Young Driver: Tinland did well
FIRST RACE ENTRY As the first finalist in the "AutoScout24 Young Driver Challenge powered by SEAT", Leonardo Tinland took to the Nürburgring to win a race in the ADAC TCR Germany. The absolutely inexperienced driver from Vaud did an amazingly good job. Because there were problems with the brakes on Topcar Sport's Cupra TCR in the first second practice session, he was able to [...]
Because there were problems with the brakes on Topcar Sport's Cupra TCR in the first second practice session, Leonardo Tinland, the first finalist in the 2018 Young Driver Challenge power by Seat, was only able to really get to grips with the car in the first session. The 22nd time was an exclamation mark right away.
With the 27th time among 31 competitors, the greenhorn, who is completely inexperienced in racing, also did well in qualifying. Due to the demotion of four opponents, the 20-year-old from Chateau d'Oex in Vaud was even able to take 23rd place on the grid for the first race.
He finished in 26th and last position of all the drivers who crossed the finish line - after all. On his fastest race lap, the ski pro was only three tenths slower than Oliver Holdener, last year's overall winner of the Young Driver Challenge.
Good comparison with Oliver Holdener
The driver from Schwyz finished in 15th place with the Cupra TCR from Wolf-Power Racing. As a strong eleventh in qualifying and in the race, Jasmin Preisig was the best placed of all Swiss drivers with her Opel Astra TCR - we congratulate her.
On Sunday, Tinland took the second race of the ADAC TCR Germany in 27th place. This time, in 26th place, he managed to keep one opponent behind him all the way to the finish. Two others retired earlier.
Oliver Holdener made it into the top ten for the second time this season in a good ninth place. Florian Thoma, who switched from Team Engstler to Max Kruse Racing, brought his VW Golf over the distance in 14th place, Preisig in 18th.
An incredible experience
Leonardo Tinland is therefore quite satisfied with his performance in his very first race on asphalt.
Leonardo Tinland: "I am happy that I found a good rhythm in the race. Even though I finished practically last twice, I didn't expect this result. Driving the Cupra TCR on this legendary circuit gave me enormous pleasure."
His joy is understandable when one recalls where he came from.
Leonardo Tinland: "The adventure began with a rental kart in Payerne. And then three months later I'm driving a race at more than 200 km/h top speed in the midst of experienced touring car drivers. I certainly could have gone faster, but I didn't want to risk anything. The Topcar Sport team did a great job to make sure my car ran superbly and I was only able to concentrate on driving. It was an absolutely incredible experience!"
Next in September
For the two other finalists Francesco Ruga from Contra and Julien Apothéloz from Gockhausen - the youngest of all finalists so far - the TCR baptism of fire is scheduled for September 7-9 at the Sachsenring and September 21-23, 2018 at Hockenheim, respectively.
The project initiators AutoScout24 and Seat will give the winner the chance to pursue a racing career with prize money of 50,000 Swiss francs. In addition, the "Young Driver" can benefit from the know-how of two real racing professionals thanks to the great commitment of the two coaches and AutoScout24 brand ambassadors Fredy Barth and Nico Müller.
Where this experience will lead Tinland and his two colleagues remains to be seen.
