Round in Zandvoort – full of challenges

12 June 2024

Last weekend, together with the prestigious “DTM” championship, the second stage of the “Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux” season was held at the Zandvoort track, where Valters Zviedris took part in the Belgian “Q1-Trackracing” team. For the Latvian athlete, in terms of results, this was a challenging competition, however, the weekend as a whole can be evaluated positively, because he managed to learn a lot and progress during the races.

In Friday’s training, they managed to show good results, finishing in the 6th and 11th positions, however, the qualification that took place on Saturday morning did not go as planned. In the two fastest laps, Valters was disturbed by his competitors, as a result of which he had to lose several tenths and settle for the 16th and 17th results (the two fastest laps are taken into account in the qualification – the fastest lap determines the order of the 1st run, and the second fastest lap – the order of the 2nd run). Penalties were given to several competitors, including those who disturbed Valters, as a result, the Latvian pilot started from the 13th position in the 1st race.

At the start of race 1, the Lithuanian pilot Domas Raudonis choked at the start and stopped, which caused a chain reaction and a major four-car crash. The re-start turned out to be more successful and the race itself was also completed without any unnecessary incidents. This time, Valters could not keep up with the speed of the drivers in front and finished where he started, i.e. in the 13th place. After the race on Saturday evening, the Latvian pilot spent a long time with the team engineers, analyzing his ride and looking for what needed to be improved.

In race 2, Valters started on the track from the 15th position and engaged in several exciting battles with the surrounding competitors. Although finishing in the same 15th place, the race was significantly better as Valters managed to be, on average, half a second faster per lap than in race 1, as well as showing a significantly more consistent performance. It should be noted that Dirk Schouten, a member of the “Q1-Trackracing” team, won both races this weekend, while the two-time WRC champion Kalle Rovanper finished the races in 4th and 5th positions.

“The competition ended with mixed emotions. It was not an easy weekend in terms of results, but we gained a lot. I am happy that we learned something new with each race, with each lap, we continued to improve our speed and progress was felt. Most of the other drivers had trained and raced here before, so everyone had good speed here. Considering how high and similar the level is between pilots here, I also need to change and work on driving technique, braking, how fast to turn the steering wheel, etc. Every detail is important and changes a lot, so you have to think about every braking, every turn. You have to know how to drive fast, until and even a little over the limit, in order to find the last tenths of a second and be able to fight not in the middle, but at the top” Valters Zviedris being self-critical after the recent stage.

The fact that the level of this championship is high this year is also proven by the fact that the lap times of the Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux, both in qualifying and in the race, were equivalent to the Porsche Carrera Cup Germany, which also held a round this weekend in Zandvoort and which is considered the strongest ” Porsche” championship in Europe. “Many thanks to all my supporters, without whom I could not compete in this strong championship: “Baltijas Sporta Auto – Porsche Latvija”, “Optibet Latvija”, “Industry Service Partner”, Jūrmala, “Blue Shock Race”, “Joker club”, ” Energolukss”, “I-Con” and SIA “Dārta”. We must keep going, the next stage will be at the famous Imola circuit in Italy. An old-school track with its own challenges, but this time we will be in a more similar position with our competitors, as practically no one has raced there before. It will be a new track for everyone, we will all learn from similar positions,” says Valters Zviedris about the upcoming stage in Italy at the beginning of July.

The third stage of the “Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux” season will take place on 5-7 in July together with the “European Le Mans Series” championship at the legendary Imola track. Follow Valters on social media – Facebook and Instagram.