Young Driver: Holdener amazes at race premiere

Six weeks after Gustavo Xavier at the Nürburgring, it was Oliver Holdener's turn at the Sachsenring. The 20-year-old made his first race appearance on the penultimate weekend of the ADAC TCR Germany as the second finalist in the "AutoScout24 Young Driver Challenge powered by Seat". And the newcomer from Bennau SZ completed it with flying colors!

After Holdener got used to the track and the car - a Seat Leon TCR perfectly prepared by Topcar Motorsport from Uetendorf - in the two free practice sessions, he shone in qualifying in the hunt for a good grid position. He missed out on a place in the top qualifying, to which the best six in each starting group are admitted, by just 173 thousandths!

Holdener finished his first half-hour race in 30th place out of 33 competitors. With the certainty that the lap times would be better with more racing experience, the young driver tackled the second race. And lo and behold: again, from 21st on the grid, he moved up to 14th place at times. Unfortunately, he was unable to maintain this position until the finish.

Oliver Holdener: "I had a good start and was soon able to gain several positions despite a contact in the first corner. Unfortunately, I wanted to gain another place towards the end, but a colleague pushed me out onto the grass. So I lost two places again."

This top result would even have earned him championship points straight away. Because Holdener is not permanently registered, he will come away empty-handed in this respect. Instead, he has gained an adventure and a huge experience that could mark the beginning of a racing career.

"Old Guy" Fredy Barth against "Young Driver" Orhan Vouilloz in Hockenheim
After Orhan Vouilloz (21) from Chardonne VD is entered next weekend in Hockenheim, the performances of the three Young Driver finalists will be compared by racing professionals and AutoScout24 brand ambassadors Fredy Barth and Nico Müller.

If one of them stands out and is willing to do so, AutoScout24 and Seat Switzerland will provide financial and advisory support for a further commitment in 2018.

If Fredy Barth has his way, Oliver Holdener definitely has a lot of potential: "He did extremely well. Without any previous circuit experience, he left people behind who have been racing for years."

Barth will not only get an idea of the skills of the third finalist from the side of the track and in discussions. The professional from Zurich will be driving another Seat Leon TCR from Topcar Motorsport in the two final races at Hockenheim on September 23 and 24.

"This opportunity to take over a cockpit that became vacant at short notice came about thanks to my long-standing good partnership with AutoScout24 and Seat Switzerland - thank you very much," explains Barth. "Now I'm basically driving as an old guy in the same race as our young driver - I'll have to make an effort to put myself in the limelight as well..."

www.autoscout24.ch/ydchallenge