While the cars are getting ready for the upcoming race at Nancy-Seichamps, we are taking a look at the times driven this week:

Happe – Winner or Loser?

The leading driver of the championship, Siegfried Happe, seems to struggle with the car quite a lot, as he fails to do quick times. When we talked to him, no sign of a nervous driver could be seen:

“We made a setup, we tested the car and even did 20 lap test and everything is running just fine. If the excitement is about the funding from Feldmühle, I’m very confident, that we can finish high here on Saturday. While we are running the car under the usual pace – we are also running the car very safe and every other car seems to be running a bit more fuel and tyre then us. I believe we have the better strategy, even on the laptimes you see right now.

Lap 1 is always confusing for the drivers, so having a good view on the grid in front of me, especially coming up to Turn 1 is beneficial. If there is a crash, maybe even in the upper rows, we can make good positions almost immediatly.

We also talked a lot with other, new drivers that joined the racing track for the first time. While Jorge Manuel Russo, first place in laptimes at the moment, is very interested in the inner working of the car and pushing it for the fastest times, he had some advice for me, that i could immediatly find a good second with. Aditya Surve, british-indian driver in the same car as us shared a lot about his approach to the car and i think he will do very well on his first race.”

Feldmühle tightens the belt on Happe

The sponsor talks with Feldmühle after the last race on Pau have been harsh, if we believe the gossip. The paper producer started putting some demands for the future of Siegfried Happe, putting the P11 from the last Libre Race to a “one off” that should NOT be repeated in the future. While Happe ran a very successful 1935 race year and is currently leading the Gentlemen Driver season – Feldmühle hoped for a more successful season, while some voices in the paddock don’t agree with that and feel, that Happe is doing very well.

Happes statistic so far resembles an almost flawless start into the season with a win on his debut, a 7th place on his Libre Race debut and a podium right after that. A slip up at Pau last week left a sour taste in Happes and Feldmühles mouth. After the horrendous crash at the Nordschleife, Feldmühle paid the fee for the repair and after Pau, the car had to be repaired again for Nancy-Seichamps.

Now Feldmühle put the pressure on Happe to end the race high up, or the german driver might end up without a sponsor for the rest of the season – which could lead him into financial trouble.