Young Driver: Strong race debut from Ruga
PLACE 19 AT THE SACHSENRING The second finalist in the "AutoScout24 Young Driver Challenge powered by SEAT" was Francesco Ruga. Like last year's winner Oliver Holdener, the driver from Ticino immediately placed in the midfield at the Sachsenring. Already in the first and second free practice sessions of the ADAC TCR Germany at the Sachsenring in eastern Germany, Francesco Ruga amazed. With [...]
Francesco Ruga already amazed in the first and second free practice sessions of the ADAC TCR Germany at the Sachsenring in eastern Germany. With the Cupra Leon TCR entered by Topcar Sport from Uetendorf, the driver from Ticino achieved 16th time among 31 competitors on the selective mountain-and-valley circuit.
Although Ruga reduced the gap to the front runners from an initial 2.3 seconds to less than one second in the pre-decisive qualifying session, the second finalist of the "AutoScout24 Young Driver Challenge powered by SEAT" lost three positions for the starting grid.
The optimal starting position paid off only in the second race
However, none of his predecessors managed to qualify that far ahead for his very first car race. Unfortunately, the good starting position did not pay off, at least in the first race.
Due to enemy contact in the tumult of the starting lap, a loose body part damaged a tire. This led to Francesco Ruga's retirement after seven laps.
Almost as good as Oliver Holdener a year ago
The team from Bern brought the Cupra back into perfect condition for the second race on Sunday. This time, the 21-year-old driver from southern Switzerland was able to show off his talent all the way to the finish.
Francesco Ruga finished 19th at the same venue, almost as good as Oliver Holdener, the overall winner of the 2017 Young Driver Challenge. The man from Schwyz finished his Sunday race at the Sachsenring a year ago in a sensational 17th place among 32 riders. In the process, he left 13 ranked competitors behind him, Ruga five.
After the bad luck of the previous day, Ruga was relieved and satisfied with his result.
Francesco Ruga: "The speed and the forces involved are enormous. It demands everything from you physically as well as mentally. The race weekend was a unique experience and I will remember it for a long time."
In a short video, he takes stock after the two races in Italian:
Double joy at Seat Switzerland
There was double joy in the camp of sponsor Seat Switzerland, as Pascal Eberle from St. Gallen finished a brilliant third in his private Cupra TCR on Sunday in his first start of the season.
In the first race, Eberle, chasing a podium finish, ended up in the gravel trap after a collision.
After Julien Apothéloz is decided
This year's last finalist is Julien Apothéloz, who at 17 is the youngest Young Driver. It's the Zurich native's turn at the Hockenheimring on September 22/23.
After that, the project team, which includes coaches Fredy Barth and Nico Müller, will start analyzing and evaluating the individual results.
AutoScout24 and SEAT will provide the winner with support for a further racing career with prize money of around 50000 Swiss francs.
Whether his name is Leonardo Tinland, Francesco Ruga or Julien Apothéloz will be announced at the Auto Zürich Car Show in November.
