In the days building up to the F1 World Final I will be bringing you plenty of interviews, with drivers and officials from around the UK and Europe into how they see the World Final going and their thoughts and feelings on it.
The first driver I have had a chance to talk to is an interesting character from Holland - he may not be in the World Final this year but he is coming to the end of his first season in the formula and is touted as being one of the next big things in Dutch F1 racing.
H47 Danny Van Wamelen is hot property in Holland and is surely a star of the future who will go on to make many world finals - so I caught up with Danny to hear how much he is looking forward to racing at his first BriSCA Formula One World Final weekend.
MB: How does it feel coming over for your first ever F1 World Final weekend?
DvW: I’m really excited about racing at the King’s Lynn World Final weekend - although it would feel different if I would have qualified for the World Final itself - fingers crossed for next year.
MB: How hard has the jump been to go from F2s to F1s?
DvW: I was expecting it to be harder and that it would take more time to get used to it, but I have to thank Stockcar team Baarlo for giving me a great handling car which obviously helps getting used to F1s.
MB: How has your season been back in Holland?
DvW: The season has had its ups and downs. The ups were my debut at Coventry with two top ten finishes and winning three heats and two finals in Holland. This year was supposed to only be a learning year!! The downs were being fifth in qualification for the Gold Cup but I couldn’t start it because of engine troubles. So far it’s just been a great year and there are still plenty of meetings left on the calendar!
MB: So you would say you are happy in F1’s and are here to stay?
DvW: I’m definitely happy in the F1s and still do some meetings in the F2 as well this year. I enjoy the F1s much more in Holland though, mainly because of having a new challenge and having to race against new drivers to me. I’m definitely here to stay in the F1s and hope to have many more seasons to come to.
MB: And what is your long term aim?
DvW: I’m always trying to achieve the best in what I do and that is the same way the team thinks too.
MB: Now you have been in a big World Final here before - two years ago here in the F2s, talk us through how the build up and the big race was for you?
DvW: The build up towards the race was rather relaxing. I had a few meetings before at Kings Lynn and knew the track suited me and the car. I knew I had nothing to lose and the pressure wasn’t on me. The build up around the big one was perfect - the only down side was the heavy rain that started to fall when Mister Starter said “Gentlemen start your engines”. When the green flag dropped I had a good start and passing Moodie on the home straight which was great but then I crashed on the first corner. I got going again but was already a lap behind. I managed to survive nine laps in the mud bath that the rain had created until the engine started to overheat and I decided to save the engine since I was a lap down anyway. I’m glad I did save the engine!!!
MB: You went on to have a great weekend then?
DvW: It was definitely a great weekend then. After the World Final I won the consolation to get into the meeting final. In the final I was in fourth until I got followed in by a back marker. We fixed the car and got it out for the Grand National which I won again. The next day I went on to win the first heat of the day and also finished in fourth place in the final only to crash the car in the Grand National - so that’s definitely what you could call a great weekend!!
MB: How important are the time trials to the overseas drivers?
DvW: The time trials are definitely important although it’s better to have a good race pace then just a quick lap. Obviously you want to be on the inside although you never know what the track conditions will be like. Looking at last year’s World Final anything can happen from whichever grid position you are on. As they say you have got to be in it to win it - it’s more important qualifying then watching the race.
MB: I take it you have one eye on next years world final?
DvW: Next year were aiming to qualify. We didn’t do many qualifiers this year in Holland because we didn’t expect to go this well. The goal for next year is being on the grid for the World Final and I’m sure we can achieve that.
MB: Who would you say are the drivers to watch out for from Holland in this year’s World Final?
DvW: Looking at the last few meetings at Emmen there are different drivers being fast at each meeting, but consistently fast are H228 Jan Roelof Wijbenga and H22 Louw Wobbes has got a lot of world final experience which always helps in the big races. It will be interesting to see how they adapt to the track surface which has way more grip then the tracks inHolland.
MB: A lot of people talk about you in the UK about being one of the hottest young stars in Holland - that must make you proud?
DvW: I don’t see myself as a star, since I haven’t showed anything yet in the big meetings, but I have to say I’m surprised how well this year is going and hopefully I keep on growing. I have quite a bit of experience in F2s but I still got loads to learn in F1s so I’m not anywhere near a star.
MB: Are you surprised with how successful F1s are on shale in Holland?
DvW: I’m not really surprised as I have been watching the F1s on shale a lot and the finals at Emmen never get dull. The shale and dirt scene has got a big amount of drivers and they are all capable of winning finals on there day at all the different sorts of tracks.
MB: Would you say that it is your favoured surface?
DvW: I really enjoy racing on both surfaces, but if I had to choose I would say shale. That’s because racing on shale is never boring and you always have to expect the unexpected with changing track conditions and drivers going everywhere. And also isn’t it just great throwing a 700+ bhp car sideways along with 35 other drivers on a four hundred meter shale track!!
MB: Who do you see winning the World Final?
DvW: That’s a tough question! Obviously I would love to see a Dutch driver win it, although I know the chances of that are low, so I will go for Lee Fairhurst if he survives the first few corners - although you can’t really count out any of the drivers that are in the big one.
Well I would like to thank Danny for his time and I’m sure we will be seeing him in plenty of F1 world finals in years to come.
Matt Black