Niels Langeveld has scored his first WTCR points of the season with a couple of strong races at the Slovakia Ring, ending up as the best Audi Sport driver in two of the three races. As the meeting progressed, the Dutchman found himself very much on an upward curve to claim a fine fourth in the third and final race. Langeveld’s remarkable progress in Slovakia gives him every confidence for a good performance at his home track of Zandvoort next weekend.
Langeveld travelled to the Slovakia Ring in good spirits, determined to show well in the third round of the series. Along with his team Comtoyou Team Audi Sport and his race engineer Herman de Jager, Langeveld had developed a detailed test plan for the Audi RS3 LMS, the points of which would be ticked off almost minute by minute. However, a few setbacks in the free practice sessions caused them to lose some valuable time.
Due to their challenging start Langeveld and the team were left to play catch-up into the first qualifying session. "I came up a few tenths short – and then you’re down in 16th, as the field is so bunched up. I lost all of my time in a succession of two lefthanders, first a slow one, then a fast one. We analysed the problem for a long time, but the schedule was tight – second qualifying was approaching fast."
Fortunately, Langeveld embarked on the session in circumstances in which talent and timing are more important than the ultimate setup. "It had just rained and we were forced to qualify on a drying track. My race engineer Herman made me wait for quite a long time at the end of the session, and I went out at just the right moment. It was a good lap, good enough for 12th, which for the first time allowed me into Q2 for the top-12 drivers. The track was still damp and I managed to end up in seventh. On the reversed grid for race 2 that meant starting from fourth!"
Disappointingly, Langeveld's first race was over less than a minute after it started, as on the first lap Langeveld got involved in the aftermath of several cars crashing into each other at turn 6. Suffering from a broken steering rod, one of Langeveld’s opponents slammed into his side at the next corner. "Such a shame as I had a super start and moved up from P16 to P10”, Langeveld said. He dropped down to 25th but still managed a comeback drive to 16th and his first WTCR point.
A time penalty handed to one of his opponents meant that the Dutchman was able to start from third on the grid for the second race, but sadly couldn’t extract the maximum from that opportunity. “I finished the second race in eighth place, having been unable to follow the pace set by the leaders. But on the upside – eight more WTCR points!"
Langeveld then made a small setup change going into the final race of the weekend from seventh on the grid. "Suddenly I had a car that allowed me to fight! We still can’t quite keep up with some of the other cars in the series but it was nice to be able to claim fourth place. Yes, just off the podium, but I'd rather be on the podium in the best way that I can. So on the top step, and preferably next week, at home at Zandvoort!"
Langeveld and Comtoyou Team Audi Sport now have to make a quick transfer, as the WTCR’s next round is scheduled to be at the Jumbo Race Days on May 17-18 when tens of thousands of Dutch fans flock to Zandvoort to not only cheer for Max Verstappen, but also to applaud their local WTCR heroes. "I go to Zandvoort with lots of confidence. The Slovakia Ring was a good weekend that allowed me to score a big dollop of points. I want to extend this progress to a great performance at my home track. I know it will work – I just get so much energy from the vision of Zandvoort’s dunes packed with Dutch fans."
Langeveld travelled to the Slovakia Ring in good spirits, determined to show well in the third round of the series. Along with his team Comtoyou Team Audi Sport and his race engineer Herman de Jager, Langeveld had developed a detailed test plan for the Audi RS3 LMS, the points of which would be ticked off almost minute by minute. However, a few setbacks in the free practice sessions caused them to lose some valuable time.
Due to their challenging start Langeveld and the team were left to play catch-up into the first qualifying session. "I came up a few tenths short – and then you’re down in 16th, as the field is so bunched up. I lost all of my time in a succession of two lefthanders, first a slow one, then a fast one. We analysed the problem for a long time, but the schedule was tight – second qualifying was approaching fast."
Fortunately, Langeveld embarked on the session in circumstances in which talent and timing are more important than the ultimate setup. "It had just rained and we were forced to qualify on a drying track. My race engineer Herman made me wait for quite a long time at the end of the session, and I went out at just the right moment. It was a good lap, good enough for 12th, which for the first time allowed me into Q2 for the top-12 drivers. The track was still damp and I managed to end up in seventh. On the reversed grid for race 2 that meant starting from fourth!"
Disappointingly, Langeveld's first race was over less than a minute after it started, as on the first lap Langeveld got involved in the aftermath of several cars crashing into each other at turn 6. Suffering from a broken steering rod, one of Langeveld’s opponents slammed into his side at the next corner. "Such a shame as I had a super start and moved up from P16 to P10”, Langeveld said. He dropped down to 25th but still managed a comeback drive to 16th and his first WTCR point.
A time penalty handed to one of his opponents meant that the Dutchman was able to start from third on the grid for the second race, but sadly couldn’t extract the maximum from that opportunity. “I finished the second race in eighth place, having been unable to follow the pace set by the leaders. But on the upside – eight more WTCR points!"
Langeveld then made a small setup change going into the final race of the weekend from seventh on the grid. "Suddenly I had a car that allowed me to fight! We still can’t quite keep up with some of the other cars in the series but it was nice to be able to claim fourth place. Yes, just off the podium, but I'd rather be on the podium in the best way that I can. So on the top step, and preferably next week, at home at Zandvoort!"
Langeveld and Comtoyou Team Audi Sport now have to make a quick transfer, as the WTCR’s next round is scheduled to be at the Jumbo Race Days on May 17-18 when tens of thousands of Dutch fans flock to Zandvoort to not only cheer for Max Verstappen, but also to applaud their local WTCR heroes. "I go to Zandvoort with lots of confidence. The Slovakia Ring was a good weekend that allowed me to score a big dollop of points. I want to extend this progress to a great performance at my home track. I know it will work – I just get so much energy from the vision of Zandvoort’s dunes packed with Dutch fans."