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Frédéric Vervisch rescues podium for Comtoyou after tricky Zolder weekend

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Frédéric Vervisch secured a third place finish in the third sprint race of the TCR Benelux series weekend at Zolder, with the Belgian happy despite handling issues with the car’s weight at the track, as well as alterations to the circuit by the officials with marker cones.

Vervisch drove the Comtoyou Racing Audi RS 3 during the first half of the qualifying long race, setting the fourth fastest lap time before handing over to co-driver Stefano Comini, who promptly retired, declaring the car undriveable with the 65kg of ballast onboard.

Vervisch started his first sprint race from fourth, courtesy of his time in the qualifying race, and quickly moved up to third with a measured dive into the first corner.

The 30-year-old then kept close to the Team WRT SEAT of Denis Dupont until the end of the race, before launching into second at the start of Race 4 ahead of Dupont, but was knocked wide by the Peugeot 308 of Aurélien Comte at Turn 1 on lap five, dropping to fourth before retiring a few laps later with a broken driveshaft.

“We knew it would be really difficult as we struggled a lot with this car, especially with the weight,” said Vervisch to TouringCarTimes.

“I think we suffered a bit more than the rest – OK, everyone suffered as it’s a heavy circuit for the tyres and the brakes, but I was surprised that our speed was reasonable.

“It was a shame that in the second race Comte pushed me out. It’s up to the stewards if they do something or not, and then my driveshaft broke. Maybe it’s a consequence of pushing so hard, I don’t’ know, but it was very hard to keep it on track.”

The chicane was also a point of contention amongst many drivers, with a cone being used as a marker to prevent shortcutting, which was often moved or adjusted even during the races.

“It’s a shame, as it could be good if they left the track as it was, without the cones,” explained Vervisch. “I think that was a bit ridiculous, you can go around the chicane here quite easily without breaching the track limits.”