Driver Feature: Ben Clucas - From single seaters to supercars

by Stefan Bartholomaeus



February 2008

Everything about Ben Clucas suggests that he should be a Formula One driver. Ok, his British accent helps, but his relatively small stature, his quiet, yet well spoken manner, and - most importantly - his blistering speed on the race track, really completes the picture. But Clucas is not back in Australia for Formula One. He is here to break into V8 Supercars.

At 24 years old, Ben himself will admit that reaching F1 is now very, very, unlikely. However, a last minute deal to compete in the Formula 3 races at the recent Clipsal 500 netted a second and a first place result; reminding everyone ‘down under’ what the young man from Firmley, England, was all about.

The story of his return is an interesting one. After completely dominating the Australian F3 Championship in 2006, Clucas left Australian shores, chasing a British F3 ride. During his year in Australia, he had won 11 out of the 12 races he competed in, and wrapped up the title with two rounds remaining. It was a mightily impressive performance, but one that also reflected poorly on the strength of the Australian open wheeler scene. In all truthfulness, Clucas had faced little in the way of quality competition.

Fast forward two years, and its February 2008. The backing of Opes Prime has seen the F3 Championship grow significantly, and provide the most competitive field in the history of the championship. Here then, we have the likes of 2004 Australian Drivers Champion, Neil McFadyen, two A1GP affiliated drivers, James Winslow and Earl Bamber, as well as a recent returnee from European Formula Renault, Nathan Carrati, and more, all in freshly imported Dallara F307 chassis, all ready to go. Having seen Clucas in 2006, Opes Primes’ Anthony Blumberg wondered just how he would go in the 2008 field. With a spare car at his disposal (having just bought eight during the Macau 2007 weekend!), and his curiosity working overtime, Blumberg made the phone call.

Needless to say, Clucas was very pleased with the result.

"It was just a fantastic weekend,” he said after the final race. “The car was quick from Thursday onwards, but it just took me a little time to get used to the driving style again. To come away with a win and a 2nd, and only be 10 points off the Championship lead despite missing the first round is just brilliant, and I'm obviously over the moon. It was just a one off at this stage, but I would certainly love to come back and do more if I get the opportunity."

Whilst Ben Clucas came to Australia in 2006 having spent a season racing in the British F3 Championship’s National class (where he was a race winner), his career has included far more than just F3. In fact, at 24, he has tested or raced a greater variety of cars than most drivers ever do.

Two of these came as a prize for being a finalist for the 2003 edition of the prestigious McLaren Autosport BRDC Award, which is presented every year to a young British single seater racing driver. Previous winners include David Coulthard, Dario Franchitti, Jenson Button and Anthony Davidson. The six finalists were allowed to test both a West Surrey Racing prepared BTCC MG and an AMG Mercedes DTM car. Whilst this, along with his V8Supercar testing, gives Clucas the unique position of having driven a car from each of the three big touring car codes in the world, he says it is hard to compare.

“To be honest, it is a bit difficult to say, because by then [2003] I’d only done a couple of years of Formula Ford, whereas now I’ve got a bit more experience. Also, with the DTM and the MG touring car, we got like ten laps, it was a two day test basically, so it wasn’t enough time to really get used to them. I think they are all pretty good to drive. I enjoy driving the V8s, because of the amount of power they have, and the DTM was good. Beforehand, I actually didn’t think the MG would be that good being front wheel drive and everything else, and obviously as well, a little bit slower than both the V8 and the DTM. But actually, it was a lot more fun than I thought. It was quite nervous at the rear. Despite being front wheel drive, it ended up being very enjoyable.” He pauses briefly, before adding: “...  but I wouldn’t turn my nose up at any of those cars to drive really!”

That is the reality for a young hot shoe with little financial backing. 2007 saw Clucas race in Spanish GT, after his deal to race in the British Formula 3 Championship with Ultimate Motorsport fell through at the last minute, due to, you guessed it, a lack of money. Despite the disappointment, Clucas says he quite enjoyed his year.

“I raced a Porsche 997 in Spanish GT, did a little bit of GT Open as well...” he says. “We did quite well. We finished second in the championship, about a point off the championship. But we didn’t do the first round, it was quite a late deal, so overall, I was quite happy with it.”

GT racing is a very different discipline to the manic, wheel to wheel, battles you’ll find in the sort of junior single seater categories that Clucas was used to. But as he explains, he enjoyed himself, and learnt a lot:

“To be honest, I actually enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. I mean, everyone thinks [that], when you come from single seaters like I did, you think of GTs as not really as good. But actually when you get into it, there is a hell of a lot more than you think. [The] difference in lap times during a race can be 5 seconds with the tyre degradation, and obviously you’ve got pit stops and everything else to think about, conserve the tyres, conserve the fuel, trying to get the best out of your co-driver as well... and all sorts, saving the tyres in qualifying. There is actually a lot more to think about than you really think, so there are quite a lot of different skills that you learn through the year.”

