Hockenheim: The most beautiful victory for Stucki
CLIO CUP OPEN Andreas Stucki celebrated the biggest triumph of his career to date at the German GP. The driver from St. Gallen beat Renault drivers from all over Europe. Andreas Stucki has long been one of the winning drivers in the Clio Central Europe Cup. In 2016, he was runner-up as the fastest Swiss driver in the international field, and in 2017 he finished third. The really big hit came [...]
Andreas Stucki has long been one of the winning drivers in the Clio Central Europe Cup. In 2016, he was runner-up as the fastest Swiss in the international field, and third in 2017. He now hit the big time last weekend in Hockenheim. In the Formula 1 supporting program, the private driver competing for the family-owned Stucki Motorsport team from Schmerikon won the second of the two Clio Cup Open races.
Series winner from England
In the field of 24 drivers from seven nations, the 34-year-old garage owner took up the first race in fourth place with his 220 hp Renault Clio R.S. IV Cup. Involved in numerous tough duels, the St. Gallen native from the upper part of Lake Zurich, driving under the sponsorship of Ecurie Basilisk, had to settle for fifth place. As in the first two races of the season, victory went to Briton Jack Young at the French GP in Le Castellet.
Andreas Stucki: "In the fight for third place, I lost two positions at once. With such a dense field, this is often the danger that you usually lose another place right away in a failed overtaking attempt."
First runner-up...
For the second race, which counted the second-best times of each driver from the single qualifying session, his starting position was the same - only now Stucki made the most of it. Immediately after the start there was an accident, which was followed by a safety car phase. After that, Stucki remained fourth, but fought his way up to second position over the course of the 13 laps - which, unlike the Grand Prix, took place on a dry track.
... then incredible winner
Once again, Jack Young crossed the finish line first with a four-second lead. However, because he had failed to comply with the track limits three times and thus gained an advantage, he received a pit drive-through penalty. Before the podium ceremony, this was converted into a 30-second penalty, which relegated Young to 10th position and made the Swiss the deserved winner. The latter was stunned with joy afterwards.
Andreas Stucki: "I only found out that I was the winner when I parked under the podium. An unbelievable feeling! To stand on top of the podium in front of such a big and international audience on the often said home track of the Swiss is indescribable."
Motivation for the rest of the season
Second place went to Pekar, 361 thousandths behind, and third to Briton Ben Colburn. Since Stucki initially did not want to start at Hockenheim at all because the next round of the Clio Cup Central Europe is already scheduled for next weekend in Oschersleben, he is now brimming with self-confidence.
We congratulate and wish the small private team continued success!
