Scandinavians looking for home advantage

With the first half of the season over, International Formula Master’s (IFM) young drivers are predicting another action-packed race weekend at Anderstorp, Sweden for round nine and 10 of the Series.

The 28 and 29 July races are taking place at the biggest of all Scandinavian tracks, Anderstorp, which promises plenty of overtaking amongst IFM’s fleet of 30 drivers with its long back straight and combination of extremely quick versus slow corners.

Denmark’s Kasper Andersen raced at the Swedish circuit last year and is looking forward to making the most of his advantage on what he considers to be his home track for the season.

"It’ll be good to see a track I know," said the 22-year-old who drives for J.D. Motorsport. "So far there has only been one other track that I knew which was Valencia so I’m hoping for good results.

"It’s quite an old fashion track, which you only tend to see in the northern countries these days, with loads of overtaking opportunities. There’s quite a few slow corners which you can use and IFM cars can get pretty close to each other which also helps. The long straight at the back is a good place to pass too.

"I’m in Denmark at the moment at home. I usually live in Italy during the season but because we’re so close to Sweden this is a good opportunity to come home for a little while. This is the closest I’m going to get in terms of a home round so all my family and friends are coming which will make the weekend very special for me."

The Dane is taking no chances in his preparation for his home round, spending plenty of time researching the track ahead of next weekend’s races.

"I always research the track as much as possible and the best way, apart from actually going to the track, is to find on-board footage," said Andersen. "It helps to visualise the track and is the best way to learn a layout ahead of going there. It means you can already remember the corner sequence when you go on track for the first time."

IFM’s two Finnish drivers Juho Annala and Sami Isohella also consider Anderstorp as their home rounds and despite having never raced there before, both Finns are aiming for strong points finishes in front of the Swedish crowds.

"I’ve driven on most Scandinavian tracks but never at Anderstorp, which is strange because it’s the biggest," said Annala, who drives for Jenzer Motorsport. "I have the track on a Playstation game though so I’m making sure I get plenty of practice on that before the race weekend.

"I think Scandinavian tracks tend to be quite different from European ones. They can be slower and more flowing. At least two of the corners will need to be taken in first or second gear and there’s going to be plenty of overtaking chances too.

"I’m really looking forward to going there actually. I’ve got some friends and family coming and I’m pretty confident I can get a good result there. I know we have the speed and I enjoy this kind of track so let’s see what happens!"

"This is a learning year for us so we’re not aiming for wins but we can definitely finish in the points," added Team Soderman’s Isohella. "I’m not sure if I have family coming yet. It will be very nice if they are there as this is my home round, but I quite like being on my own with the team anyway. It’s good to be able to concentrate completely on the racing.

"Anderstorp looks like quite a fast track with some very fast corners as well as the much slower ones. There are quite a few places that look good for overtaking so this should be an exciting race weekend. But I think we always have exciting races!"

Live coverage of IFM’s fifth round will begin on Eurosport Saturday 28 July from 12.00 (CET) onwards followed by Sunday’s coverage on Eurosport 2 starting at 10.15 (CET).

Live streaming will be available on www.eurosport.com  and www.formulamaster.net

- RSM -