De Vries Wins In Adversity
press release
The third meeting of the World KF1 Championship held at Genk (Belgium) was not one of the easiest for Nyck De Vries. The Dutch karter found himself at the back of the pack twice, but always managed to bridge the gap to conquer two victories which are very important for the goal he is pursuing: winning the second title of World Champion in a row at the wheel of his Zanardi-Parilla.
In Belgium, on 3 and 4 September, things did not go as smoothly as Nyck De Vries had hoped at the start of the weekend. "I was pretty confident after my practice sessions and Saturday morning's warm-up. Unfortunately, during the only timed qualifying session, I had a technical problem (reed petals). So I had to start from the 23rd and last place in Race 1", Nyck pointed out. Fortunately the Chiesa Corse driver regained his usual level of performance and quickly moved up several places. At the end of 19 race laps, he appeared satisfied with his return to 4th place.
Nyck De Vries continued his efforts in Race 2. His Zanardi-Parilla remained very effective and he quickly moved up to second place. But the leader, Flavio Camponeschi, had a comfortable lead in the race. "I pushed as much as I could and I managed to close in on him on the last lap. On a hairpin, he closed the door very early. I rounded the bend and could take advantage of a much better acceleration. But just when I was about to pull out, he saw me and slowed down, slightly changing his direction. I was really caught by surprise by his manoeuvre and I touched him while I was passing. But after I climbed on to the top step of the podium, I was informed that sport officials had decided to exclude me because of that accident. I did not agree with that sanction and for this reason the team decided to appeal against it". Since the appeal is suspensive, for the time being Nyck will keep his victory.
It rained in the night between Saturday and Sunday, but lines had already dried up before the timed qualifying session. "I did not really know what to expect from this track, which was still slippery. But lap after lap, I could improve my times and I finally took pole position". Unfortunately, at the start of Race 3, Nyck made a mistake he rarely commits. After braking on the dirty part of the track, Nyck took the first bend too wide. He was down to the last place again! Determined to fight back, he staged one of the recoveries that are his hallmark. 17th on the first lap and 3rd on the finish line... The many spectators around the circuit of Genk appreciated his stunning performance!
Race 4 started at 100 km an hour, with an exciting fight against his most dangerous rival in the Championship, Alexander Albon. Other drivers joined the fight, too. "It was a very exciting race, with loads of overtaking, but always fair play. Lap after lap, I felt increasingly at ease. For the third time in four races, I set my best lap in race and I managed to make the difference to win with a lead of almost 3 seconds. It was a great satisfaction as well as a relief after this rather difficult weekend". Although the Dutch driver is still the leader of the World Championship, his lead is far from being decisive. Nyck is aware that he will have to show all his talent at the last two rounds at Sarno (Italy) and Suzuka (Japan).
For the occasion, the Chiesa Corse driver displayed a special decoration with the colours of the clothing make G-Star Raw, partner of the Zanardi Belgium team.
