LOCAL racing driver Darwin Smith has been invited to compete in a Formula 1 race at Portugal’s Portimao track! His call-up comes in the wake of his blistering display in the European Formula 2 Championship round at Zandvoort. The Ballymena driver turned in a five-star showing, taking victory in the final in front of a 50,000 crowd! “I qualified in pole position, having not done a single lap before at this circuit,”I had to learn the track on XBOX. There was no testing and I had to go straight into qualifying.” Despite choosing the wrong tyres on a wet track he still finished second and grabbed the fasted lap right on the last lap as the track started to dry. “For the grand finale I started P2, led every lap and won with the fasted lap,” outlined Darwin. “ This was not without drama as 6 laps from the end my exhaust broke, by this stage I had pulled a 3 second lead and then the safety car came out which bunched the pack up whilst the marshals cleared up an incident on track.” Darwin had to defend like crazy with an engine down on power for the final few laps. “ I have never seen so many passionate race fans. This was the biggest crowd at a race weekend I have ever seen - 75,000 people from Friday to Sunday and 50,000 spectators for Sundays big race.” “My son Ben was with me and we got to spray the champagne in front of a full house grand stand which was truly spectacular,” recalled Darwin. The winning performance in Holland saw the race ace invited to this month’s F1 race in Portugal. “I am really looking forward to showcasing what I can do in front of a much wider audience against F1 machinery. Obviously I will be keen to impress my new sponsors,” he said. Darwin, in a car that his father John has owned since 1972, and his team competed in three rounds of the 12 European F2 Championships. “With work commitments at Smiths Engineering in Ballymena and a young family we selected Spa, Nurburgring F1 circuit and Zanvoort.” “ At Spa we qualified on pole and whilst leading the race his throttle cable broke; in race 2 my brake disc broke, not ideal - two non finishes.” Next was Nurburgring. He had never seen the track, but qualified on P1, won both races and recorded both fastest laps and led every lap. “ We had an absolutely great weekend and I was more than pleased. This was made extra special because I had with me, for the first time, my four-year-old son Ben who I took on the podium, one to remember.” This was also the first time we have been victorious against the best in Europe in this family owned and run car. “It gives me great pleasure competing at the front in this category as we have put a lot of effort into developing our own engine and the entire car, whilst keeping a family run team and atmosphere.” And as he prepares for the big show-down in Portugal Darren took time out to thank his father John, “who has given me these opportunities throughout my racing life, and not forgetting my very understanding and supportive wife Victoria.”
Posted on: Mon, 06 Oct 2014 09:13:38 +0000
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