Having only previously competed in dirt track
racing back at home in Antigua, Geleyns was fully aware that his move into the
FIA European Rallycross Championship was more of a giant leap into the unknown
than a simple step up the racing ladder – but the way he bolted away from his
grid slot into the lead at the beginning of his first heat race in Sweden, observers
would have been hard-pressed to tell that he was a complete rookie.
Although an error obliged him to concede the
advantage at the end of the opening lap and a late spin cost him second place, the
Volland Racing ace had nonetheless done enough to turn heads – and a similarly
stellar start in the semi-final catapulted him from the rear of the grid straight
through the middle of the row in front, to the point where he was challenging
Saturday pace-setter and multiple podium-finisher João Ribeiro by Turn One.
In challenging wet conditions, Geleyns then
engaged in a close battle with experienced Austrian driver Dominik Senegacnik,
looking to have got the better of his Škoda rival in the scrap for the last
spot in the final, only for a mistake to cause him to miss out by barely a
second. Still, as debuts go, it was more than encouraging.
“Höljes definitely exceeded my expectations,” reflected
the Brussels-born ace, who turned 18 just last week. “The results obviously weren’t
the best, but it was a really fun and interesting weekend so I have to be happy
overall – the more laps I did, the more I improved both my times and my racing lines.
“It was good to get an understanding of what
the level is like in Euro RX3, and to race against the category’s top drivers. With
their prior experience of both the circuit and the championship – whereas pretty
much everything was completely new for me – I really wasn’t expecting to get as
close to them as I did first time out.
“Everybody in the team – from my team-mates to the
mechanics and engineers – has been amazing, and I’m so grateful for their support.
I’ve learnt so much from Nils [Volland], not only at Höljes but all through
pre-season testing – he has been helping me out with a lot of tips and advice.
“It was certainly a surprise to come out of the
first corner in the lead in heat one. Sadly, I wasn’t able to hold it, but
still, it was super-cool to lead my very first racing lap in rallycross. I got
a great start in the semi-final, too – I think being on the back row of the
grid helped me in the wet, because there was more grip there.
“It was really close for third later in the race,
and it was only a small mistake that cost me a place in the final, but I’m
still learning so I couldn’t beat myself up about it too much.
“Now, I’m looking forward to Nyirád this
weekend. I’ve never been there before either, so I’ll need to get to grips with
the track as quickly as I can during free practice. Hopefully we’ll get some more
consistent weather this time and I can have another really positive,
experience-building weekend.”
Greece
Poland
Portugal