Comebacks in the rain and debuting as the Vice Champion: Joshua Duerksen on the Moments that Made Him

Joshua Duerksen has made a promising start to life in Formula 2, but prior to racing in the second tier, the PHM AIX Racing rookie enjoyed a few moments on track that have made him the driver he is today.

Recently, we sat down with the Paraguayan to discuss three of those pivotal points, as he explained what made them special.

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KARTING GRAND FINAL

“The first moment that made me was back when I entered the Rotax Max Challenge Grand Final in 2017 in Portugal. I made it to the finals; I was the first Paragyuan to do that and it was my first international race as well, so it was a big moment in my career. It was actually a really huge moment in my career.

“That was really big for the whole country because in Paraguay we have one go-kart track and one racetrack, and it is a really small track. It is just 600 metres long and to go there to being in a grand final in a world championship race and classify in the final for a country which is not as advanced as other countries in motorsport, that day was really special, not just for me but for the whole country. I got massive support from back home and even the President knew about it, so it was a really big thing in Paraguay.”

FORMULA 4 VICE CHAMPION

“I would probably say the second moment is when I became the Formula 4 UAE vice champion in 2019. It was actually my first season in single-seaters and in Formula 4, and we really only went there to prepare ourselves for the Italian and German championships that were happening later that year.

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“But in the end, I won five races as a rookie and finished as the runner-up which was really nice. It was especially so because it was a result that we were not expecting but it was such a huge achievement for me.

“As I said, it was my first ever season in Formula 4 and we were coming there just to get used to everything and to prepare ourselves and we left with that achievement, so that moment was great.”

FRECA ZANDVOORT COMEBACK

“It was a rainy race. I had to start from P24, and from P27, but I was able to recover to finish P7 in the wet for the second race. It was just really cool because I was just basically overtaking cars every lap and every corner, but it especially meant a lot because it had been a really tough season for me up to that point.

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“When I finished that race, it was really important for me to show the others as well that I was still there. It was important to show that I was capable of pretty good races and some pretty good things, so it was a really important moment for me and for the team.

“Also, it was especially enjoyable race as well. When you are starting at the back of the grid to finishing pretty much at the front and in the top seven in Zandvoort, a track where it is pretty difficult to overtake, looking back I would say that was another pretty important result for me.”