PORTIMÃO 2022 REVIEW

ELMS FINAL - PORTIMÃO 2022

My word, how I love the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve, though I had to take a deep breath a couple of times. We looked competitive as always, but due to a miscalculation, we got the checkered flag in qualifying. Had we gone out one second earlier, I could have driven a qualifying lap. Now, we had to start sixteenth and last. Quite the challenge at a circuit like this one in Portimão.

In the first stint of the four hour race, I felt very comfortable. It rained, and when it rains, Dutch drivers arise. Just in front of me I could see my fellow country man Tijmen grab the lead, whereas I overtook eleven cars in the first three laps to claim fifth. From there on, it was all about using the brain, as the track dried and conditions changed.

You just can’t make up what happened next: I overtook two more cars to drive in a podium spot, and had clear vision of the car in front. We decided to box to try an undercut, something which seemed a smart choice. However, our sister car, the #47 Algarve Pro Racing machine, crashed on our out lap. Race control brought out a full course yellow, opponents were able to make a ‘free’ stop and gone was our advantage. 

After my two hour stint, Filip took over the wheel, and he did a very good job to keep track position. It was only Filip’s second endurance race, and I must say, he’s done very well. I don’t really know what to say about our result – in the last minutes I managed to overtake one more car to end up in fifth – because it could have been more and this has been the fifth time this year I use those words. 

 

The only thing I can do is evaluate my own performance and I believe I’ve done everything right. The first laps were chaotic and difficult, but luckily I was able to overtake those cars. I feel proud about Filip and my cooperation, we’re both rookies, so to be as competitive as we were today, will do us both only good. I can’t already wait for 2023 to begin.

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