Canadian race car driver and Niverville native, David Richert, has arrived in Austria for Rounds 5, 6 and 7 of the Formula Renault Northern European Cup (NEC) set to take place this weekend at the Red Bull Ring.
Formerly known as the A1 Ring and Osterreichring, the Red Bull Ring is a stunningly picturesque race track set into the Austrian Alps. The circuit has spent many years hosting the Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix and will do so again in just two weeks time.
Richert, fresh off of several days testing at Zolder, Belgium, and Hockenheim, Germany, feels ready for the upcoming race weekend. “I’ve been to the Red Bull Ring before so I know what to expect and it’s a fantastic circuit to drive a race car around. It’s supposed to be a very hot weekend so with three races it will be very challenging, but I’m ready to push hard and bring home some good results.” – David Richert
Richert’s most recent days of testing, at Hockenheim in Germany, provided a wide array of conditions perfect for preparations in advance of this weekend’s race in Austria. Apart from the changing weather conditions, Richert was also met with a frightful incident as his right front tire lost pressure while braking from 210km/h. “I felt something strange in the handling of the car a few corners earlier…” stated Richert “…but it wasn’t until I hit the brakes for Turn 2 that the tire completely deflated. Fortunately the car didn’t snap sideways and there was a large run-off area after the corner which gave me enough time to regain control before hitting anything.” Video of the incident can be seen below.
This weekend’s NEC race is going to be the first one that Richert will have a teammate at Inter Europol Competition as talented Spanish driver Alex Palou Montalbo will be joining the team for the event.
Another interesting item to note coming from the Red Bull Ring this weekend, Mick Schumacher, the son of legendary 7-time World Champion Michael Schumacher, will take part in only his 2nd race weekend in formula cars as he begins his young racing career in the Formula 4 championship.
This weekend’s races will be streamed live on the official NEC website.
