Anyway, my racing career I guess "started" when I was 7 years old, on a karting centre close to my home. The owner of the centre was the Swedish Touringcar star Fredrik Ekblom. He liked what he saw and thought that I had the right lines and the speed, so he said to my dad: "This guy should start racing with a real kart!"
I was really interested in racing and after some discussions at home where I managed to convince my family that "you know that Ekblom guys is probably right", my dad talked with a friend to him that had contacts in the karting business. Some months later in the spring of 1999 we had a red little kart in our garage in Kumla. That summer was my first in racing and I drove 7 races in a class called Cadetti and was on top of the podium in most of them. I couldn’t get enough of sports so I also played ice hockey and football too. But my favorite sport was Karting!
2009
This year was going to be the toughest in both my racing career and life so far. But also the best one!
It started back in January when I moved over to Japan to do the Japanese F3 Championship for Tom’s Toyota. Only to live in Japan was a big challenge. Everything was completely different to what I was used to (culture, lifestyle, food, etc). The racing was also different in a way. One thing was for sure it was going to be very hard to win against the Japanese guys on their home turf. Luckily for me I had some very good and competent people around me in Team Tom’s, which helped me out a lot. Team Tom’s is an amazing team and probably the bet F3 team on the planet.
The season started off quite difficult and it took me until round 6 before I won my first race. But when I finally won the first one, it just continued! I scored 5 wins in total in the Japanese championship and and I was fighting in the top of the championship from that point on.
Still it was going to be the last race of the season that would be the championship decider. I was going into the weekend without knowledge of the track (Sugo) + 5 points to catch up on the championship leader. It was a though challenge I had in front of me to say the least. Somehow I managed to turn the advantage around and before the start of the last race of the season I was starting P1 and the championship leader Takuto Iguchi was starting second. There was only 1 point separating us, so it was quite simple: The one of us that crossed the finish line first would be the champion. Unfortunately I did an average start and Takuto did a brilliant one so he was leading the race up until there were 5 laps to go and until I made my move going into turn 1. I tell you, this was one of the best overtaking maneuvers I have done in my career. And for sure the most important one! With it I won the race and the championship. It was an absolutely fantastic achievement.
After that we then went to the F3 World Final in Macau. There we had a brilliant weekend by topping 2 out of 3 practise sessions + taking the pole position. Unfortunately in the races our race pace wasn’t as strong as the Volkswagen powered Signature cars. But we still finished P2 in the first race and P4 in race 2.
In the middle of the year I also got an offer from my friend Anthony “Bojjo” Hieatt and “The Robo’s” to drive in a couple of British F3 races for their team Raikkonen Robertson Racing. It worked out very well. Already the first race weekend in Rockingham we where on pole position and I finished the 2 races in P1 and P2. It felt fantastic to come back to England in this fashion! During the season I did 6 races for the team and together we managed to finish all of them in the top 5 including 2 wins. A great team!
I also did some testing in GP2 where the highlight was when I was fastest in the last official test day in Jerez driving for the Championship winning ART team. Another driver who took part in the test was 7-time world rally champion, Sebastien Loeb. Although it is not easy switching from one motorsport category to another, one thing I always will remember is the headline on Autosport.com which said: “Ericsson fastest, Loeb slowest at Jerez”.
I also did my first GP2 races at the F1 final in Abu Dhabi. Again driving for ART. It was a good experience and I learned a lot from that weekend.
In December I had one of the biggest privileges a driver can get: To test the F1 World Championship winning car of Brawn GP in the young drivers test in Jerez. It was a dream coming true and I really need to thank Brawn GP for giving me this chance. It was a fantastic experience and I learned a lot. Just to be part of a F1 team for a week was amazing and to get to drive out of the pits in a F1 car…Well, is just too good to be able to describe in words.
The year ended with signing a contract to race for Supernova in the GP2 Main Series. It feels superb to be driving for a team with such a deep history of success and I’m looking forward to a thrilling season. I promise, I will give everything to repeat my success from 2009.
Thanks to all of you who supported me.
Talk to you soon.
Marcus
2008
My first year in F3 was going to be a hard learning year. We signed on with Fortec Motorsport F3 team and after my success in 2007 the expectations from my own side where high for the upcoming season. It also started of very well. In official testing before the season we where always up at the top end of the leader board, and also first race weekend was good with a 7th and 2nd position for the 2 races. That gave me the lead of the championship shared with Jaime Alguersauri from Carlin Motorsport. It continued well in Croft where I qualified p1 and p2 for the races. Unfortunately the first race was not good and in the flooding rain I only managed to finish 5th from pole positon. In race 2 I had a big accident already on the first lap, so that was it for my weekend. The season continued in Italy and Monza, and this became one of my favorite tracks that’s for sure! We didnt really have the speed to be honest but the races where fantastic. I never thought it was possible to overtake like this in a Formula 3 car, it felt like I was back in Karting again! If you got a good exit onto a straight and in the slip stream you could overtake 3 cars (with a little luck!). And if you had a bad exit the reverse was true too.
