GIEDO VAN DER GARDE JOINS ASM FOR 2006 F3 EUROSERIES
Thursday 26th January 2006: The 20-year-old Dutch driver
Giedo van der Garde will join reigning Champions ASM for the
2006 F3 Euroseries season. Giedo, who has raced for the past
two seasons in the series, has also become the latest recruit
to the McLaren and Mercedes-Benz Young Driver Support Programme
on an on-going basis.
"I am really excited to have joined both ASM and the
McLaren and Mercedes-Benz Young Driver Support Programme for
2006," said Giedo. "To be racing with the current
Champions in the F3 Euroseries and a team of the calibre of
ASM is fantastic and I am looking forward to a competitive
season. In addition, to be a member of the McLaren and Mercedes-Benz
Young Driver Support Programme is a great opportunity for
me at this stage of my career and I aim to make the most of
it that I can."
"I’m delighted that Giedo, who has strong experience
in the F3 Euroseries, has joined our team," added Frederic
Vasseur, Team Principal, ASM. "I’m proud to have
the confidence from Giedo, his partners, McLaren and Mercedes-Benz.
Our target will be to retain both the Driver and Constructor
titles and for sure Giedo will be an excellent member of ASM."
"We are pleased to welcome Giedo to the McLaren and
Mercedes-Benz Young Driver Support Programme," commented
Martin Whitmarsh, CEO Formula One, Team McLaren Mercedes.
"Giedo is a promising young driver, and we are looking
forward to working with him to maximise this potential. We
feel that by placing Giedo with the ASM team for 2006, he
has the best opportunity to develop and demonstrate his talents."
”Mercedes-Benz has a long history of supporting young
talents in motor racing,” said Norbert Haug, Vice President,
Mercedes-Benz Motorsport. “We are happy to support Guido
in the 2006 Formula 3 Euroseries together with the experienced
team ASM which will run our Mercedes-Benz M271 engine. He
has already gathered some experience in the Formula 3 Euro
Series and should be in good shape for results in 2006.”
NOTES
Giedo Van Der Garde Biography
Nationality: Dutch
Date of Birth: April 25th 1985
Place of Birth: Rhenen, Netherlands
Martial Status: Single
Height: 1.81 m
Weight: 69 kg
Resident: Veenendaal, Netherlands
Favourite Music: Chill out
Hobbies: Mountainbiking, fitness, computergames
Competition History
2005 F3 Euroseries with Team Rosberg; two podium positions;
ninth overall
2004 F3 Euroseries with Signature–Plus; ninth overall;
second in Rookie classification; participated at Macau and
Bahrain
2003 Dutch Formula Renault with Van Amersfoort Racing; fourth
overall; best rookie. Zandvoort Masters with Van Amersfoort
Racing; second
2002 Formula Super A World Champion; Team CRG Holland
2001 Formula Super A fifth at World Championship; Team CRG
Holland; Best Rookie
2000 Formula A; sixth at World Championship; Eighth in the
European Championship both with Team CRG Holland
1998 Mini Juniors Dutch Champion with Team CRG Holland
About the McLaren and Mercedes-Benz Young Driver
Support Programme
The McLaren and Mercedes-Benz Young Driver Support Programme
was set up in 1998, in order to provide a structured environment
for nurturing and developing future driver talent. As well
as providing technical backing, the programme provides professional
advice to up and coming racing drivers and has seen a number
of its protégés reach the pinnacle of their
motorsport career – Formula 1. These include current
Formula One driver Nick Heidfeld and Toyota test driver Ricardo
Zonta. Two drivers are currently benefiting from the support
of the programme, with Giedo joining 2006 F3 Euroseries Champion
Lewis Hamilton on the roster
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