The beginning on the French Magny-Cours was full of promises for runner up of the table Luciano Bacheta. “The tests on Friday went really well. Especially in the rain, I was incredibly fast.” During the first race on Saturday however, the Interwetten.com Junior pilot fell victim of the weather conditions – ironically, as in fact, he prefers the rain. In the first lap already, and as one of four drivers, the Brit was eliminated in the Adelaide chicane. His Austrian team colleague Sandro Lukovic finished the race as 13th.
For the fourth season race’s qualifying, Luciano had only one wish: „No yellow flags and no traffic during the session.“ Neither of which would oblige to keep out of his way. The subsequent seventh starting position proved to be the foundation for the bad luck in the rain. “with the spray produced by the vehicles in front of me visibility was not only restricted, it was virtually non-existent”, the 20 year old tells the happenings. “Just before the bend I tried to stay on the outside to avoid possible collisions. Unfortunately, with no way of seeing the track boundary clearly, I ended up on the grass and slipped into the wall.”
The disappointment over the elimination is of course great, but no one blames Luciano. “At the same time, drivers trying to stay on the middle or the inside, were caught just the same”, explains team manager Michael Schneider. “Luciano was just unlucky.”
Priority now is to focus on tomorrow’s race, when Luciano will start from position three. A comfortable starting place, these days nearly a guarantee for a podium place. Sandro Lukovic, likewise, will start the race from a favourable position. The Austrian starts as ninth and with that is already in the point ratings. “And that of course is exactly where I would like to arrive at”, he explains optimistically. “Anyway, I will give it my best to improve a few places further.”
The eighth rated race will take place tomorrow between 2.30pm and 2.57pm.