Germany’s Nurburgring hosts the opening two rounds of the EuroFormula Open this coming weekend, 3rd/4th May, where British driver Sean Walkinshaw aims to get his second season of pan-European competition off to the strongest start possible.
Progressing markedly last year during his maiden campaign in the series formerly known as the Euro Formula 3 Open, the 20-year-old from Chipping Norton in Oxfordshire steps up from the ‘Copa Class’ into the main headline championship where he will pilot a Dallara F312 for top team Campos Racing.
Having taken part in the Winter Series race weekend at the beginning of March at Paul Ricard, as well as racking up the miles in pre-season testing, Sean is getting more and more acclimatised to the F312 car and is bidding to hit the ground running at the Nurburgring just a few days from now.
“We’ve had some very positive testing over the last couple of months, I’m feeling comfortable in the car and that’s shown in our pace with top six times at most tracks we’ve visited – the Campos guys have been doing a great job”, said Sean, “I can’t wait for the racing to start again, I’m feeling pretty confident we should be competitive at the Nurburgring and able to make a strong start to the year.
“Realistically, if we can come away from the weekend with a couple of top six results I’ll be happy as it’s always so important to get points on the board early. There’s a big grid again this season in the EuroFormula Open, with a lot of very quick drivers and teams, so it’s going to be a tough challenge.”
With a strong pre-season testing programme now complete, taking in visits to a variety of tracks including the Circuit de Catalunya in Spain, Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium and the Hungaroring in Hungary, the Briton has enjoyed quite possibly the most productive pre-season of his career.
Ending the 2013 season ninth in the Copa Class standings, with two podium finishes to his credit at Jerez in Spain and Spa-Francorchamps, Sean is targeting a top five overall championship finish this year as he embarks on only his fourth season of motor racing at any level.
Following two free practice sessions at the Nurburgring on Friday, 2nd May, qualifying for round one of the 2014 EuroFormula Open will get underway at 09.35 (UK time) on Saturday, 3rd May, with the race itself – which will be screened live on Motors TV – starting at 14.00 (UK time).
Qualifying for the second round will begin at 07.15 (UK time) on Sunday, 4th May, with the race set to start at 11.00 (UK time). Once again, live television coverage will be screened on Motors TV.