Victorian Formula Ford driver Lachlan Marshall has confirmed that he will enter the F3 Australian Drivers Championship in 2012.

The 17-year-old, a year 11 student at Braemar College, is the first driver to commit to the 2012 Forpark Australia F3 Scholarship that awards a young driver a subsidy towards an outright drive the following season.

Marshall has purchased the F304 Dallara-Renault driven by Tim Macrow last year, with Macrow also on board to engineer and act as a driver coach in his debut campaign next year.

Marshall currently leads the Formula Ford 1600 championship in Victoria and is hoping to progress to F3 with the Formula Ford title under his belt.

“I have worked with Tim before and he’s a great engineer and driver coach – he’ll really help my transition to Formula 3,” Marshall said.

“He knows the cars inside and out as well as all of the interstate tracks, so I’m lucky to have him as my mentor in 2012.

“My new car is great and has had a lot of success so I know it’s capable of being competitive and I can’t wait to get behind the wheel for the first time.

Macrow – currently the senior engineer at Borland Racing’s Spectrum Formula Ford team – said he was looking forward to working with Marshall next season.

“It’s exciting to see new drivers coming into the category and I’m looking forward to be working with Lachlan in 2012,” the 2007 F3 champ said.

“With his results in Formula Ford 1600 this year I expect his transition to Formula 3 will be smooth and competitive.
“He’s got a great approach to his driving and I expect him to be competing for the Forpark Australia National Class from the very first round.”

The next round of the 2011 F3 Australian Drivers Championship will be held at the Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit on November 4-6, with the Shannons Nationals.