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Kiwi Nick Cassidy lands Euro F3 drive with Prema
Respected race team Prema has announced that multiple Toyota Racing Series champion and New Zealand Grand Prix winner Nick Cassidy will race for the team in the FIA European F3 Championship.
The deal sees Cassidy take up the Dallara recently vacated by TRS graduate, Brandon Maisano (second in TRS 2015). Cassidy will join Prema drivers Jake Dennis, Felix Rosenqvist and Lance Stroll, who won the 2015 Toyota Racing Series. He will race at Portimao in Portugal and at the Nürburgring in Germany. The final round of the European series on October 16-18 clashes with his existing commitments in Japan F3.
Cassidy, 21, is currently leading the Japanese F3 Championship racing with the factory-backed TOM’S Toyota team. He also scored a brilliant third place last year at the stand-alone Macau Grand Prix.
Toyota New Zealand Motorsport Manager Steve Boyce said the announcement offered Cassidy the chance to compete on an even footing with some of the best rising driving talent in the world.
“Nick has shown he is well capable of racing at this level and the new Prema drive comes hard on the heels of an excellent run with the factory TOM’S Toyota team in Japan F3, where he leads with two rounds remaining. We are very excited for him and we look forward to seeing him excel in both championships,” he said.
Aucklander Cassidy began his single-seater career in 2010 and has raced in New Zealand Formula Ford, Formula Abarth Italia and Eurocup Renault 2.0. He was second overall in Toyota Racing Series in 2011, returning to win back to back titles in 2012 and 2013. It is not his first run in Euro F3 – between 2012 and 2013 he competed in 12 races.
Cassidy says his 2015 Japan F3 campaign has been valuable preparation for the intensity of competition in this year’s Euro F3 championship.
"I am looking to learn as much as possible, to develop myself, with the aim of scoring some good results in these two race meetings. I am sure there will be a few little differences to racing in Japan, but I feel prepared, and I’m looking forward to the challenge," he said.
Image sourced: Nick Cassidy TOM’S Toyota Dallara 2015 F3 Championship Round 6 Fuji