FEBRUARY 20, 2002

Another Aussie to back up Webber, Briscoe and Courtney

AUSTRALIA will have another driver in topline racing in Europe this year with the announcement that Rob Nguyen has joined Team Astromega to be team mate to Mario Haberfeld.

Nguyen is 21 and of Vietnamese descent, although he was born and raised in Brisbane. In 2000 he travelled to Switzerland to study business and after a successful first year his parents rewarded his efforts with the chance to drive a Formula Vauxhall car. After an impressive first run for a complete novice, Nguyen raced in Formula Volkswagen in Germany in 2001, under a Swiss licence because he had not qualified for an Australian licence and he finished fifth in the series. He was then invited to test for the Team Ghinzani Euro F3000 team and went faster than the regular driver and it was then decided that Nguyen should try for the International series and he tested for Team Astromega and so impressed the team that he was signed for 2002.

Nguyen's career to date has been quite extraordinary and it will be interesting to see how he does under the tutelage of an experience and competitive team.