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Van Hoepen happy after lots of overtakes in Monza: 'Best race of F3 career'
- Sandy van Wijngaarden
Laurens van Hoepen had an extraordinary catch-up race during the main race in Monza. The Dutchman had to start from 29th place but eventually finished in the points. He told GPblog about his race after the race.
Due to bad luck during qualifying, Van Hoepen had to start the final race of the F3 season from the very back of the field. In the end, he finished in ninth place. "It was a really fun race to drive," he told GPblog exclusively.
Van Hoepen enjoyed an overtaking race in Monza
"I had to push so hard at the beginning because I started so far back. I wanted to make as many positions as possible at the beginning. At the end, I ran out of tyres, but still just held on really well," the Dutchman told us.
Van Hoepen spoke of the best race of his F3 career. He was asked if he had ever driven such a good race. "In karting maybe, but not yet in Formula 3. It was really fun to drive," he replied.
The Dutchman also reflected briefly on how the season went for him as a rookie. "You just really see when you look at the first session in Bahrain and now, the progression I have made, I could not have done that at the beginning of the season. This was really good, mature driving. Very happy with it."
Van Hoepen regretted his starting position afterwards, as he certainly had the speed. "It's such a shame I was unlucky in qualifying. We were fast all weekend. I think I could have qualified in the top five for sure. And then anything could have happened at Monza of course," the Dutchman said.
This article was written in collaboration with Olly Darcy
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