David Richert, a racing driver from the Niverville area, just wrapped up his 2022 season in style. 

Richert has been racing Formula 3 cars in the Drexler Automotive Formula Cup all over Europe this year. He took the top step of the podium in Mugello, Italy this past weekend to clinch second place in the championship. 

Thinking over the season he says he has mixed emotions. 

“I am really excited to have that type of a good result in a fairly competitive European championship and at the same time, I am also a competitive individual and you want to win as a driver, you want to finish first so there is a bit of pull in both directions but I am extremely satisfied with the progress that we have made throughout the year, getting faster and faster and faster and that really bodes well for the future.” 

Wrapping up his rookie season in a Formula 3 car, Richert recorded 15 podium finishes in 16 races. 

Richert says his win in Mugello last weekend and his win in Hungary were certainly highlights this year, but one highlight trumps everything else. 

“For me, it is what you experience and feel in the race car. When you go around a corner at 200-plus kilometres per hour and you can keep your foot on the throttle pedal without lifting off and pushing the brakes, the change in confidence to do that and be comfortable with it, that progress is fun and allows me to build, moving forward.”  

Listen to the full interview with David:

It was a fairly clean race season. Richert says he had only one truly harrowing moment, an excursion off-track. 

“I was trying to avoid a teammate who was spinning and it was probably the best decision that I went flying off the track because had I not, he would have hit me and he ended up hitting the guy behind me. In one sense this is great because I haven’t smacked up any race cars, but at the same time, I then question, maybe I am not pushing hard enough, maybe I should be going off the track a little bit more.” 

Richert says now plans to come back to North America to raise funds and put together a budget for next year. 

“That is essentially going to help determine which path we take. I have some wonderful opportunities to move up into a Formula 2 car, also some opportunities to maybe tackle some endurance racing and go and race in the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans so we are just going to see what we can put together on the business side of things." 

Richert says finishing second this year in the Drexler Automotive Formula Cup is definitely a boost. 

Related Stories