AF-Corse sporting director Ron Reichert raves about Sebastien Loeb’s dream starts at the DTM opener in Portimao and gives insight into how the career changer goes about it
“He made up six or seven positions in the process – and it’s just unbelievable what kind of feeling he has,” Reichert said of his driver, who moved up from 21st to 13th in one lap.
What impressed the AF Corps manager so much? “He wasn’t anticipating the start, he was anticipating what was going to happen in front of him on the track, where the other cars were going, who might have contact,” he explained. “He drove like he knew exactly what was happening. “
Reichert on Loeb’s intuition: “Knows exactly where he has to go “
And why he was only partially satisfied with his performance. But does Reichert have an explanation for Loeb’s special talent at the starts? Does the Frenchman perhaps not concentrate so much on the starting lights?
“Of course he looks at the traffic lights, because only then are you allowed to pull out and overtake,” says Reichert. “But it’s not like he has his own plan before that.” Instead, he relies on his instinct and can “intuitively” anticipate “what will happen next between the cars in front of him. He knows exactly where to go to get out of the number in the best possible way. “
“Everybody plays there a little bit: gas-brake-gas-brake “
This also commands so much respect from the former WRT team manager because Loeb has little experience of Indianapolis-style DTM formation starts.
“That was the first time in his life that he has done a DTM start like that,” Reichert knows. “And it’s not easy to manage that at that speed, because there’s already a lot going on around you. Everybody plays there a little bit: gas-brake-gas-brake. He did an impressive job and didn’t have any damage to his car. That wasn’t the case for everyone. “
Pitch at second start: “Accident correctly anticipated “
However, it almost came to a crash at the start of the second race, but even then Loeb – according to Reichert – showed enormous foresight. “We talked beforehand that with the group in front of him with four to five cars, we see a big chance that it will bang somewhere,” the sports director, who is only 30 years old, gives some interesting insights.
“And again he had exactly the right nose and moved to the inside. He wanted to pass, but then unfortunately he was pushed into the wall. There was no contact because he is clever enough to say: ‘This is the first corner and the first straight. I don’t have to prove to myself now that I can make it past.'”
According to Reichert, if the manoeuvre had worked, Loeb would have made up “six or seven places again. The line was exactly right and he had correctly anticipated the accident. If he had got through, he would have passed everyone on the inside and would have been somewhere in eleventh or twelfth place. “
Reichert on Loeb’s progress: “Not happy with himself “
What does Reichert attribute this gift to? “He has an incredibly good feeling because he looks back on decades of motorsport experience,” Reichert says. “He has driven everything in all categories. And you can just see that he is a thoroughbred racer.”
How Reichert assesses Loeb’s progress in the GT3 car? “With him, something new has basically clicked every day, which is also due to the fact that he is a biter,” says the sports director. One highlight was definitely the first qualifying session, when the Alsatian, who last drove GT3 nine years ago, was only seven tenths off pole.
“It helped him in the first qualifying that everyone drives two new sets,” explained Reichert. “The lap time on the first set wasn’t that great, but it taught him what to do on the second set to get the tyre temperature right. He was able to get it there.”
With drivers usually only having one fresh set of Michelins left on Sunday, Loeb was unable to repeat the feat. Moreover, he made a mistake on his lap. “He was very unhappy with himself, but that just shows he’s not just doing it for fun. “
