American racer Nick Jones will join Team SWR-Pioneer for its graduation to the National Class of the British Formula Three Championship.
Jones will line-up alongside the already-signed Josh Fisher in SWR's new-for-2005 F3 squad. The team has recently expanded its F3 programme to a three-car entry, and is in the process of negotiating with drivers interested in the third seat.
New recruit Jones, a 23-year-old Los Angeles resident with dual British-American nationality, made a brief UK debut with some late season Formula Renault outings for Paston Racing in September 2004.
Prior to coming to England, he had accumulated significant single-seater experience in Skip Barber Racing School's championships, winning a number of races in the US. More recently, he has spent the winter honing his skills with a substantial testing programme with Paston at the Guadix circuit in Spain. Although he has decided to further his racing education in Europe rather than America, Jones' ultimate ambition is to progress to the Champ Car World Series.
"Having not started karting until he was 14, Nick didn't have the wealth of pre-single-seater experience that most young drivers enjoy," said SWR-Pioneer team principal Trevor Powell. "But his performance in Skip Barber's series was very impressive, and he then made a brave decision in coming to the UK to prove himself against the very best young drivers.
"He's worked hard at Guadix this winter and by all accounts has made terrific progress. National Class F3 will be the perfect environment for Nick as he settles into European racing, and with our support and a team-mate of Josh Fisher's calibre as a benchmark he should really develop his natural talent and be in a position to score some strong results."
