Full throttle!
McConnell eager for wins and potential title challenge ahead of 2021 season
Published:Wednesday | March 31, 2021 | 12:19 AMDaniel Wheeler/Staff Reporter
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Having secured another opportunity to compete in the Supercar class, RallyCross driver Fraser McConnell says that he is determined to rise to heightened expectations as he prepares for his sophomore season competing at the elite level. The 22-year-...
Having secured another opportunity to compete in the Supercar class, RallyCross driver Fraser McConnell says that he is determined to rise to heightened expectations as he prepares for his sophomore season competing at the elite level.
The 22-year-old will be returning to the European circuit in the Superclass this year with Sweden-based racing team Olsbergs MSE on the heels of a debut season that provided McConnell with a rare opportunity to compete at the highest level despite COVID-19 hampering his racing plans last year.
It has been six months since McConnell last competed, and he says that he is looking forward to competing once more.
“I haven’t been in a race car since September. I am really dying to get back up there and do what I love, but that comes with a lot of preparation,” McConnell told The Gleaner. “(So) I’ve been trying to stay as ready as I can in that long period of not racing.”
He made his Supercar debut in Sweden last July, marking the return of motor racing after months of inactivity caused by the virus and subsequently finished second overall in the Rally Nordic X Supercar Championship at the first time of asking.
STRONGER CHALLENGE
While he competed without expectations in his first season, McConnell says that the experience and familiarity he gained puts him in a position to mount a stronger challenge with the help of a faster car this time around.
“Going into this season, three of the four tracks that we are going to are tracks that I have been to, so I have a lot more confidence,” McConnell said. “I will have a baseline to work off of, and I mean right now, I was able to find myself right in the running quite quickly last year, and I don’t see why I can’t do the same if not set the pace this year. They are going to give me the updated version of last year’s car, so it will be a little bit quicker, and I will just be building off of last year’s confidence. I will give it everything I have, and I can’t do anything more than that.”
McConnell says that he has secured a couple of sponsors for the upcoming campaign as he previously stated that continuing in the Superclass would depend on him acquiring adequate sponsorship for the season.
Pleased that there are partners seeing his value, he is hoping that it will lead to more support as he has intentions of competing in the United States as well later this year.
McConnell is expected to travel to Europe for testing at the end of April, with the first race of the series expected to begin in Denmark in early May.