DREAMS CAN COME TRUE –
OLSON QUICK IN FORMULA RENAULT TESTING
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For Immediate Release
Zhuhai, China - Maryland racer
Pete Olson stepped off the plane at Chiang Kaishek International Airport in
Taipei, Taiwan just a few short weeks ago, passport in hand and a dream in his
heart.
One year ago today, Olson was
sitting on the 212 bus in
This afternoon, he was on a
high-speed hovercraft skimming over the deep blue waters of the
Olson completed two days of
Formula Renault testing this past week at the Zhuhai International Circuit
[ZIC] in mainland China, in preparation for this month’s opening round of the
elite 2004 China Formula Renault professional racing series.
The hot shot American racer made
quite a debut at the ZIC by spinning his race car at over 200kph [124mph] on
only his fourth lap piloting the powerful Formula Renault.
“It was just plain embarrassing.”
said Olson in typical brash understatement.
“But the power of the Formula Renault…it is addicting.”
Despite his wild spin, it seems
that Olson has found his calling in one of the most advanced race cars in the
world [photo].
By the end of his first day of
testing, during his fourth and final lapping session, Olson was beating the lap
times of three-year Formula Renault veterans who race at the ZIC.
The ZIC is a challenging 14 turn,
4.32 kilometer [2.68 mile] international racetrack located in Zhuhai, Mainland
China, in close proximity to Macau as well as the former British colony of Hong
Kong. The track hosts several rounds of
the China and Asian Formula Renault championships, as well as Porsche Cup and
other race events.
As a result of the ZIC’s long
straight, Formula Renault pilots accelerate to 265kph in 6th gear
before braking for the first high-speed corner.
Data acquisition computers show that during the second turn, the 2.5 G
race cars reach over 200 kph [124mph].
The China Formula Renault series
is organized and promoted along with other premier Asian open-wheel race series
by FRD Motorsports, headquartered in
“I
was totally impressed with FRD’s staff at the circuit.” said Olson. “They were incredibly professional. Also, the mechanics, instructors, and engineers
gave me an unbelievable amount of advice and feedback about the vehicle and the
track. I mean, by the end of the first
day, they were going through data acquisition with me. I’ve never seen such an organization in
formula car racing. I especially want to
thank Vinay [Chief Instructor at FRD] and Hidei [Hideaki Nakao, 2004 Macau
Formula Renault Champion, Team FRD] for their advice on driving the Formula
Renault. FRD has given me an incredible
opportunity, and made my dreams come true.
I would highly recommend FRD to any racer who wants to become a
champion.”
Formula Renault is undoubtedly one
of the world's most exciting single-seater championships, launching the careers
of current McLaren F1 driver and Grand Prix winner Kimi Raikkonen, who finished
the 2003 Formula One [F1] season just two points behind famous six-time World
Champion Michael Schumacher. The China
Formula Renault Race Series is one of the worldwide regional Formula Renault
racing series and is sanctioned along with F1 by the FIA [Federation
Internationale de l’Automobile]. With
races in 2004 taking place at the ZIC as well as the newly-opened F1 track in
Shanghai, the 2004 season promises to be an exhibition of fierce competition. In addition, the races will be broadcast live
on CCTV in Mainland China in front of a viewing audience that totals more than
300 million subscribers, as the result of the recent agreement between FRD and
CCTV for live Formula Renault race coverage until 2008.
With a top speed in excess of 265kph, and 0-100kph [0-62mph] in 3.5 seconds,
Formula Renault racing is the proving ground for the most highly
competitive open-wheel racecar drivers in the world. Formula Renault
combines F1 chassis and engine design with a carbon fiber monocoque [survival
cell] produced in the same factory and made by the same manufacturer [ATR] that
supplies the monocoque for famous six-time F1 Champions Team Ferrari.
Olson is more than 8,000 miles
from his small home town in Maryland, having relocated just recently from Hollywood,
California to Asia in order to compete in Formula Renault.
Olson made his mark in California
during many victorious race days in the Jim Hall Kart Racing Series [JHR]. Racing in the series for the past three
years, Olson left Hollywood with a bag full of trophies and many memories of
sunny Ventura Beach, California.
“Jim Hall and the instructors gave
me constant feedback every time I was out there” said Olson from his hotel in
Zhuhai. “Racing at JHR taught me about
how to push my own limit, and how to succeed in a competitive environment. I have many fond memories of driving up to
Ventura on the 101 in my old Porsche, watching the sunrise and missing
home. Sometimes, when I step back for a
moment, it is a little unbelievable even to myself, to think that I am halfway
around the globe now, in China, doing 165mph in a car that is just a step below
F1. But I couldn’t live without
this. I live for the rush, the power and
the speed. This was never a hobby for
me, it is my obsession.”
After racing in Formula RT/2000
and testing Formula Mazda in the States during the fall of last year [articles], Olson set his sights on
returning to
“I’ve always felt a connection to
kids, they haven’t yet learned any limits” said Olson. “They are happy all the time, always in
wonder and dreaming about limitless possibilities. I think as we grow up, we
have more things to worry about, and we lose some enjoyment in our lives. We start to think that our dreams are
impossible. But I really, honestly
believe that if you have faith in yourself and God, anything is possible, no
matter where you come from or what age you are.”
The Maryland native seems to have
no limit to his dreams.
“I will begin competing in the
2004 China Formula Renault Series in Zhuhai in just a couple of weeks, and a
later in the year [June] at the newly-opened Shanghai F1 track. From there it is up to Asian Formula Renault
in 2005 and finally to Indy, CART, or Formula One. I will take my career as far as it can go,
and I know that there is no limit as long as I give it all I can and keep
strong in my faith whenever I may doubt my own abilities.”
Olson has made quite a debut in
Asia. Will Olson be spraying champagne
from the top of the podium during the China Formula Renault Championship Series
this year, in front of millions of motorsports television fans in Asia? No one knows the future, but one thing is
certain: the determined racer from Maryland definitely has the guts to reach
the top.
For more information on Pete
Olson, visit his website at www.peteolson.com.
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Charles Schepens
Schepens Promotions
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