Patrick Huisman Valencia SC summary

PATRICK HUISMAN STREETWISE IN VALENCIA

VALENCIA, Patrick Huisman finished 7th in Sunday's tenth round of the 2008 Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup in Valencia (ESP). After having started from 10th position the LENOX racing driver avoided a first corner pile-up before demonstrating a clean and quick race pace at the new Valencia street circuit.

FREE PRACTISES AND QUALIFYING

Huisman used Friday's free practice session to the fullest in order to get to know the 5.4 kilometer long urban track and find a suitable set-up. The four-time Supercup champion ended the 30 minute session in ninth position.

In Saturday's qualifying session, Huisman was not able to maximize his potential as he was struck twice by an electronic problem with the sensor of his motor management system. With quite an amount of track time lost, he only managed to drive one quick lap which eventually handed him 10th position on Sunday's grid.

PATRICK HUISMAN: "A shame we ran into technical trouble during qualifying today, as my sector times indicated I even might have challenged for a front row starting position. But as things were incredibly close today, with the first 20 drivers qualifying within one second of each other, I think we still got the best out of these circumstances."

RACE

With both track and air temperatures close to 30 degrees Celsius in Valencia, the heat was definitely on on race day. With around 105,000 spectators on the grandstands, Huisman enjoyed a good start of the race. But as several cars collided in the first corner, he lost ground avoiding them, and was thrown back a few positions. Huisman's decision to start the 14-lap race on low tire pressures paid off on from halfway today's course. As the race progressed, Huisman once again showed he is a true racer as he overtook five cars in order to finish in a strong 7th position.

PATRICK HUISMAN: "I really enjoyed today's race. Just like in the previous weekends we had a good race pace, but actually lost out on a better finishing position after Saturday's problems in qualifying. Nevertheless, I have positive feelings about my performance this weekend and this great new venue. I will now enjoy a small break, before our next round at Spa-Francorchamps in a fortnight. Just like last year, I'm very eager to give the Dutch crowd something to cheer for!

-credit: patrickhuisman.com