Daniel Erickson will contest this weekend’s opening rounds of the F2000 Championship Series at Virginia International Raceway.
The 22 year-old Sydney driver brokered a last-minute deal in the ‘development’ open-wheeler series with American racing identity Jon Baytos after a budget shortfall stopped his plans to contest the Star Mazda series.
After his run in F2000, Erickson will attend the IndyCar round at Long Beach in California to speak to teams in the Indy Lights series about the possibility of a drive there.
The trip will give Erickson a first-hand view of the US racing scene, something that was impossible during his Formula Star Mazda test in Houston, Texas, last December.
“This visit is an opportunity for me to test the waters in America now that the racing season is underway, which I couldn’t do when I was there during the off-season,” he said.
“Although I had hoped to do the US Star Mazda championship this year, the F2000 Championship is still a very competitive development series with more than 30 drivers entered at Virginia.
“To be honest I don’t know how I’ll go on a circuit I’ve never driven before, but a top 10 result would be great.”
The opening round of the 2010 F2000 Championship series will comprise two 30-minute races on the 5.3km Virginia International Raceway road course.
