September 30, 2009
The final countdown
Daniel Erickson goes into the last 2009 British Formula Ford Championship race meeting at Castle Combe this Saturday with a clear goal: take fifth place in the final pointscore, and thereby become the championship's unofficial top 'rookie'.
(His 2008 Australian Formula Ford season makes him ineligible for the championship's junior 'Scholar Class' award, which is restricted to drivers with no prior Formula Ford experience at any level.)
To achieve his aim, Daniel must score eight points more than the current fifth placeholder - his Kevin Mills Racing team-mate Daniel Cammish - over the day's two BFFC races.
It's been a whirlwind experience for the Australian Motor Sport Foundation International Rising Star. "It's a bit surreal. The series has just flown by, and it's hard to believe that it's nearly over."
Pointscore permutations notwithstanding, Daniel said he's approaching Castle Combe the same as at the previous rounds. "I want to finish the championship on a high note, so I'm trying to keep relaxed and focused.
"The only difference is that I'm trying to steal fifth place from Daniel Cammish. He'll stay at my apartment this weekend because Castle Combe isn't far from where I'm living, and some people have suggested that I should beat him up or spike his food! But I want to defeat him fair and square on the racetrack.
"I just need to keep in front of him on Saturday, although that won't be easy because he's been quick in testing. But I think I'm capable of doing it."
Daniel has downplayed any advantage his team might enjoy at the fast but bumpy Wiltshire circuit. "Kevin Mills has a lot of knowledge there as a racing driver because Castle combe is his local circuit, but he raced the old Kent-engined cars and they aren't as fast as these Duratec-engined cars. It isn't a huge advantage, but his input certainly won't hurt my chances."
Daniel will have extra moral support in the form of his father, who flew in from Australia this week. Peter Erickson will be at Castle Combe as well as the season-ending Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch a fortnight later. "It's great having Dad over here after being on my own since April. He mightn't be able to make me drive any faster, but I'm really happy to have him around, just like when I raced in Australia."
CASTLE COMBE TIMETABLE
Saturday, October 3
09:30-09:50 GMT / 18:30-18:50 Australian EST - Qualifying
13:30 GMT / 22:30 Australian EST - Round 24, 18min.
16:30 GMT / 13:30 Monday, Australian EST - Round 25 (Final), 18min.
NOTE: There will not be 'live online timing' for the BFFC qualifying and races, however results and news will be posted on this website as soon as they're available.
A
quick lap of Castle Combe with Daniel Erickson
The venerable racetrack is based on the perimeter road of a WWII RAAF base in Wiltshire on England's south-western seaboard. Not surprisingly it's fairly flat, and very fast. The original layout was even faster, but a couple of chicanes along what used to be the two fastest straights slow the cars - and bikes - down somewhat.
There aren't the off-track facilities boasted by major venues like Silverstone, Donington or Brands Hatch, and the surface is quite bumpy in places. The run-off areas are fairly limited, so it definitely pays to stay 'on the island'!
Buckle up as Daniel Erickson guides you around the 3km circuit .
"There's a flat-out righthand kink (Folly) heading towards Quarry, which is the first real corner. It's a 110-degree righthander, but faster than it looks on the circuit map.
The Castle Combe circuit in Wiltshire
"The approach is quite tricky, because there's a slight crest at Avon Rise and then a lefthand kink in the braking area. The car's going quite fast in top (fourth) gear at this point, and it gets light on the suspension over the crest, so you can't brake really hard until after it settles. But you can't wait until that happens before you start braking or you'll never get around the corner. And Castle Combe doesn't have much run-off area outside most of its corners!
"So you tap the brakes just before Avon Rise, then drive through the kink, brake hard and drive right into the apex. Then shift down to second gear and quickly get back on the power out of the corner, shift up to third gear and head to the first chicane. Try to hold third gear on the entry, downshift between the right and left parts, and drive through as fast as you dare! Then drive right out to the ripple strip on the exit.
"Hold third gear along the back 'straight', which curves right at Old Paddock Bend. It's quite bumpy there, so you have to lift off the throttle slightly unless you're on new tyres. Whether you lift early or late through the sweeper depends on the track and wind conditions. It also depends whether you're slipstreaming someone, trying to stop someone slipstreaming you - or both!
"After the sweeper, get back on the power and shift up to fourth gear heading down to Tower Corner, where you downshift to third. It's one of Castle Combe's better overtaking spots, but it's also off-camber so you have to get your turn-in point just right. Otherwise you can get a lot of understeer, which makes the car run wide. That will really ruin your lap!
"Back on the power in third gear on the run to the second chicane, downshift to second and turn in as close to the tyre stack as you dare, running over as much kerb as you can. Then hard on the throttle as you turn left to stablise the car over a dip that makes the tail of the car want to come around. That's the slowest point on the circuit - 90-95km/h.
"Back on the power and shift up to third and fourth through a fast kink (Westaway) into Camp Corner. Downshift to third, brake as late as possible, and take as much of the inside kerb as possible. Then get back on the power early for the long uphill run along the Start-Finish straight."
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