Biography
BORN 30 July 1984LIVES Tallinn, Estonia
FIRST DROVE At age of 7 in grandfather’s Lada
FIRST CAR RACE Donington, FFord March 2003
FIRST WIN Donington, FFord March 2003
OTHER INTERESTS Snowmobiling, jetski, mountain biking
KARTING CAREER
1995 Began karting
1999 Estonian, Baltic, Finnish & Scandiavian Champion
2001 Winner of World Championship race Mariembourg (FSA)
2002 Winner of Constructor's Cup with Tony Kart (FSA)
SINGLE SEATERS CAREER
2003 Formula Ford First season in single seater cars
Won five FFord races, 2nd in FFord Festival at Brands Hatch , F1 testing with BMW Williams
2004 British F3 , Struggled with under powered Renault engine
2005 British F3
6 podiums: 2nd at Donington Park, Croft, Knockhill, Thruxton
7th in Marlboro Masters of F3 at Zandvoort (best non-Mercedes finisher)
Led championship mid season but minimal budget and no testing held team back
2006 All Japan F3
One race win
7th in drivers championship. Struggled with engine (Nissan) & car performance
Pole position in Macau GP with Hitech
2007 British F3
Won championship with three rounds to go
11 wins, 2 further podiums
Finally has technical package to show talent
BIOGRAPHY
Estonian 23-year-old Marko Asmer burst onto international racing radars in 1999 when aged 15 he won the Nordic, Finnish, Baltic and Estonian karting championships in one season. By 2001 he was dominating the Karting World Championship and was nominated the most talented young kart driver in the world.
He moved up to Formula Ford with JLR in 2003, earning five victories and 2nd in the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch. He took part in several test days with the BMW Williams F1 team.
2004 saw Marko enter the British F3 Championship where he attracted attention with a string of top six finishes and two fastest laps, despite the power limitations of his engine. In 2005 despite engine limitations plaguing him once again, he earned six British F3 podiums and pole positions at Donington and Nürburgring.
Out of money to race in Europe, Marko went to Japan in 2006 to take a paid drive competing in the All Japan F3 series for ThreeBond after winning a seven driver shoot-out test. It was a year of personal and professional challenge but he came through and impressed, winning the last race of the season.
Asmer re-signed for ThreeBond in 2007 and was subsequently offered a drive with Hi-Tech in British F3. He honoured his Japanese commitment although his car in the British series was much more competitive. He has spent 2007 commuting between the UK and Japan, and won the championship with three rounds still to go.
His career has taken both him and his family through trials and tribulations, something which has resulted in a remarkable maturity for his age. Experienced, serious and extraordinarily likeable, Marko is hungry and ready to step up to the demands of the top levels of motorsport.