The season went on and we had some good moments with 2nd place in Rockingham, which was maybe my best race of the year (started in 7th). And Thruxton where I also managed to get the 2nd place. When we came to Brands Hatch everything seemed to fall into place. After dominating the free practice on Friday I took double pole position for Sunday races, but my first pole got taken away because of speeding under yellow flag. So first race they put me back to 6th, and to try and win from there on Brands Hatch GP circuit (which is known to be almost impossible to pass on) was not easy. I managed to finish 5th but I knew we had good chances for race 2. The start of race 2 was going to be dramatic. Sergio Perez who started 2nd got an excellent start and just passed me around the outside into Paddock Hill bend. After that I only had one thin on my mind, and that was the victory… I sat on Perez gearbox for the next 20 laps but he didnt do a single mistake. With 2 laps to go I decided to give it my everything to try and pass him. With 3 corners to go I pushed too hard, and my race ended up in the gravel trap. I wasnt too disappointed about losing my second position, but I was so angry on myself because of losing the start.
The rest of the season was difficult. The Carlin team was making good progress and we struggled to keep up with them. Although, we had a good weekend in Silverstone where I finished on the podium twice (2nd and 3rd). At the end I still managed to get the 5th spot in the championship after getting in front of Atte Mustonen in the last race of the season at Donington Park. As a Rookie year in F3 it was still a good result. But as always I want to win races and fight for championships I was still a bit disappointed. When I later on though about the season I realized that I learned a lot, which was good.
I also did Macau GP (unofficial World Cup for F3) at the end of the season. Here we got the opportunity to drive for the British Championship winning team Carlin Motorpsort. Just to drive on the Macau Circuit was an amazing feeling, and this is the best racing circuit I have ever driven on! Anyway I started slowly to build up the speed and confidence and everything went as planned. Every session I improved and in the second qualifying I was only 1 sec. from the pole time. But that was only good for p15 because of the unbelievable hard competition. First race also went very well and I ended up p8! The next morning on the warm-up I managed to be p4, so now I felt that I had very good chances for a good finish. In the final I did a good start and already after the 1st corner I was P5. Unfortunately I did my first mistake of the weekend when I braked I little bit to late on the cold tires, into turn 2. And because it is Macau it was no room for mistakes and my weekend was all over. Still I had a great time and I loved every second!
After that the work for 2009 started. We got the opportunity to drive for 2007 and 2008 Macau GP Champions and multiple Japanese F3 Champions PETRONAS Team TOMs for the -09 season. I look forward to this very much.
I really want to thank Fortec Motorsport for my first 2 years in car racing. It has been fantastic and I have been blessed to work with great people all the time! Another piece of the puzzle is of course my sponsors and other people around me. Without them this wouldnt be possible. Last but not least I want to thank Kenny Brack and Eje Elgh for always being there supporting and helping me out. They are invaluable for me and I can never thank them enough!
2007
The first racing car weekend in my career.
In British Formula BMW, where we decided to race, you have two races per race weekend and two separate qualifying sessions. The championship started off at Brands Hatch. I qualified 4th for my first ever car race and in the second one I took the pole! I have to say that when I woke up the next morning I was really nervous. But in some way I was really looking forward to it as well, I wanted to show everyone that it wasn’t just luck.
The first race went well. Sure, I did some small mistakes here and there but I brought it home and finished on the podium, in 3rd place. In race 2, starting from the pole I won pretty comfortable. That was amazing! And after this unbelievable start, the season was under way.
It took a while to get the next victory but in the meanwhile I scored as many points as I could. A while into the season it was clear my main opponents were Josef Kral and Henry Arundel. The turning point came after mid season. I was still leading the championship and should have won from pole at Croft. Only to let Kral slip by in the last corner by a silly mistake I made. The next day, when I was doing a promotion day in Stockholm with Kenny, he had a talk with me and said “despite that you’re leading the championship, unless you improve, you are not going to win it. Both Kral and Arundel have the upper hand on you”. He also said “we can only do what we can do, but in order to take the step up to Formula 3 we need to be the best”.
Kenny’s words really motivated me because I was going to win the championship. And I was going to be a Formula 3 driver in 2008! After that point I worked even harder to improve my driving and my starts. As always, Kenny’s and Eje’s management helped me a lot. They were always there for me, teaching and helping me getting the best out of myself. Together we are a very strong team and the last three race weekends, that’s when the real hunt for the title started!
At Snetterton I took two pole positions and won the first race of the weekend. Then disaster struck. The car suffered a mechanical problem in the second race and I finished in 12th place and that was all it took. All of a sudden I was 3rd in the championship standings. That’s how close the point’s battle was! The next race at Brands Hatch I felt the pressure but again took two pole positions and this time two race wins. Now it felt at least in speed, that I was the one to beat. And going into the last weekend of the season at Knockhill, Scotland, the championship table was turned back into my favour again.
