Rudy Van Buren fights back strong at home race
The home race at Circuit Zandvoort seemed to become a tough meeting for Rudy van Buren after qualifying got compromised. A stellar drive to P4 in the second race made it a memorable weekend for the Dutchman.
Van Buren was confident he could get strong results during the fourth round of the Porsche Carrera Cup at the iconic Zandvoort track. “We started strong from free practice, the car felt great and we ended up in P4”, Van Buren said, but the typical Dutch summer threw in a surprise. “Suddenly there was rain and we had to do the first run on wets, only in the end the track was good enough to go back out on slicks. After we came back on track, it was hard to get a clean run in, our track position just wasn’t good enough. It compromised our qualifying with P12 and P11. It’s a shame, but it was just our own fault.”
At an old school track like Zandvoort, Van Buren took advantage of the knowledge he has of the place. While overtaking is never easy at the track in the middle of the dunes, Van Buren got a clean run in the opening phase. “In the first race I had a really good start. There was a crash in the first corner, I gained a lot of places. Halfway the lap I was in P6 from P12 on the grid. It was a shame the race was halted due to a red flag. On the restart I made a mistake and hit another driver. I was fully responsible for the accident and got a drive-through penalty for it. I came back on track in P20 and finished eventually P11 after the gaps disappeared due to a safety car. That was the maximum we could do.”
Van Buren showed his potential in the first race and got rewarded for that when the second race found place on Sunday. “In the second race I started from P11 and made a good start. It was a really good one, we fought our way through the field and ended up in P4. The speed was excellent, I would have signed for P4 if you asked me before the race. Now, we’re looking forward to Silverstone for the next round of the Porsche Supercup.”
The third round of PSC takes place this weekend at Silverstone.