Press release -
Tough GTWC weekend for Sebastian Øgaard in Valencia
Extraordinary challenges for the Danish Audi driver Sebastian Øgaard, who was forced to miss qualifying – yet still managed to secure two fifth-place finishes in the ninth round of GT World Challenge Europe in Valencia.
After scoring no fewer than seven podiums earlier this season in GT World Challenge Europe, last weekend in Valencia turned out to be one of the less successful ones for Sebastian Øgaard. A procedural error meant that the Dane and his Tresor Competition teammate, Leonardo Moncini, were not allowed to take part in qualifying for the weekend’s two sprint races, forcing them to start from the back of the 39-car GT3 field in both races.
“Of course, it was a huge setback, and we knew from the start that our chances of performing this weekend were quite limited. But there was nothing else to do but put on the helmet and fight,” said Sebastian Øgaard.
And fight they did. In fact, Øgaard and Moncini managed to fight their way impressively through the big field in both of the weekend’s sprint races. The Audi pairing was ultimately able to round off the weekend with two solid fifth-place finishes in the Gold Cup class.
“Fortunately, the pace was good, our Audi R8 GT3 suited the Valencia track as expected, we drove two faultless races, and we managed to score some valuable championship points. Still, it was one of those weekends you just have to forget – and now our full focus is on the GT World Challenge finale in Barcelona next month,” the Dane concluded.
Sebastian Øgaard’s next challenge is the 10th and final round of GT World Challenge Europe, which also doubles as the finale of the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup – the six-hour race at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on October 12.
