conor_daly's avatar
Author:
Conor Daly
Login For More
Rate this article:
  • 0/5 Stars
  • Related Photos
  • Related Videos
SPEEDtv.com Store
DVD: David Jefferies Story
The David Jefferies Story is a reminder of the much loved and much missed Yorkshireman.
Our Price: $24.95
Visit Button
Buy Button
Man-Made Thunder
The book examines the sport of stock car racing through the eyes and ears of the men behind the wheel and the wrenches.
Our Price: $49.00
Visit Button
Buy Button
Unisex Sandwich Cap
Unisex Velcro back hat with SPEED logo on front. PINKS logo embroidered on left and PAO logo on right. One size fits all.
Our Price: $24.95
Visit Button
Buy Button
Speedway T-shirt
Men's 6 oz. 100% Cotton Jersey Short Sleeve Tee. SPEED logo imprinted on the front center chest.
Our Price: $24.99
Visit Button
Buy Button
Ferrari Red Classic Hat
100% cotton twill. Ferrari shield embroidered on front, piping on the peak and Ferrari logo embroidered on back strap adjuster.
Our Price: $30.00 ($27.00 Member)
Visit Button
Buy Button
Footer Bg
  • Zoom More Photos Button
  • Camera Icon
DALY: The University of F1
Written by: Conor Daly   
03/28/2009
Noblesville, IN
 
Hello SPEEDtv.com! My life has been a whirlwind of activity and opportunities over the past few months, and especially after hearing my name mentioned on SPEED during a press conference last month. Being listed as a possible candidate for an F1 seat is very rare for any racing driver, and especially for a 16 year old.
After storming the British Formula Ford festival, young American Conor Daly has his sights set on the big leagues. A third in the Star Mazda season opener at Sebring has the high schooler right on target. (LAT) » More Photos

I was stunned when I heard that had been put forward as one of the potential drivers for the USGPE team. This means so much to me. How many American teenagers have the opportunity to get to F1? The answer here is pretty simple: not many. Racing in Formula 1 is not only my dream, but the ultimate goal in my career.

I feel so privileged to be mentioned by Peter Windsor as a driver for USGPE, I’ve hardly stopped thinking about it since!

It now puts a bit more pressure on me to do well in the lower formula. I don’t really mind the pressure; I do feel it but I am able to tune it out when I get in the race car. My mission is to do my best at every event and all I can hope for is that I will get my F1 chance. Getting this sort of attention really makes me feel like I have been doing well in my career up to this point, but now I have to prove the attention has been deserved.

My first event of the season, round 1 of the Star Mazda Championship, took place last weekend at Sebring International Raceway. This year my method of transportation to racing events is a new RV! I have a new sponsor, Optima Motor coaches, and they have provided us with a motor home for the season. The only unfortunate part about that is that my Dad, former F1 driver Derek Daly, will be driving this big rig to all my events. My Dad is usually a pretty aggressive driver on the road
so I was interested to see how he would handle a big Truck.

It was a very long drive down from Noblesville, Indiana to central Florida but after a few hours of random hard braking and jostling I think my Dad got the hang of the big rig. Luckily I brought my Xbox360 so I did not get too bored...

Away from the race track I tend to play a lot of video games. If I wasn’t a race car driver I would love to find a way to make a living in the video games business. The journey south was wasn’t bad at all, after an overnight halt in Southern Georgia on Saturday we arrived at the track early the next day, we had a busy week ahead of us.

Practice started on Monday with two sessions during the day. I felt as though I was making big improvements each session! These cars are new to me this year so there is a lot to learn. The Star Mazda car is quite different to the Skip Barber car I ran last season. There was basically no down force and a lot less horsepower with my Barber car. It’s a big step up but with the help of some pre-season testing I think I’m well prepared. After another couple sessions on Tuesday, official practice began on Wednesday with one session in the middle of the day.
Daly's Irish origins aren't hard to miss with his exceptionally green Star Mazda car. (Doug Werner) » More Photos

My confidence was really growing and I was able to carry in a lot of entry speed and really lean on the car. My engineer and I had decided to make a few changes to the rear end of the car during the session because the car was slightly loose. These changes made the car much better and at the end of the session I was told I was quickest. This boosted my confidence heavily for the rest of the week. I knew I had a fast car going into qualifying the next day.

Page 1 of 2
Next Page »
1 2 >
View All Comments