Benjamin Bailly stole the headlines at Zolder as the Belgian collected his maiden F2 win with an assured lights-to-flag victory in the second race - Bailly igniting not only the crowd but all his family and sponsors who were present at the circuit. In the wake of his triumph, Formulatwo.com spoke to Benjamin about his thoughts on his weekend, his continued improvement and his hopes for the rest of the season...
Now that you have had some time to reflect, talk us through Zolder - was it a dream weekend for you?
"Was it a dream weekend? I don't know, maybe not, it was just really, really good. That weekend was why I started motorsport and why I keep doing it: just a great weekend. Now a dream weekend would be to take two pole positions and two race wins!
"In fact I was a little bit sad about the first race, because I suffered a broken barge board which cost me time and I'm sure I could have done better than sixth - especially after my win in the second race! It was a fantastic weekend though, particularly as I won in front of all my family, all my sponsors and the manager of the RACB. I didn't expect such a crowd reaction either - even the marshals were cheering me, and that was just a great feeling and very motivating to realise so many people were behind me."
Winning on home soil was obviously special - had you been to Zolder before the F2 weekend?
"I heard people say 'okay he won but he probably knew the circuit very well', but that's not the case - in fact I have only driven a road car around Zolder, and that's very different to a single seater! It's not like one of those home events where you have driven the track for 15 days, I didn't have any previous experience of it really. Plus we had the test on Tuesday, so everyone could learn the circuit and we were on the same level.
You've been improving round by round - can you continue such form for the rest of the season?
"I'm sure I can! I joined F2 on the back of a dominant season in Formul'Academy Euro Series where I made 11 podiums in 14 races, but I've had a lot to learn compared to other drivers in the field - this is only my second season in single seaters don't forget. I've had to get used to the engineering side as well as the power and the aerodynamics, so I've had a lot of learning to do.
"Every time I sit in the car though I am learning, gaining experience and getting a better feeling for the handling. At Silverstone I was not so fast, at Marrakech I had two accidents, but at Monza I was faster and at Zolder I was faster again. It took some time and some races to get into it, but now I have all the experience I have already gained and I'm able to say exactly what changes I think will be good, so I think I can continue this form."
Does winning your first race put any more pressure on you in the next rounds?
"I'm not somebody who stresses too much or puts themselves under pressure, so winning a race is motivation more than pressure. Winning was a boost for me, and it gives me the confidence to try and win again. I'll take it race by race, but I want to score points and stay out front - I don't want to win at Zolder and then finish 6th or 7th next race.
"I'll keep pushing and hopefully I can also close the gap to the people in front of me in the championship - it's hard to win it from here, but I'm keeping my feet on the ground anyway and a top three/top five finish would be great! Obviously it depends on each weekend, but the win has boosted me and my target now is to keep scoring points and winning if possible!"
What have you made of the competition in this year's championship?
"Obviously Jolyon has been really fast and he's made a big step this year, and Dean has been really impressive right from the start. There are other drivers who are quick as well, but I beat them all in Zolder so I've already showed it's possible - I just have to continue in the same way. There are impressive drivers but I want to be more impressive than them and I certainly want to beat them more than once this season!"
Series
Formula 2
Personalities
Benjamin Bailly
Other
DTM Tickets (best price guarantee!) at Sportstadium.com
| Benjamin Bailly | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  |
| More Benjamin Bailly photos | |||
English
Nederlands
Español
Italiano
