While Lewis Hamilton begins preparations for the defence of his Formula One world championship with four days of testing in Portugal this week, Scotland will have its own Lewis to support when the new motorsport season clicks into gear.
CRS Racing, which dominated the Formula Renault Championship last year and guided Adam Christodoulou to the title, has named Golspie 18-year-old Lewis Williamson as one of its four drivers.
The Highlander has already impressed in his racing career capturing almost every title in gearbox karting last year. Not only is Williamson the Scottish 125 Champion, but he also won the British 125, British 125 Open and British 125 Grand Prix championships.
Not content with that, the talented young Scot them scored a podium finish in his first outing in a FRenault contesting the 2008 Formula Renault Winter Series, proving to prove he is a rookie to be watched in 2009.
“Lewis was a real revelation in the Winter Series and during testing,” CRS race director, Fifer Andrew Kirkaldy said today.
”I had little or no knowledge of him before he arrived with CRS to test but his results in the winter were very impressive and I hope this continues into this year’s Championship.” Williamson, meanwhile, can’t wait for the season to start.
“It’s a terrific break to get a seat with CRS which won the championship last year,” the young Scot explained. “It’s going to be a steep learning curve but I believe I proved in the Winter Series that I can be competitive at the front and get results.”
Williamson — an apprentice engineer who has won the Scottish Championship three times and been runner-up twice —joins Finnish 18-year-old Matias Laine, Australian Josh Scott and 17-year-old English racer Harry Tincknell in the four-car line-up.
Williamson, who started karting when he was eight, will test his new car at Silverstone this Thursday in preparation for the season starting at Brands Hatch in April.
JM