Andre Kursim's Zolder return....
Circuit Zolder is set to become stop number six on this year’s FIA European Truck Racing Championship’s calendar this weekend.
The historic venue located in the province of Limburg is universally seen by drivers as a unique challenge.
There is, however, one man in the field who has the fondest memories of Zolder of anyone. This man is André Kursim, who 12 months ago earned his place in truck racing’s history books with a debut double victory.
Kursim’s 2017 campaign was when he came of age in truck racing. The then 26-year-old, was in the middle of a season-long battle for Promoter’s Cup honours with José Rodrigues.
He came to Zolder on the back of a disastrous weekend at Autodrom Most, where a technical problem at his Team Tankpool24 Racing Mercedes-Benz forced him to miss on racing during the Czech weekend of the series.
At Zolder Kursim bounced back in the best possible way. Not only did he score his maiden win on Saturday, but he added another victory on Sunday, amassing a total of 29 points that weekend – by far his biggest haul of the year.
This year is a whole new chapter for the young German racer. Over the winter months he swapped the proven Tankpool24 Racing outfit for a whole new project – the Don’t Touch Racing IVECO team.
The new, one truck only team and a new IVECO challenger has seen Kursim have a consistent points scoring season so far.
With three rounds remaining this season, the 27-year-old has scored 94 points so far, that’s six more than he had to his name at the end of last season.
“So far I’m very happy for the season. The speed is there and we’re in the top five on a regular basis,” said Kursim.
When asked about last year’s stellar performance at Zolder, Kursim said: “Last year was incredible. Perhaps we can do it this year as well?”
“It won’t be easy, but I believe we can do it again,” he admits confidently.
“I like the circuit and I hope we can win some races this year.”