RISING racing star Alex Lynn is heading to Barcelona today (Thursday) for the biggest race of his fledgling career.
The Great Dunmow driver will be taking part in his first GP3 race at the Circuit de Catalunya this weekend, on the undercard of the Formula One race at the same track.
Lynn, who is part of the Red Bull Racing Junior Programme, will be competing for the Carlin team in Spain, and has already made an impression in testing.
And now he can't wait to get going this weekend.
He wrote in his blog: "Early morning flights might not be everyone's cup of tea but I can't wait for Thursday when I'll be heading to Barcelona for my first GP3 race.
"And what a weekend of firsts it will be. I've never done a GP3 race before, I've never driven for my team Carlin and while I've done a lot of testing at the Circuit de Catalunya, I've never raced there.
"And then there's the colour of my car: it will be decked out in Red Bull colours and that's going to be pretty special as I start my first season as a Red Bull Junior Team driver."
Lynn is hoping to follow in the footsteps of F1 drivers Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat, who all graduated from the Red Bull programme.
But, for now, his aim is to make an impression in his GP3 debut weekend. "The immediate goal for the weekend is obviously to come away with some good points from the two races," he added. "My overall goal for the weekend is to be top three in the championship and to be there or close enough in terms of pace.
"I'm quite confident we'll be fast but you can never be sure everything will go to plan because that doesn't happen.
"We just need to make sure we get good points in both races: that's the important thing because it gives you a good springboard for the rest of season.
"Qualifying is going to be important but it's absolutely everything in every category of racing. It's important to be up the front, particularly on pole and that's obviously something I'll be looking to achieve.
"Even though I've never raced there I know the track well and I can't wait to start my first season in GP3 and the next step on the ladder to Formula One.
"It's going to be amazing to be part of a Formula One weekend, racing in the spotlight of the world's media and in front of all the Red Bull team bosses.
"That's the opportunity I've always wanted: and I'm going to grab it with both hands."
