Jasin Ferati / Newsletter No. 4 / 2023 (April 30)
Roller coaster ride in the Ardennes
Difficult start to the season for Jasin Ferati in the Porsche Carrera Cup. The speed was there after a bad qualifying session, but disqualification and a penalty threw him way back.
All beginnings are difficult: After many incidents and overtaking maneuvers, Jasin Ferati finished just outside the desired points in 21st and 19th place on his debut in the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland. In the official rankings, however, it looks very different. In the first race, the 19-year-old from Winterthur is not listed because the three Carrera GT3 Cup cars of the Fach Auto Tech team were disqualified after the technical check. In the second race, they lost five positions as a result of a subsequent five-second penalty due to an overtaking maneuver that was too aggressive.
"I really didn't imagine entering the Carrera Cup like this," Ferati said angrily. “Despite the difficult weather conditions, the speed was there on the fantastic Spa-Francorchamps circuit, but I wanted too much and made a few mistakes.” The disaster began in qualifying.
The Swiss member of the Porsche talent pool had three laps canceled on the wet track for exceeding the track limits, including the fastest. In the impressive field of 32 drivers, he had to settle for 26th place on the grid twice. “The first warning knocked me out. I then wanted more than was possible. It was definitely the wrong approach, but another step in my learning process at this professional level.”
But worse was to come. In the only appearance on a dry track, Ferati was flipped in the early stages of the first race and ended up in the gravel trap. Thanks to the subsequent safety car phase, he caught up again and gained no fewer than nine positions with bold attacks – more than anyone else this weekend.
Ferati's starting phase in the second race was similarly strong in nasty weather conditions. He came back from the first lap in 20th place with a chance of scoring points, but then risked too much and touched a competitor so badly that the tie rod of his 515 hp car was damaged. The fact that he saved 19th place despite this handicap was a consolation. “I screwed it up myself, but despite the damaged steering I was able to keep up with the pace of my direct competitors. That makes me optimistic for the rest of the season.”
The first Carrera Cup weekend was dominated by three Dutchmen and one Briton. Harry King won qualifying and race one. Championship favorite ten Voorde finished second twice and Loek Hartung took the lead thanks to a win in race two and a third place. Ferati's teammate Morris Schuring, who did damage control with a podium finish after the previous day's disqualification, was at the same level. “Two loose screws on the front bumper of our cars were found during the technical inspection. Completely unexpectedly, that spoiled the start of the season for us,” commented team boss Alex Fach.
Status after 2 races: 1. Loek Hartog (Ho), 41 points; 2. Larry ten Voorde (Ho),40; 3. Harry King (GB), 35; 4. Bastian Buus (Dä), 24; 5.Harri Jones (Au), 20; 6. Theo Oeverhaus (De), 19; 7th Morris Schuring (Ho), 16th 8th Alexander Tauscher (De), 14th - Furthermore: 29th Jasin Ferati (Sz), 0th - 32 classified.
Next races: 10th/11th June: Hockenheim; 24th/25th June: Zandvoort; 5th/6th August: Nurburgring.