Niverville’s own David Richert has won the Drexler Automotive Formula 3 race at the Hungaroring, a 4.381-kilometre motorsport racetrack near Budapest, Hungary.
Richert says it was a challenging event due to some car and health issues. There was also a fair bit of rain, which added to the difficulties.
“It was a lot to take in for the first weekend back in a race car,” says Richert. “So I am extremely happy to come away with some trophies and a great result.”
Richert grew up on a farm just outside of Niverville. In 2001, he attended a United States Grand Prix Formula 1 event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
“I looked down at the cars screaming by and decided it would be a heck of a lot more fun to be down in the cars driving, rather than up in the stands watching,” he says. “I guess you could say it was that, coupled with the fact everyone told me it would be impossible for a farm kid from Canada to ever get the chance to do it, which really drove me forward.”
Now, 20 years later, Richert has gone from racing go-karts in Manitoba to formula cars in Monaco.
The Drexler-Automotive Formel Cup is Formula 3 Racing and holds races in six different European countries.
Formula racing is known as some of the most intense auto racing in the world. It’s defined specifically as open-wheeled, single-seater, motorsport road racing, particularly with four-wheeled cars.
The cars in F3 can reach speeds up to 300 kilometres per hour and accelerate to 100 kilometres per hour in 3.1 seconds.
F1 is the fastest, most expensive, and most prestigious level of Formula Racing. F2 and F3 use somewhat less powerful cars, but there are more drivers and the races are often very close and very intense.
“I’m excited to participate in the Drexler Automotive Formel Cup for the 2022 race season,” Richert says. “Driving a quick Formula 3 car on some incredible race circuits throughout Europe will be an excellent experience and great training for the future. The next race coming up is at the historic circuit in Monza, Italy, from April 22–24, so I am excited to keep working hard towards the next event.”
