It was a weekend to forget for Michael Devaney at the Oval premiere in Lausitzring, Germany, the Irishman and his team HS-Technik struggled all weekend until the final race when he posted a 4th place finish. His car was well prepared for the High speed tri-oval race and the team had specially designed sidepods to help him reach maximum speed on a track which is taken completely flat out at an average speed of 265kph.
In Qualifying he struggled and posted a 7th and 10th position for Rounds 15 and 16 of the German F3 Championship due to a lack of top speed. The team then chose to go in a different direction of set-up for the first race but again he struggled in the race and eventually retired with a puncture after contact into turn 2 while in 7th position.
After the disappointing first race the team decided to revert to the standard sidepods and with this change he was on the pace once again. Even starting from 10th on the grid didn’t stop him from challenging for the lead as he climbed his way up to the sharp end of the grid. He slipstreamed his way up to the front of the field and by lap 10 he was leading. But it was an exciting and fierce 5 car battle at the front and the positions changed many times from lap to lap as cars easily slipstreamed past each other at 260kph. Every lap saw the top 5 cars change position and it could have been won by any of them until a full course yellow appeared in the final laps. The race was then chequered flagged under safety car and it was unfortunate for Devaney as he crossed the line in 4th position when the yellow flags were shown.
“It was a difficult weekend which could have easily been better if we’d solved the sidepod problem a little earlier. In race two it was unfortunate the safety car came out at the end because I was in a good position to challenge for the victory. It would have been a great last few laps as any one of the 5 cars in the lead group could have won the race.” explained the Dubliner.
On the Wednesday before the oval race Michael also got a taste of Ireland’s A1 Grand Prix car at the Paul Ricard circuit in the South of France. The Irish team are seeking a reserve driver to support former F1 ace Ralph Firman in the team and Michael hopes his successful test has put his name at the top of the list for the drive. “The Car is unbelievable to drive, it is a big step up from a Formula 3 car but I managed to adapt to the car very well in a short amount of time. I would like to thank Mark Kershaw and Mark Gallagher from A1GP Team Ireland for giving me this opportunity to test the car.” said the ecstatic 20 year old after the test.
Michael still lies a comfortable second in the Championship. His next and final outing of the season is at Oschersleben on the 8/9th of October and he will be aiming to add to his tally of five wins this season despite missing the opening two races of the championship.
Race One
1. Jan Seyffarth(D)
2. Ferdinand Kool(NL)
3. Peter Elkmann(D)
DNF. Michael Devaney
Race Two
Ferdinand Kool(NL) Ho-Pin Tung(CHN) Pascal Kochem(D) Michael Devaney
Championship Table
1. Peter Elkmann 129points
2. Michael Devaney 89
3. Pascal Kochem 71
