17-year-old Victorian Formula Ford pilot Lachlan Marshall will enter the F3 Australian Drivers Championship in 2012 and he’s brought in some gun support to help his maiden ‘wings and slicks’ campaign.
Marshall, a year 11 student at Braemar College, is the first young driver to commit to the 2012 Forpark Australia F3 Scholarship that awards a young driver a subsidy towards an outright drive the following season.
Marshall has bought the F304 Dallara-Renault driven by Tim Macrow to victories at Sandown last year, and has brought the 2007 F3 champion on board to engineer and act as a driver coach in his campaign next year.
The pair officially confirmed their plans at the weekends’ round of the F3 Australian Drivers Championship at Sandown and discussed plans for next year.
Lockie currently leads the Formula Ford 1600 championship in Victoria and is looking to wrap up the title later this year. Naturally, he is excited to be stepping his career forward next season.
“I have worked with Tim before and he’s a great engineer and driver coach – he’ll really help my transition to Formula 3,” Marshall said.
“He knows the cars inside and out as well as all of the interstate tracks, so I’m lucky to have him as my mentor in 2012.
“My new car is great and has had a lot of success so I know it’s capable of being competitive and I can’t wait to get behind the wheel for the first time.
“I would like to thank my sponsors for their support this season and their continued support into the future,” he added. “My family and the crew from project racing have been huge supports to get me to the position that I am now in.”
Marshall said the Forpark Australia Scholarship was naturally a factor in him joining Formula 3 for next season.
“It’s a fantastic thing to have and if I can win it would be a massive boost to my career,” he said.
“The prize is great and the money would go a long way to making my next year easier but everything else that goes with it, like the media training, for example, make it really worthwhile.
“Like almost every young driver I would love to go to Europe and race over there, but I am also keen to race in Australia. But I know racing Formula 3 here will be a big help to me in achieving my goals.”
Macrow – currently the senior engineer at Borland Racing’s Spectrum Formula Ford team - said he was looking forward to working with Marshall next season.
“It’s exciting to see new drivers coming into the category and I’m looking forward to be working with Lachlan in 2012. With his results in Formula Ford 1600 this year I expect his transition to Formula 3 will be smooth and competitive.
“He’s got a great approach to his driving and I expect him to be competing for the Forpark Australia National Class from the very first round.”
Lockie and his father, John, will take delivery of the car soon with the young driver set to begin testing later this season ahead of his 2012 F3 title debut.
The next round of the 2011 F3 Australian Drivers Championship will be held at the Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit on November 4-6, with the Shannons Nationals.
The F3 Australian Drivers Championship is proudly supported by Forpark Australia, Kumho Tyres, ELF, Performance Friction Brakes, City of Darwin and Race Torque Media.
More information about the championship can be found at www.formula3.com.au
 [copyright-free photo by Phil Willams - www.freewebs.comphilwillmedia]nsp_119.JPG)
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