DF1 Racing expressed their satisfaction with the result that the team acquired from last weekend’s American SpeedFest 8 at Brands Hatch after Nicolo Rocca scored his second podium finish of the season and impressive performances from the likes of Alexander Graff and Henri Tuomaala.
DF1 Racing has expressed their satisfaction from the results achieved by the Austrian-based team on last weekend’s American SpeedFest 8, as revealed on the team’s press release after the second round of the 2021 season.
“We are extremely satisfied with this weekend,” said DF1’s Head of Motorsport Norbert Walchhofer in the press release. “Nicolò Rocca is still in a good position to win the title, Henri Tuomaala had a great performance with two victories and is now back in the title race of the Challenger Trophy.”
DF1’s star driver Nicolo Rocca once again showcased some impressive outing in the No. 22 Grapos Camaro at Brands Hatch. After scoring a double Top-5 finish at Valencia, Rocca would bring home another podium finish for DF1 after scoring a third-place finish in the Saturday race, fending off the challenge from the likes of Vittorio Ghirelli, Sebastiaan Bleekemolen, and teammate Alexander Graff in the process.
“The weekend started pretty well,” said Rocca in the press release. “In the second half of the race I was struggling a bit and had to fight hard to defend my position, but I managed to jump on the podium, which is always a good start into a race weekend.”
“That’s why, together with my mechanics, I decided to try a more aggressive setup for the race on Sunday. Unfortunately it didn’t bring us the success we were hoping for,” explained Rocca on why he struggled on the Sunday race, a race where he would finish in 8th place.
Teammate Alexander Graff, who made his return to the series as DF1’s new lead driver for the No. 44 Tapiola Camaro in the top EuroNASCAR PRO class, also showcased an impressive performance as does fellow Scandinavian Henri Tuomaala, who scored a double victory in the Challenger Trophy sub-classifications.
“These victories are a success we achieved as a team, together with my spotter Ville Heljälä and my mechanics,” said Tuomaala in the press release. “Thanks to this great work, we are now on P3 in the overall standings of the Challenger Trophy.”
The team admits, however, that Marc Goossens had a mixed weekend in the No. 77 Lettner Trans Camaro at Brands Hatch. Goossens just missed out on a Top 10 finish in the first race and while he did crossed the line in 8th on the second race, a post-race time penalty due to usage of an unapproved spare tire would demote him down to 16th place in the final results.
“Marc’s results are not yet the results we are aiming for,” admits Walchhofer. “But the mechanics are working hard with him to change the settings on the car, so that it works best with his driving style and to finally achieve the results both we and Marc are aiming for.”
“Next week we will go to Most next week for a test day to put in practice the ambitions of our drivers and the team to be able to fight for the title in all divisions and trophies.”
Disclaimer: Unless noted, all photos used in this article are courtesy of NASCAR Whelen Euro Series / Bart Dehaese.