BLANCHARD SETS SIGHTS ON BRITISH CROWN
17 March 2008
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Late in 2007, Tim Blanchard wasn’t quite sure what 2008 would bring in terms of his racing career, but after winning the Australian Formula Ford crown at the final round at Phillip Island, the 20 year old Victorian also confirmed he would move to England to race in the British series.
Now settled in and ready to compete at his first ever British Formula Ford round at Oulton Park this weekend, the young gun is understandably nervous but ready to tackle the round head on.
“We have completed testing at Outlon Park and I was pleased with my times, but it’s a different scenario with a round, you need to take into account qualifying, racing and things work a little differently than back home,” explained Blanchard.
Putting together a quick lap first up in qualifying is going to be something Blanchard needs to adapt to, and learning the art of driving on slicks is a challenge in itself.
“I have found driving on slicks requires a different style that I wasn’t very used to when first coming over here to England,” he said.
“Last year I had almost an entire qualifying session to put a lap together, on slicks you need to put a decent lap together with no mistakes straight away on new tyres, and it’s something I am still learning.”
Blanchard has joined Jamun Racing who have guided their driver’s home to claim the previous three British Championships, and while he feels right at home with Jamun, he will have strong competition from his own team mates from the outset.
Jamun will run four drivers including Blanchard in the 2008 Championship, and each of them won their respective category titles in 2007, a testament to the quality the Jamun team will put on the grid this year.
Teaming with Blanchard will be UK drivers Wayne Boyd and James Cole, and Brazilian Victor Correa.
“I am taking a similar approach to last year when it comes to the bigger picture and trying to ensure I always come away with a valuable bag of points.
“Yes it’s great to win and I’ll be attacking each race with winning as the main goal, but sometimes it’s the better option to make sure I don’t do anything stupid and score some points rather than over driving and ending up not scoring any.”
Fans can keep up to date with all the latest Tim Blanchard news at www.timblanchard.com.au, or tune into Victorian sports radio station SEN 1116 to catch Blanchard in his new role as SEN UK motorsport correspondent.
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