O'Young landed independent podium after qualifying crash in Slovakia

After escaping last Saturday’s crash at the Qualifying of the Race of Slovakia unharmed, ROAL Motorsport driver Darryl O’Young proved why he is Hong Kong’s number one race car driver as he scored eight points from two races despite starting both from the second last spot on the grid.

Having oversteer his car to crash out at the Qualifying and failed to record a time, O’Young was forced to start at the 22nd place out of 23 cars. However, not even this can stop the 33-year-old from turning in some heroic performance, as Darryl recovered well in both races, and stormed to an independent podium and an overall top ten finish in the second race in Slovakia.

It goes without saying the hard work of ROAL Motorsport’s mechanics are to be credited as they helped repaired the crashed BMW TC 320 overnight, but it was Darryl’s incredible driving that saw him rocketed to an independent P7 and an overall P14 finish in the opening race despite starting from the back of the pack.

O’Young then further improved in the second race, outpacing a few more opponents to finish third in the Yokohama Drivers’ Trophy, while also breaking into the overall top ten.

“My car was handling very well and I had a very good race pace. After passing several cars on the standing start, I was able to pass several other cars throughout the race, advancing from P22 on the grid up to P10 by the end of the race.

I was pleased to claim my first independent podium of the season and score some further World Championship points,” a satisfied O’Young spoke of his second race after the chequered flag.

Results in Slovakia see O’Young pocketed eight points during this race weekend to stay fourth on the independent standings. Drivers and teams will next travel to Hungary for Round 4 of the calendar, which is set to take place on Hungaroring later this week.

Qualifying 1 at Slovakia Ring – DNF

“On the first lap of the qualifying session, I was going through Turn 9 and got a oversteer on the exit of the turn sending me off through the grass and gravel. This put me into the tire wall at 160 kilometers per hour, my biggest crash ever in WTCC.”

Race 1 at Slovakia Ring (2013 round 5) – Independent P7 & Overall P14

“I started well and overtake several cars through turn 1, I had good pace but began struggling with my tires from the middle of the race and I could no longer attack anymore. I was happy to come from the back of the grid up to P14 and score P7 in the independent class.”

Race 2 at Slovakia (2013 round 6) – Independent P3 & Overall P10

“We made some changes to the car and they worked very well. I caught up to the top 10 group after some fast laps and began to attack Mehdi Bennani for the last five laps of the race. Unfortunately I couldn’t find a way pass him.”

Sponsors LKM and FUSPEED are the major forces behind Darryl’s pursuit of success in the 2013 FIA World Touring Car Championship.

O’Young Racing