The 2007 season also saw Clucas make a brief stop off in Japan, where he did a one off Formula 3 drive filling in for Marko Asmer, who had British commitments that weekend. In a similar arrive and drive situation to his Adelaide 2008 campaign, Clucas finished sixth, an impressive effort considering the fact that Asmer’s best all year had been fifth...

Another key learning season in the career of Ben Clucas had been 2004, a year which he spent driving in the Italian Formula Renault Championship for the Prema Power team. This deal came about due to his involvement in the Toyota F1 Driver Development Programme. The Japanese car giant had spotted his talent and were keen to see what he could do. Unfortunately for Clucas, the relationship lasted just one year.

“I was quite fortunate, [being] part of their young driver F1 program. I was living in Italy, racing in Italian Formula Renault. Basically, you signed a long contract with them, and you knew where your future was going, but they renewed that contract every year, and at the end of 2004 they didn’t renew it. Obviously it was disappointing for me, because it was a big, big opportunity for me, obviously with the backing of a manufacturer, which could potentially lead to F1, but didn’t.”

Despite the disappointment, Clucas remains grateful for Toyota’s efforts, and positive about what he was able to get out of the program: “You’ve got to just learn from these circumstances. I felt I learnt a hell of a lot in a year, we finished 5th in the championship in my first year, so I didn’t think it was too disappointing, but obviously they expected better, but that’s life. It was great to be a part of it, and I felt I learnt a lot, obviously I would have liked to have continued, but it wasn’t to be.”

Whilst it only lasted one year, there was no doubting the thorough nature of the program: “They did it all,” he says, “they basically financed everything, hooked me up in Italy, and we had a fitness trainer, we had a language teacher. I speak reasonably good Italian now. It was a very professional and well thought out program.”

Adding to his considerable single seater experience, Clucas also drove in a handful of Toyota Racing Series races in New Zealand during their 2006/2007 season. Not surprisingly, he won, taking out, amongst others, the New Zealand Motor Cup, and the Denny Hulme Memorial Trophy. Today, he is full of praise for the TRS.

“It’s a, very well run series” he says. “It’s professional and very, very competitive, so I think it’s very good. You’ve got to remember, New Zealand’s, I think, a population of about 4 million, it’s only a very small country, and when I was doing it, I’m not sure about this year, but last year they had a good 20-23 cars on the grid, which, even [in] my experience of Britain, Europe and here, I think to get that many cars on the grid for such a small country is a hell of an achievement.”

Finally, the conversation turns to V8Supercars. Not many drivers can boast that they’ve tested factory V8Supercars from both manufacturers, and even less can claim that they’ve done it just a few weeks apart. But Clucas can, having tested for both Ford Performance Racing and the Toll HSVDT in late 2006. Clucas speaks of the Australian cars with some enthusiasm.

“It was good. Obviously I’d love to get into V8Supercars. It’s a massive, massive championship. I watched it all last year on Sky [TV station] back home, and it’s still something I’d love to do. I’d love to get another opportunity here. I really want to get some laps in them, because I’ve still, even now, probably only done a maximum of 45-50 laps in the cars. Really, I would like to get some seat time, so that I can, you know, get used to them, get a bit happier with them.”

A deal to run the #40 Partington Race Preparation AU Falcon at the final round of the 2006 Fujitsu Series proved to be a massive frustration for Clucas, with front suspension problems in practice leading to the entry being withdrawn.

With nothing currently in the pipeline, Clucas remains realistic about his chances for the future.

“Obviously, I need to do a lot of work, and see what opportunities I can get out here. There’s nothing really looking likely at the moment......... that’s one of the reasons why I’m back here, to try and just remind people that I’m still around, and hopefully try and see if I can get any opportunities in the future.”


Part #2: The Other Job - Driving Training

For many racing car drivers, making racing itself pay all of the bills is a difficult thing. So offering services as a high performance driving instructor is a logical solution.

Clucas explains: “I do a bit of my own stuff in England. Obviously after the Australian championship [2006], because I was racing around Europe, I tended to base myself back in England, because it was obviously easier. I do my own private tuition businesses, where I hire out Lotus Exiges and various cars around Silverstone, with me in the passenger seat, hanging on. [We’ve] got an in car camera and things like that. [I] do a bit of work with some young drivers over there as well, trying to help racers, sort of everything, sort of broad spectrum, from complete novices who just want to go on track for a bit of fun to races who want to find that little bit of extra time. I was actually, the Thursday before I flew out (for Clipsal), going around Mallory Park in a Ginetta Junior with a 14 year old lad whose just started racing. It’s good, I quite enjoy it. I think you learn off everyone, and it’s just nice to be around a track all the time, and I get the opportunity to go on a race track quite a bit with that job.”


- Stefan Bartholomaeus
© 321 IGNITION Pty Ltd 2008




LATEST IMAGES

Click on image to view gallery..