The sixth round of the World Series Renault 3.5 championship entered the weekend’s most decisive stage today at the Nürburgring, as teams and drivers lined up for the first qualifying session and race at the German venue. Once again, the activity got a late start due to fog and during the race the drivers were disturbed by rain, especially in the closing stages. After rounding out the top-10 in qualifying, Swissman Zoël Amberg was determined to charge his way to the front. Unfortunately, he was blocked by a rival car and forced to lose some spots straight away and that cost him some momentum.
Then, as soon as the day progressed, he kept a really quick pace, constantly fighting with the drivers that were running in front of him. His toughest battle was with rival Marco Sorensen. When an hefty rainfall with just a few kilometers to go hit the track, Zoël was able to gain and hold the position with to the line.
Young female rookie Beitske Visser raised some eybrows too when she scored a sensational 11th place in Qualifyng 1. Unfortunately, a slow start cost her dearly and she was then forced to play catch-up with the rest of the pack. Then, a contact received in the closing stages left her with a puncture and a 19th place. She is ready to rebound in Race 2, which will be held tomorrow at 12:35.
Zoël Amberg – Q1: P10 – R1: P9
“It’s been a difficult start, one of the other cars pushed me out onto the kerb and I couldn’t go full power on the throttle, so I lost some positions. Then the car was really, really good and I think that without that hiccup at the start we would have been able to stay at the front for sure. I had to fight my way through the race, and eventually passed Sorensen. In the final part of the race, things got messy and it was a big dash to the finish line”.
Beitske Visser – Q1: P11; R1: P19
“The qualifying pace was very good, but unfortunately I haven’t been off to a good start, losing many positions. It’s a pity because we had the pace and we definitely improved as the race progressed. Unfortunately, in the end I was touched and got a puncture. For tomorrow, I look forward to get a quicker getaway and then use our full potential to score a good result”.