FAWKHAM, England — Young American racer Paul Edwards proved himself a force to be reckoned with during today’s pre-qualifying activities for the prestigious Formula Ford World Finals at Brands Hatch, England.
Edwards, 19, from Santa Maria, Calif., qualified on pole for his two pre-qualifying heat races, won them both in his Valvoline Team USA Scholarship Swift SC97Z, then went on to secure the pole for one of three final heat races which will take place tomorrow morning (Sunday).
“The qualifying process is pretty confusing,” noted Edwards, “but basically, anybody who didn’t finish among the top six in the various national championships — and that included me — had to go through this whole pre-qualifying process. But the good news is that the car was working well, I was able to win both my races, and then I had another qualifying session. I ended up with the fastest time of the day (46.3 seconds) and I will start tomorrow’s race from the pole.”
The other two pole-sitters on Sunday morning will be factory Van Diemen drivers Vitor Meira, from Brazil, and Dutchman Jacky van der Ende.
The top eighth finishers from each race will progress to the Grand Final on Sunday afternoon. Among the many prizes is a test drive in the Stewart-Ford Formula 1 car.
Meanwhile, at Donington Park, some 200 miles to the north, two more Valvoline Team USA Scholarship winners, Matt Sielsky and Buddy Rice, showed good speed in free practice before encountering problems during official qualifying.
Sielsky, 19, from Northbrook, Ill., set the third fastest time out of 26 drivers in morning practice. Rice, 21, from Phoenix, Ariz., was just 0.4 seconds slower in seventh. In the two qualifying sessions, however, Sielsky’s best laps were interrupted by slower cars and Rice encountered an engine problem.
The John Village Automotive crew performed sterling work in changing the motor in Rice’s car but he still wound up only 16th. Sielsky will start the first of two races tomorrow from 13th.
“It’s disappointing but the car feels good,” reported Rice. “We have two long races ahead of us and I feel we can move up. Don’t count us out yet.”
“We changed the shocks on my car and we made a definite improvement,” added Sielsky. “The car is consistent. Obviously, I’d like to be farther up the grid but I think Buddy and I will be able to work together and make up some places.”
The Team USA Scholarship, now in its eight season, is made possible by support from Valvoline Oil Company, Tasman Motorsports Group, Championship Auto Racing Teams, Mercedes-Benz of North America, Klein Tools, Firestone, LCI International, PacWest Racing Group, Road Racing Drivers Club, Skip Barber Racing School, Motorola and American Honda.
Photo: Paul Edwards in action at Brands Hatch
No Comments
Comments for Edwards Stars at Brands; Rice, Sielsky Struggle at Donington are now closed.