ASH WALSH MOTORSPORT

Formula Renault 2.0 WEC

ROUND 2 - Dijon, FRANCE REPORT

MEDIA RELEASE, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, MAY 12, 2008

Top 15 the best for Ash Walsh at Dijon

YOUNG Australian race driver Ash Walsh had a promising, yet ultimately
frustrating second round of the West European Championship (Formula
Renault) at Dijon, France, last weekend.

Walsh, 20, driving for Hitech Junior, started the weekend full of promise after a
very encouraging practice session at the French track. He finished the practice
sessions inside the top 10 and felt confident of similar results in the two races.
However, an unexplained change in his car’s performance resulted in two poor
qualifying results for the AMSF International Rising Star, before finishing 18th
and 15th in the two races.

Both races were reasonably uneventful for Walsh himself, picking up a couple of
spots in both events.

But what did raise his eyebrows was the tyre issues that plagued the category at
Dijon. The recently resurfaced track was hard on the Michelin tyres and it
caused an extraordinary amount of tyre failures. The first race to be red flagged
due to the problem, and the second race was again cut short by five minutes to
reduce the risk of tyres blowing out.

Fellow Australian Daniel Ricciardo won both races over the weekend.
 

Walsh’s next race will be at Valencia, in Spain on June 20. Due to testing
restrictions, he is unable to test his Formula Renault car before the race.

WALSH ON HIS DIJON WEEKEND:

“My whole race weekend was shocking,” he said.
“Practice was awesome, and we had such great hopes for a good result, but we
came away with nothing.
“Going into qualifying, I thought that I would be inside the top 10, maybe even
inside the five. We did some qualifying simulations in practice, and I only used
one set of tyres to set my top 10 time and I ended up only three tenths off the
fastest.
“But in qualifying, the car wasn’t the same at all. A lot of rubber laid down on the
track and I was 1.3s slower in similar weather conditions.
“I just lost grip overall. The car wasn’t the same. It’s just so frustrating to come
into qualifying, thinking we were going to be in the top 10, and not have the car
under neath me to do it.”

WALSH ON THE MICHELIN TYRE ISSUES:

“The track is very quick in the last couple of last corners. It’s also a very
abrasive track, hard on the tyres. They have resurfaced some of the corners,
and the tyres couldn’t cope.
“The organisers shortened the last race by five minutes, but still some had tyres
explode. They red flagged the first race due to it.
“I had one tyre go down during the weekend, but luckily I didn’t crash. After my
last race, two thirds of my front left tyre is missing!”

WALSH ON DIJON’S POSITIVES;

“Results-wise, there’s nothing we can take out of this weekend.
“But after the testing, I’ve proved that I can be on the same speed as the frontrunners.
Now, it’s just a matter of getting it all together. I’m glad to have had a
few sessions at the front of the field. I think it’s a huge confidence boost for me.”

ASH WALSH DETAILS:

Name : Ashley Walsh
Date of Birth : 11 January 1988
Born: Ipswich (Queensland), Australia

Walsh is driving in his first season in the West European Championship. This is
a new championship, borne out of the old French Formula Renault
Championship. Over 40 cars are entered in each round, with drivers coming
from all corners of the globe to compete.

Walsh drives for Hitech Junior – its first year in Formula Renault competition.
Walsh has four team-mates – one each from Wales, England, Spain and
Columbia.

Walsh is a graduate of the CAMS Rising Star program, and is competing as an
inaugural CAMS International Rising Star this year. He races with the support of
the Australian Motor Sports Foundation and its associate backers.

2008 RESULTS:

Round 1, Nogaro, France
Q1: 17th
Q2: 19th
R1: 12th
R2: 17th

Round 2, Dijon, France
Q1: 21st
Q2: 20th
R1: 18th
R2: 15th

2007: Second in the Australian Formula Ford Championship
2006: Third in the Australian Formula Ford Championship
2005: Formula Ford debut
2004: Australian CIK Inter Continental A Karting Champion
2003: Australian Junior Clubman and Piston Port Karting Champion

For more information or high-res photos; Grant Rowley, 0438 198 047.
To unsubscribe