By Andria Kades
Formula 3 racer Vladimiros Tziortzis received a six-month deferral of military conscription on Thursday after a public plea to President Nicos Anastasiades saying army service would negatively affect his career.
George Tselepos, a representative for the driver said Tziortzis, 18 “has a contract with a team that invests in his talents and may take legal measures for compensation up to €500,000 if this is not respected.”
Following the news, speaking from Russia where he will race, Tziortzis thanked the President “who responded immediately to my appeal and intervened so that I could receive a lot of help. I can now work hard without any distractions and prove those who believed in me both in and out of Cyprus, right”.
Had he not received a deferral he would have had to come back by July 10 abandoning a contract he worked hard for. He currently ranks in 6th place for the Formula Masters (Russia). The 3rd race of the season will be on July 24 – 26.
When he made his plea on he said: “I’m not asking to be exempt from my responsibilities towards the country. I’m available to fulfil my military service. All I want is an arrangement so that my hard work and sacrifices so far do not go to waste.”
Tselepos had called on the Defence Minister Christoforos Fokaides to provide a list of athletes that were successful in deferring their military conscription and explain why Tziortzis was any different. The most well-known example of this was Marcos Baghdatis who received an army deferral in 2006 to focus on his tennis career.
Following an intervention from Anastasiades, the defence ministry granted Tziortzis the deferral.
Tziortzis, son of former racer Andreas Tziortzis, started go-kart racing as early as seven-years-old and has, according to reports, been seven-time karting champion of Cyprus. He moved into formula racing before he turned 16 and has since driven a F3 car in major European circuits like Silverstone and Valencia, recording impressive results.
Tziortzis tried for the first time a Formula Renault 2.0 at the Autodromo Riccardo Paletti track in Palma, Italy in 2014. He posted times very similar to the most experienced drivers in the official test, and drove in Sochi, leading the double race of Formula Russia.
Tziortzis scored a ninth and an eighth position, but most importantly, the rookie won the most flattering of comments from other teams.
