Vervisch lord of the Ring

Slightly disappointed after the last race weekend in Assen, where he scored only six points, Frédéric Vervisch looked for a solution to not lose points unnecessarily.

On the Nürburgring, where the sixth round of the German ATS Formula 3 Cup was held in course of the "1000 Kilometer" race, Frédéric was not racing in the usual blue and grey colours of Swiss Racing Team anymore. Just before the weekend, the 22-year-old Belgian changed teams.

Now starting for Jo Zeller Racing, a team with experience in both the ATS F3 Cup and the F3 Euro Serie, Frédéric had a competitive Mercedes engine at his disposal with which he should be able to score lots of points.

And that is what he did. In first qualifying, Frédéric went straight to poleposition, although it became close at the end, being only nine hundredths of a seconds faster than his rivals.

"A flat spot ruined a set of tyres and that is why I wasn’t able to go faster", Vervisch commented on his first poleposition of the season. On Saturday morning, a second poleposition was taken. This time Frédéric set an incredible 1:50.957 on the timing sheets, being more than seven tenths of a second faster than his rivals.

It was going to get even better! Frédéric was too strong for his rivals in both races. In race 1 he finished with an advantage of over 21 seconds, which is seldom seen in Formula 3. And all this in spite of a problem with the steering wheel during the race. The second victory of the weekend followed a few hours later in race 2. Now his lead was of ‘only’ ten seconds.

With two extra points for setting the fastest race laps and points for both pole positions, Frédéric Vervisch scored the maximum. During the last three seasons of the ATS Formula 3 Cup, only one driver succeeded in doing this: Ho-Pin Tung in 2006.

 "I’m very happy", Frédéric said after the second race. "Although the relationship between Jo Zeller Racing and me is very new, we made a great performance. One thing is sure: I did not lose my speed. There is still some room for improvement. I think that if we get to know each other better, we will be an unbeatable duo. I want to thank my sponsors and the whole team for their commitment."

In the standings for the championship, Frédéric Vervisch is now leading with 80 points. Matteo Chinosi and Johnny Cecotto share second place with 61 points.

The next race weekend will take place on the EuroSpeedway Lausitz, from September 5th to 7th.

www.fredericvervisch.com

- Michel Deraemaeker-