Tveter Looks Forward to Zandvoort After Rivals Spoil His Chances for Points in Germany

NUREMBERG, Germany, June 27 — Ryan Tveter didn’t have the results he hoped for in the FIA Formula 3 tripleheader last weekend at the Norisring, but neither did many of the other top runners. When looking at the big picture the young American still has plenty to be thankful for, starting with the fact that he was even able to race this weekend at all after being involved in a horrific accident at the last race last month in Austria.

Tveter, the only American competing in the series, uses his racing program to promote three charities, and he was more than happy when he raised $4,200 for one of them, the Lessons for Life Foundation, earlier in the week. As part of the organization’s Big Ride for Africa fundraiser, Tveter raised money while bicycling from Cologne, Germany to Eindhoven, Holland before he headed to the Norisring. The funds raised by riders like Tveter will help improve the lives of disadvantaged young people living in Subsaharan Africa. Donations are still being accepted at this link: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ryantveter.

Another bright spot just on the horizon for Tveter is that the next tripleheader will be held at Zandvoort July 15-17. Tveter has traditionally done very well when he competes in the Netherlands. It was the circuit where he earned his first FIA F3 points last July, and he finished seventh in the 25th Masters of Formula Three race there last September. He also earned his first podium finish in the Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup at another track in the Netherlands, Assen, two years ago before advancing to F3.

Germany’s Norisring, however, wasn’t kind to Tveter last weekend. His team struggled in qualifying, although Tveter led the team by two-tenths of a second in the second qualifying session.

He started 14th in the first race on Saturday, but was hampered at the start by clouds of dust left on the street circuit to soak up oil spills that occurred in the race right before his.

The field was extremely close. On lap 13 he was only 0.001 of a second slower than the driver he was battling at the time. A third of the field didn’t finish and the list of penalties afterwards was long. Tveter ended up 13th in the final rundown with his Dallara VW, just three spots out of a points-paying position.

Hopes were high for a points-paying finish in Race 2 later on Saturday, especially since he started 11th in that timed event of 33 minutes plus one lap.

It was not to be, however, because Ben Barnicoat hit him on lap two enough to disable Tveter’s steering and cause right-front suspension damage, and Tveter couldn’t avoid hitting him a few seconds later as they entered a turn. It was one of about eight incidents in that race.

The challenges continued in Race 3 on Sunday, which had more yellow-flag laps than green ones. Tveter was 16th on lap 12 when Pedro Piquet locked up his brakes in a hairpin turn, got airborne, and Niko Kari and Tveter's cars were collected. Flatbed trucks were needed to haul away Piquet and Kari’s cars so a red flag waved. Tveter was able to pit for repairs and restart at the rear, three laps down, and he ended up 14th.

"I was feeling great physically and mentally coming into the weekend," Tveter said. "We had accomplished a lot in testing between the Austria and Norisring rounds. It was also such a boost to take part in the Lessons for Life Big Ride for Africa and raise so much money for kids. I was super happy to be back in the car.

"Qualifying was tough and incredibly tight. I think as a team we were just missing that extra bit that the others seemed to be able to find. Despite that, starting just outside the top 10, we were definitely in a good position to salvage some points. Getting hit twice in the weekend in races 2 and 3 was not part of the plan but the only thing to do now is to shake it off and focus forward to the collective tests in Hockenheim this week, and the next round at Zandvoort.

"A big thanks to the Carlin guys for the quick repairs so that I could in fact finish two of the three races, albeit not where our pace should have put us."

Tveter's primary marketing partners are Skratch Labs, Pacha Macau, Hintsa, Stilo, Freem, and the social media app With. His black and blue #3 also carries the logos of not-for-profit organizations Right To Play and MTV Staying Alive in addition to the Lessons for Life Foundation.

For more information see RyanTveter.com and follow him on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. For more information on the series, see FIAF3Europe.com. His team's Web site is at Carlin.co.uk. Videos of all the races are available on YouTube.