GP3

 

Kiss & Tell

Tamás Pál Kiss is carrying on a rich and century old tradition of Hungarian success in motor racing. It was his countryman, Franz Szisz, who history records as the winner of the very first Grand Prix at Le Mans in 1906.

Long before Bernie brought down the Iron Curtain and entertained local Magyars to their first F1 race in 1986, there was a grand prix at Nepliget park, near Budapest, in 1936.

Hungarian Zsolt Baumgartner raced in F1 with Minardi in the 2004 season.

Kiss in Karting. Born on May 19, 1991 Kiss began in karting at the age of seven and raced for almost a decade, winning multiple Hungarian championships.

His first international racing experience came in the 2008 Swiss Formula Renault Championship. He scored points in six races to finish the season in 14th position.

The following season saw him campaign in the UK version of the same series. Kiss finished in the top three among the rookie drivers (13th overall); scoring in 17 events with Hitech Junior Team.

In the 2010 Formula Renault UK series Kiss made a charge for the championship. Victories at Thruxton, Rockingham and Oulton Park helped him to a third place finish in the overall standings.

 

GP3. Kiss planted his efforts for the 2011 season in the ultra-competitve GP3 series, the baby sister to GP2 and equally brutal in the depth of competition and hungry drivers in the series.

Racing with French Tech 1 team, Kiss scored his maiden and only podium finish of the season in the sprint race at Barcelona. His second best finish of the season was fourth in the sprint race of the German round. He was classified 16th at the end of the season.

Kiss signed with Atech CRS team for his second season in GP3. Highlight of this season has been his second place finish in the feature race at Monte Carlo. His only other top five finish was scored in Germany where he was fourth in the sprint race.

The GP3 action will resume in September and Kiss will be striving for more points from the remaining two rounds at Spa and Monza to finish in the top 10 this year.

—  Nasir Hameed

 

All photos courtesy of GP3 Series Media