Eurasia Motorsport Formula BMW Asia driver travels to round three of the series at the Goldenport Circuit in Beijing knowing he can start delivering results.
The sixteen year Kiwi, who is a BMW scholarship driver, has impressed the team with his progress to date. “He is a genuine rookie, straight out of karting, and he has been getting quicker just about every time he sits in the car” reported Eurasia’s Mark Goddard. “The guys at the very front aren’t going to improve their speed whilst Dominic is still very much on an upward learning curve”.
Storey may be a rookie but he demonstrated great race craft in the three races held during the last round of the Formula BMW Asia Series at the Sepang F1 circuit on May 14th. A fourth and two fifth place finishes were his reward for his efforts in Sepang. The Series now moves from the F1 circuit to the tight and narrow Goldenport Circuit near Beijing , China. “Dominic has only driven cars at F1 tracks, the first two rounds being held at Sepang and the BMW Scholarship which was held at the Bahrain F1 Circuit” says Mark Goddard, “Goldenport is going to be a bit of a culture shock. Many rookie drivers can be intimidated by how close the walls are but I think Dominic demonstrated in Sepang that he is a real racer and I am sure he will relish the challenge of the Chinese circuit.”
The team’s race engineer, Mark Burgess, comments that the data shows where Dominic needs to concentrate to make up those last few tenths to get him onto the front row of the grid. Burgess, who is also an engineer with the leading British F3 team, Double R, reckons Formula BMW is an excellent training ground for aspiring F1 drivers. “The car has to be driven just like an F3 and drivers who graduate from F.BMW generally get to grips with an F3 car extremely quickly” confirms Mark Goddard. “The F.BMW Asia Series is incredibly competitive at the front and any driver who can run in the top six is going to gain a huge amount of experience very quickly. It’s definitely the best training ground for drivers in the Asia Pacific region”.
The team is not expecting miracles but they hope Dominic can manage a podium finish in Beijing. “I am sure he can finish on the podium. Goldenport is a physically demanding circuit and Dominic is in fact one of the fittest guys in the series, according to BMW fitness trainer, Roman Engel, and that is also going to work in his favour” stated Goddard.
