Alex Brown, the 5x karting champion and Am Class runner-up to last year’s Formula V1 Challenge, is eyeing a new series in 2020. This comes after the Filipino-Singaporean completed a 2-day test at the Bira Circuit in Thailand driving a Ford Mustang TA2 with AFRacing.
The 17-year-old is a long-time associate of the team, as a coach to AFRacing’s karting division. Hence, he was given the opportunity to test one of their TA2 cars to gauge if he could drive for the squad’s entry in TA2 Asia Racing later this year.
Alex drove the #11 AFRacing Ford Mustang, the very same one that finished 2nd overall in the championship in 2019 with drivers Greg Bennett and Maxime Jousse. As this was his first-ever outing in a TA2 machinery, their focus was simply to allow him to get a feel of the car including its 550 hp V8 engine and 6-speed paddle shift transmission. In the end, he would cover over 40 laps across a full weekend of testing around the 2.410 km track.
“Alex did a good job getting used to the TA2 car at Bira Circuit. With every lap, he became more comfortable in the car, which was good to see,” commented Greg Wooster, AFRacing’s Head Engineer.
The ‘shakedown’, however, was not a one-off excursion for Alex. AFRacing plans to give him more seat time in order to get him race-ready for his debut. If everything is on schedule, expect to see Alex take to the grid on June 5/7 at the Buriram International Circuit during Rounds 3 and 4 of the 2020 TA2 Asia Racing Championship.
Alex Brown: “I would like give a massive thanks to AFRacing, Greg Bennett, and Greg Wooster for giving me the awesome opportunity to test in a TA2. It’s super super quick down the straights! It also has a 6-speed sequential paddle shift gearbox and crossply slicks used for oval racing, so this is quite different from what I raced in Formula V1. The car moves around a lot in the corners and there’s a ton of torque from the V8 engine. Super fun experience and I can’t wait ’til the next test sessions and the race at Buriram.”
AFRacing Corp, Ltd. Is a motorsports service and supply company that competes in both karting and cars. For the latest updates or drive inquiries, Like the AFRacing page on Facebook or contact Greg Wooster at gw@afracing.co.th.
