Jasin Ferati / Newsletter No. 3 / 2022 (May 29)

Podium finish after engine failure

Jasin Ferati's second appearance in the Porsche Sprint Challenge Suisse in Le Castellet was not quite as good as the first meeting. The man from Winterthur did not get past 5th place in the sprint, but made it onto the podium again as third in the endurance race.

For the time being, Jasin Ferati has lost the lead in the championship he took with second place and the impressive victory at the Red Bull Ring. After an engine failure on the first day of practice, the Fach Auto Tech team had to make a special effort to enable the Porsche protégé to be used again. 40 points for fifth and second place in the class were not enough to be able to defend the lead. Since Jörg Aeberhard secured the maximum number of points at the same time, the Bernese garage owner is now well ahead of the Winterthur native in the overall classification. The two victories at the Circuit Paul Ricard went to the Italian guest driver Leonardo Caglioni, who is not eligible for points.

"Unfortunately, the weekend in southern France didn't go as expected, although everything went well in the first practice session on Thursday," admitted Ferati. “I felt really good in the car and wanted to build on what I had learned to have everything in the right place throughout the day. But as soon as I was back on the track, a major engine failure stopped me and made me a spectator.” Since no replacement engine was available due to the Supercup race in Monaco taking place at the same time, it took an effort from Fach Auto Tech to save the weekend . Overnight, the team managed to get a replacement vehicle from Sattel to Le Castellet, 850 kilometers away. "I am incredibly grateful to the team for this spontaneous action," assured the series newcomer.

An identical Porsche 911 GTR Cup was ready for action on the second day of practice, but some things felt a bit unusual. “In the beginning I just didn't have the pace. That really annoyed me, but didn't upset me. But in the end I was happy to be able to drive at all. The fact that I was among the top 3 by the evening made me a little more confident for the race day.”

In qualifying for the first endurance race of the season, I made it to fifth on the grid as third best in the category. "While it wasn't bad, it wasn't what I expected and hoped for," said Ferati. “A major setback was qualifying for the sprint race, in which I had to settle for fourth place behind a guest driver and my strongest opponents. Despite this, I gave everything in the third race of the year. I was able to overtake Jürg Aeberhard in the finish corner, but I didn't stand a chance against his counterattack on the Mistral straight from the slipstream. After a long safety car phase, I lost another place and ended up outside the podium for the first time. That was a bit much for the soul.”

“I knew I could do more and was able to prove it in the final 100-mile race. I improved to second place in our category behind Caglioni and Aeberhard and was able to defend this position over the entire distance in the first long-distance race of my life. In the meantime I've reduced the gap to Aeberhard to less than three seconds. Unfortunately, because I ran over the tyres, I wasn't able to launch a final attack."  

rating (4/12 races): 1st Jürg Aeberhard (Biglen), ANT Performance, 113; 2. Jasin Ferati (Winterthur), Auto Tech, 94. 3. Alexander Schwarzer (D), Auto Tech, 55; 4. Ernst Keller (Regensdorf), Sportec Motorsport, 48; 5. Gregor Burkhard (Waltenschwil), Sportec Motorsport, 44; 6. Sébastien Pidoux (Cossonay), ANT Performance, 35. 7. Marc Arn (hold), Swizz Evenzz 29; 8 Roderick Christie (GB), Dinamic Motorsport, 18 9 Mike Knutzon (Sd), Enrico Fulganzi Racing, 25, 10 Peter Hegglin (Schwerzenbach), Fach Auto Tech, 22

Next race: July 10 Franciacorta/Bargnana (double sprint); August 20 Dijon-Prenois (double sprint); September 24 Mugello (Sprint and Endurance); October 29 Misano (double sprint and two-hour night race).