OLSON SHINES IN FORMULA MAZDA TESTING
For Immediate Release
December 15, 2003
Hollywood, CA –
Last weekend was the Formula Mazda debut of Maryland racer Pete Olson, testing a 130mph Formula Mazda racecar at
the Jim Russell Racing Driver’s School during an ARC [Advanced Racing Course] at the famous Sears Point raceway in
Sonoma, California. With a total of twelve challenging turns, a 150 foot drop-off in the infamous “carousel”, and a series
of high-speed esses in which Formula Mazda racecars reach over 100mph through the turns, the Sears Point racetrack
[now known as Infineon Raceway] hosts NASCAR’s only road race of the season.
The Jim Russell School has produced many a world champion, including Canadian Jacques Villeneuve [winner of the
1995 Indy 500 and 1997 F1 World Championship, son of F1 driver Gilles Villeneuve who died tragically during race
practice in Zolder, Belgium in 1982].
Olson received a fully sponsored test at the Infineon Raceway as the result of winning the Jim Hall Karting 2002 Fall
Sprint Championship. “I really want to thank everyone at JHR for giving me the opportunity to test in Formula Mazda”
said Olson. “I think that I made some real breakthroughs this weekend in the formula cars, and I have Jim Hall Karting
[www.jhrkartracing.com] to thank for that. Of course, I should also thank my very first sponsor, my father. He
sponsored my first championship weekend, and his support of my racing career has been an inspiration to me.”
Although Olson has years of experience in karts, as well as Superbike and RT/2000 experience, last weekend was Olson’
s first drive in the powerful Formula Mazda racecars capable of cornering at an incredible 2.5
Gs.
In an outstanding display of fast race driving, Olson set the fastest lap times in his ARC. But Sunday’s results didn’t
come easily, as he battled with Canadian Endre Koszec for the fastest lap times throughout the weekend. Olson
pushed the limit all weekend in the cockpit of his Formula Mazda racecar [see video clip].
“Endre and I were trading tenths [of seconds] on each lap. He is an incredible driver, a real natural. And as Endre and
I agree, being out on the track with someone fast really makes you push your limits in order find new ones. I mean,
racing is all about competing, and that competition feeling inside of you gives you the motivation to break through
personal barriers.”
Olson’s weekend included several black flags for overly aggressive passes, as well as out-braking a seasoned Formula
Mazda race driver from 120 to 30mph in turn seven, which resulted in the three-year FMazda veteran sliding off the
track into a wall of cones.
“Again, it is the competition that drives me…to be the best, to be the fastest. Sometimes, maybe I have made some
kind of bad judgment when passing another driver. But if there is an opening, I will take it. You cannot win if you are
behind someone. And if you do not practice the way that you will race, then you will lose, when the key moment
comes in a race. And as for the out-braking, that was never my fault, it was never my responsibility. And that, you can
see in a video [two of Olson’s lapping sessions were captured on digital video]. It is obvious that he thought he could
out-brake me, but he misjudged the pass. Through karting, I think that I have developed a good feel for manual
brakes [editor’s note: manual brakes are not power assisted, and require a significant amount of force to reach a
maximum braking power of more than 1G]. Also, in the RT/2000, thanks to dicing with Pace [Jim Pace, 24 Hours of Le
Mans prototype racer and Porsche factory GT3 racecar driver], I learned how to use the brakes to the maximum effect
while braking from 130 to 30mph at the end of Laguna Seca’s long straight, in October.”
Overall, Olson was very satisfied with the results of the weekend, and was told by instructors that he should compete
in the Formula Mazda Championship Race Series as the result of his incredible driving. On a track where the average
race driver laps at more than 2 minutes at the end of a weekend in the Formula Mazda racecars Olson was more than
ten seconds ahead, lapping at an average time close to 1:50 on a “slick” track that had recently been swept clean by
torrential rains. As a result, Olson was competing with lap times of FMazda veterans of multiple seasons [Olson’s spent
Friday’s session racing in the rain. Professional photos can be viewed at http://peteolson.com/MorePictures].
Despite the temptation for victory in the Formula Mazda Series, Olson has his sights set on something even bigger: the
2004 China Formula Renault Championship Race Series.
The talented Maryland racer received yet more encouragement to race the widely televised Formula Renault series after
having lunch with Serge Shleikin, an Eastern European driver currently competing in 400hp turbocharged formula cars in
the Formula Audi race series in Europe [http://www.formula-palmer-audi.com].
“It was great talking with Shleikin, he is really on his way” said Olson. “He is just a step below F1, he really knows racing
and how the business works. I’d love to race against him, I think it would be a real challenge. He encouraged me to
compete in Formula Renault, and I think he knows as well as anyone that it is a highly competitive series that creates
world champions.”
Formula Renault was Finnish driver Kimmi Raikonnen’s stepping stone to F1, after only his first season in Formula
Renault. Raikonnen finished the recent 2003 F1 season just two points behind Michael Shumacher, this year’s F1 World
Champion.
Will Olson make it to the top in the footsteps of the Finnish champion? Only time will tell. But Olson’s ability to pilot
the incredible 160mph Formula Renault racecar may be the determining factor in the continuance of his professional
career.
We wish him the best of luck in his racing endeavors in Asia next spring.
For more information on Pete Olson, visit his website at: http://www.peteolson.com/.
XXX
