Stefano D’Aste excited for Nordschleife event

Stefano D’Aste took part in the Nordschleife official test this week, ahead of the upcoming event in Germany. TouringCarTimes met up with the Italian to discuss the track, as well as his recent performances on the Munnich Motorsport Chevrolet RML Cruze TC1.

“The car is good and I am getting to grips with it quite quickly,” said D’Aste. “At the moment we are lacking some of the updates from RML, but I think in Hungary they will not be as important as in Marrakech, as the engine is a little less important.”

D’Aste suffered from a spectacular brake failure in Marrakech, and narrowly managed to finish Race 2 at the Moroccan street track:”We all had a few issues with the brakes, so I knew I could expect some problems, but mine was particularly scary because it happened at the worst possible moment. I was behind Norbert Michelisz and there was a yellow flag, but as soon as I hit the brakes the pedal did not respond and I couldn’t slow down. I was forced to cut the chicane, which put me ahead of the Honda Civic, but of course I gave the place back to Norbert.”

The remainder of the race was very difficult for the Italian, who did a good job only using the ‘handbrake’ and finishing the race:”We had an oil leak, which nobody could have foreseen, it’s one of those things that can happen in motor sport. However, I had to make the best out of the handbrake we normally use for the start and I managed to finish the race.”

Stefano D’Aste lapped the track in one of the Lotus cars used in the one-make series he organizes in Italy before taking his Cruze out on the Nordschleife:”Hungary is too close to risk the car, so we elected to use the Lotus to get to grips with the track. The Nordschleife is crazy, but it is also charming and a huge challenge. I’m excited for the event, I am learning step by step. It may well be a lottery, anything can happen, and it will surely be a special race.”

D’Aste is currently tenth in the championship with 12 points.