dalecarlianhorse

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F1 driver OIlie Bearman broke the track record – in Varberg in c/formula1@lemmy.world
[–] dalecarlianhorse@programming.dev 3 points 1 week ago

Haha, the fight is on!

Let's hope Ollie will give it another go :)

(New article): https://www.svt.se/sport/formel-1/slog-f1-stjarnans-banrekord-en-knapp-vecka-senare

Broke the F1 star's track record – just under a week later

The duel continues.

F1 driver Ollie Bearman's track record at the Varberg go-kart track did not last a week before Elton Zewenwacht took it back.

"He'll have to come back and try again," says the 23-year-old.

It took several days of attempts, changed tyre pressure, less fuel, thinner clothing and modifications to the chassis for F1 driver Ollie Bearman to break Elton Zewenwacht's track record at Varberg's go-kart track.

For Zewenwacht, it only took a few laps to get the feel for taking it back.

On Friday, the 23-year-old managed to break Bearman's track record by two hundredths of a second. The new record is 28.95.

"No previous experience"

"It feels very surreal. I mean, I have no previous experience whatsoever other than rental kart racing. I've always been interested in motorsport, so I've probably learned a lot from watching," he says.

Zewenwacht says he used the same car as Bearman, and initially even the same tyres, which had worn out over time.

"Then I was down to 28.99. So two hundredths of a second away.

"Third or fourth lap"

But when Zewenwacht also got to drive with new and completely fresh tyres, it didn't take long before the record was broken.

"I think it was on the third or fourth lap that I got 28.95."

But despite pushing and beating an F1 driver without any further routine or experience, he doesn't want to send any major message to the Brit. Just a clear invitation.

"He can come back and try again," he concludes.

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F1 driver OIlie Bearman broke the track record – in Varberg (www.svt.se)
 

Ollie on holiday in Sweden completing side quests :)

F1 driver Ollie Bearman broke the track record – in Varberg

Suddenly, Formula 1 star Ollie Bearman appeared at the Varberg go-kart track with his sights set on the track record.

But it took several days – after a serious effort that required both help from his family and optimisation of the go-kart.

"We had to cool the engine with a leaf blower," he says.

It was during Bearman's holiday in Sweden that the F1 star's girlfriend's family challenged him to break the track record at the local go-kart track in Varberg. Something he confidently expected to be able to do on his first attempt.

But what the Brit didn't know at the time was that it would require several days of effort, and suddenly his holiday turned into something completely different. "Every trick in the book"

"I thought it would be easy. But on the first day, I was three or four tenths behind. It was a short lap, around 29 seconds, so I had to be extremely careful and try every trick in the book," he told the Motorsport website.

But despite this, the Haas driver, who is making his first full season in Formula 1 after previously stepping in as a reserve driver for Ferrari, was defeated on the first day.

On day two, the 20-year-old stepped up and took action: thinner clothing and removing parts of the chassis to keep the weight down, getting his girlfriend to act as pit crew and another driver to slipstream behind him on the straights. "He should be driving in Formula 1"

"It became a super serious mission. On the last day, we put on new tyres and lowered the tyre pressure after each lap. I have pictures of me and my girlfriend removing the petrol from the go-kart to make it lighter. We had to cool the engine between laps with a leaf blower.

Finally, after several attempts, Bearman set the new record: 28.97. On the track's social media, the star poses next to the record.

The F1 star himself had no idea who the mysterious miracle man was who held the previous record.

"No idea, but he should be driving in Formula 1 anyway," Bearman concludes.

But SVT can reveal that his name is Elton Zewenacht, 23, and that he himself aims to become a racing driver one day.

"I still have a dream that I want to start competing," he says.