Young Driver: Overall victory for Karen Gaillard
WITH PROMOTIONAL MONEY ON THE LONG DISTANCE The jury of the "AutoScout24 and CUPRA Young Driver Challenge" selected Karen Gaillard as the overall winner in 2019. She will use the prize money for long-distance races with a Cupra TCR. After Oliver Holdener in 2017 and Julien Apothéloz last year, Karen Gaillard is the third overall winner of the national young driver competition organized by AutoScout24 and Cupra Switzerland. The [...]
After Oliver Holdener in 2017 and Julien Apothéloz last year, Karen Gaillard is the third overall winner of the national young driver competition organized by AutoScout24 and Cupra Switzerland. The 18-year-old from Fribourg, who is in her final year of training to become a healthcare professional, beat out the other two finalists Mario Anderegg and James Bischof.
The jury included organizer and racing driver Fredy Barth and professional Nico Müller. For them, the task was as difficult as never before to choose the best from the three good finalists.
Fredy Barth: "All three have shown a good increase and have achieved great things. They are not there by chance. Each has the talent to succeed in motorsport. We've run through various scenarios and thought about who has the greatest chances."
Karen grabbed her chances
With Karen Gaillard, the choice fell on a finalist who has already seized several opportunities. After being shortlisted last year and only failing at the last inspection on the Anneau du Rhin, she deliberately entered the competition again with the aim of making it to the final round this time. This year she convinced the jury.
She seized her second chance at her TCR race weekend at the Nürburgring, where she proved her car control in the second race. In the onset of rain with treadless slicks, she swam well, stayed on track in precarious conditions and worked her way into the top ten by bringing forward tire changes by some of her rivals until the race was called off. The reward was a brilliant ninth place.
Matured into a racing driver
However, this bare result alone was not decisive.
Fredy Barth: "Karen is very young and committed. She has undergone a strong development over the last few months. On the one hand, she has proven this with her driving performance, in which she has constantly improved and has always been able to implement the tips from the team and the coaches. On the other hand, Karen has also developed a lot personally and has become more mature."
A dream come true
The lucky winner herself could hardly believe her victory.
"It's incredible. It's a dream come true for me. But I've also been working towards this goal. Last year I was disappointed, but in moments like this you have to keep up the motivation to come back stronger. I succeeded in doing that."
Off to the long haul
Coupled with the overall victory is advisory and financial support for their next year's path into motorsport - and this will take them to the long haul. The jury has come to the conclusion that the concept needs to be changed slightly. Instead of the ADAC TCR Germany, where the youngsters had always been thrown into a shark tank for one weekend, Karen Gaillard will now compete in several endurance races. Probably in the 24H Series and still with the partner team TOPCAR sport on a Cupra TCR.
The Bernese have already had good experience in this respect with Julien Apothéloz. Last year's overall winner came second in the TCR class with team boss Ronny Jost as one of the four drivers in a Dutch team back in January at the 24 Hours of Dubai and was part of TOPCAR sport's winning quartet at the 24 Hours of Barcelona on September 1.
So it's quite conceivable that Karen Gaillard will also soon be standing on the podium. Switzerland definitely has a new female racer.
https://youngdriverchallenge.ch
