Kevin Ceccon best Italian driver in the FIA ETCR after debut weekend at Pau
Kevin Ceccon’s debut weekend in the FIA ETCR, the all-electric touring car championship that had its opening round of the 2022 season at Pau, ended with 33 points, the best result among the Italian drivers that took part in the race. The Hyundai Motorsport driver raced at the historic French street circuit for the first time in his career, managing to finish in P4 in the DHL Super Final epilogue.
Featured in the “Furious” pool, one of the two groups in which the drivers at the start were splitted, Ceccon set the fifth time in Saturday’s qualifying at the wheel of the Hyundai Veloster N ETCR. Kevin, however, saw his attempt in Q1 thwarted due to the crash of another driver in front of him, for which only the yellow flag was waved at the discretion of the race direction, without another run granted by the stewards as it would have been possible with a red flag.
With the exception of free practice, the format of the events is designed to assign points at each stage of the weekend: Kevin increased his total amount in Quarter Final 2 and in Semi Final 2, when he also distinguished himself with the fastest lap in 1’24″491, showing his excellent potential.
Fifth at the start of the DHL Super Final reserved for the “Furious” pool, Kevin was immediately very aggressive entering turn 2 in second position. Then, being on a street circuit driving outside the clean line, he found himself on the dirt and had to lift his foot, still getting the fourth position which earned him other 15 points. The Bergamo driver therefore settled in tenth place in the general classification, offering his contribution to the Hyundai Motorsport team in the first of three events in which Ceccon will race for the Korean manufacturer.
The next round of the FIA ETCR is scheduled for May 21-22 at the Istanbul Park circuit in Turkey.
Kevin Ceccon
“I can be satisfied with my first weekend racing in the FIA ETCR, during which I was able to battle with very strong drivers, on a demanding track and with a car that I’m discovering step by step. I’m especially happy with my performance in the DHL Super Final: having nothing to lose, I decided to be very aggressive right from the start, and with the fourth place I managed to complete a progressive growth at every stage of this weekend. The overall experience was fantastic anyway, being my competitive debut in electric motorsport, for the format and for the atmosphere of this innovative championship. Together with Hyundai Motorsport we’ve laid the foundations to be more competitive in the next two events that I will compete in driving the Veloster N ETCR, at Istanbul and Budapest. We’re all pushing in the same direction aiming to grow”.
