PODIUM FOR VERVISCH IN FIRST SUPERLEAGUE FORMULA WEEKEND

In the first race of the Superleague Formula World Cup on the Dutch circuit of Assen, Frédéric Vervisch, at the wheel of the Automobile Club Luxembourg (ACL) liveried single-seater clinched a podium place. A final balance which however does not fully portray this weekend as quite clearly far more could have been achieved.

“The speed was there”, Vervisch confirmed. “This was clearly noticeable right from the free practice sessions where we were up amongst the top players. A second best time in our group during the qualifying confirmed this. Everything went well in the ‘shootouts’ … up until the sixth bend. I committed a small error and went slightly off course into the dust. You pay heavily for that at Assen as it is very difficult to get the tyres clean again on this circuit.” Ultimately Frédéric Vervisch had to be satisfied with a fifth place on the grid which he had managed to achieve in the quarter finals. This was a good starting position for the first race.
 
“The objective we had set ourselves in the race was to finish and score points for the championship. It was soon clear that our race pace was good. The front runners set off with fresh tyres and yet with our used tyres we were not much slower. We kept in contact with Doornbos and Buurman, the two Dutch front runners. A disappointing pitstop, with a front wheel which wouldn’t fit correctly, meant that we were still behind Doornbos, who in the meantime had experienced damage. I was careful and hesitated to overtake him as I had noticed that he had driven off the track all the others who had tried to get passed him. Just near the end of the race I overtook Doornbos but he still managed to nudge me, opening the door for Dolby to grab second place. My third place was a decent result but far more could have been achieved. With a good pitstop I might even have won the race”, Vervisch commented.
 
A couple of nudges with far reaching consequences
There were far reaching consequences from Doornbos’ nudges. The Dutchman smashed his car’s nose cone on the rear of Vervisch’s Luxembourg single-seater. Later on it became apparent that the diffuser had been damaged and there was too little time between races to carry out the necessary repairs.
 
"This component provides hundreds of kilos of downforce which I had now lost, and this has its repercussions on the car’s handling ", Frédéric Vervisch clarified. During the second race Vervisch had difficulty in breaking away from the middle of the pack. "The car was lacking speed which we did have during the first race and was highly unstable under heavy braking. This forced me to drive through the sand in the in the opening lap whereby I lost several places. I had difficulty to make up race positions. On top of that the pitstop was poor and I found myself in 11th place behind Spain." The team instructed Frédéric Vervisch to overtake Spain. The Belgian slotted his Luxembourg single-seater up next to the Spanish car and was promptly hit!
 
"Incomprehensible", Vervisch commented. "If you are abreast of your competitor for two thirds and on the line you have won the duel. Any experienced driver will consider this and give you a clear line. She hit me and then later on even put in a complaint with the race directors! This incident prevented me from defending my place in the final seeing my car had to be towed out of the gravel. In addition the car was not delivered to the pitbox but behind the pits. Notwithstanding the efforts put in by the Atech Reid team we were not ready in time and on safety grounds the stewards advised us not to start when the final was already under way."
 
Off to Circuit Zolder!
“Quite clearly we still need to work on the car in order to be faster by the time we travel on to Zolder. However taking stock of the entire weekend we are fairly positive. We had the correct pace. Two incidents and twice a stubborn front wheel during the pitstops meant that the result was different than the one I had imagined. Zolder is another race and hopefully conditions there will be better”, Vervisch emphasised.
 
“I wish to thank my entourage, the people from Trends, Roularta and the ACL, who have given me the opportunity to be present in this Superleague, and last but not least the Atech Reid team for the trust they have placed in me.”
 
“And finally I dedicate my third place to GéGé, a faithful fan and motorsport aficionado who left us at far too early an age.”
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