2nd June 2004

A supporter of Will Power has today announced that he will match dollar for dollar any genuine effort made to complete Will’s racing budget by Australian corporate companies willing to take up the challenge.ÿ This proposition was put forward in a bid to help fund the remainder of Will’s British Formula Three season with team Alan Docking Racing and to urge the Australian corporate sector to get involved in aiding young Australians overseas.

Danny Wallis, managing director of DWS Advanced Business Solutions, wanted to make a point of appealing to the corporate companies as he felt they were letting down Australian hopefuls as they try to achieve away from home.ÿ DWS will fund 50% of the remaining shortfall in Will’s budget this year should Australian companies put forward the other half.

“I believe that Australian corporate companies should invest some of their profits in young Australians, especially in the international circuit and in a sport like motor racing which offers so much in the form of exposure opportunities.”ÿ Wallis explained when asked why he was throwing down the gauntlet.ÿ “Simply just the opportunity to get behind talented young Aussies who are trying to make a name for themselves and our country, is appealing” he added.

Mark Webber, Australian’s Formula One star, met Danny in 2002 and since then has spent valuable time with him, providing an insight into what the world of motor sport is like for an Aussie prior to, and after stepping up the ladder to F1.

Will Power is excited by the prospect of having a fully funded season should any companies step forward.ÿ

“The good news is that I have already secured funding for the next couple of races; that is a huge step for me” said a positive Will. “But we are always looking ahead and can’t relax yet.ÿ The next payments will have to be made soon to ensure that we can continue in British F3.ÿ I think what Danny is doing for me is great, it’s really tough to be worrying about money while you are trying to do a job, I just hope someone steps up to the challenge.” Will said.ÿ

The majority of Will’s budget so far this year has come from the Australian Motor Sport Foundation (AMSF), a part of CAMS who have been very supportive since Will decided to make the jump to Britain, and a private backer.

6th June 2004

Another two superb podiums for Will Power this weekend as he charged through the field from 7th and 5th respectively to finish third in each of the two Sunday races.ÿ Will leaves Snetterton this meeting after an impressive points haul which secures him in a solid 4th place in the Championship.

Will pushed steadily ahead over the weekend, finishing 8th overall in the Friday practice session.ÿ The times were incredibly close throughout the weekend and Will finished up 7th in a straight forward first qualifying (despite a red flag), only one and half tenths of pole.ÿ Second qualifying was of the same order, Will finished 5th and was one tenth off the front row with a time of 1:01.910.ÿ

Not a usual Saturday, the postponed Silverstone race was scheduled for 6pm that evening.ÿ Qualifying positions carried over so Will started from P2 on the front row in great shape for the first race of the meeting.ÿ A flying start propelled Will past pole man Danilo Dirani and he was leading ahead of Nelsinho Piquet out of the first corner.ÿ Between turn one and two Will and Piquet were fighting for position and Will being on the outside was pushed wide losing valuable places.ÿ Will managed to rejoin in 10th, which he maintained to the finish.

An unscheduled engine change on Sunday morning for the number 10 ADR car caused chaos as the team worked hard to get Will out in time for race two,ÿ just making the deadline.ÿ The start light system was botched when they turned the lights off immediately after putting out the 5 second board, resulting in slow starts for Will and many others.ÿ Will charged through the field and in the first few laps had steered his way into third place ahead of Dirani.ÿ Will passed the chequered flag in third, a great finish from 7th place.

Keen to repeat his race two success, Will got an awesome start and came around in 4th position after lap one.ÿ Lucas Di-Grassi had jumped the start and was therefore given a drive through penalty promoting Will to third ahead of a challenging Piquet.ÿ Will gained on the leaders, consistently matching their times throughout the race. Will crossed the line in another well deserved podium position, the 4th podium for Will in the last 5 races.

"It's been a great weekend for me really" explained Will.ÿ "The qualifying times were so close, the only difference between a pole lap or tenth was the luck of the traffic.ÿ I didn't have a good run in the Silverstone race, neither of us [Will or Piquet] wanted to back down, I was on the outside so I was the unlucky one" he said.

"I'm still 4th in the Championship after picking up the points from two thirds.ÿ Coming from 7th and 5th it was great to be on the podium twice, the team really worked hard for me this weekend and I had a lot of supporters so it was good to be up the front for everyone." He said.
Will's next race is in two weeks time at Castle Combe, where he came 5th in his first race with Fortec last year.

27th June 2004

One point gained in race two was the greatest gain Aussie Will Power had in rounds 13 and 14 of the British Formula Three Championship, this weekend. The highly eventful meeting was marred with bad weather and a very widely spread programme which caused unrest in the championship standings.

Testing at the Donington GP circuit was on the Wednesday prior to the weekend and was extremely wet, hindering those like Will who had not run on the extra length of track, turning Donington Park into Donington GP.

