A
multiple national champion in both autocross and rallycross, Teješ admitted it
was ‘a big dream’ simply to join the Euro RX3 field in the legendary ‘Red
Cauldron’, but his bid got off to a nightmarish start when an engine problem
ruled him out of heat one completely, and he was momentarily delayed by a
spinning Balázs Körmöczi following a sluggish getaway in heat two.
The following day began more brightly, as the Czech ace pushed championship leader
Nils Volland from lights-to-flag in heat three, trying boldly to hang on around
the outside of his fellow Audi A1 driver through Turn One before hassling the
German all the way to the finish line.
Unfortunately,
Teješ then found himself wrong-footed by Volland at the joker entry on the
opening lap of heat four – resulting in a hefty impact with the tyre wall.
Following a rapid repair job by his crew, the 20-year-old converted fifth on
the grid into a fourth-place finish in the second semi-final, battling his way
past Andor Trepák midway through and posting the race’s second-fastest lap, in
a contest that included two-time former European champion and World RX
podium-finisher, Krisztián Szabó amongst others.
Despite
ultimately missing out on a spot in the final by less than three-quarters-of-a-second, Teješ has taken plenty of heart
from his performance in Hungary, which he is aiming to build upon in Belgium.
“Even just competing in the
European Championship is a big dream and honestly like a victory for me and my
team,” reflected the Prague
native, whose full-time programme this season is in the Czech Championship and FIA CEZ (Central European Zone)
series. “We were excited to see how our car would perform and while I was a
little nervous, mostly I just wanted to enjoy the weekend.
“My ambition was to get to the semi-finals, and we managed to do that despite
all the difficulties. It was nice to be able to compare my performance against Nils
[Volland]. He is a really fast and experienced driver, and I was surprised that
I could keep pace with him – we had a good race together in heat three.
“Technical problems like we had in heat one are obviously
part-and-parcel of motorsport, but I know I can always rely 100 per cent on my
team to get me back on-track. I tried to make up for that early loss of points
by pushing as hard as possible, but in the last heat I went too far and made a
mistake that immediately punished me. You learn from your mistakes, though, so I’m
positive that won’t happen again.
“Despite fighting as hard as I could to be in the final, unfortunately it didn’t
quite work out by just a few metres, but I still thoroughly enjoyed the whole event. While I know I
need to keep my feet on the ground, it certainly gave me and my team a lot of
confidence that we will come back stronger next time.
“We’re currently finalising the preparation of the car for
Belgium. I’ve never driven there before, so I’m curious about the
characteristics of the circuit and how I will perform. I’ve been spending a lot
of time not only in the workshop but also on the simulator, where I have been practising
the Mettet track. I’m really looking forward to it and I believe I’ll have a
lot of fun again and that it will be a great weekend!”
Greece
Poland
Portugal