Australian racer Spike Goddard welcomed to FFF Racing’s Young Driver Programme

Australian racer Spike Goddard is the fourth driver to be signed up to FFF Racing Team’s Young Driver Development Programme in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Middle East and Asia.

Richard “Spike” Goddard joins FFF Racing’s Super Trofeo effort in an ongoing bid to forge a career as a professional sportscar racer, having initially ascended the single-seater ranks in his native Australia, the UK and Europe.

A 13-year old Goddard decided to go racing when he attended the 2006 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, but it was four years later in 2010 when his career started to take flight.

The Sydney-raised racer finished runner-up in that year’s Australian Formula Ford State Championships in New South Wales and Victoria, before moving to the UK to compete in the British Formula Ford Championship.

However, it was in the 2012 British Formula 3 International Series that Goddard truly made a name for himself; a dominant season yielded 12 class wins and the National Class title and paved the way for a drive in the FIA F3 European Championship, where many of the current crop of F1 drivers learned their craft.

Two years in Euro F3 were crowned by a day of F1 testing with Force India, who gave the Sydneysider high praise for completing 89 trouble-free laps and recording the sixth fastest time of the post-season test at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi.

But a course-change followed in 2015, as Goddard stepped out of single-seaters and looked to sportscars for his next career move.

Strong Porsche Carrera Cup performances in Germany and on home soil in Australia were complemented by outings in the F1-supporting Porsche Supercup, but it’s his overall record in open-wheelers and ‘tin-tops’ and a proven adaptability that makes Goddard a natural choice for FFF Racing’s newly-established Young Driver Development Programme.

Lamborghini Super Trofeo Middle East, which commences in Abu Dhabi on 9-11 February, precedes the Asian championship and Goddard will be paired with German female racer, Carrie Schreiner, for the duration, while Jack Bartholomew and Parth Ghorpade team-up in a second Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo.

As he prepares for the next chapter of his burgeoning career, Goddard said: “I am very excited about joining FFF Racing. The team has achieved a lot of in its relatively short history and I hope I can help to continue that trend. Having someone like Andrea (Caldarelli) is very helpful, because drivers can relate to each other and he will understand what’s necessary from both the car and driver to be successful.

“There are definitely more options and chances to make a career out of sportscar racing. There are also a lot more cars and series for sportscars, but I think single-seater racing really makes you think about the setup of the car and having no aids like ABS or traction control gets the driver thinking about technique. The less reliant on the aid systems, the quicker you will be.”

Goddard added: “One-make championships are a good way of putting all the drivers on a level playing field and promote close racing. The Lamborghini Super Trofeo Middle East and Asia have such a great line-up of tracks and I’m also expecting tough competition and very close times between all the drivers. I’m hoping to learn a lot, get some podiums in the process and help the team continue its winning ways. I haven’t driven at any of the circuits yet, but I adapt quickly and that can be helped by simulators and track walks.”

FFF Racing Team Owner, Sean Fu Songyang, said: “I’m now delighted to have a complete Lamborghini Super Trofeo driver line-up, because there is a lot to be enthusiastic about going into the first round of the Middle Eastern series in just a few weeks’ time. Spike Goddard’s recruitment to the FFF Racing Young Driver Development Programme is hugely positive. He has a fantastic record in both single-seaters and sportscars and will undoubtedly be a strong performer from the outset, so we were determined to bring him aboard for the 2017 season. Abu Dhabi awaits and I am really looking forward to seeing Spike, Carrie Schreiner, Jack Bartholomew and Parth Ghorpade in action.”