AUSSIE BART HORSTEN CONTINUES TO SHOW LEADING SIM RACING PACE

MEDIA RELEASE/Bart Horsten – Image: supplied-Jakob Ebrey Photography

Bart Horsten further highlighted his natural speed behind the wheel of his simulator this week (18th to 24th May) with a maiden pole position in the Formula Drivers Challenge and two brilliant charges through the field in the British F3 iRacing Championship.

Unfortunate internet problems forced him to miss out on the second round of the Isolation eRacing Series on Monday, but he was back in action later in the week to contest two Formula Drivers Challenge (FDC) events and the next round for the British F3 iRacing Championship.

FURTHER READING: HORSTEN SIGNS WITH LANAN RACING FOR BRITISH F3 CAMPAIGN IN 2020

Fresh from a victory and a second place finish in the FDC the week prior, Horsten continued his impressive run with a maiden pole position at Zandvoort on Thursday. The Australian ace went on to lead the field away and maintain his advantage for the first few laps.

A small mistake on lap four spun him out of podium contention though, putting him back to 12th place. From there, a brilliant comeback drive saw the 18 year old scythe his way through a talented entry to a hard-earned sixth position at the chequered flag.

Two nights later Horsten contested his final event in the inaugural FDC season, tackling the American circuit Sebring. After qualifying a good sixth overall, his efforts to make progress in the race were unfortunately ended when he received contact in an early incident.

Horsten, who is a member of the Young Racing Driver Academy, ended his week by contesting round two of the BRDC British F3 Championship’s official esports series. Belgian circuit Spa-Francorchamps played host to the two races, with Horsten immediately showing front-running pace.

Unfortunately a difficult qualifying session meant the Perth-born racer was starting the opening race on the back foot from 22nd on the grid, but he was able to bounce back in style and make fantastic progress through the field.

In a race full of incident and drama, a composed drive from Horsten saw him keep out of trouble and maximise his raw speed to gain no less than 15 positions by the chequered flag for an impressive seventh place finish – his highest in the championship so far.

He targeted similar progress in race two as a full reverse grid meant he started back in 19th, and he duly delivered in the opening stages as he scythed his way through the order to seventh place within the opening three laps alone.

Sadly on the next lap, as Horsten tried to avoid stranded cars on track he received heavy contact from behind, forcing him to pit with damage. While he eventually finished in 20th, he highlighted his speed once again as he overtook and pulled away from the race winner on track late on.

Bart Horsten: “It was another busy week of sim racing, which served up its share of highs and lows. It was a shame to miss out on the Isolation eRacing Series, but I enjoyed contesting my final two events of the current Formula Drivers Challenge season.

“To take pole position at Zandvoort was a great feeling and while I made a mistake in the race, that was a good reminder of why I train so much, as it’s only be continuing to improve that these things can be reduced in my racing going forwards.

“I’ve really enjoyed getting involved in the Formula Drivers Challenge and to have got the chance to race against drivers I would never have competed against normally. The grids have been very competitive and that’s definitely helped me develop my skills.

“It was an eventful evening in the British F3 series. I didn’t maximise qualifying, so I was pleased to have avoided the race one carnage and come home in seventh. Race two was going well too and I was confident of battling for a podium finish before receiving the contact.”

Horsten is next in sim racing action this evening (25th May) with the next round of the Isolation eRacing Series. The racing can be watched live from 18:00 BST on BT Sport, and then 20:30 BST on Apex Racing TV’s YouTube channel.

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