Guest Column
Jessica Edgar’s Zandvoort Weekend Round-Up: There’s work to do and a lot to learn from
Heading back to the track that turned her 2023 campaign around, Jessica Edgar had her hopes pinned on a repeat performance at the Circuit Zandvoort.
Unfortunately for the American Express driver, her encouraging start to Round 4 ultimately ended on a more disappointing note as she fell out of the mix for points. Reflecting on the highs and lows of a jam-packed visit to the Netherlands, Edgar refused to let the setbacks keep her down for long and identified where she’s found room for improvement next time out.
PRACTICE 1: P9
“It’s exciting to be back. It’s my favourite track, so I’m looking forward to the weekend. I’m hoping it’s going to be a turning point for me again. Free Practice 1 was the closest that I’ve been all year in Free Practice, Qualifying and the races, so hopefully we can be back to where we should be.
“I would like to be closer than six tenths off, but I think it was as close as we have been. So, I think it’s a step in the right direction. We just have to keep going to be a bit closer. I didn’t do many push laps, so I think if the track had stayed dry for the whole session, as you get more into a rhythm, you improve.
“I don’t really mind (about the weather). I would like it to be wet, but I don’t mind either one. When we tested here, it was wet both days. I would love to win, but I think we just have to see how we can do, how close to the pace we can get and go from there.”
PRACTICE 2: P4
“I think the session was a lot better. A lot closer to where I feel like I should be, so I’m trying to work on being even closer for Qualifying. I think in FP1, Sector 2 was my weakest point. I was a long way down on there, so I looked through the data and everything. I don’t know how far off I am there now, but I was a lot closer because I was only three tenths off P1, so it’s a lot better than it was.
“From FP1 and last time when we tested here, it was wet as well and not many people have driven in the dry, so I think it’s going to be very close in Quali. (Pole) That would be my ultimate aim, but I will try my best and see how we do. I’d be happy with top five, I think if I’m below the top five, there’s a lot of work to do.”
QUALIFYING: P10 (FOR RACE 1) & P13 (FOR RACE 2)
“I could have and should have been a bit higher, but I gave it all I had and was struggling a little bit with the car, and then traffic after the Red Flag when we went out. I got stuck in traffic, so it was not how I’d have liked it to go, but hopefully we can do something in the race to make up for it.
“Going from dry yesterday to wet today, I think it’s easier to go from dry to wet, than wet to dry. But when we tested here, it was wet as well, so I should have adapted a bit quicker and been a bit better. The markings on the banking is so slippery, so you have to keep off the white lines and kerbs pretty much everywhere. The apex kerbs are usually fine, but when the car is loaded on the exit, you slide off, so you have to keep away from any painted bits because it’s slippery.
“I think I was on it pretty much straight away and then we came in. We didn’t change the tyres, we just bled the pressures. I should have gotten through the traffic quicker and I just didn’t quite get on it quick enough after the Red Flag. It’s quite hard because I left almost the length of the straight, but when the car in front makes a mistake or drives off-track a little bit, they lose a lot of time.
“Suddenly, I’m right on them. Then, it’s quite a hard track to overtake on, especially in the wet, so it was tough to find a good track position that session (…) I’m excited to learn from Qualifying and hopefully be a bit better. I think I’m too cautious at times. I think I need to be a lot more aggressive, get on it and be on the limit a lot quicker than I am.”
RACE 1: P12
“For me, (the back-to-back races) suits me a little bit better. I prefer to have less time in-between and I’m more focused on what’s happening than if we had more time between them where I’d maybe get a bit more distracted. I didn’t mind having basically no time in-between. It was like coming in, look through what I had to look through and then straight back out again, I prefer it that way.
“I had a bad start and dropped back, and then, I just struggled to come back through again. It’s quite a hard track to overtake on because there are quite a lot of fast corners. It’s hard to carry the same speed through a fast corner when you’re behind someone, so then you haven’t got the same speed down the straight to go in at the slow corner.”
RACE 2: P16
“(Going into the race) I just felt that I had nothing to lose and just to do the best I could, and then I lost. I stalled at the start and I struggled to keep up with Lia (Block), so I couldn’t do anything.
READ MORE: RACE 2: Pin bounces back as she storms to faultless victory in Zandvoort
“I think there’s a lot to learn from, the Free Practices were pretty good. With the wet driving, we had two days of testing here, but I haven’t done that much in the wet, so I need to improve there. Also, I need to improve on my racing. I know this is a hard track to overtake on, but I think my racecraft needs to be improved."
NEXT TIME OUT: BRINGING THE HEAT TO SINGAPORE
“We haven’t got much track time when we go to Singapore, so it will be an advantage to the people who have been there. But I need to get on the pace as quickly as I can, keep improving throughout the weekend and hopefully do a good job.
“I’m not a massive fan of street circuits, I prefer permanent tracks, but I’m enjoying it. It’s a good track, it never stops, it’s corner after corner. (…) Unfortunately, summer’s going away now, so I’ve just got to try and train in the heat and hopefully, I’ll be okay. I just want to do the best I can because every time I’m like ‘I want to be in the top five’, I’m not.”