Saturday was a busy and successful day at the office for STEP Motorsport. The debut race in the Danish Endurance Championship (DEC) at Ring Djursland was held over a single day, but Silas Rytter and Mads Riis kept their cool and delivered a strong performance.
The first round of the DEC championship marked STEP Motorsport’s first appearance in a race, and for Silas Rytter, it was also his first race outside of karting. However, the 15-year-old from Northern Jutland only managed three laps in the first qualifying session before everything ended in the gravel.
-I’m not very proud of the qualifying. On my third lap, I went off, so it could have gone better, says Silas Rytter, who had to wait a long time to get the car back to the pits. This left only a few minutes to check for defects before Mads Riis had to jump into the car for his qualifying session.
Mads Riis managed to complete a handful of laps, consistently improving his lap times, before the car could no longer shift gears, forcing him to pull over. Not the most optimal starting point for the two upcoming races.
The gearbox issue was fixed, and Mads Riis was behind the wheel when the start of the year’s first DEC race began. From eighth place, the two karting profiles had to race smartly and fight hard if they hoped for a good result. Crossing the finish line in fourth place in their class showed that their strategy was effective.
After a couple of hours to review the car and prepare for another hour of strenuous racing, it was Silas Rytter’s turn to start the race, this time from seventh place. Despite some close racing in the early laps, Silas showed good speed and stable driving during his stint. After the driver change about halfway through the race, Mads Riis took over. However, as the race progressed, the pace of the little Ginetta G40 GT5 started to fall.
-I pushed a little too hard at the start of my stint, which affected the tires towards the end. It’s something we learn from making mistakes, so it’s both good and bad, Mads Riis explains, as he crossed the finish line in fifth place.
When asked to evaluate Saturday’s races, the team manager has a clear message: it has been a success.
-For us, the race has largely been about establishing a foundation from which we can develop both the drivers and the team. Not even twenty test days can prepare you for the challenges Mads and Silas faced in today’s two races. There were constantly faster cars in the mirrors, overtaking, and a lot of new impressions that they had to handle, explains Morten Dons, who noted many areas for improvement throughout the day—as expected.
-If we came to the team’s and both drivers’ first race weekend in an endurance series and didn’t have anything to learn, that would be extremely impressive. The car performed flawlessly, and both drivers delivered a serious and professional effort. There are plenty of things we can now start evaluating and improving, but fundamentally, I think both drivers did a really great job.
The next race for STEP Motorsport will be at Padborg Park on June 19.