Three years have already passed…amazing! Having only competed in a few one-make cups, the Liège based driver John Wartique hit the headlines when he opted to dive into the deep end of the GP3 series no less, a curtain raiser for the Formula 1 Grand Prix races! An exceptional adventure, synonymous of a maximum load of experience acquired over a minimum amount of time, in an extremely highly rated context. Then one day, as is often the case, money ran out, and the driver decided to take a rain cheque, awaiting better days to further his international ambitions …
Since that GP3 Series season, Wartique had somewhat disappeared from sight, apart from an appearance at the Legend Boucles… « I decided to focus on my professional activities, and for these last two and half years I have been living in Dubai where I became a driving instructor at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, John explained. I also had the opportunity to take part in various promotional and marketing operations for Porsche Middle East, and with one thing leading to another the possibility arose in an international context to once again slip on a racing overall and helmet … »
True to his wont, the driver, who has retained close family contacts in the Thimister-Clermont area, has returned in a discipline that one can but quality as quite improbable, something one can pride oneself on: the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup held as the F1 curtain raiser! “I have always been a devotee of one-make cups, and in fact this one is the world’s cream, a smiling John Wartique commented. I think I have passed the age of single-seaters, but the longing was to climb back up on the international scene where I had left off, in a top-level context. Even though I know I’m not making it easy on myself when it comes to coming back into action, to me the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup appeared to be the ideal challenge to take on … »
It is presently a question of competing in the fifth round of the 2016 competition, scheduled to take place this coming weekend on the Hungaroring circuit, in the vicinity of Budapest, in Hungary. … « The only one I missed out on during my GP3 era, John continued. I’ll therefore need to acquaint myself with the circuit in one fell swoop, but by integrating the German MRS GT-Cup team, who have entered the German Christian Engelhart, one of the leaders in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup, that also happens to be one of the three best teams together with Lechner Racing and Martinet by Almeras, I know that I’m holding some trumps cards. »
But this will not prevent John Wartique from taking on his major international rendezvous, on this circuit known to be highly technical, in an extremely modest manner … « There’s no point in asking me for a forecast for this upcoming weekend, seeing I don’t want to put any pressure on myself. From the moment that I have to discover everything, ranging from the car through to the circuit, and up against drivers that already have five or six race weekends behind them in Supercup and in German Carrera Cup, one would be crazy to set objectives. The aim is to see where I can situate myself, my margin of progress, basically a question of being able to take on the future in the best possible manner … »
So he will be heading off for the Hungaroring this coming weekend, with one single free practice run on Friday 22nd July at 16.45hrs, followed by a short and intense qualifying session on Saturday 23rd July at 12.25hrs, and one single race on Sunday 24th July at 11.45hrs. Action! And welcome back, John…
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