This test day was designed to give a promising young driver the opportunity to progress from Formula Vee and establish a stepping stone into the NSW Formula Ford Championship.

Throughout the season Anglo Motorsport owner and manager Tim Beale, and Ray Filetti of NSW Formula Vee Association watched closely to pick a driver who they thought displayed the talent that they were looking for and as the season came to a close it was apparent that two young drivers stood out as deserving the opportunity and so the test day was awarded to both Daniel Reynolds and Aaron Russell.

20 year old Reynolds won the 2009 NSW Formula Vee Championship ahead of a hot field, as well as being awarded the prestigious Competitor of the Year Award by CAMS NSW. 17 year old Russell is showing talent beyond his years after progressing from Karts and taking after his racing stalwart father, Wayne Russell.

The test day showcased the obvious talent of both Reynolds and Russell, with both drivers clearly enjoying the experience. Each have stated their interest in stepping up into the NSW Formula Ford Championship in the near future.

Tim Beale was appropriately impressed commenting “both drivers showed a great approach taking on board the quicker engines and different car control with ease and were very competitive being within 2 to 3 tenths off each other throughout the day”.

The NSW Formula Vee Championship continuously provides an impressive field of talented young drivers with Ryan Simpson being the most successful in recent years. After winning the State and National titles in 2005 and 2006, Simpson stepped up to the NSW Formula Ford Championship in 2008 and took out the title in dominating fashion with Anglo Motorsport, before progressing onto the Australian Formula Ford Championship in 2009.

The NSW Formula Ford Championship is keen to continue the success of past Formula Vee graduates like Simpson by providing a progressive stepping stone as well as offering ongoing encouragement, guidance and support needed to further develop these talented drivers.

With the continued support of Ray Filetti and the NSW Formula Vee Association, in helping to achieve this common goal we should see more Formula Vee alumnae take on the challenge of Formula Ford racing in the future.

The 2010 NSW Championships for both Formula Ford and Formula Vee kicks off at Sydney’s Eastern Creek Raceway on 13 March.