Yelmer successfully defends his position in the standings
18-07-2011
“First of all, my car was splendid all weekend. My team has done a remarkable good job”, Yelmer praised the Azerti people. And yet, the potential didn’t come to fruition. Thanks to the Omloop Terlaemen where overtaking proved to be a very difficult challenge. So Yelmer started sixth and that was exactly where he finished. Just as Robert Doornbos started from fifth and crossed the line in fifth place. All in all the first race was quite boring and not really complying with the spectacular racing the Superleague Formula usually offers. Most of the positions were gained or lost with the mandatory pit-stops. Yelmer came in one lap later than the front runners but even that did not bring any special effects.
Because he finished sixth he was directed to the ninth place on the grid for race two. Soon after the start he came under pressure of a hard charging Robert Doornbos, who in his turn had Frédéric Vervisch almost touching his gearbox. For a short moment Yelmer went just a bit too wide in a corner offering Doornbos and Vervisch the chance they had been waiting for. Although Yelmer countered immediately, passing Doornbos on the next lap, there was no way he could get by Vervisch.
The race had settled and it was untill after the pit-stops that the action resumed. This time Yelmer came in two laps later than most of the other drivers and he rejoined the race in front of Robert Doornbos. With Vervisch just ahead Yelmer put the pressure on the Belgium driver. At one stage he moved alongside the Luxembourg entry but Vervisch defended the inside of the Jacky Ickx chicane and passing around the outside was sheer impossible. Soon after Vervisch overtook Duncan Tappy but Yelmer got stuck behind the white Turkey car. Tappy was visibly slower but Yelmer couldn’t get past, allowing Doornbos, Chris van der Drift en Neel Jani to close in on him. Yelmer kept them at bay rather easily but he remained stuck behind Tappy. “When I finally had a reasonable chance I noticed that I had used all my 'push-to-passes’. I thought I had another two but maybe I had miscounted them or I had accidentally pushed the button once or twice. And without the extra revs it is here impossible to pass”. So Yelmer finished sixth for the second time in a row which promoted him into the Super Final in which he was to start from seventh place. Just like the feature race the Super Final turned out into a procession. Even when it started to rain in the final lap positions were held, although leading Frédéric Vervisch escaped drama when he overshot the Paddock Chicane. But he managed to keep the lead and collected the first price and a healthy 100.000 Euro’s. “All in all not a very exiting weekend”, Yelmer deemed. “The level of drivers is as good as balanced as are the teams and the cars. And a track like this offers almost no overtaking chances. Really frustrating for a real racer like me. I already look forward to the tracks where you can pass other cars”, says Yelmer who is still in fourth place in the standings.
