1st race, first podium for Joshua Duerksen
Joshua Dürksen travelled with his BWT Mücke Motorsport Team to the season opener of the ADAC Formula 4 at the Lausitzring.
Dürksen scored his first podium of the season right in the first race of the weekend. After top 3 times in practice he had qualified for the first race as fourth. A sensational start put him in second place. The 16-year-old defended this position confidently to the finish. Dürksen tackled the second run from ninth place. Due to a false start he got a drive-through penalty and got stuck in traffic afterwards. The planned catch-up race did not work out and he had to be content with eleventh place. Unlucky timing in the last race of the weekend prevented a top result. Dürksen was again beaten under value with ninth position. Nevertheless, he still has 20 points in the overall standings.
Already in two weeks Joshua will have the opportunity to prove his talent again. From August 14th to 16th, the ADAC Formula 4 will be visiting the Nürburgring.
Roland Rehfeld (Team Manager Formula 4): "I look back on the weekend with mixed feelings. We had a good first qualifying session with Joshua. We knew that he could win the race from fourth place. He made a sensational start and then confidently stayed behind the leader. He managed the race well and understood that no more than second place was possible. In practice Joshua had a wall contact. Afterwards he was annoyed with himself because he is very self-critical by nature. That's why I think he can improve his already high level. Joshua is clearly a title contender, he brings everything with him. He has a very good head start. We still have to work a little bit to make sure that he doesn't let himself be thrown off balance by imponderables. As far as car control or the ability to read races is concerned, he is on a par with the Red Bull Juniors.
In the third race it was due to external circumstances that we didn't take anything countable with us. When it started to rain, we brought both drivers to the pits and fitted them with rain tyres. Unfortunately, our tactics didn't work because the race was stopped under Safety Car. It's a pity because the young drivers missed an opportunity to gain experience even in difficult conditions.
Photos © BWT Mücke | GruppeC
