Sebastian Gravlund kicked off the 2023 season with the world premiere of the Eurocup 3 championship at Spa-Francorchamps. However, the season opener did not go without challenges.

The new Eurocup 3 series is created with a focus on paving the way for raw talent rather than bulging wallets. Therefore, there are limited testing opportunities for participants – but that rule turned out to be an unforeseen challenge for the fast-paced Copenhagen driver. Already in the first training, he had to skip due to a defective gearbox:

– It cost half a day of training, and in this championship where none of us have yet driven many kilometers in the cars, it costs a lot, says Sebastian Gravlund, who until the first race of the year has only completed two test days with the rest of the field.
For the same reason, there was a fundamental lack of speed when the qualification had to be run. Combined with the traditionally difficult weather conditions in the area around the track, Sebastian had to settle for two 12th places as starting positions for the two races of the weekend. But the challenges did not stop there:

– It’s just typical Spa with the on-off rainy weather. There was a shower just before we were to go on the track for the first race, but we assessed that the track would dry up quickly, so I went on the track with dry weather tires. It wasn’t the right choice, so I didn’t have the grip I needed, explains Sebastian Gravlund, who managed to hold on to the 12th place until the finish line.
With such a prelude, it was a relief that the second race of the weekend went without unexpected problems. It turned into another 12th place when the finish line was crossed for the last time – but for Sebastian, the joy was great to have gained valuable driving time:

– It was a fine enough race, and even though it was clear that I lacked experience in the car, I’m glad to have had a whole race without problems. The car drives super nicely, and this weekend was just one of the unlucky ones, so now I look forward and am excited to get going again, says Sebastian, who also enjoys the challenges of the faster and more advanced race car:

– There is quite a difference from the Formula 4 car last year to this one. It’s much faster, and at the same time, the wings generate even more downforce, allowing me to take the fast turns really fast. Combined with our Push-to-Pass button, which gives 25 more horsepower five times during a race, there are just a lot of things to handle, and it’s a cool challenge, I think.

The next race in Eurocup 3 will be held at Motorland Aragon on May 27-28.