Driver Changes Rocks Supercup Campaign
The Dutch team has had its ups and downs throughout the opening rounds of the season. Eleven DNF's, but also two wins, mark the rollercoaster season the team is going through. Now there is a new bump, as both drivers decided to move away from Supercup racing. But also hope, as new talents arrive.
Gerard Batalla, running for his second season in GPVWC's second-tier championship, has decided to step away from racing in the league as a result of poor results and reduced motivation. Team manager Roy explains: "Gerard has been a great driver within the team, mainly because of his continuous motivation and team player. But as his motivation faded each race, it has come to a point where it is better to move on to something new. We tried to keep Gerard, but with the level of driving in Supercup so high, it just isn’t going to work out without motivation. Gerard will stay a friend to the team forever, but for now it is time to move on".
Manuel Martini, attracted to the team just a month ago, has taken the opposite path, electing to move up to the WFT1 Superleague championship with Hawkeye. "It is with sadness to say goodbye to such a talented driver. We felt he had so much to achieve in Supercup, and we really tried to keep him on board. But in the end, we are not here to force someone to do something his heart isn’t at. We didn’t want to stand in the way of Manuel’s dream to become a Superleague pilot, and we will be cheering him on and never forget him. In the short time he has been with us we have learned a lot from each other, and I am sure he will do great things in the future. Like Gerard, Manuel will also be a friend to the team and certainly not forgotten"
But with drivers leaving, there are also drivers making their first appearances. Marc Veit and Lewis Travis will enter the purple beasts from Austria onwards.
"We are very happy to start a new chapter with these two drivers. I am sure everybody knows Marc by now, having driven both Formula Challenge and even Superleague. We feel like it is a great step for the both of us to start working together, as I am sure we can teach each other very valuable insights with both our experiences in sim racing. Lewis has been away from sim racing for some time, but seeing we battled for 6th place in the opening laps of the France GP last week, he showed his talent as a driver. Once he gets the rust off, I am sure he can accomplish great things".
We also asked both drivers for a short statement
Marc: "Because of personal time problems I stepped down from my primary seat at Madcape. I had a short yet great time, but now I am happy that I get the chance to drive in Supercup for Racing Team Schroten. I look forward to a great time with the team and a good second part of my first journey in this GPVWC Season as a rookie".
Lewis: "It is a great opportunity for me to get my foot in the door after a 4-year absence from sim racing. With both Epic Racing giving me a full-time seat (series pending) and RTS granting me a drive in Supercup for the remainder of the season.
My aim is to shake off the rust and gain some confidence as well as experience in a well-competed league. I can't think of a better team to work within Supercup as Roy and the team have so much expertise in this area and have been around the block a long time! They've been working hard on the setup so I look forward to testing with them before the next round and hopefully help them out in the constructor’s ladder".
It is going to be very interesting to see to which heights the Dutch squad can manage to reach, but the team is now definitely starting to climb to a high again.
