Ash Walsh prepares for busy five months

FORMULA Ford’s fast man CAMS Rising Star Ashley Walsh is preparing for a huge end to his 2007 season as a result of support provided by the Australian Motor Sport Foundation (AMSF)

In the next five months, Walsh, 19 from Ipswich, Queensland, will compete in the final four rounds of the Australian Formula Ford Championship, race a Formula Ford in the Formula Ford Festival in the UK and test a British Formula 3 car.

Walsh, a CAMS Rising Star member driving for the Borland Racing Developments team, is currently halfway through his Australian Formula Ford Championship (AFFC) campaign where he sits third. He dominated the last round at Eastern Creek, NSW, winning all three races.

But the four domestic rounds that he has competed in thus far will seem like a breeze compared to the whirlwind tour he is set to embark on in the coming months.

Below is a brief rundown of the races and events that Walsh will attend from July to December.

July and August;
Both July and August are the easiest months that Walsh will have until January 2008.

Walsh will compete next weekend in the fifth round of the AFFC at Queensland Raceway, before getting his first taste of the UK car (Spectrum 011).
The UK-spec Formula Fords compete with faster engines and slick tyres, so a couple of tests will be completed at a number of tracks to get a feel for it before the chassis is sent to the UK.

September and October;
September starts with the sixth round of the AFFC at Sandown.

On the Monday afternoon after the race, Walsh, team-mate Josh Scott and two Borland engineers will head to the UK for six weeks.

Walsh and Co will head straight to Alan Docking Racing’s factory (the team which will prepare the Formula Fords) to give the car a once over.

Walsh’s first weekend in the UK will be spent competing in the British Formula Ford Championship at Brands Hatch. It is unlikely that Walsh will get a chance to practice, so his first laps of international motorsport may be in qualifying! Walsh will compete in two races. (For the history buffs, John Martin won a race at the same meeting in 2006).

From that point, there is no racing until the prestigious Formula Ford Festival – again at Brands Hatch – but there’ll be plenty to do.
Walsh and the Borland boys will head to Rockingham Park as guests of Docking’s F3 team where they will be able to soak up the final round of both the British Formula 3 and Formula Ford Championships – without the pressure of racing.

The team will conduct a number of test days at a variety of circuits before embarking on the big one – The Formula Ford Festival (19-21 October).

After the hype of the Festival, Walsh will then get his first taste of Formula 3 power in a National Class car – courtesy of ADR.

Walsh and the team catch a flight home on Saturday, 27th October.

He will test an Aussie Formula Ford (to get the UK car’s habits out of his system) at Winton before heading to Symmons Plains and Phillip Island for the final two rounds of the championship.

ASH WALSH QUOTE BOOK:

“The busiest thing to start with will be getting used to the new car.

“The UK car will have more horsepower and slick tyres. They are the two major differences. The mapping of the engine is different, so that affects where you change gears. It will also take a slightly different approach with the brakes as well. There’s a bit to learn, but its still a Formula Ford. It will be similar to drive.

“I’m looking forward to seeing what the UK cars are going to be like. I like to drive things with more power. “I don’t see it as something that is going to affect my Australian Formula Ford campaign. I could see it helping, if anything. It should make things seem easier – jumping from a faster car to a slower car. “This is something that I’ve always wanted. My ultimate ambition is to make it to Formula 1.

“Before I was a karter, I didn’t really think about it. Even in the early years I was just having fun.

“It wasn’t until the last couple of years of karting that I started to get a real sniff of where I wanted to go and how possible it was. This is my first step to realising that dream.

"But I'm not getting carried away with all of the overseas racing yet. I've still got a championship to fight for here in Australia. That's my priority for this season so I want to tick that box first."