Perth Driver Daniel Ricciardo wins F3 championship

[gareth_oau]

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-sport/ricciardo-claims-f3-crown-eyes-f1-start-20090914-fmnz.html

Ricciardo claims F3 crown, eyes F1 start

September 14, 2009
Twenty-year-old Daniel Ricciardo's chances of becoming Australia's next Formula One driver have jumped up a gear after he clinched the British Formula Three Championship with two races to spare.

The Perth racer took maximum points in the first race of the weekend's round at the new Algarve circuit in Portugal and claimed fourth place in race two - enough to lift the championship crown.

Ricciardo's six race wins this year are one more than last year's British F3 champion, Spaniard Jaime Alguersuari, who is now racing in F1 with Scuderia Toro Rosso.

Ricciardo's sights are firmly on F1 too, although he admits it may be another year or more before he gets his chance on the grand prix grid.

However, winning the prestigious British F3 title almost certainly assures him of an F1 test before Christmas for the Red Bull team for which fellow Australian Mark Webber races.

Ricciardo is already among eight rising stars in a Red Bull driver development program that produced Webber's teammate Sebastian Vettel, the German who won three GPs before he turned 22.

He joins an illustrious list of British F3 champions that includes his idol Ayrton Senna, other Brazilian world champions Emerson Fittipaldi and Nelson Piquet Senior, Sir Jackie Stewart, Jim Clark, Mika Hakkinen and Rubens Barrichello.

Ricciardo is the fourth Australian to have won the title and the three before him - Tim Schenken (196, Dave Walker (1970 and 71) and David Brabham (1989) all made it to F1.

Competing against 28 other aspiring F1 drivers from around the world at Algarve, Ricciardo had to control a mishandling car because of a broken front wing from a tangle with Frenchman Jules Bianchi on the opening lap of the race in which he sealed the title.

"This is everything I've wanted since the start of the season," Ricciardo said.

"For it to come around a bit early (with two races to go next weekend at Brands Hatch) makes it a bit sweeter.

"We had some bad rounds - Rockingham (in England) and Hockenheim (in Germany) weren't the best for us.

"But we never lost faith, kept believing and working hard for it.

"It hasn't quite sunk in yet that I've won the championship, but I'm sure that by the end of the night I'll realise it and party hard.

"If I can now follow in Jaime Alguersuari's footsteps that would be great.

"I'm not saying I'll be in F1 next year, but I'd like to be there in the near future.

"That's my dream."

[MattyT]

This is much win!

[phaeton]

he won through VW power



Volkswagen driver Daniel Ricciardo won the British F3 Championship at the penultimate round of the season in Portimão after taking maximum points in the first race and finishing seventh in the second race. As a result, Volkswagen took the championship spoils in only its first year after returning to Great Britain’s highest ranking single-seater race series.

Following two race victories in the season opener at Oulton Park the Australian Ricciardo was the driver to beat throughout the 46th running of the traditional series. After taking third place in the first race behind two ‘wild card’ starters on the new track at Portimão, the 20-year old from the Volkswagen customer team Carlin Motorsport took maximum points for the sixth time this season with his near 210 hp Volkswagen power plant. He mounted the the podium on five further occasions in the previous 18 races. Ricciardo started four times from pole position. Volkswagen has three other race winners in its ranks with Max Chilton (Carlin Motorsport), currently fourth in the standings, and the fifth placed man Adriano Buzaid and Wayne Boyd representing team T-Sport. In addition to Volkswagen, power units from Mugen-Honda and Mercedes-Benz are also used in the hard fought British Championship.

"Congratulations to Daniel Ricciardo and Carlin Motorsport on winning the title. I’m absolutely delighted that we are so successful straight away in Great Britain in our comeback year in the series,” says Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen. "As a result, Volkswagen has already won its second title this year in a national Formula 3 Series following Laurens Vanthoor’s victory in the German ATS Formula 3 Cup.”

With his total of 240 points Ricciardo holds an unassailable lead 64 points ahead of Renger van der Zande (Netherlands/Dallara-Mercedes) after 18 of 20 races. There are 42 points still to be awarded at the season finale at Brands Hatch (20 September). "It’s dream, simply indescribable,” says the delighted Red Bull protégée. "I’m incredibly happy that I’ve wrapped up the title and can now compete at Brands Hatch without the pressure. A big thank you obviously goes to my team and Volkswagen.”

For Volkswagen it is the sixth British Formula 3 title. Ricciardo’s predecessor’s Johnny Dumfries (1984), Mauricio Gugelmin (1985), Andy Wallace (1986), Johnny Herbert (1987) and David Brabham (1989) used their success as spring board for a later career in Formula 1 or sportscars, where they claimed several victories in the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans.

[Coaster]

That's awesome! It's a small world aye! He'll no doubt be doing some F1 test driving soon.