Daniel Ricciardo flies to Jakarta for rounds nine to eleven of the Formula BMW Asia Series, which will be run at the Sentul International Circuit on July 22/23, in a confident frame of mind. At the last event held at the Goldenport Circuit in Beijing China he came away with three podium finishes with the added confidence booster of leading the last Chinese race for over half its distance.
The Sentul event will mark the half way point of the season, one which Ricciardo is treating as the first of a two year campaign. “Our target for Daniel this season is to become a consistent front runner and a frequent visitor to the winner’s podium in the second half of the season” reports his team’s driver coach, 2002 Asian Formula Three Champion Mark Goddard. “So far he has exceeded our expectations and I think now for both team and driver we are already looking for race wins. Daniel already knows what it is like to lead a race and I am sure very soon he will experience taking the chequered flag in the lead!”
Eurasia Motorsport, Ricciardo’s team, chose to enter cars in Formula BMW Asia as they considered it to be the best category in the region for serious young drivers straight out of karting. “It teaches karters how to drive and set up a wings and slicks car which reacts and handles just like a Formula Three car, the next step up for most serious racers” says Goddard. “It really is the best alternative for any serious driver, whether they graduate eventually to F1 or Touring Cars. Nowadays teams in all disciplines are looking at young Formula car drivers with the relevant experience. Formula BMW Asia is an FIA sanctioned series which exposes young drivers to the rigors of competing at an International level very early in their careers and can prove invaluable for their future prospects”.
Eurasia Motorsport is run by Mark Goddard, Martin Quick and Piers Hunnisett who between them have been involved in the careers of many young drivers from the region, including F1 drivers, Narain Karthikeyan and Alex Yoong, and Champions such as Ananda Mikola. Hunnisett is currently the manager of Karthikeyan and Mikola. “We know a driver with real potential when we see one and we are sure Daniel has the potential to go all the way to the top” says Goddard.
Watch out for race reports on www.eurasiamotorsport.com
