Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup
Round 5
Norisring, Germany
Maiken Rasmussen, the young Dane selected by Volkswagen Motorsport and the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission to contest the 2011 Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup, has climbed into seventh position in the Junior classification, having finished the fifth round of the series at the Norisring in fifth position.
During yesterday’s dry qualifying session Maiken took 18th position overall from the 26 car grid, having hit traffic during her final hot lap.
“During qualifying I took some time to find the braking points, as practice was done on a dry track with rain tyres,” she said. “On my final flying lap I got into traffic and had to slow down just before the finish line. I had done the best third sector time overall, so the speed was definitely there. Now I just have to put everything together so that I can get the best out of myself. So instead of a top ten result in qualifying I ended up in 18th place.”
Twenty-year-old Maiken fought hard during the race, but was only able to climb three positions in the overall classification and finished fifth of the aspiring 17-24 year old Junior Cup racers.
"I did not get a really good start so I had to fight to get some places back,” said Maiken. “It was really hard to overtake as the track is really dirty outside the racing line. I did a good race, took some good decisions and also had the best lap time a few times during the race. So I really need to work on my qualifying. If I can put everything together in the right way, I think I have the capacity to do something really good.”
During each race weekend, the Junior Cup drivers receive invaluable advice from members of the Volkswagen Motorsport team, ensuring they can review and analyse technical data and get help with media training, aiding their development towards professional racing driver status.
The nine-race 2011 Scirocco R-Cup is one of the world’s most eco-conscious one-make series thanks to its bio natural gas powered engine. The sixth round of the series takes place at the legendary Nürburgring (05/06 August).