I had never raced or tested at Knockhill before so I was a little nervous to have this much on the line, but like Brands, the weekend was perfect. I took two poles and two race wins. On top of winning the Championship and the Rookie Championship, I also turned 17 years old that same day! It was a fun banquet that same evening. My mechanic Dale tattooed his, mine and the team manager Russel’s initials on his arm. Now he’ll never get rid of us!
The next morning, while most of the others that were attending the party were sleeping, Kenny and I got on the early morning plane out of Edinburgh to go to Pembrey, Wales, for my first Formula 3 test. I was very excited and also very tired, but Kenny thought it was best to “get Formula BMW out of your system and start learning about the future”.
F-3 had a lot more down force, more power and was quite a bit faster. Faster = more fun! We decided to stay with Fortec Motorsport even for this next step in my career. Richard Dutton and the Fortec team gives you that special feeling that makes you feel at home, so that decision felt absolutely perfect to me!
2006
It was time for some change again so I went to ICA and only raced internationally. We only did one race in Sweden, "The Wiking Trophy" in Gothenburg (Scandinavias biggest race of the year). That race was almost perfect…I qualified on pole and finished 1st and 2nd in my heats. In the pre-final I started on pole and won. In the final I took the start again and was just flying. I had a lead of about 3-4 seconds on the 28th of the 30 laps. Then on the second to last lap disaster struck. My engine blew up! I was extremely disappointed, to the point I was crying. What I did not know was that Kenny Brack, IndyCar champion and Indianapolis 500 winner and swedens biggest racing star was there watching. He came up to me afterwards and offered a me meeting to discuss my future in racing.
The race itself was quite good example on how this year turned out, a lot of engine problems but when the engine was OK I was very quick. I did win one race in the Italian Open Masters at Garda after staring 10th. Up to that point that moment was one of the best in my career!
Later that year I had the meeting with Kenny and it went very well. He offered to help get the sponsors, the right team, and together with a friend of his, Eje Elgh, to help coach me to take the step up from Karting to Formula cars. I committed to him to do my best and try to win races! To me and my family, who did not have any possibilities of finding the money or even had any knowlege to take this step to real racing cars, it was like christmas!
Soon afterwards I did my first tests in Formula BMW.
The driving style in open wheel cars is very different to Karting. A lot more data to study, and overall much more complicated, gear changing, bigger teams with a lot of people and a lot more physically demanding. So here I am looking forward to an interesting season!
2005
I continued to race in Europe and Sweden and this year was almost a perfect year for me. It felt like everything started to come together for me in terms of my driving skills. In the Swedish Championship I won the 4 first races and claimed the championship with 2 races to go. In the Nordic Championship in Gothenburg I won after an amazing race. I started in pole position but after just a couple of laps a Finnish guy (Tomas Heikkinen) overtook me, and he was very quick. He opened up a big gap too. But I kept my head down and managed to catch and overtake him! I ended up as both the Swedish and Nordic champion!
I was also racing in the Italian Open Masters at the same time and since this was my second year I was looking for some good results. I started the Championship with a 12th position at a rainy Garda. After that I was 3rd, 10th, 5th and 4th. That was enough to be 3rd overall and in my opinion, the best Championship result in my Kart career so far. I also did the European finals in Sarno (Italy) where I struggled a bit, finishing 17th. I had the speed but I had too much problems.
I also did my debut in ICA that autumn. In the Industry Cup in Parma. I finished on a sensational 2nd place. Its was good to end the season on the same good note that it started!
2004
I started to drive a lot of International Kart this year as well as some races in Sweden. In the Swedish championship I finished 4th. In the Nordic Championship I started 2nd in the final but retired after 10 laps with no rubber left. It was a very strange weekend. Some of the Finnish drivers went home the night before the final, because they felt that their tires where already finished, before the finals!
I also did my first year in the Italian Open Masters and it was a good learning year. I felt that racing in Italy was so much harder than Sweden.
2003
This year was a big break-through for me. I won the middle Sweden championship, with over 100 competitors in my class and many of my 10 pole positions in a row ended up in victories. After that Joakim Ward at Ward Racing decided to go international kart with me and I competed in 3 races in the international class ICA that autumn. 2 of them in Sweden and one in Belgium. We finished 8th and 3rd (in Sweden) and 7th (in Belgium).
I changed class to Mini, but I still only raced in south and middle of Sweden. I had a good learning year and won one race in Mora, called “Siljapokalen”.
2001
I continued in Micro and tried to get top results. I had a great year and finished 3rd in the middle Sweden Kart Championship. At this point I felt strongly that racing was my thing. I was always very nervous before the races but as soon as I started my kart the nervousness was gone and I loved it! Being nervous before a race makes me drive better I think. This year Ward Racing also changed karts to Tony Kart.
2000
This summer I started to race in a more advanced level called Micro which amongst things mean many more races. I also changed to a new kart team and now I started to drive with Ward Racing with Nova Karts. Even tough it was much harder to get good results in this more "advanced" series, I had great support from the team and ended up as "Rookie of the Year".