Niels Langeveld secured his first pole position of the 2017 ADAC TCR Germany Series at Motorsport Arena Oschersleben, having been fastest of both qualifying groups earlier this afternoon, and in the process took the first pole position for the Audi RS3 LMS in the series’ history.
The Dutchman admitted to TouringCars.net that everything came together after two difficult weekends so far, which has put him 20th in the overall standings.
“I’ve worked with the engineer for eight years now. We thought, ‘What are we missing? What are we doing wrong?’ I searched everywhere to get all the information from the team, then I finally got my speed back,” said the Sassenheim-based driver, who has qualified in the lower part of the top 15 the past two rounds.
“When we saw that Group A had the cloud and I saw the sun coming out and I said ‘No, no, no, go away.’ Then I saw the lap time and I thought that this was going to be a hard one.
“But for feeling, the balance was there, not too much oversteer and we were capable to get it right in the car. And then I got out and everything worked out just like we planned.”
Langeveld, who raced in the SEAT León Eurocup last year, explained that it was good to be able to push forward and compete with some of the top drivers in the series, along with being very aware of stern competition that he faces this afternoon.
“My confidence came back, and I know that I can race and go fast. How strong is the field with almost 40 drivers? Very high, and the competition is greater. I showed I can come back and I’m still there.
“We did a hell of a job, worked really, really hard. I have no budget for testing and had to learn during the race weekends. First time for the Audi, which is new for the team, but everything now came together. We have the knowledge now to put the car at the front of the field.”
Racing One were also ready to react if any further developments occurred in the later stages of the 20-minute session for Group B, even with Langeveld feeling an early drop off on the Hankook tyres the series uses as a control tyre.
“I felt that on the first flying lap that I should improve by about two or three tenths, and I then only improved one tenth, so the drop was already there after one flying lap.
“The third one, I made a mistake on the triple right hander, so I pulled back, and called on the radio to ask where we are.
“So they told be P1, with a 31.7, so I thought that it has to be enough, then they confirmed, told me to pit, and then put me out on new tyres, just in case something happened, but it wasn’t needed.”