Australian A1GP World Cup of Motorsport driver Ian Dyk will return to the Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship for round six at Phillip Island, next weekend.
22-year-old Dyk has been confirmed by Melbourne-based Scud Racing and will drive the #25 Dallara F301 – Spiess driven to pole position at Phillip Island last year by fellow Scud driver Tim Macrow. Dyk was recently confirmed as A1 Team Australia’s lead driver for the 2007 – 2008 A1GP season.
Phillip Island will mark Dyk’s return to the category that helped develop his talent, the young Sydneysider winning three races en route to third in the 2004 championship – despite missing the final three races of the year.
In 2005 he returned to the category for a one-off drive at the A1GP meeting in Sydney, winning one race and scoring well in the other.
He has since raced Australian Carrera Cup as well as leading up A1 Team Australia’s campaign in the latter half of the 2006 – ’07 season. In the round in Mexico earlier this year Dyk scored a stunning third position in the sprint race and eighth in the A1GP Feature to solidify his position within the team.
Dyk said he was pleased to have the chance to get back to both Formula 3 and Phillip Island.
”We are coming to the end of the A1GP off season, so it’s been a while for me! ” he said today.
“Aside from some laps in a Kart to keep myself fit it’s been a while since I’ve driven a car that generates lots of downforce and grip. I can’t want to get back into it next weekend.
”It’s going to be fantastic preparation for the upcoming season. We start our A1GP testing at Silverstone in three weeks time so to be able to race at a high speed track like Phillip Island beforehand is great. ” He said.
Despite two years out of the Formula 3 hot seat, Dyk said that he believed a front-running performance amongst one of the strongest Kumho Tyres F3 fields for some times was more than a possibility.
”I’ll definitely be keen to run at the front, ” he said.
”I know I won’t be in the latest model car but it has a proven track record at the track so I don’t doubt that it will have the speed. I want to get as much out of the weekend as I can for the team and for my season ahead. ”
Scud Racing team owner Bill Maddocks said that Dyk was an obvious choice to fill the seat of the #25 car.
”With Lauren (Gray) out thanks to a back injury we wanted to put someone in the car to help us to continue to raise the profile of the team, ” he said.
”Ian has got plenty of experience and we’ll enter him in championship class to mix it up with the people at the front.
”We’re really pleased to be able to get him in the car. The team has big plans for next season and this will be a good way of having another car at the front of the field as well as raising our profile. ”
Dyk will test at Winton this Friday prior to taking on one of the strongest Championship round fields in the Kumho Tyres Australian Formula 3 Championship’s history.
Dyk will join a field already brimming with talent that will add the likes of Chris Gilmour and Mat Radisich – and more yet to be announced drivers - to the core group of seven cars that have fought out race wins this season.
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