Verschoor keen to close gap to leader Fornaroli ahead of return to ‘special’ Baku

Just a year and three days on from his victory in Baku, Richard Verschoor returns to the streets of Azerbaijan not only looking for a repeat performance, but also hoping to close the gap to Championship leader Leonardo Fornaroli.

Heading into Round 12, the MP Motorsport driver sits third in the Standings on 144 points, trailing his Italian rival by 30.

Speaking ahead of the weekend getting underway, Verschoor knows how important closing the gap will be for his title hopes, with the season entering its final stages.

PREVIEW: Return to Baku for an exciting Round 12

“These rounds will be important, as is every round, but now we have to get closer and we definitely do not want to lose more points to him than we are already behind now,” he said.

“I think if we get any further behind it will be very difficult to fight for the Championship. So I have to make sure I get closer to him in terms of points and then I will feel confident for the last two rounds.

“I know I have a very good car underneath me here, so every point we can take of those 30 will be good, because I feel like we can fight for it in Qatar and Abu Dhabi as well.”

If there is a track on the calendar that Verschoor will be confident at it is Baku, after he converted Pole Position into an impressive victory last year ahead of Victor Martins and Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

However, while he is happy to recall last season’s win, the 24-year-old does not feel it will have much of an influence on how things will go this weekend.

“Of course good memories,” stated Verschoor. “But I always say that results of the past never guarantee results in the future, so we are starting from zero and with another team.

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“I know last year we were very competitive, but I'm pushing to be competitive again this year. I am very happy so far with the season in general, as we have always been quite there.

“I think this track is quite special as well, as I personally really like this kind of track, so I am excited to push together with the team.”

So what does it take to be successful around the land of fire? With several long straights leading into heavy braking zones, as well as a tight and twisty middle sector, the main thing Verschoor notes is confidence.

In addition to that, the MP driver is hopeful of a dry weekend, although rain is currently forecasted to play a part on all three days of action.

“No rain. I am really not hoping for rain,” he said. “This year all the bad results we have had have mainly been done in the rain. So I really hope we do not have rain unless we have found something to improve. I hope to have a dry weekend.

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“But confidence is the main word for what we need this weekend. The car of course is important but the confidence that the car gives you is even more important, and from there the slipstream will definitely help.

“So far it looks like there is a mix of cars with medium and low downforce rear wings. But for sure it will be important to be confident with the car because there is a lot of great points on this track.

“Most of the corners are in second gear, so it will be important to get the braking sorted because there are many braking points.”