EuroFormula Open racing driver Sean Walkinshaw is determined to score his first points of the season in the Portuguese sunshine this weekend, 7th/8th June, when the Autódromo do Algarve hosts rounds three and four of the 2014 campaign.
Although just missing out on the coveted top 10 during the championship curtain-raiser at the Nurburgring in Germany four weeks ago, due to difficulties in qualifying, the 20-year-old delivered consistently strong race pace and is confident of more of the same a few days from now.
Adapting well to the Dallara F312 he pilots this year, having raced in an earlier generation chassis in the ‘Copa Class’ division during his maiden season of European action in 2013, the Chipping Norton driver is relishing his return to the Algarve.
“I definitely want to be in the points no matter what at the weekend, I’ll be aiming for the top six but we’ll have to see how things go”, said the Campos Racing driver, “We were at Portimao during the pre-season and completed some good preparation, so I’m confident we should be on for a pretty strong weekend.”
After suffering a puncture prior to the start of round one at the Nurburgring last month, a late tyre change was required but Sean remained calm and composed and eventually finished in 11th place, less than a second shy of the top 10, after a competitive drive.
With a lot of hard work to do from 17th on the grid in race two, he sliced through the order and climbed into 12th position before being pushed wide. Recovering down in 17th position, Sean faced the tall order of repeating his earlier performance but did so superbly to take 11th again.
Going into the second event of his sophomore season in Formula 3 level racing, Sean is confident of a very positive series of results in Portimao – especially after some strong recent testing which has further boosted confidence.
“We tested at Valencia and it was really productive, we got a lot of work done there and feel we’ve made some big steps forward”, he added, “Our race performances at the Nurburgring were good and we think we’ve cracked the problems we had with qualifying. I’ve got so much more confidence in the F312 than the old car, I’m really looking forward to the weekend.”
Following two days of testing in Portimao on Thursday, 5th June, and Friday, 6th June, qualifying for round three of the EuroFormula Open season will take place at 10.20 on Saturday, 7th June, with the first race of the weekend following at 14.00. On Sunday, 8th June, round four qualifying will begin at 09.00 with the race scheduled to begin at 12.30.
Saturday's encounter will be screened delayed 'as-live' in the UK at 18.00 on Motors TV with Sunday's race to be shown fully live.