OLSON TO COMPETE IN 2005 ROTAX MAX WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
RACE SERIES
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For Immediate Release
Taipei, Taiwan - Maryland racer Peter [“Pete”] Olson has made it up the
racing ladder from the carefree teenage days of his youth, street racing his
nitrous-injected VW Scirocco, to piloting a 280kph/174mph Formula Renault race
car in front of more than 40,000 race fans and millions of television viewers
just two months ago at the newly-opened Formula One circuit in Shanghai,
China.
But Olson certainly hasn’t forgotten his roots behind the wheel of a
145kph professional racing kart.
Olson had only been in Taiwan for a few weeks this past February when he
made it out to ‘Tao Yuen’, twenty kilometers north of Taipei City, to test his
racing skills against the Taiwan Rotax Max Race Series Champions.
The Rotax Max Race Series is a new international kart racing series in
which the top drivers from each competing country are awarded a fully-sponsored
trip to international locals each January to compete in the World
Championship. In 2003, the top drivers
competed in Egypt. In 2004, the
Championship was held in the Canary Islands, off southern coast of Spain.
The Rotax Max concept is an innovative idea that began in the Rotax
Company in collusion with Bombardier Aeronautique (Aerospace), a Canadian
company headquartered in Montreal, which specializes in civil and military
aircraft production. The international
series has grown exponentially in popularity since its introduction just a few
years ago. Traditionally, professional
karting has been dominated by those who not only had the skill to race, but
also modified their karts extensively to achieve performance advantages. In the Rotax Series, all karts are only
allowed to run with sealed Rotax 125cc engines, with no modifications
allowed.
“The great thing about the series is that all karts run with equal
performance, so the only difference at the finish line is the ability of the
driver,” said Olson from his home in Panchiao City, Taipei. “That was the great thing about racing at JHR
[Jim Hall Racing – Ventura, California] back in the States. We could focus on the driving instead of
messing around with fuel mixtures and piston clearance. Of course, there are still things like
chassis adjustments that I have to work on with the mechanics at each
race. But with my experience in Southern
California and now, in mainland China in Formula Renault, I have come here
pretty well prepared.”
Olson is no stranger to the 125cc karts, which are capable of 0-100kph
(0-62mph) in less than 4 seconds and have a top speed of over 145kph
(90mph). Olson drove a Rotax for the
first time at JHR in 2002, one of the many rewards for his sprint kart
Championship that year. “Jim Hall had a
Rotax at the track for testing the day I won [the Championship] and offered me
a chance to test it. I never turn down a
chance to drive. I remember thinking
that it was a blast…it had the power of a shifter kart, but without the gear
changes. The power came on in a big rush
at about 8,000 rpm, and the kart would just take off.” Olson said, “It’s just like driving one of
the old 80’s turbo Porsches - some throttle lag and then a huge amount of power.
Controlling that power is the key to racing in these karts, you have to
think a little bit ahead in each corner and drop the hammer about a half second
before you want the acceleration to hit [Olson set the fastest lap times of the
day in the Rotax]. But I love it, it’s a
total rush.”
“I am coming into the series too late to compete in the points for 2004,
due to my Formula Renault commitments in China.
But the 2005 World Championship is within my sights, thanks to the
sponsorship of Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher [www.GibsonDunn.com]
and I plan to take it to the top. Racing
is my life, it is what I have dedicated myself to, and I am planning to add
some more trophies to my collection.”
Quite a statement from Olson. The
dedicated racer moved to Los Angeles from Boston, Massachusetts in 2001 to
become a professional race car driver.
In 2002, after years in street racing, karts, and motorcycles, Olson
made his auto racing debut behind the wheel of a Skip Barber RT/2000
[210kph/130mph] open-wheel racecar,
In December 2003 he completed the advanced three-day professional racing
school [ARC] through Jim Russell Racing at Sears Point International
Raceway/Infineon Raceway [www.jimrussellusa.com]
in Sonoma, California, fully sponsored by Jim Hall Kart Racing. In the ARC,
Olson achieved the distinction of completing the fastest lap times at the Sears
Point raceway near San Francisco, California.
But the highly competitive driver races for something far more than
glory. The back of his nomex fire-proof
racing suits display the words “ChristianChildrensFund.org”. He never stops promoting the Christian
Children’s Fund, his first sponsor. “I
think that the greatest thing you can do in your life is to not only to do what
you love, but to use it to help other people as well. For me, it’s always been children. They haven’t yet been conditioned to ignore
the ‘limitless possibilities of life’, as my father once said. I don’t see any reason why anyone shouldn’t
pursue their dreams, and give it everything they have, deep inside. Life is full of risk, and I’d rather live my
way and die my way than live with regrets.”
Quite a statement from Olson, who will once again be competing in
Formula Renault at 280kph/174mph in Zhuhai, China at the challenging Zhuhai
International Circuit in October, as part of the famous FRD Motorsports
Team.
Olson has made quite a debut in Asia.
Will Olson be jetting around the world once again next spring, to
compete in the Rotax World Championship?
Will he be spraying champagne from the top of the podium once again, at
the conclusion of the Rotax Championship Series? No one knows the future, but one thing is
certain: Olson definitely has the determination to reach the top.
For more information on Peter Olson, visit his website at www.peteolson.com.
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Charles Schepens
Schepens Promotions
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