Viso lapping up life in Cambridge

<a href=www.cambridge-news.co.uk>Cambridge News OnLine MOTOR SPORT

ERNESTO VISO is the latest South American prospect to take the Cambridge route to the top in motor racing. The 18-year-old Venezuelan, who made a dramatic start to the season by grabbing pole position in the opening two races of the Formula 3 B series, has made his home in the city.

And, like Formula One star Rubens Barrichello and other top racers Luciano Burti and Antonio Pizzonia, who have previously lived in the area, he reckons it is the perfect base.

“Maybe the lifestyle in Italy, where I have raced, would have been closer to what I was used to in Venezuela,” he said, “but I wanted the tougher racing you get in England, and Cambridge is a very nice place to live.

“I am not surprised all those other top drivers were based here at some time. There are good restaurants, a lot of foreign students, and maybe not some of the distractions of bigger places.

“I live near the Grafton Centre, I go to the gym close to there, and I enjoy my time when I am not racing or practicing with my team, Sweeney Racing near Snetterton.”

The “Cracker from Caracas” caught the eye when he won the British F3 Winter Series this year, after being named as Young Driver of the Year by the motorsport Press in his own country.

Last year he was a teenage sensation in the United States, where he won 13 out of 16 rounds to race away with the Skip Barber Dodge Eastern championship, as well as finishing fifth overall in the Italian Formula Renault series.

Now, with 24 races still to go, he is among the favourites in the F3 B Scholarship championship, despite his double disappointment at Donington Park.

“I was very encouraged to get pole position twice,” he said, “and I was also in the top 10 A Series times. They have 15hp more, and better gearing, but I was within half a second of the best time.

“In the first race, though, I spun out on the third lap. Maybe the tyres were a bit cold, and in the second race I went out on round two because someone spun in front of me and I had to take evasive action.

“But overall it has given me confidence for the Easter meeting at Snetterton.”