The European GP3 series, in which New Zealander Mitch Evans competes, is a new wings and slicks open wheel category established in 2010 to help drivers develop the necessary skills to move to GP2 and then Formula One.
Since its inception a year ago, the series appears to have supplanted the more established various Formula Three championships as the place to be seen. GP3's main advantage is that all the events are support races for F1, allowing the drivers to gain firsthand experience of racing at an F1 Grand Prix.
As a bonus, the up-and-coming youngsters can strut their stuff in front of F1 team owners, principals and drivers - something Evans is experiencing as he contests the series with MW Arden, which Red Bull Racing F1 driver Mark Webber and Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner head.
In only its second season, GP3 has thrown up 10 winners, including Evans, in the first 10 races in 2011. With stats like that it wouldn't be stretching the truth too far to say the depth of talent is huge. And for just turned 17-year-old Evans, in his first foray into Europe, to have led the championship at one stage bodes well for his future in motorsport.
Early success can, however, come with early misadventure as well. Evans found how fickle motor racing can be in his last two rounds in Germany and Hungary, which saw him drop from a comfortable second in the series to sixth, due to team, driver and mechanical errors.