Of the five Motopark drivers confirmed for the 2015 FIA European Formula 3 Championship season, the least experienced is Brazilian Sergio Sette Camara, who will be competing in his full season of single seater racing this season.
The sixteen-year-old has had minimal experience in single seater racing, competing a few rounds of the Brazilian Formula 3 Championship in 2014 as well as a one-off appearance in European Formula 3 at Imola with EuroInternational, while more recently he competed in two rounds of the New Zealand-based Toyota Racing Series.
Talking to The Checkered Flag ahead of his full-time début at Silverstone this weekend, Sette Camara revealed that watching Formula 1 at an early age made him want to be a racing driver, and that 2015 will be important for him for his career.
“I got in to motorsport by watching F1 races and I wanted to discover how to start on the sport,” said Sette Camara. “After that, we went to our local karting track in Belo Horizonte (home town) and from there everything starts. That was middle 2006.
“[I spent] many years in go-karting (from 2006 to 2014), and I’ve just entered into the single seater world. I have a lot to learn, but the experience I have got so far is really positive.”
Sette Camara revealed that a chance visit to the Motopark factory in Oschersleben saw him meet Team Principal Timo Rumpfkeil, who offered him a chance in their simulator, creating the relationship that has now seen the Brazilian join the team for 2015.
“It was August 2014, and I was racing the third round of the DKM (German Karting Championship) in KF Class, with Keijzer Racing, which was held in Oschersleben,” revealed Sette Camara.
“On Thursday we had a day off, so we visited the workshop of Motopark. Timo Rumpfkeil offered me my first simulator session of my career. It was an incredible experience. After that, we continued creating a good and strong relationship, which permitted both parties to reach an agreement that permitted me to join the team for this season.
“They are very dedicated, they never stop working. And the team is always the last to leave the paddock, and it is never satisfied with the results achieved.”
Sette Camara had his first test of the year in his Motopark Formula 3 machinery at the Valencia circuit in Spain, and had a mixture of dry and wet track conditions to deal with, but the Brazilian felt it was two positive days of testing.
“I had a good experience on the first day on dry conditions,” said the Brazilian. “We managed to develop the car even more on the set up and correct driving mistakes.
“On the second day was on the rain and I had more hard time with the way to drive the car. But during the day as the track was getting more wet, I slowly correct my driving mistakes and I managed to get in a good rhythm by the afternoon, thanks to the teamwork.
“At the end of the day, with the drying track conditions I didn’t managed to make the lap time in the few last minutes, so I ended up on the last positions of the time sheet. Despite of the result itself, it was a very profitable day.”
Looking ahead to the forthcoming season, Sette Camara insisted he is looking to learn and improve his driving in 2015 as he continues to adapt to life in single seater racing, having made such a big step up from karting.
“2015 is important because it is my first year in single seaters,” said Sette Camara. “I am really looking forward to learn and improve during the season and grow as a driver. My expectations are to push as much as I can during each race weekend, give everything I have to the team. After that, we can create expectations.”
