Ricky Capo is looking to resurrect his single seater career by impressing Europe’s top Formula 3 teams at Zandvoort later this month.
The reigning Australian F3 winner has secured a one-off deal to contest the prestigious Zandvoort F3 Masters event (August 20-21) with renowned British outfit Fortec Motorsport.
Capo has long held an ambition to race in Europe but budget constraints put the brakes on his bid to contest a full European F3 campaign this year.
However, the 20-year-old is now gearing up to compete in the biggest F3 race outside of the Macau Grand Prix after securing a late deal to race at Zandvoort.
The Victorian aims to use the event as a chance to secure a European F3 Championship drive next season and measure himself against Europe’s elite.
Since his successful run to the Australian F3 title, Capo has been piloting a family-run BMW Z4 GT3 in the Australian GT Championship as he looks to expand his skills.
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“The whole point of this experience is to see if we can attract any teams or sponsors for next season,” Capo told Speedcafe.com
“It is a good opportunity to show what I am capable of.
“It is what I really want to do but based on our budget I don’t think it will be as big a possibility as I would like.
“European F3 is something we have had our eye on. It is still on the radar but I don’t believe we have the budget to do it at this time.
“We feel that this would be the best alternative to not just get my name out there bit to compare against the best drivers in the world.
“From there we will hopefully be able to decide what to do in the future.
“I think I will learn a lot about racing from the event as it is a very prestigious race. I’m really excited about it so we will see what we can do.”
While the race is a one-off, he hopes an opportunity to compete in the time honoured Macau Grand Prix in November could open up.
“It is definitely just a one-off at the moment but depending on how we go it (Macau) could be a possibility, he added.
Capo heads into Zandvoort with limited F3 running under his belt this year having contested only a one-off race meeting at Sydney Motorsport Park last month.
In order to give himself the best opportunity to shine next weekend, the young Aussie headed to Europe last week where he has since completed a test day with Fortec at Anglesey on Thursday.
Faced with the prospect of the competing against the world’s best F3 drivers, Capo is not concerned by talent he is to come up against.
“I think I have slotted back into F3 machinery ok,” he added.
“It all came back to me relatively quickly but it is going to be tough because the European F3 Championship has already visited Zandvoort this year.
“Competing closely with my team-mate (Sam MacLeod) is what I will be aiming to do.
“I’m looking forward to see how I stack up against him as he has done the event before.”
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