The Dutch Trophy of the Dunes races held Sept. 22-23 at the historic Zandvoort Circuit in the Netherlands turned out to be quite an eventful race weekend in the Formula Renault Northern European Cup. The track is located just 200 meters from the beaches of the North Sea, so rain and strong winds would be part of the package.
Thai driver Sandy Stuvik again worked closely with his racing coach, former F1 Red Bull test driver Neel Jani, who would provide the up and coming young star with valuable experience from the track.
Sandy Stuvik is forced out of Race 2 at the Zandvoort Circuit in the Netherlands, Saturday, Sept. 22. (Photo/Chris Schotanus)
For Stuvik it would be a challenging start to the race weekend as the first free practice session was lost due to an electronic gearbox problem and it would be catch up from there on.
During the first of the 2 qualification runs, Sandy was hampered by 2 successive red flags on his first fast laps, but he still managed a P11. A different set up was tried for the second qualification session, but this time the Thai driver could only manage a 13th position.
Race 1 of the 3 for the weekend got off with a very good start, but with the cars coming 3 wide into turn 1, Stuvik backed off to avoid car damage and dropped a place. By lap 2 he would be back up to his starting position and started chasing forward. However, the damp track with a single dry line was a challenge and he would finish the race where he started in 11th position.
Race 2 started with a new set up and hopes for a much better running under a sunny sky, the first glimpse of sun this weekend. Stuvik again had a very good start and moved up a place as he raced down the start straight. Then coming into the breaking area a car in front was pushed into the wall, spun around and flew directly into the young Thai driver’s car. Sustaining only minor damage to the front wing, Sandy took avoiding action onto the grass, but was unable to stop the car before the turn and got stuck in the soft gravel area.
The third race of the weekend on Sunday started for the first time this weekend with a completely dry track. Stuvik had a good start and immediately started pushing forward gaining one position on the first lap. However a series of accidents led to the safety car being called out on two occasions, the second of which led to a red flag after 70% of the race had been completed and signaled an end to the proceedings with the Thai racer finishing in 10th place.
The final race of the 2012 season will run at the famous Spa Francorchamps Circuit in Belgium during 13-14 October. Stuvik has previously both tested and raced at Spa and is looking forward to again be racing at this awe inspiring circuit.
