R-Motorsport turn around fortunes for a double points finish

R-Motorsport had a better than expected Sunday at Assen with Daniel Juncadella and Paul di Resta both scoring points for the Swiss outfit.

The qualifying session was difficult for the Aston Martin team, as the lack of engine power was an added impediment on a high-speed track such as Assen, with the four drivers qualifying last on the grid.

The race panned out differently, with both di Resta and Juncadella the last drivers to perform their obligatory pit stop on lap 21, a strategy that allowed them to fight for the points in the latter part of the race.

Juncadella even attacked Audi’s Robin Frijns in the closing stages of the race for fifth position, but neither of them could Keep René Rast (Audi) with fresher tyres behind them. Juncadella was seventh at the chequered flag.

“I made a strong start and improved to tenth place on the first lap, which was fantastic,” said the Spaniard. “After that, I was a little surprised that I was able to match the BMWs for pace.”

“The second stint was really good fun and I was able to overtake many cars. I have mixed feelings about the last lap, because I had hoped to finish in fifth place. Unfortunately, though, that was not meant to be, because my DRS was not working,” explained Juncadella.

Di Resta was satisfied with eighth position after not scoring any points since Zolder, although he had hoped for more: “That was a good race, but it could have been even better. Unfortunately, I got blocked, otherwise I might even have finished fifth. Still, we’ll happily settle for the points at the end of the day.”

“That was an excellent team performance with the right tyre strategy which Daniel and Paul used to perfection to finish seventh and eighth respectively and secure points,” added team principal Dr. Florian Kamelger.

“The way we managed the tyres on the abrasive surface of the TT Circuit Assen gave our squad a good chance of getting ahead and they did that in a calculating, efficient manner,” said Kamelger. “At any rate, Assen has shown that with good strategy, we can actually achieve decent results in dry conditions.”