars build before 1999 and is run as part of the Asian Formula Three Series.

All three Philippine rounds of the Asian Series count for the Philippine Championship and PF3 races are held concurrently with AF3 rounds. A Filipino driver in a Promotion Class car can therefore score points in the same race for both AF3 and PF3, if he were to register for both series. Pena will start as one of the favorites to take the PF3 Series, especially after his recent competitive performance in the Bahrain GP Formula BMW support event and coming off a successful test at the Batangas Race Circuit in a 398 Dallara.

Christian Jones reported that he is happy to have a driver of the caliber of Dado Pena as part of his team and he expects to be fully competitive with their Dallara 398 TOM’S car. Both Christian Jones’s and Dado’s cars will sport a new white and gold livery at the opening round at the Batangas Race Circuit on April 25th.