Living The Dream

Oct 30, 1998 (IndyCar & Championship Racing magazine)
Paul Edwards’ first-person account of his first two races in the EFDA Formula Opel Winter Series as the latest winner of the Team USA Scholarship:

Ever since I started in karting it was my dream to race in Europe, where almost every successful driver you can think of in single seater racing has progressed from (Senna, Andretti, Prost, Mansell, Schumacher, etc.). My dream came true, but racing in Europe has been very difficult. There have been a lot of obstacles in the way of succeeding. There are so many young drivers of different nationalities here for only one reason, and that is to learn the best tricks of the trade which will hopefully take them to Indycar or Formula 1. Every one of them are out there to make sure they are better than you. It is a real fight to try and stay more fit, focused, and determined than the others. If you are trying to go forward with only natural talent and not the willingness to learn from the team, driving coaches, computer telemetry, etc., you will only go so far.

I am now in my third year of racing in Europe and every step up the ladder is becoming a real challenge. I have had some very good results. In the last few years I starting off by winning the Formula Renault Elf Winfield Scholarship in France in 95, and then moving to England in 1996 to compete in British Formula Ford where I became the first American to ever win a British Formula Ford Championship race. Formula Ford is a great way to enter single seater racing. It teaches you car control, mechanical grip, and race tactics.

This year has been full of ups and downs which we can all relate to in motorsports. I signed with Formula Renault Sport team Martello Racing and had a great winter testing program. We were setting the pace, but then struggled with mechanical failures in the races from breaking drive shafts to brake failure. I had a couple of podium finishes but was unable to carry on because of the teams money troubles. The team had given me a fantastic deal to sign with them and promising to find a team sponsor to cover the budget that was needed. They failed to do so, which left me out of a drive mid season. This was the worst thing that could have happened because I had also moved all the way to Bournemouth, which is in the very south of England and out of the way of everything, to be based near the team and be at the work shop to learn more about the technical side of the car.

I was not going to give up here though. My friend, David Henderson, allowed me to move into his house where I started doing some more instructing work while I tried to put something together for the rest of the season. This is when the greatest thing happened. I was nominated for the Team USA Scholarship Scheme, which turned things around. Team USA, along with Valvoline, CART, PacWest, RRDC, Skip Barber, Tasman, Klein Tools and Bridgestone/Firestone helps young American drivers to succeed in Motorsport. I was back on track in the most competitive championship in Europe — European Formula Opel. I entered the last three rounds of the championship to get ready for the Winter Series. I got some great experience finishing in the top five, which I was very happy with, entering the championship at the end of the season in a car I had never driven before competing against top drivers from all over the world.

I was also given the opportunity, thanks to Brian Redman and John Bright, to test their Formula 3000 car at Donington. This was an experience I’ll never forget. At first I was very nervous to jump into a car with 450 horsepower for the first time, especially when there was a slight drizzle in the weather. When I got into the car and started it up, I think my breathing tripled before I even left the garage. Each dab of the accelerator made the engine roar to 7000-8000 revs and the noise of the engine got the adrenaline pumping. The team talked me through the sequential gearbox and I was off. I came in after it started to drizzle even more and called it a day. I wasn’t going to go any quicker, and I had all ready had the time of my life. This test was very helpful to my future plans also, because I now believe it is possible to go from Formula Opel straight to F3000. Before this test my mind was set to do Formula 3, but now I can see that if the opportunity comes up, I think it’s a realistic jump because of the similarities of Opel and F3000.

I continued my quest to the Formula European Opel Winter Championship with Britain’s top team Meritus. This was my chance to work together with the team and build a relationship before next year, and to get good results being on a top team and having the support behind me from the Team USA Scholarship. It all added up the way I hoped for. I get along with the team perfectly and they couldn’t be doing a better job for me. We have intertwined perfectly and the results are forthcoming because of it. We won the first round of the championship, which really boosted my confidence back up to the top. It felt so good to win the EFDA (European Formula Drivers Association) race and to stand on the podium and to listen to the Our National Anthem be played for the first time in EFDA history, which has been running championships for 20 years.

Another exciting weekend at Hockenheim, Germany for the second round of the championship resulted in a second place finish and capturing the fastest lap to receive another point. I now stand 8 points in the lead for the championship, but still have one more round to go and feel confident for another win.

This dream of mine to race in Europe, where I feel I’m getting the best experience for my future in motor racing, would not be possible without the help of my family, friends in my hometown, and the support given me through the Team USA scheme.

Paul Edwards

Reprinted from IndyCar & Championship Racing magazine