Title fight in the heat: Stefan Riener scores vital points at Misano

Scorching weather, thrilling races and vital points for Stefan Riener in his quest for the Formula Renault 2.0 ALPS championship title. The Austrian competed in the penultimate event of the 2015 season at Misano in Italy last weekend. He kept his title hopes alive with a P5 and a P6 ahead of the campaign finale.

You scored some vital points at Misano. Are you satisfied with your haul?
After my two podiums at Monza, I came to Misano with my motivation running high. The weekend got off to an encouraging start with two third places in the free practice sessions. However, the first qualifying session was a let-down. The car felt different to the day before, which may have been due to the fact that other racing series were using the track and had put down a layer of rubber. We solved this problem for the first race, and I was able to gain one place on my grid position of seventh.

You also managed an improvement on Sunday. Why wasn’t it enough for a podium?
Qualifying on Sunday was very tight. The car felt really good, and I took sixth on the grid. From that position, it should have been possible to achieve something in the race, because I was able to match the lap times of the front-runners and keep the gap steady. Unfortunately, though, from the halfway point onwards, the performance of my car deteriorated while the others were getting faster. Maybe the tyre pressure played a role in this. Ultimately, I finished in fifth place, but at least I scored some points towards the championship.

How would you sum up your weekend?
Both races were really hot, with the thermometer touching 40°C. Obviously we feel the temperatures in the cockpit, but I had absolutely no problem in staying focused thanks to my level of physical fitness. All in all, the weekend started really well and ended reasonably OK with fifth place in the second race. However, we rather lacked the pace to compete with the elite. This was mainly because we simply didn’t find the perfect setup.

But as regards the title challenge, there is everything still to play for. Are you still aiming for the championship?
Because my opponents had such a good weekend, that unfortunately dropped me down to fourth place. But it is absolutely not a lost cause. All of the drivers are very close together, and I’m only eight points off third place. Finishing the season among the Top Three is my minimum target, but with a bit of luck, there may be more in prospect. I still have the championship firmly in my sights!

The season finale in Jerez is not until October. What have you got planned in the meantime?
This coming weekend, I go straight back into action. I’ll be competing in Formula Renault 2.0 NEC at Spa-Francorchamps as a guest driver. I know the track very well, as I’ve driven there twice already this year. I feel confident of a good result next weekend. As a guest driver, I’m under no pressure and can play to my strengths.