FOSTER READY TO TAKE THE NEXT STEP IN HIS MOTORSPORT APPRENTICESHIP

For the past nine years Queensland teenager Nick Foster has been taking on, and defeating, the best young kart racers across the country.

With no less than five state karting championships under his belt Foster has proven himself as a capable steerer behind the wheel of a kart. Now it is time for the next segment in his motorsport career.

At Sydney’s Eastern Creek Raceway later this week Foster will take the next step in his motorsport apprenticeship when he makes his debut in the Ford Genuine Parts Australian Formula Ford Championship.

Foster, who turned 16 two weeks ago, is expected to be the youngest driver competing in this weekend’s opening round of the eight-round championship.

“It is a very exciting time for me, over the past six months I’ve been doing a fair bit of testing in a Formula Ford and now I finally get the chance to race – I’m really looking forward to it,” said Foster.

“For me, this year is all about learning the cars, the tracks and the competition as it is all new to me. Along with the testing that I’ve done at a few tracks I’ve also spent many, many hours on my Hyper Stimulator so I can learn the circuits better.”

The Formula Ford Championship is the traditional breeding ground for today’s V8 Supercar stars with the likes of champions Garth Tander, Russell Ingall and Craig Lowndes along with rising stars Jamie Whincup and Mark Winterbottom all ‘cutting their teeth’ in the open wheel category.

“When you look at the previous champions in Formula Ford and where they are now, it is definitely the next place after karting that you need to race if you are going to make a career out of motorsport,” said Foster, who also tested a Formula BMW in Asia late last year.

“When I first started racing karts Mark (Winterbottom) was the driver everyone in the sport looked up to.

“The first, and only, time I seen him race in a kart was when he won the final round of the Kart Stars Series in 2001 in Melbourne which won him the drive in the National Formula Ford Series. I was nine years old at the time and was racing in the Midgets category at the same event, ever since then I have looked up to him and hope to one day be able to follow in his footsteps.”

Foster will be guided throughout the year by fellow Queenslander, and ex-Formula Ford competitor, Brett Francis. Francis competed in the national championship for a number of years with varied success before turning his focus to tutoring young talent through the ranks over the past few years.

Foster will take to the circuit for two practice session on Friday followed by qualifying and his debut race on Saturday. The opening round will be highlighted by a pair of 10-lap races on Sunday, the second of which will be shown live across the nation on Channel Seven.

FACTS AND FIGURES
Venue: Eastern Creek Raceway, Sydney, NSW
Length: 3.93km
2007 Round Winner: Ashley Walsh
2007 Pole Position: Ashley Walsh 1m36.9371s
Leading Rookie of the Year contender: James Moffat (3rd)

TIME TABLE OF EVENTS
Friday March 7
10:30am – 10:50am – Practice 1
2:05pm – 2:25pm – Practice 2

Saturday March 8
11:00am – 11:20am – Qualifying
3:00pm – Race One (10 laps)

Sunday March 9
9:10am – Race Two (10 laps)
1:25pm – Race Three (10 laps)

NICK FOSTER FACT SHEET
Age: 16
Resides: Daisy Hill, QLD
Karting debut: 1999, aged 7
Karting Achievements: Five-time state junior champion, 2007 New Zealand CIK Karting Trophy - runner up
Formula Ford debut:Round 1, 2008 – Eastern Creek, NSW
Most Admired Drivers:Kimi Raikkonen, Mark Winterbottom
Interests away from motor racing: mountain bike riding, surfing and AFL (favourite team – Essendon)
First interest in motorsport: Father, Tony, previously raced karts and Aussie Racing Cars

ABOUT THE FORD GENIUNE PARTS AUSTRALIAN FORMULA FORD CHAMPIONSHIP
Formula Ford is the world's premier junior development category in motor sport.

Currently, over 70% of V8 Supercar drivers, raced in Formula Ford category in their early careers, plus many Australian stars racing overseas, including Formula One driver Mark Webber.

Each vehicle is powered by the 'control' Ford Fiesta 1600cc, 100ps DOHC, lightweight aluminium, four cylinder engine for Australian competition. Tuned to develop more than 125 horsepower, Formula Fords reach speeds in excess of 250 km/h.

The Championship consists of eight rounds, each held in conjunction with round of the V8 Supercar Series, across four states of Australia.

2008 Schedule
March 7 – 9 - Eastern Creek, NSW
April 4 – 6 - Wakefield Park, NSW
June 7 – 9 - Sandown, VIC
July 4 – 6 - Hidden Valley, NT
July 18 – 20 - QLD Raceway, QLD
September 12 – 14 - Phillip Island, VIC
October 23 – 26 – Gold Coast, QLD
December 5 – 7 - Oran Park, NSW

PREVIOUS TEN FORMULA FORD CHAMPIONS
2007 - Tim Blanchard (Mygale SJ07A)
2006 - John Martin (Spectrum 011)
2005 - Daniel Elliott (Van Diemen RF05)
2004 - David Reynolds (Van Diemen RF04)
2003 - Neil McFadyen (Van Diemen RF94)
2002 - Jamie Whincup (Van Diemen RF01)
2001 - Will Davison (Van Diemen RF01)
2000 - Luke Youlden (Mygale SJ2000)
1999 - Greg Ritter (Mygale SJ98)
1998 - Adam Macrow (Spectrum 06)