Hungaroring: Tudor weekend summary

Disappointing race for Tudor Drivers Huisman and Williams at the Hungaroring

It was no longer baking hot on the Budapest track. The qualifying session temperature that had gone as high as 41o.C on Thursday thankfully dropped to a reasonable 23o.C for qualifying and 26o.C for the race. The two drivers sponsored by Tudor, 42-year-old Patrick Huisman and 31-year-old Williams (SPS Performance) respectively ranked in 11th position and 14th, while it was Rene Rast (Veltins MRS Racing) who once again took the top ranking for this round at the Hungaroring.

They all came well prepared for the eighth round of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup at the Hungaroring and adapted well to the circuit during the Friday afternoon free practice session, where Huisman clocked a third fastest time and Williams the 12th fastest.

On Saturday, following the introduction of new rules at the Nuerburgring, the fight for pole position in the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup was exciting with two sessions. All drivers compete to set the fastest lap in the first 25 minutes. In the second part, after a five-minute break, only the top ten on the time sheet may go back out on the track to spend the next 15 minutes fighting for the first ten grid positions. Tudor SPS driver Patrick Huisman took part in both parts and qualified in 6th position, while Richard qualified in P13. During the race, Huisman was given a drive-through penalty that ruined his race and Richard Williams' car broke down four laps before the end, suffering from a rare, rear wheel axe failure that sent the car spinning. The 22-year-old Rene Rast (Veltins MRS Racing) took his third consecutive pole position and once again won the race.

Rast said: "Overall it was a good week-end. I had pole, fastest lap, a win and finished the race flying 6 1/2 seconds ahead of everyone. It was not an easy qualifying but we had the best strategy. I am very pleased to have started from pole and to have won this race. We had no experience whatsoever on this track, but the car was perfect and I am very pleased of the result for myself and for the team. A pity we cannot catch, nor come close to, the head of the Championship."

The current leader in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, 27 year-old reigning Champion Jeroen Bleekemolen (Konrad Motorsport), also finished on the podium (P3): "It feels good to be on the podium. We were not as quick as the winner today. There was a guest driver, Jan Seyrrarth, between us. These guys are good and quick and have nothing to lose so I was careful to avoid any contact with him or any dangerous moves that could have endangered my overall position." Looking forward to the next race of the Championship, Bleekemolen said, "We won Valencia last year. I like the track: It is quite slow, but it has everything I like in it in terms of difficulties. I am looking forward to it. On top of that, I am not on vacation and will compete in the Carrera Cup in Ochsersleben: A good way to keep training and put some useful mileage under my belt."

Tudor driver Patrick Huisman said he feels like a poker player at times, "I clocked my best time in the practice session in the very last lap, but that had given me time to work through the program. I felt a bit lonely here as my regular engineer is in Spa following the 24 hours, but he gave us the set up to follow and as this is a team job, we followed his instructions." Huisman admits he had some problems on the track: "I had problems with my clutch from the pre-grid. The car was not perfect and we had also encountered the same suspension problems we had yesterday. I was waiting in first gear and I felt that the car was crawling and sliding before the start, and I could not stop my car. But rules are rules and I got a drive-through penalty. A bit unfair considering it ruined my start, which is a pity since my times were good." Huisman, however also looks ahead, saying he hopes for a better race in Valencia. "Usually it is a track that fits our car so let's see if we have a good race there!"

As for Richard Williams, he suffered all weekend, finding out quickly there was no traction on exits of the corner and that he was sliding a lot during the free practice and qualifying sessions. After an average qualifying, his race was stopped in the early part because of his car's rare failure. "A pity because I was looking forward to good results on the Hungarian track," said Williams. "I have never experienced a wheel off after the rear axe was broken. This pushed the car and I spun. But luckily I did not hurt myself nor damage the car too much." As for the next race, to be held 21-23 August, Willimas says, "It will be my first time in Valencia. Of course I'll make sure we go for a good performance to make up for this race. I can't hide my disappointment here."

Round nine of the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup takes place in Valencia over the weekend of 21-23 August 2009.

-credit: tudor