Daniel Erickson is making a flying visit to the USA to contest next weekend’s opening rounds of the F2000 Championship Series at Virginia International Raceway.
The 22 year-old Sydney driver brokered a last-minute deal in the ‘development’ openwheeler series with prominent American racing identity Jon Baytos.
The following weekend, Erickson will attend the IndyCar round at Long Beach in California to speak to teams in the Indy Lights ‘feeder’ series.
The trip will give Erickson a first-hand view of the US racing scene, something that was impossible during his Formula Star Mazda test in Houston, Texas, last December.
“This visit is an opportunity for me to test the waters in America now that the racing season is underway, which I couldn’t do when I was there during the off-season,” he said.
“Although I had hoped to do the US Star Mazda championship this year, the F2000 Championship is still a very competitive ‘development’ series with more than 30 drivers entered at Virginia.
“To be honest I don’t know how I’ll go on a circuit I’ve never driven before, but a top 10 result would be great.”
BACKGROUND
F2000
F2000 is a development of the FF1600 openwheel formula that Daniel Erickson has contested for the past three years.
The cars use a similar steel ‘spaceframe’ chassis to FF1600 with a more powerful 2.0 litre engine, front and rear wings, and wider ‘slick’ tyres.
Over the years F2000 has been a stepping-stone for many motor racing champions, including Ayrton Senna, Johnny Herbert, Eddie Irvine (Formula 1), Jimmy Vasser, Dan Wheldon, Sam Hornish Jr, Buddy Rice (IndyCars), Jason Bright and David Besnard (V8 Supercars).
The formula is currently strongest in the USA, with two national championship series: F2000 and US F2000.
The opening round of the 2010 F2000 Championship series will comprise two 30-minute races on the 5.3km Virginia International Raceway road course.
F2000 Championship Series official website: www.f2000championshipseries.com.
Daniel Erickson
The unassuming 22 year-old Sydney driver has all the hallmarks of a future motor racing champion.
He showed exceptional promise as a teenager in karting, winning the 2002 Victorian and Queensland Junior Championships, the 2003 NSW Super 8 Junior Championship, the 2004 NSW Premier Kart Cup, and the 2006 NSW Clubman and Leopard Pro Kart Series.
In 2007 Daniel began his car racing career in Formula Ford, the world’s premier ‘entry level‘ openwheel formula for the past four decades.
The Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) immediately recognised his potential by selecting him into the NSW and then national ‘Rising Star’ squads in 2007-08.
‘Rookie of the Year’ performances in the 2007 NSW Formula Ford Championship and the 2008 Australian Formula Ford Championship prompted CAMS’ overseas driver development arm, the Australian Motor Sport Foundation (AMSF), to elevate Daniel to ‘International Rising Star’ status for 2009.
He justified the AMSF’s faith by placing an excellent fifth overall – and highest-placed driver in his debut season – in the British Formula Ford Championship, the category’s toughest national series.
Before returning to Australia in December, Daniel had a sensational try-out with US Formula Star Mazda team Mundill.
In his first drive of a ‘slicks and wings’ openwheeler, he lapped the unfamiliar MSR Houston Raceway less than two tenths of a second outside Mundill’s fastest recorded time for a current-spec Formula Star Mazda car.
A promising off-season production touring car debut in the Bathurst 12-Hour race in February was stymied when one of his co-drivers crashed out during the opening laps.
Prospective commercial partners or private sponsors can contact Bill Erickson on (02) 4657.1033. or visiting his website
