BUURMAN TO REPLACE CHAMPION CONWAY AT DONINGTON
Fortec Motorsport has announced 17-year-old Dutch ace Yelmer Buurman will contest the final two rounds of the 2004 Formula Renault UK Championship with Michelin at Donington Park, in place of recently crowned champion Mike Conway (Sevenoaks, Kent).
Buurman, who has this season been competing in the Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup, raced with Fortec in the 2003 Formula Renault UK Winter Championship where he finished third overall in the driver standings with some excellent results.
The decision for Conway to stand-down from the team for the final two meetings of the season was taken following his maiden Formula 3 test, also at Donington Park, where he showed seriously impressive pace.
Speaking on the Buurman deal, Fortec Motorsport team boss Richard Dutton said: “Yelmer ran with us in the winter series last year and he was very quick. Unfortunately, he hasn’t had the best of seasons in Europe this year but we’re hoping on his return to the UK he’ll rediscover the form he showed when he raced with us in 2003.
“The plan is for us to try and attract Yelmer to racing in Formula Renault UK next year. He finishes his schooling soon, obviously he’s still very young at just 17-years old, and once that is out of the way we’d love to see him over here with us to contest the full championship.”
Buurman, who hails from Ubbergen in the Netherlands, enjoyed an impressive career in karting, winning the Dutch Rotax Max Championship in 2000. His car debut came two years later before making his first appearance in a Formula Renault car in the 2003 Dutch series.
After contesting the 2003 Formula Renault UK Winter Championship with Fortec, he went on to compete in the North American Formula Renault Winter Invitational with Team aka earlier this year. Since then, Buurman has raced in the Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup and also the 2004 Marlboro Masters event at Zandvoort.
Mike Conway, meanwhile, will now continue his F3 testing programme ahead of a potential entry into the British Formula 3 Championship next year. Dutton added: “It’s important Mike gets as much F3 testing as possible under his belt, especially before the bad weather sets in during the late autumn and winter months. We’ve been absolutely delighted with his pace so far, he’s been superbly quick throughout, and things are certainly looking good for him.”
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