Young Driver 2018: An exciting trio

Of the original 800 or so participants in the "AutoScout24 Young Driver Challenge powered by Seat", ten young people aged between 17 and 21 remained. They met on Monday at the Anneau du Rhin in Alsace for the third and final elimination.

In the morning, everyone was allowed to get behind the wheel of a Seat Leon Cupra FR suitable for everyday use. The five instructors Fredy Barth, Pascal Eberle, Ronny Jost, Yannick Mettler and Nico Müller - all proven touring car drivers - sat in the passenger seat of each finalist for one session.

Afterwards, they judged their performance not only on the basis of the lap times they had driven, but also on the choice of lines, their handling of the car and the progress they had made in the learning process.

Five were then eliminated, including the only lady, 17-year-old Karen Gaillard. In the afternoon, the five best young drivers to date were given their first seat in the Cupra Leon TCR race touring car from Topcar Sport in which the three selected drivers will each contest a race in the ADAC TCR Germany.

The fact that two people from Ticino and two from French-speaking Switzerland made it to the final, but only one from German-speaking Switzerland, made things exciting.

Three finalists from three parts of the country
Finally, the jury was most convinced of three finalists from three different parts of the country to enter the race:

• Julien Apothéloz (17) from Gockhausen ZH
• Francesco Ruga (21) from Contra TI and
• Leonardo Tinland (20) from Château d'Oex VD

Although the youngest has a French name thanks to his grandfather, who comes from Vaud, he is a native of German-speaking Switzerland and goes to high school in Zurich. In karting, Julien Apothéloz is already one of the best up-and-coming drivers, so he reckoned he had a real chance of making it through to the final elimination round.

Francesco Ruga has only competed in kart races as a hobby, but he has developed a good sense of speed. This is certainly also due to the fact that he competed in FIS ski races, mainly downhill, and would have been eligible to participate in the European Cup. Ruga is a student at a sports school and will start training as a car designer in Turin in 2019.

The most sporty guy of all participants is Leonardo Tinland. His passion and profession is skiing, where he has so far made it to the Junior World Championships. So far he had nothing to do with karting or driving. For this reason, just making it to the final round was a fantastic experience for him. And the fact that his journey now takes him to the race track is a dream come true for him.

A luxury problem
Conclusion: Three real talents made it to race driver in 2018. Audi factory driver Nico Müller is also convinced of this.

Nico Müller: "The level was higher this year than in 2017. In contrast to the first event, it was very easy to find the top five with a good feeling, each of whom deserved a race entry. But it was then more difficult to settle on just three. A luxury problem. The fact that we have one with no karting experience at all shows that everyone has a chance to make it in this talent scouting."

Now it gets serious
Having made it into the top 3, the finalists now move on in quick succession. In July, they will acquire their racing license at the Circuit de Dijon-Prenois (F) and complete a test day with the TCR car.

Each will be prepared for their assignment in a race simulator. One will contest two half-hour ADAC TCR Germany races each at the Nürburgring (August 4/5), one at the Sachsenring (September 8/9) and one at Hockenheim (September 22/23).

Apart from the fact that a free race weekend is already a top prize, the best of this trio will receive a sponsorship package worth 50,000 Swiss francs for the 2019 racing season.

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