Drew Ridge says that he hopes to forge a sportscar career in Europe, having made the leap this year into the German Audi Sport TT Cup series.
Ridge, who raced in the Australian Formula 4 Championship in 2015 and Toyota 86 Racing Series in 2016, made a wildcard start in the one-make TT Cup in late-2016 which helped him secure a full-time drive in the category.
The NSW Central Coast teenager, now based in Munich, sits eighth in the points after the opening two rounds at Hockenheim and the Nürburgring.
Ridge had finished on the podium in Race 1 at Nürburgring, but no points were awarded when the race was red-flagged on Lap 5.
The 18-year-old told Speedcafe.com that he used connections made with the Schwarzler Motorsport Concepts team while at the 2015 Asia Cup Super 6 event, which he won, to arrange the TT wildcard opportunity and subsequent campaign.
Racing in the Toyota 86 Racing Series last year with home town team Brian Hilton Motorsport marked a departure from open-wheel racing, with Ridge hoping to move through the GT ranks in Europe.
“I won the Super 6 Series, which is one of the special one-week events where they have six races, and from that we got in contact with an engineer from a German Formula 4 team who had a contract with the TT Cup,” said Ridge.
“For a while, I was exploring options for open-wheelers over there, but then things turned out and I didn’t really want to go down the open-wheeler path.
“The opportunity for more of a career in tin-tops brought about the switch, so I did the 86 cars last year and got back in contact with him to try and arrange opportunities in Europe.
“He got the ball rolling for TT Cup, we got in contact with the series organisers Audi Germany and also Audi Australia, and I was given the wildcard last year.
“Based on my performances in the wildcard drive, that allowed me to go straight into the series this year.”
Ridge says that the advantages of living in Germany is a boon to his future prospects, given the country’s rich racing culture and ease of access to key events and people of influence.
The 18-year-old is hoping to climb the Audi ladder to an eventual GT or DTM career, but also expressed an interest in Carrera Cup in Europe.
“My goal is to be rookie champion and top three to top five in the championship at the end of the season,” Ridge said of his TT Cup aspirations.
“If that happens, there are opportunities stepping up to another class, for example the TCR International Series or Audi R8 LMS Cup.
“It’s a really good learning year and a development year racing around a lot of big tracks in Europe and in a one-make class. Everyone’s allowed to look at each other’s data, so it’s very driver-focused.
“Our TT Cup events are all supporting DTM alongside Carrera Cup Germany and European Formula 3, so there’s always a bigger team there and there’s always plenty of opportunity.
“I’d say that in two or three years’ time I would like to be starting off in a GT program, and then if I’m still staying in Germany for the next few years then I wouldn’t rule out a DTM category in the future because they look like unbelievable cars to drive.
“With so many motorsport events, it’s a lot easier to make more connections over here and as far as a career base and opportunities come, there’s definitely a lot more potential for a career over here in the future.”
Ridge will be in action again in Round 3 of the Audi Sport TT Cup this weekend on the DTM support program at the Norisring.
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