German driver Thiemo Storz has joined the FIA Formula Two Championship for the 2011 season.
The 19-year-old made his debut in the Formula Two car during the post-season tests at Portimao and Barcelona at the end of 2010.
In 2009 Storz competed in the Italian-based Formula 2000 Light Series. He finished second overall, winning the class for the Taatus Formula Renault 2000 chassis, as driven by most of the field.
In order to focus fully on his final exams, Storz elected to sit out much of the 2010 racing season. He did compete in one round of Formula Palmer Audi though, at Rockingham in August. He finished second to Nigel Moore in the first of the two races.
Storz is delighted to be joining Formula Two. “Formula Two is a fantastic opportunity for me, and I’m very excited to be joining,” he said. “It’s a quality championship, with a great car, fantastic calendar and very good price, and I’m very happy to be a part of it this year.”
He believes that stepping up to F2 is the right move to make at this time of his career. “In 2010 I didn’t do much racing mainly because I was focussing on my education, but I did use the time to test in a lot of series to find a solution for 2011 and we came across F2,” he explained. “I feel it is the perfect moment for me to join, and also the perfect moment for F2 in motorsport – if you look at the prize, the price and what the championship offers you, it's absolutely one of the best series in the world for young drivers like me.”
1. 19-year-old German Thiemo Storz will step up to Formula Two in 2011
Storz has some idea of the kind of results he would like to achieve in his rookie season. “It’s a bit difficult to know exactly how I’ll get on in 2011, but winter testing gave me a lot of confidence in the car and I was constantly around the top ten, so it would be good to repeat that kind of performance during the season,” he said. “There are some great events, especially racing at the Nürburgring which for me will be very special, and I hope to keep improving throughout the year so that I can be fighting for podiums at the end.”
Jonathan Palmer, Formula Two Chief Executive, commented on Storz's commitment to the series. “Thiemo did a fantastic job when he first raced with us in Formula Palmer Audi in 2010 when I was impressed with his pace and competitiveness from the very start,” said Palmer. “Although some may think F2 is a big step for Thiemo, we have seen time and again how the total equivalence of car performance in F2 and ability to learn rapidly by comparison with the fastest enables relatively inexperienced drivers to be very close to front running pace, often surprising and impressing with their results. I have no doubt Thiemo will do just that in F2 during 2011.”
