Scott Mansell Mondello Park preview

Mansell racing into the record books at Mondello Park. Banbury, UK, Monday 24th June 2002: 16 year-old Scott Mansell, from Tamworth, lines up for the sixth Irish Super Prix - the third round of the NDS EuroBOSS Series - at Mondello Park, Ireland, ...

Mansell racing into the record books at Mondello Park.

Banbury, UK, Monday 24th June 2002: 16 year-old Scott Mansell, from Tamworth, lines up for the sixth Irish Super Prix - the third round of the NDS EuroBOSS Series - at Mondello Park, Ireland, this weekend, and races his way into the record books as the youngest ever British racer of such high power racing cars. Scott will take to the wheel of the F3000 V8 Reynard Mugen of Zig Zag Mansell Motorsport.

Aiming to emulate current Formula One hotshots Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa, both of whom started their racing careers at an early age, Mansell will arrive at Mondello Park on Saturday 29th June fresh from sitting his last GCSE exam on the Friday morning. The pupil of Bishop Vesey Boys Grammar School, Sutton Coldfield, received his MSA International C racing licence last month and is aware of the importance of experience if he is to achieve his Formula One ambitions.

In NDS EuroBOSS he will drive the European F3000 Championship winning car, formerly piloted to victory in 1991 by Christian Fittipaldi. Scott had his first run out in the car, race-prepared by his father Kevin Mansell, at Donington Park earlier this week.

Scott Mansell, Driver, Zig Zag Mansell Motorsport:
"I realise that if I am to achieve my ambition of racing in Formula One I will need 3 or 4 years of top-line single seater experience. I am really excited about the weekend at Mondello Park and racing in EuroBOSS alongside cars such as Benetton, Jordan and Arrows. It is very fast and competitive, an ideal proving ground for a young driver. My first chance to drive the car came earlier this week and it was definitely worth the wait."

Kevin Mansell, Zig Zag Mansell Motorsport:
"Scott is so excited about the race at Mondello, but then again who wouldn't be? He has been karting since he was 7, holding his MSA race licence since the age of 8. This is an exciting step forward in his career. He has been racing in Formula Honda, which although not as powerful as the car he will pilot at Mondello Park, has given him experience driving on slicks and of the very fast cornering speeds these cars are capable of. Scott did 32 laps at Donington on Wednesday and I was very pleased with his performance, I can't believe how he has taken to it. He did a 65.7 sec lap, and Donington is a difficult circuit to learn, his time was within a second of the F3000 class winning time at the NDS EuroBOSS round. We will now just make a few slight adjustments to the gear ratios and carry out our normal pre-race inspections."

"At the age of 16 years and 6 days Scott finished third in his first single seater race and can't wait to take his place on the starting grid this weekend. Scott has not raced at Mondello before but the tight twists and turns of the Irish circuit should play to the strengths of the F3000 cars. During the race I'll be pacing the pit wall like an expectant father."

The eighteen car NDS EuroBOSS grid will take to the Mondello Park circuit, near Dublin, on Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th June to provide the expected large crowd with a breathtaking spectacle of fast and furious racing.