This weekend will mark the penultimate round of the Euroformula Open Championship for Cameron Das who dives head first towards round seven in Spain with high hopes and aspirations following an additional two podiums added to his tally from the past two rounds. The talented 18-year-old American racer will be back in his Carlin Dallara car on Friday morning for Free Practice before taking on the challenges of two qualifying sessions and two intense races over the course of the weekend.
Last time out in Monza Das once again picked up an impressive result in the final race of the weekend seeing him take to the podium following a hard-fought race full of battles and great defending. Carving his way through the field, the 2016 F4 USA Champion picked up fantastic points for third place; making up for the previous day which led to him suffering innocent contact and irreparable damage to his car.
Looking for two consistent races this weekend, Das will be taking on the Jerez circuit in southern Spain for the penultimate round of the 2018 Euroformula Open Championship. At 2.751 miles the Circuito de Jerez consists of 13 turns where once again qualifying will be crucial – however unlike the previous round at Monza, slip-streaming will be less of a factor so pace should win out over on-track antics; making for an exciting prospect.
With four podiums to his name this season (achieved at Estoril, Paul Ricard, Silverstone and Monza) and a total of ten top-six finishes, Das can certainly consider the year so far a strong showing. Aiming now to continue his consistent point scoring ability and fantastic race pace, he focuses on cutting the gap to the drivers ahead of him in the championship standings where he currently lies fifth overall.
Looking ahead to the weekend Das said, “We’ve had a few podiums straight away after the summer break, so I’m looking to continue that good form in Jerez, with the aim being to reel in a top three finish in the championship.
“Jerez is an interesting place. It has some of the highest tire degradation of any track I’ve been to, and temperature greatly affects lap time. It has lots of run-off and smooth curbs so there is a lot of opportunity to find time in racing line optimization. Also, due to the nature of the corners, there aren’t many overtaking opportunities; qualifying will be everything this weekend.”
The schedule for the seventh round of the season (local time) is as follows;
Friday
10.00 – 10.30 – Free Practice 1
11.30 – 12.00 – Free Practice 2
13.55 – 14.25 – Free Practice 3
Saturday
10.40 – 11.10 – Qualifying 1
14.15 – Race 1 (18 laps)
Sunday
10.00 – 10.30 – Qualifying 2
14.15 – Race 2 (18 laps)