Qualifying One on Friday afternoon was dry and Will showed good pace immediately, featuring strongly in the top three as drivers bettered their times with each lap completed.ÿ Will came in to make a minor change to his number 10, Alan Docking Racing machine, only managing to complete one lap before the session was red-flagged and ultimately stopped.ÿ Will was 5th fastest with a time of 1:26.712.

“The car felt really good, but I was conscious that I was new to part of the track and I was testing out the breaking points each lap” said Will.ÿ “I felt that if we were to have our second session that day, in the dry, I would definitely have improved”

But that was not to be, session two was on a wet and rainy Saturday morning.ÿ Not being able to find the pace in the wet like many other dry qualifying front runners, Will and ADR struggled through the session and managed 11th fastest.ÿ

Griding up in 5th that afternoon for race one, the majority of the field chose to start on wet weather tyres.ÿ Will got an electric wet start up the inside and was passed 3rd place Marco Asmer and 4th place Lucas Di-Grassi. Di-Grassi also started well and was keen to keep his position as he moved into the middle of the track, squeezing his team-mate, Asmer’s front wheel into Will’s rear tyre.ÿ The number 10 car was launched sideways into the offending Di-Grassi and was a passenger as they both careerd into the wall before turn one.ÿ Asmer (who gambled on slick tyres), was unable to stop so his race also finished in the wall.

“I was fuming” admitted Will.ÿ “I thought I was passed everyone and had second place for sure.ÿ If I had been only slightly further ahead, Asmer’s wheel wouldn’t have hit mine and I would have been looking good for the race.ÿ It’s a pity because we didn’t have the best weekend last weekend, but that’s just the luck of the game – it’s got to pick up for us soon.”

New slick tyres for race two meant those on the dry line had a grippy start, too grippy in Will’s case as he stalled on the grid from 11th.ÿ Will was then forced to cut the chicane to miss a mass of spinning cars, only to spin himself while getting back on the power, he managed to get going and then followed a great battle between fellow Aussie Marcus Marshall and a damaged (and very wide), Karun Chandhok for 10th place.ÿ Will crossed the line one point happier in what turned out to be an ultimately disappointing meeting.

“I’m looking forward to Oulton Park in three weeks time; once again budget is a major factor.ÿ I’m really hoping to source out the money for the next couple of meetings, but it’s looking really tight.” Explained Will. “Danny Wallis’ offer of going halves in the remainder of my budget still stands, I’m hoping that an Australian company will step up with the other half”.

Will is now 6th in the Championship with 10 races remaining in the season.

20th June 2004

Will Power had a tough time of it in qualifying on the Saturday after a problem in morning practice set the Alan Docking Racing team back, in terms of set-up for the weekend.ÿ Will took home some precious points in race one, but wasn't so lucky in the wet second race. The 2004 championship has been regarded by many as the most competitive in recent years, and has seen eight different race winners in the 12 races so far.

Will went out and put in the fastest time in Saturday morning's practice, which he consistently bettered in the few laps he was out on track.ÿ Unfortunately, after putting on new rubber, Will was forced to pit a lap later with fuel problems so missed the majority of the 45mins.

Qualifying one, Will finished 7th fastest ahead of James Rossiter and Nelshino Piquet who are heading up the championship table.ÿ In the second qualifying Will finished 8th fastest in what was an extremely close session, demoting Piquet to 9th on the final lap.

Race one Will concentrated on point scoring as he made up a place in the first corner and once again found himself in a battle with Piquet.ÿ Piquet remained right on Will's tail for most of the race, though Will made a gap towards the finish and crossed the line in a comfortable 6th place gaining some valuable points.

The rain fell heavily before race two and all teams chose to start their cars on wet weather tyres.ÿ Many were caught out at the start, the two front row cars fell back and it was tight into the first turn.ÿ Will was pushed back down the order but had the pace to re-gain the lost places each lap, finally falling behind then 7th placed man Danilo Dirani.ÿ Will the faster of the two, was being held up and this continued after the safety car was brought out following incidents involving cars losing control in the slippery conditions.ÿ On the penultimate lap Will got a run on Dirani out of the last corner, side by side, Dirani swore that he didn't see Will in his mirrors as he turned in, and they both spun around.ÿ Will managed to get back on track to recover 13th place.

"There's not much you can do from 7th and 8th but go for points and give it your best shot at the start. Will surmised.ÿ We've been ultra consistent so far this season, on the pace everywhere really - we’ve just got to put it all together and a win will come."

"I'm looking forward to Donnington next weekend.ÿ We are still 4th in the championship, so it's good to see consistency pays off.ÿ We are only half way into the season and we have seen that anyone could be up the front, it just makes it more interesting when it comes to the results table." Said Will.
Donnington will hold the 13th and 14th rounds of the championship next weekend.ÿ The championship standings after Castle Combe are: 1st Nelsinho Piquet, 2nd Adam Carroll, 3rd James Rossiter, 4th Will Power.