Jack Doohan's Zandvoort Weekend In His Words

29 August 2023

After reviving his season over the last two rounds in Budapest and Spa-Francorchamps, Jack Doohan set out to close right in on the leading title contenders as the action resumed around Zandvoort.

Follow the Invicta Virtuosi Racing driver’s thoughts throughout a weekend that began on a high in Qualifying, but slowly unravelled in the unpredictable Dutch weather conditions. Yet he remains a true fighter, determined to never give up and the Australian’s already got his eyes focused forward to the next frontier – the penultimate round at Monza.

PRACTICE – P8

“It’s cool to be back in Zandvoort, I love it here so it was really nice. The track was super dusty, super sandy even after we waited quite a bit for a bit of running. It was alright once we got out there, I think the session ran quite well for what we were wanting to do. I wasn’t really expecting to be up the front, so to be where we are, I was quite happy and we’re able to get a good feel before going into Quali.

“The tyres were hit quite heavily I think from the poor track condition and the sand, not really being able to extract the most out of them due to the conditions. You’re sliding more, you’re stressing them more and it’s kind of going into a bad state quite early and then you’re trying to push more at the end to resurrect the lap time. It’s all a bit strange, so I don’t think we can take too much going forward for the rest of the weekend. We can take an idea of how we feel, but I think the mediums feel good.

“Having a dry session now if things are wet later doesn’t really impact things too much. It’s rare that we actually get two back-to-back sessions of the same conditions or both being wet. So, I’m in the same boat with everyone that we’re going in blind. I think we should be okay for the weather, but if it is wet then I would be looking forward to it.

“My approach is just to continue to have fun really and continue to enjoy it. The team is in good spirits, I am as well and like always, when things are going well, the mood is high and we try to keep that always, even when it’s not. It’s a circuit that I really enjoy, had good memories here from last year, so I look forward to continuing that.”

QUALIFYING – P5

“It was a strange one to say the least. I think we had really strong pace, definitely the pace for pole. Unfortunately, a little bit of a mess at the start of the run so I wasn't able to get a first timed lap in, which put me out of sync. Then I was only able to get one time up on the board for the first run, which was really strong. For everyone's first timed lap, we were about four and a half tenths clear of anyone, but everyone was able to get a second lap in and jump back ahead of us.

“I wasn’t too fussed at that point to be honest; I knew we were going to have a second run. I knew that was where the time was going to come, but the Red Flags had other plans. Three consecutive Red Flags and those three runs just meant that we weren't able to really show what we could do, but that’s how it is sometimes, it's motorsport. So, you take the good with the bad and we’re starting P6 for the Sprint and P5 for the Feature so it’s a good opportunity to have two strong races.

“Initially disappointed because knowing how quick we were today. I think we were on for a repeat of Budapest, if not more, I think. I just felt really comfortable with the car, to say the least and I know that when it's in that window that I can do something really, really special. I was more disappointed that it was a bit of a mess and I wasn't able to get two laps in, but at the end of the day, I quickly passed and laughed about it. It could have been a lot worse and I've been in a lot worse situations this year, so it's still all to play for.

“I’m thinking the rain is a better opportunity than the dry. I'm confident the team are going to give me a good car and then it creates more opportunities. We can try different lines, we can get past around the outside, we can get past with a bit of wheel spin off the line depending on the situation. So, it's going to come down to how wet the track is. If we could get a standing start that would be great, it means more opportunity off the line. We know when it's a Safety Car restart for safety reasons, then the field does get spread out more and the spray comes more into play. I'm really looking forward to it and either or weather really, I think we can move forward.”

SPRINT RACE – P6

“The race never really got started. I saw Zane Maloney was behind me on the start and he was slightly to the right. Then, going down into Turn 1 I couldn’t see where he was, so I decided to leave quite a lot of space on the inside because I was in quite a good position for everyone behind me. I gave quite a lot of space and in the end, when I saw him again, he was up the inside of me. Looking back on the replay, safe to say I gave that room because if I had just gone in, I think he would have ended up hitting me. In the end, it was a smart choice.

“Under a Red Flag situation, there’s not really much you can do. Red Flags can be for quite a variety of different reasons and it’s out of your control most of the time. So, you’re just trying to stay calm, stay focused and reset because you know you’ll most likely be getting back out on track. You just want to not be worrying about any things that could be happening or why it’s happening and try to see what you can do better when things resume.”

FEATURE RACE – DNF

“I didn’t end up getting to take the soft tyre to the grid, so I only had one lap, which was that formation lap, to get the soft tyre ready. Being behind the Safety Car with a few places still being wet, when I got on the power out of Turn 13, I had a small snap in second gear which was alright. As soon as I upshifted to third, I just had massive wheelspin on the compression when the gear was going from second to third. Immediately on my upshift, it spun me straight around and that was basically it.

“I tried to save it and I managed to bump start it, but then I got stuck down the banking and tried to do it again, but then I didn’t get it. So, I rolled back down the hill. It’s quite unfortunate because it’s something that I didn’t used to struggle with before. It’s a reality now unfortunately and hard to think what I really could have done more. A difficult situation, but unfortunately, it happened so I have to accept it and move forward.

“I accepted it quite quickly. It happened, I needed to understand why – what were the reasons? What can I do better and move forward? By the time it was midday or to be honest even before the race ended, I was already thinking about Monza and my approach. It was unfortunate because I don’t think anything was wrong, everything was right. The mindset was good and we were really, really fast, just these things happen sometimes unfortunately, but it hasn’t affected me at all.”

UP NEXT – THE FIGHTBACK CONTINUES AT THE TEMPLE OF SPEED

“I’m super excited for Monza! We had a quick car there last year and I’m confident that we can replicate that again this weekend. I really like the circuit and enjoy it quite a lot. We can overtake in Monza as well, so if we have another good Qualifying session, it means that we have a good shot to get to the rostrum on two occasions. So, I’m looking forward to doing that and just enjoying it.

“Qualifying is always a little bit tricky in Monza due to the slipstream, so car positioning and track position is vital and to ensure that the warm-up is correct and also, your positioning when starting a lap. With the slipstream in the races, it’s quite difficult to break away, so attacking and defending is happening a lot, a lot more frequently than normal, but it creates great opportunity. All in all, I think it’s a great circuit to have on the calendar and can’t wait to get started on Friday.”