Everyone needs a hobby and it just so happens that racing former F1 cars is Phil Stratford's. The BOSS (Big Open Single Seaters) Grand Prix is the fastest race series in Europe and pits cars like F1, GP2, Auto GP, World Series by Renault and Superleague Formula all against each other on the same track. The criteria is: if it’s fast and noisy, it’s in - with engines from V6 to V10 all vying for position around the lines.
That’s not all however, as the tracks themselves are legendary historical venues like Hockenheim, Red Bull Ring, Monza, Assen and Brno - all scheduled for Phil to take on at this year’s 2018 Championship season.
As drivers are racing as a hobby, there are few opportunities to test run their cars before the season starts but Phil managed one session before the inaugural race at Hockenheim. That plus a pre-season workout regime three days a week strengthening his neck meant he felt ready to take his newly-tuned monster V10-powered Benetton B197 into the 2018 season.
With a previous win at Zolder last year under his belt in just three races, Phil knows that his car is one of the older ones competing and he will have a lot to learn still to improve his lap times. He says: “As a gentleman driver, my goal for 2018 is to beat everybody that is not racing a modern F1 car.”
Best of luck, Phil!
