Juan Manuel was satisfied of the way he fought in his last two races in Zandvoort.
Today, Sunday, he improved places on a track on which it s nearly impossible to overtake as he did on Saturday during the second race, with the difference that the race was divided into several groups and the battle was with a reduced group of drivers that he overtook, even brushing some of them. With Matteo Nannini he had an interesting fight in which the Italian had an off. This type of fight within the pack make him feel even more of a driver, especially if they have won races this year and have been on the podium several times.
Juan Manuel has been improving in these situations, believing more and more in his chances and that is also reflected on his lap times.
When he arrived at Spa Francorchamps he already said that “To feel like a driver I need to compete again on this track” and he passed the test with flying colours on a difficult weekend. In the Netherlands, the most complicated track of the world championship, he has got back those feelings a driver never loses completely but sometimes are a bit hidden.
Juan Manuel Correa:
“This weekend’s races have been positive all three of them. We had a good pace, especially in race 2 and 3. We were able to overtake and I could keep the pace easily, which made me match the top 10. So I’m happy, but again, that doesn’t mean anything if you don’t start from further up and that’s what we need to do. Another difficult weekend, some positive things and we need to keep working in the “Qualy” and be in front”.
The story of the race:
In the grid of Race 3, Hauger started from first position followed by Schumacher and Martins, with Juan Manuel Correa 26th, who faced a difficult recovery on a circuit where it is complicated to overtake.
But that was not a problem. In the first lap, Juan Manuel had already overtaken a driver, Frederik; two laps later he passed Hoggard, in lap 6 he overtook Ugran. He was already 23rd, in only 6 laps he had recovered 3 places. During a long part of the race, Correa was there looking for a space in this complicated and twisted track of Zandvoort, until he attacked Van der Helm, who was 22nd and passed him.
In lap 18, Juan Manuel Correa, when trying to pass Nannini, they touched, the Italian went off track and Juan Manuel blocked his front right wheel. Nannini dropped to the last position while Van der Helm took advantage to overtake Juan Manuel. The incident between them was investigated and he was penalised with 10 seconds.
3 laps from the end, there was an incident among the drivers in front: Martins pushed off track the second placed, Schumacher, making the “virtual safety car” appear. Martins was penalised with 10 seconds. Correa gained a place and he was already 21st after Schumacher's retirement. In the last lap (24) and a few meters before the finish line, the “VSC” sign disappeared. Dennis Hauger, leader of the championship, took his fourth win of the season followed by Novalak and Smolyar. Martins dropped to tenth due to the penalty received.
In the last lap, Juan Manuel touched with Van der Helm and finished 21st
For more information on Step One Automotive Group please visit them online at www.StepOneAutomotiveGroup.com. For more information at Juan Manuel Correa, please visit him online at www.JMCorrea.com or visit him on any of his social media channels.
Media Contact:
Raffaella Fant – Sponsor Representative – [email protected]
Mike Maurini – Media Manager – [email protected]