De Ridder: “Not yet at 100% potential”

Guillaume de Ridder took his first steps in World RX last weekend in Abu Dhabi. The recruit of the new structure GCK Academy, the satellite team of Guerlain Chicherit which enters two Clio RS RXs, had a difficult start to the season on the Yas Marina circuit, encountering many difficulties.

The Belgian did not start in the best way since he was not even able to participate in Q1 after suffering from a punctured radiator during testing. He had only completed 2 laps during the tests with the slick tires, the rain tires having been used during the first session to preserve the slicks due to the abrasiveness of the track).

“I was a dozen laps behind my rivals when I was competing in my first Supercars race and had only driven the Clio RS RX on one occasion before the start of the season., indicated to AUTOhebdo the Supercar Lites champion. I was on course to set a good time in Q2, but I made a mistake in thinking that the race was over when there was one lap remaining. I got confused with the strategy, it's my fault. »

If Guillaume de Ridder did not manage to reach the semi-finals despite the racing events, he remains optimistic about the rest of the season and is impatient to get back behind the wheel at the end of the month in Barcelona (Spain) to accumulate rolling and showing its true potential.

« As Cyril (Raymond, his teammate) said, our car performs well on departures and we will have to take advantage of this advantage, confirmed the engineer Renault Sport F1. This meeting remains positive because I learned a lot of things. Our package offers great promises and the team is really very professional. I still need some driving to fully exploit the Clio, I'm not yet at 100% of its potential. We had the same pace as Liam Doran who finished on the podium. The season is very open and that is encouraging for the future. »

Guillaume de Ridder also mentioned the new starting grid system, where the order of races (from last to first or vice versa) is carried out by drawing lots for Q2 and Q3.

“I find this not bad because it will reduce the gaps, he commented. Until now, it was very difficult for a driver to get back into the right car if he had missed Q1 because he systematically had to start first for the rest. The principle of drawing lots thus prevents teams from establishing strategies. »

Guillaume de Ridder was only able to score one point after the first meeting in Abu Dhabi, but he will still have nine weekends to improve his ranking.