(Interwetten.com Junior Team - Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup - 01. May 2011)
Timmy Hansen proved yet again at the qualifying for the two races in Spa-Franchorchamps that he is quite capable of delivering the speed necessary to drive onto the podium. Unfortunately he was unlucky twice in Belgium, leaving him without the hoped for points. The two formula debutants Thomas Jäger and Gustavo Menezes were able to gather essential experience and finished in the front third of the 46 driver strong field.
„This is certainly not the result we had expected after the qualifying“, admits Interwetten.com Junior team manager Michael Schneider. “but that’s just the way it goes in racing. It can’t always go according to plan. But in exactly these moments it is important to underline the positives despite any negative events and build up on that foundation.”
Timmy Hansen‘s qualifying results were definitely one of the positives of the weekend. The young Swede banked the fifth starting position on Saturday with only the red flag during the last section of his fastest lap separating him from the pole position. In Sunday’s qualifying he secured the sixth place which is an extraordinary achievement in a 46 driver strong starter field.
The first race however saw him unlucky twice. After a touch off with Carlos Sainz in the first bend he found himself back in place 32. An amber phase took effect during the fifth lap after a collision of Fahmi Ilyas and John Bryant Meisner. The safety car was sent onto the track to recover the vehicles. This did not slow down Grégoire Demoustier, who torpedoed at full speed into the Swedish Interwetten.com Junior pilot. This led to a premature red flag finish of the race after only 6 laps. Thomas and Gustavo therefore had to abort their battle for the front places early, too, finishing in places 17 and 20 of the Eurocup rated race.
In the second race, Timmy Hansen again fell back from 5th to 22nd place after touching off Stoffel Vandoore and had to content himself with a 16th place behind his team colleague Thomas Jäger. “This was my worst racing weekend so far”, the young Swede sums it up. “But it taught me a lot.”
„That’s exactly what makes Timmy so strong“, explains team manager Michael Schneider. “He doesn’t let disappointments get the better of him. He learns his lessons and gets only better the next time. He is definitely capable of reaching the podium - it’s just a matter of time. For formula sports newcomers Thomas and Gustavo, the main aim was to gain experience. Both, Thomas and Gustavo, are very young pilots who joined us straight from karting. Together, we are working hard with them to prepare them for their further Motorsport future.”
After a longer break, the next Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 race will take place at the Nürburgring from 10th to 12th June. In the meantime, Thomas Jäger will be at the start of the Italian/Swiss championship Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS Cup.