Photo: BMW
Tristan Viidas has won a fully-funded place in the second ever Formula BMW Talent Cup after impressing the judges in a shootout at Valencia…
The 15-year-old Estonian follows in the footsteps of Stefan Wackerbauer, who won the shootout ahead of the inaugural 2011 season before dominating the competition and securing the prize of a drive in the German F3 Cup from BMW, earning Red Bull backing along the way.
Viidas has found success in karting, winning titles in his home country as well as on a regional level in the Baltic area. He has also raced competitively in the Rotax Max class in recent seasons.
Over the two-day shootout held at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo he went up against 25 other drivers for the fully-funded 2012 place, worth 100,000 euros.
“It?s absolutely amazing.” said Viidas. “Because it isn?t down to the best times, you never know where you stand. I?m over the moon. Sebastian Vettel led the way. Formula BMW really is the perfect entry into formula racing.”
BMW works driver Dirk Adorf (pictured above right, with Viidas) led a team of instructors and engineers. “We were impressed at how the young drivers coped with varying conditions on wet, drying and dry surfaces. In the case of Tristan, the overall package proved the best fit,” he explained.
BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt commented: “It was a very close contest and there wasn?t much in it in the end. I have no doubt that in Tristan Viidas we have found a worthy successor to Stefan Wackerbauer, winner of the shootout 2010 and of the Formula BMW Talent Cup 2011. I look forward to a successful second season of the Formula BMW Talent Cup.”
Amongst the other drivers present were Italian Ignazio D’Agosto, who finished fourth in this year’s CIK FIA World Karting Championship and Brit Callan O’Keefe who was runner-up in the CIK FIA KF3 World Cup.
You heard about Tristan Viidas here first – expect to hear about him again the future.