May 22, 2013

 

After an amazing and spectacular event at the Canadian GP, the Wauters automotive crew is doing a happy dance under the sweet rain of celebratory Champaign showers, and not only because we like to party!
Mike Schroten managed to jump onto the podium for the first time this season after consistently scoring in the lower half of the points for the previous races. Although consistent and fast, Mike didn't get the chance to really shine and show his best racing up until now.

Today that changed. The young Dutchman showed his raw pace from the start of the session by qualifying in 3rd place. He was able to carry his speed over to race one and kept his position after fighting for it for 18 laps straight. He was promptly named man of the race by commentator and multiple race winner Oscar Hardwick.

Mike's Colleague Calvin Hermse had his share of misfortunes again but managed to make the best of a bad situation and still scored some points for the championship.

The team tells us about their experiences

Mike:
"I Qualified in 3rd for the first race and was then able to defend my position. After a great battle with Jack Nicholls, I was able to finish 3rd, my best result in my three year GPVWC career. In the second race I was able to finish 9th, after I started 17th due to the reversed grid. I'm happy to finish on the podium for Wauters Automotive, but I couldn't do it without the help of Calvin Hermse, who is great with setups."

Calvin:
"Qualifying was awful for me. In the rain I spun, and lost my rear wing. On my way to the pits, I crashed into the pit entry sign and could not qualify. I had a great start from P40, and managed to drive past all the accidents to P17 after lap 1. I finished in P14, which is alright, with such little practice. And best of all, was the performance of Mike of course! Congratulations to him, I can learn many things from him! Race 2 was a bit worse though, as a misunderstanding caused a DNF for me, I was hit by another driver."

Andreas:
"This is a great day for the team! The first podium you score is not something you easily forget, and it surely is a strong motivator for the future. The whole team is obviously psyched about our first podium ever and both Calvin and Mike are more motivated than ever. Today was about more than Mike's flying pace alone. Mike has shown that he had pace before , he has proven time and time again that he has the consistency and skill to score points every race, but today there was another factor that made him fly even higher. Mike and Calvin worked together on a great setup for this track and came to a result that showed instantly promising in qualifying. Calvin had less time to practice for this GP due to studies, but was still there to help his teammate. I hope they can continue the way they are working together through the rest of the season! Now that we acquired our first Trophy, we have to buy a cabinet for our shiny rewards, so we might as well try to fill it up during the season! (laughs)"

Calvin:
"Oh and guys, don't forget to watch me tomorrow in the Supercup. I'll take a spin in the Fox racing car!"

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