Belgium's Bailly signs up for F2

Date published : 22 Feb 2010 - 13:39:00

Formula 2 news Belgiums Bailly signs up for F222 February 2010As series organisers MotorSport Vision continued to list the candidates for this year's Formula 2 championship on Monday, Belgian Benjamin Bailly has been revealed as another new name to compete. The 19-year-old switches to F2 after claiming last year's Formel' Academy Euro Series title. With Armaan Ebrahim and Kelvin Snoeks having been the first two confirmed names for F2 in 2010, Bailly will make his debut after starting in karts at the age of 14 in 2004, going on to finish third in the French Elite Championship of 2006 and fifth in the premier Formula A World Karting Championship in 2007.His victories 2009 saw six wins picked up from the 14 rounds of the Formul' Academy Euro Series, plus five more podium finishes and three pole positions, assisted by the Royal Automobile Club of Belgium National Team, whose job is to promote the country's motor racing talents. Benjamin has tested the Formula 2 car in Portugal"Formula 2 is a great championship and I'm delighted to be joining it for 2010," Benjamin commented. "I like the concept of the series and the fact that all the cars are equal means the driver makes all the difference - in other categories, if you're not with a good team you can't get the results."Andy Soucek also proved what a good learning step F2 is when he set the fastest time in his Formula 1 test in Jerez. I'm sure it will be a really competitive season, especially with the upgrades made to the car, but I proved I could be fast when I tested in F2 at Portimão and I'm certainly targeting podiums and even race wins this year.""I'm delighted Benjamin is joining us in Formula 2 as our first Belgian driver," added Series Director Jonathan Palmer. "I have seen the Formul'Academy Euro Series and it is clearly very competitive and based, like F2, on providing drivers with identical equipment. Benjamin's successes in Formul'Academy were due to his superior driving ability, not budget and team superiority, and I'm sure that this experience will serve him well in F2."