You might think that Daniel Erickson, winner of the last two American F2000 Championship Series rounds, is confident of a repeat performance at Lime Rock Park this weekend – but nothing could be further from the truth.In fact, the young Sydney driver reckons he’ll have his work cut out just to be competitive, let alone take victory, at the Connecticut circuit.
No pre-event testing is scheduled for the Friday-Saturday race meeting, leaving Erickson just two practice sessions to familiarise himself with the high-speed 2.5km layout and fine-tune his racecar before qualifying.
Any on-track incidents or technical problems could put him and his Quantum/Primus Racing Van Diemen behind the eight-ball for Saturday's two 30-minute races.
Adding another degree of difficulty to Erickson’s task is the likelihood that lap times will be extremely close at the pointy end of the field.
Around 15 cars qualified within a second of the pole position time for both Lime Rock Park races in 2009, and this year’s 30-car field is no less competitive.
"Winning at Watkins Glen has given my confidence a boost, but Lime Rock Park will be without doubt my biggest challenge yet in the series," Erickson said.
"There’s been a test day before official practice and qualifying at each of the rounds I’ve been to so far, but I won't have that luxury this time.
"There are two 35-minute practice sessions and then qualifying, so I'll need every lap I can get.
"The car will need to be pretty much spot-on from the outset for me to have a chance of starting on or close to the front row.”
Erickson lies sixth in the F2000 Championship Series pointscore, and is the top placed rookie, despite missing half of the eight rounds held to date due to an ongoing funding shortfall.
He is averaging more points per round contested than current championship leader, Brazilian Victor Carbone, and has a realistic chance of finishing in the top three – or higher – if he can contest the remaining two race meetings after Lime Rock Park.
However, he will be forced to sit out more rounds unless additional funding can be found.
LIME ROCK PARK TIMETABLE
Friday, July 23
10.00-10.35 US EDT (00.00-00.35 Saturday, Australian EST) – official practice
13.30-14.05 US EDT (03.30-04.05 Saturday, Australian EST) – official practice
17.10-17.40 US EDT (07.10-07.40 Saturday, Australian EST) – qualifying
Saturday, July 3
10.30-11.00 US EDT (00.30-01.00 Sunday, Australian EST) – Round 9
17.15-17.45 US EDT (07.15-07.45 Sunday, Australian EST) – Round 10
F2000 CHAMPIONSHIP POINTSCORE (AFTER 8 OF 14 ROUNDS)
1. Victor Carbone (BR) 356
2. Cole Morgan (USA) 276
3. Tim Minor (USA) 220
6. Daniel Erickson (AUS) 172 – contested four rounds only
