Turbulences in the Sky of Nürburgring

Adaptation to weather conditions created a lot of difficulties to drivers and teams during the 4th round of the “Adac Formel Masters” Championship, held from 13th to 15th July. Between Friday’s free practice and Sunday’s last race, track grip conditions never stopped changing. But Lotus team driver Beitske Visser had some excellent feelings on the famous circuit of Nürburgring. However, despite her evident competitiveness, the Dutch female driver encountered too many problems to be able to achieve the desired result.

Over two months after her previous race in the frame of the Adac Formel Masters, Beitske Visser was looking forward to racing again in the Championship she has chosen for her single-seater debut in 2012. “In June, I could not be at the meeting held on the circuit of Sachsenring because my doctor had advised me to spend a few weeks without driving, due to the accident I had suffered in Assen. Though I could have driven to the end and win one of the races, my back needed some rest after that crash”. Now that the pain has gone, the Dutch driver arrived in Germany, in the Eifel Massif, with her usual determination and desire to do well.

A Good Qualification
After free practice, which was made difficult by rainwater, the track was finally dry for the qualifying session. Very fast on track, she managed to set the third fastest time. She was less than 0.1 seconds short of the pole position, in addition to showing the best performances in the Lotus team. Unfortunately, she did not see a yellow flag and got a 5-place penalty.
Rain was back for the first race, so drivers had a very delicate task head. “We could see almost nothing because of the rain. I could barely pass a driver, to regain the place I had lost at the start. But of course I hoped for a better result than 8th place”.
When the time of Race 2 came, the rain had stopped and drivers had slick tyres. Beitske was on the front line on the outside, where the track is wetter. “In these conditions, keeping my place at the start was pretty difficult. But the worst came when a driver hit me from the back. I found myself in the 18th and last position, before climbing up to 12th”.

On the Pace of the Best
During her recovery drive, Beitske Visser set the third fastest time in the race and was able to run at a pace equivalent to those of the best drivers. Determined to keep this very high performance level in Race 3, she had to face again the whims of the weather. “The rain seemed about to stop. Since I only started 12th, the team and I had decided to mount slicks, hoping that the track would dry during the race. Unfortunately, it started to rain again. The car was really difficult to handle in those conditions and I could not do better than 12th”.
“Overall, it was rather disappointing not to be able to achieve a better result but I hope I’ll get back onto the podium as soon as possible”. Next meeting will be at the Red Bull Ring (Austria) from 10th to 12th August…