24H Dubai: TCR success for Young Driver 🎥
SECOND PLACE Veteran Ronny Jost and student Julien Apothéloz celebrated a hard-fought second place in the TCR class in Dubai. The 17-year-old from Zurich wants to put this experience to good use in the ADAC TCR Germany starting in April. Ronny Jost, most recently winner of the TCR class at the 24H Cota in November, took Julien Apothéloz along for the 24 Hours of Dubai [...]
Ronny Jost, most recently winner of the TCR class at the 24H Cota in November, took Julien Apothéloz on board for the 24 Hours of Dubai. The aim: to complete as many laps as possible with the Cupra TCR from Bas Koeten Racing and gain experience for the upcoming season in the ADAC TCR Germany. Here, Jost and his Topcar Sport team will field a Cupra for the winner of the "AutoScout 24 Young Driver Challenge powered by SEAT 2018".
The calculation was a complete success
The 17-year-old high school student, who was already back at school at 8:40 a.m. on Monday morning, fulfilled his task with flying colors. With Loek Hartog, a Dutchman who is even only 16 years old and winner of the young driver classification for the Porsche Carrera Cup Belgium, and his compatriot Oscar Graeper, the two Swiss finished a surprising second behind the Volkswagen team from Autorama Wetzikon in the Cupra with starting number #125.
https://www.facebook.com/BasKoetenRacing/videos/519190265239309
Surprising because Ronny Jost, as the starting driver, had to make a repair stop after just under an hour. As in November in Texas, a shock absorber broke for inexplicable reasons. And just like two months ago, he then staged an impressive recovery together with his team partners. The reward was the podium, which Jost had no longer believed in after the early time loss.
Almost impossible to put into words
Because there were no major problems after that and the four drivers did not make any mistakes, the Cupra quartet gradually moved up the field. Due to the late fire of an Audi that was clearly in front, this resulted in a double victory for the Swiss TCR drivers.
Ronny Jost: "With two very young and inexperienced long-distance drivers in the team, the target was not too high. But we talked a lot with each other in advance and designed the vehicle set-up to suit everyone. The guys implemented everything well."
No wonder, the veteran from Uetendorf is enthusiastic about his pupil.
Ronny Jost: "As at the Young Driver event in Hockenheim, he really surprised me. Despite his inexperience with cars, he's already so detached that it's almost impossible to put into words. Julien did a great job of taking the opportunity to gain a lot of driving experience and get to know everything better."
Next are driving lessons in Swiss road traffic
The youngster himself is happy to hear this and is enjoying his first podium as a car racer.
Julien Apothéloz: "Of course this was the goal. I didn't think it would work out the first time. Our team was good, the whole strategy was right. I sat in the car for about eight and a half to nine hours over the whole weekend. I was able to learn a lot. Also in terms of how to behave in heavy traffic, especially at night, and how to manage the tires."
On March 9, Julien will turn 18. After that, a driving instructor will assess his skills. After the international FIA license, Julien will soon get the Swiss driving license for everyday use.
The ADAC TCR Germany season will then start one and a half months later at Oschersleben.
