Nestled in a green and enchanting setting, the Red Bull Ring hosted the second round of the Eurocup-3 from 17th to 19th May, a top-level single-seater formula for climbing the motor sport ladder. Swiss driver Dario Cabanelas felt very much at home there, and was able to reassure himself of his competitiveness, as well as his fighting spirit, as demonstrated by his comebacks and the fastest lap he set in one of the races. In terms of points, this unfortunately didn’t translate into the expected gain, but the MP Motorsport Team driver consoled himself with a rookie success.
After the Belgian event at Spa-Francorchamps, which was severely disrupted by the weather in April, Eurocup-3 returned to much calmer and drier conditions at Spielberg in Austria. Dario Cabanelas took the opportunity to work with his team to fine-tune the car. His 4th place in the final Free Practice session gave him the confidence to tackle Saturday’s two Qualifying sessions more calmly. In this context, his crash in 14th position in the first session was a real disappointment, despite the fact that he had plenty of speed, as he explains…
“As we had expected with the MP Motorsport team, the fastest times were set at the end of the session and I managed to be quick in the final laps,” said Dario. “Unfortunately, the Red Bull Ring is a circuit where you often overshoot the limits of the track and that’s what happened to me, as it has to many other drivers, so the race direction cancelled several of my best times. So instead of ending up 5th, I had to settle for 14th”.
Dario Cabanelas didn’t make the same mistakes in the second Qualifying session, finishing 8th. In Race 1, the Swiss driver got off to an excellent start and quickly climbed up the order.
“I even found myself fighting for 8th place after several overtakes. With the strategy I chose, saving a set of new tyres for Race 2, the last few laps of Race 1 were a little difficult, but I managed to salvage a point for 10th place, which enabled me to climb onto the top step of the Rookies podium.”
As for Race 2, it brought back another point for Dario, that of the fastest lap, proof once again of his ability to be fast and of his potential to fight for the podium in the forthcoming events.
“Like the rest of the weekend, Race 2 will remain frustrating, because it started with a problem with the clutch, which resulted in a jumped start penalty. It didn’t do me any favours though, as I lost three places from the first corner, but the stewards felt that my car shouldn’t move before the lights went out. After that, I overtook several cars and crossed the finish line in 7th position, before falling back to 16th because of a penalty.”
Although he will have the handicap of learning the Portimao track at the next Eurocup-3 event, Dario Cabanelas will have revenge to take from 7th to 9th June in the south of Portugal. This time, he will need to avoid the slight mistakes that can often have serious consequences, and aim for a podium finish overall, which he is keen to dedicate to his partners and supporters.
ABOUT DARIO CABANELAS
Dario Cabanelas made his debut in single-seater racing in 2021, as part of the French F4 Championship run by the FFSA Academy. Born on 21st July 2006, the young hopeful, who lives near Lausanne, quickly demonstrated his strong potential by finishing runner-up in the French Junior Championship and winning several races in his category. In his second year of F4 in 2022, he made it into the top 10 of the FIA rankings at just 16 years of age, finishing on the podium on several occasions.
A Swiss national, but also the grandson of a Spanish-Gallego emigrant, as well as having Ukrainian origins, Dario Cabanelas has always impressed with his strong determination. Fast and ambitious, he is fully committed to his goal of reaching the highest level of motor sport.
In 2023, Dario has decided to take things a step further by joining the highly competitive Eurocup-3 Championship midway through the season. Building on this experience, he has now signed up for the whole of 2024 in this prestigious competition with the MP Motorsport Team. Considered one of the top five Swiss drivers by his federation, the young driver has surrounded himself with a host of sporting and financial partners to continue his ascent.
Por: Dario Cabanelas
