21-year old Habsburg, who is new to ‘tin-top’ racing this season, built on the potential shown in the opening round in Hockenheim, by taking ninth place in the first race of the weekend in Belgium.
After starting at the back of the pack, Habsburg finished closely behind the leading Aston Martin DTM championship-winner Paul Di Resta (GBR) and ahead of every other rookie entered in the 2019 season.
“That was fantastic!” the AVL-Racing supported driver said. “Qualifying wasn’t great, so I was keen for us to throw the dice with strategy, which certainly helped us out. The team did an awesome job and I was pleased with how was racing, especially towards the end of the race.”
With Zolder being a high-degradation track, the teams had to take a two-stop strategy. The R-Motorsport crew chose to pit early and give fresh rubber to the rookie so he could make the most of the clean air ahead. With a well-timed safety car and fast, controlled racing from Habsburg, the team took ninth place.
“I’m always accused of being hard on myself so it’s important that I also admit when I’m pleased,” he said. “It’s mega to take some points for R-Motorsport and I was really happy with the way we all worked as a team. I also feel like I’m getting more and more comfortable with car, which is still very new to me. There is still a long way for me to go and a steep learning curve ahead but I’m happy with progress so far.”
On Sunday, the learning curve took a slight dip when the Aston Martin Vantage DTM car had to retire from race two with a suspension issue.
“It was a shame not to finish race two,” he concluded. “But, let’s focus on the positives: I got a really good start; enjoyed some more seat time on track; and the team took a sixth place finish with the sister-car of Jake Dennis, so we know the potential is there. We’ll keep working hard and moving up the grid as the season progresses!”