Qualifying without wiper: Dauenhauer mastered Zolder in the rain
In the EuroNASCAR qualifying at Circuit Zolder, Tobias Dauenhauer ended up second despite a broken windscreen wiper – In the races, the German faced issues
“In the qualifying session, the windscreen wiper unfortunately stopped working, so I had to clock the track without it, while it was raining”, answered Tobias Dauenhauer, when he was asked about his most remarkable moment of the EuroNASCAR’s Rounds 3 and 4 at Circuit Zolder. The EuroNASCAR 2 double winner of Vallelunga faced issues during his second outing with Hendriks Motorsport in Belgium, but wants to strike back again at Autodrom Most in the Czech Republic.
After qualifying second, despite having no functioning windscreen wiper, the German was not able to confirm the dominant pace he had during the season opener at Autodromo di Vallelunga in Italy. The #50 Ford Mustang had to be repaired before the races after a crash by reigning NWES champion Loris Hezemans in the EuroNASCAR PRO championship and that definitely hurt the pace of the car. While Dauenhauer finished tenth in the first race, he ended up 13th in Round 4 of the EuroNASCAR 2 championship.
“I had some issues with the balance of the car and also some technical problems”, said Dauenhauer after the race weekend in Belgium. “That slowed me down in both races. Due to a stuck pedal I only had 50% power in the second race for example. All started with the crash of my teammate Loris Hezemans in his qualifying session.”
Before the crash, both Hendriks Motorsport drivers showed a solid pace in Free Practice. Dauenhauer ended up sixth in the first session and first in the final session. That’s why he’s confident that his team will be able to strike back when the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series will visit the Autodrom Most in the Czech Republic on November 14-15.
“We showed in both practice sessions at Circuit Zolder that we have the pace even in wet conditions. That’s promising for the upcoming races. I hope to stay in the hunt for the title when we head to Spain for the final races of the season,” said Dauenhauer, who is in second place overall after the NASCAR GP Belgium. Vittorio Ghirelli is leading the EuroNASCAR 2 championship with two more points on his account than the German NWES rookie.
